Board of Directors - Regular Meeting

Good evening. I would like to call to order the July 7th, 2026 Little Rock City Board of Directors meeting. We would like to welcome those in attendance as well. Those watching at home or streaming online. Madam Clerk, would you please call the roll?

Director Miller? Here. Director Richardson? Here. Director Webb? Here. Director Peck? Here. Director Hines? Here. Director Lewis? Here. Director Campuras? Here. Director Phillips? Present. Director Adcock? Vice Mayor Warrick. Present. Mayor Scott.

Present. Now I want to take this time to recognize our city attorney who will give the invocation.

Please join me. If we look outside, we see that the skies truly are spacious. Well, I'm not quite sure how many amber waves of grain Arkansas has. I know it has soybeans. I know it has cotton. I know it has rice. I know it has milo. Our Ozarks may not be purple mountains, but they are truly majestic. And our lakes and streams and rivers are a source of renewal in so many ways. Life is good. It is not easy. And what can we do? We can do our best. Tonight, there are contracts the city will enter that will help repair things and to build things that need to be a part of our city for everyone. We will approve a boardwalk repair in the riverfront park so that families can come down together and enjoy a little slice of nature, a little slice of history, and the Arkansas River. We are going to address various questions on zoning where people have asked to be able to use properties in a certain way, and the board will decide whether or not the way that they've asked is appropriate for everyone. And we're going to enter into a contract to help redesign an area under the I-30 bridge that will be a dwelling place and recreational place for everyone in the city and all that visit. Can we do more? We can do our best. Can we do more? we can encourage others to do their best.

Amen. Amen. Please stand for a pledge of allegiance. Members of the city board, I think we all know and love Chief Heath Hilton, who's been with the city of Little Rock more than 30 years of service, who started out as a security guard at the old Excelsior Hotel. And he saw some officers. He started to get acquainted with them. And that inspired his dream. not only to be a dutiful officer, but to one day be chief of police. On an old, weary day on December 2022, I asked him to go to Starbucks, and he doesn't drink coffee. And he thought he didn't understand what was going on. And so we offered him the job, and he gratefully said yes. I stand here today because we continue to recognize him his years of service as he's recently retired. He has here with him today. His lovely wife, Carmen, is also a sergeant of a of the North Little Rock Police Department. His son, Mason, and his other children who are not here today. He's always done his work for them, as well as the residents in the city. and the tourists in the workforce of the city of Little Rock, as well as the members of the City of Little Rock Board of Directors. And so today, while we've had different events for him, we wanted to make certain that we came before the city board to acknowledge his retirement. We hate to see him go. We know he's spending more time with his family. But we wanted you to know, Chief, how much you mean to us and the city and the impact. You led a lot of great transformation transition and turned us towards a new future. Um, when you left crime was down overall the past five years, somewhere around 28% overall. Um, we know violent crime was down much more than that. Um, And it's still down because of the inference that you've had with the leadership team that you left with us. And so we're so grateful. And so on behalf of Little Rock, we want to not only recognize your retirement, but present you with your retirement medallion in front of the city board and give you some time for comments. Let's give him a round of applause.

Well, first, Mayor Scott, Vice Mayor Weirich, City Manager Hubbard, City Attorney, members of the board. First, before I start off in the comments, and I'm not going to take a lot of time because I know how busy and how important these meetings are when we have citizen comments. But one, let me start by giving glory to God because none of this would be possible without him. to my beautiful wife, my son, my other kids, and my family who provided me with enough support and were my rock through this whole entire process over 30 years, specifically last three and a half years as chief, which was one of the probably the most honorable, greatest things I've ever had to do in my life with all the challenges and all the things that went, you would expect that came with the position and the seat. It was truly one of the most amazing opportunities that I've ever had. And I'm truly, truly grateful for that. I'm very grateful for Mayor Scott, his professionalism, not only being my boss, but was a friend as well. Really bonded with him, didn't really know him a lot before I was offered the job. But over the three and a half years, we really grew. And I appreciate the opportunity to sit and have conversations with him, really get into some discussions, and him giving me the opportunity to really run the department. And I appreciate that. I appreciate every one of you on the board. We had a lot of great conversations. We had a lot of engaging conversations, but I always walked away here knowing that your support was there and I truly, truly appreciate it. I think I heard from you all at one point at some wee hours of the morning or early morning, weekends, holidays, And while I was sometimes just kind of nod your head like, well, but I always did appreciate your phone calls. And I was always there to do what I could to make sure that we were serving our community because you represent your wards. You were bringing the message to us and that relationship, that voice was powerful for me in order to make sure we were out there doing the best that we could for the citizens of our community and those who visit those who came here to work every day that we were given our best effort. So I appreciate your support. And as the city moves forward, uh, congratulations on the 30 crossing part project that I heard about today. I think that's going to be another great transformation of our city. When I came in here, uh, back in June and 96 when you went past past Cumberland Street, it was all abandoned warehouses, large furniture stores were the only thing there. You know, then the Clinton Presidential Library came in and changed the whole East End. And I've watched things changed. You see the outlets went in and totally gave Southwest an uplift and totally realize that. So our city is growing. And I'm liking where we're at. We got a lot of work still left to do. I can tell you the men and women Little Rock Police Department, some of the finest officers in the state of Arkansas. They get some of the best training than any other agency in the state. We're not perfect. We're human. But they do work hard. The officers that are here choose to come here. Out of all the agencies in the state of Arkansas, they choose to come to Little Rock Police Department and work here. That's a credit to them. It's a credit to their effort to come here and do the work. I was a chief, and there was a lot of great things that happened. It was because I had a great team, from the assistant chiefs down to my supervisors, all the way down to the newest officers sitting in recruit class. They made that possible. I was just lucky enough to drive the boat. So I truly commend the men and women of Little Rock Police Department, all the work and hard effort that they put into it. I truly appreciate the community too. Born and raised here in this city, a product of Little Rock School District, and really proud that I had the opportunity to give back. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd ever become the chief, that was my goal. Didn't think it was ever going to happen though, but I did it. And I got to meet a lot of great people, faith based leaders, community activists. People from different neighborhoods, working with a lot of the different department directors within our city that do amazing work day in and day out that don't ever get heard of. And don't ask for no appreciation, they're just there to do their job, trying to make this place, our community, better. And I appreciate them for what they do. To the citizens, continue to have a voice, continue to let your dissatisfaction be known. I can tell you as the police chief, never took it personal, not at all. You were frustrated. equally as frustrated as I was sometimes with things and trying to figure out how can we not get this done. But a lot of times things are very challenging. It's like putting a 10,000 jigsaw puzzle together. Sometimes you just got to shift through until you find the right pieces to make it all work. And sometimes things take time. But I do appreciate this community. I appreciate every relationship that was out there that I had the opportunity to engage in our community. I wish I could have done more. It was only one of me a lot. But I think at the end of the day, I gave them all and I did my best. and i am truly honored to have served as the 39th chief of police for the little rock police department thank you thank the city thank you mayor scott and i wish you all luck in the future and if anything i ever do please let me know thank you

Oh, sure. Just a bit of, um, just a bit of logistics item number 13, which I think some people are here for, uh, it's going to be deferred until August 4th, 2026 per the sponsors. Uh, and so we won't take that up today. We'll take it up on August 4th, uh, per the sponsors of item 13, as it relates to the data center moratorium ordinance. So we won't be discussing that today for anyone who's here for that from that standpoint. All right. And now, Madam Clerk, if you will please read the consent agenda.

A resolution authorized the mayor to enter into agreement with Morrow Energy and Bridge Holdings LLC to Morrow R&G Joint Venture through Little Rock Renewables LLC to plan, design, develop, and maintain a landfill gas to energy system at the city-owned landfill and provide services to produce and sell renewable natural gas and for other purposes. A resolution authorizes the City Manager to enter into a contract with Maciel Favela doing business as mow concrete in an amount not to exceed $98,400 for the Vimy Ridge Road Drainage Improvement Project and for other purposes funding from the limited tax general obligation capital improvement bonds. A resolution authorizes the City Manager to enter into a memorandum of agreement with Pulaski County, Arkansas regarding phases 2 and 3 of the Southeast Trail and for other purposes. A resolution authorizes the City Manager to enter into a contract with Moe Concrete LLC in an amount not to exceed $63,600 for the installation of a parking lot at the Neighborhood Resource Center located at 1419 Little Rock 9 Way and for other purposes. A resolution authorizes the City Manager to enter into a contract with Catherine West and Glenn Nishimura to grant the naming rights for the MacArthur Dog Park shade structure and for other purposes. A resolution authorized the city manager to enter into a contract with the Griffin Group Incorporated and amount not to exceed $55,000 including contingencies, applicable taxes and fees for the repairs and restoration of the existing William Bill Clark Wetland Boardwalk at Riverfront Park and for other purposes. A resolution authorized the city manager to enter into a contract renewal with Stevens Incorporated of the 2025 contract to perform in the capacity as the financial advisor to provide analytical services regarding the issuance of future debt obligations and further purposes. A resolution authorizes city reimbursement to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in an amount not to exceed $541,942 from insurance claim proceeds paid to the city by Travelers Indemnity Company from the April 5th, 2025 flood damage of the museum sustained and for other purposes, a resolution to authorize a settlement of the outstanding attorney's fees and cost claims arising from the Civil Service Commission appeals of Brad Tubbs, Charles Phillips, and Patrick Pitts to authorize the payment of attorney's fees and costs in the amount of $151,532.69 and for other purposes. That concludes the consent agenda. Is there a motion? Is there a second?

All those favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, say nay. Aye. Ayes have it. Madam Clerk, we'll go to Citizens Communication. Melissa Muse. And then after Melissa Johnson, is this Ms. Johnson? We got to make sure.

Okay. I wasn't prepared to be first. And please cut me off or whatever you need to do. I'm here on behalf of Madison Valley, which is a development in West Little Rock. We have had severe flooding from two new constructions. This has been known about by the city and the contractors since April of twenty twenty five when at two in the morning I stood in my living room trying to keep mud and water out of my house. April of 2025. So let that sit for a second, even though every second is precious for me. The city knew about it, the contractors knew, the developer knew about it. Nothing was done. Promises were made. Fingers were pointed. Developer pointed at the city. City pointed at the developer. Then both of them pointed at the developer of our neighborhood that has been around much longer. We moved in in 2009. What we finally, yesterday the flooding was too much. I will give Mr. Heinz on vacation his due. Poor guy didn't know I had his phone number in my phone. So he got a lot of texts yesterday and the day before every time it rained. For the last 15 months, I have had stress and anxiety as well as almost every other person on Hannah Lane when it rained. I would be at work, called away from my chaplain duties at UAMS, which is very important, much more important than worrying about my house floating away. Yet it's something that happened every time it rained. I would get videos from neighbors. I would get texts from neighbors. What I'm asking the city for is what Mr. Hines started yesterday. He had all hands on deck there today, but we've got to continue that. We have two developers that are looking at our old subdivision as collateral damage. We have one house in the neighborhood who has been recently sold. There is foundation damage from floodwaters. My husband and I have decided to get our house inspected. And you can guarantee that if we have flood damage, it will not be paid by us or our insurance. Because that's all I have to say. But enough's enough. And I'm tired of the finger pointing. This city is too good for that. This city is too good for that. And I'm saying that as a transplant. I am not from Arkansas. I am not from Little Rock. But this is where I have chosen to live for the past 32 years. And I hope to stay here. I have had to fight for everything. I have fought for our public schools, and now I'm fighting for our neighborhood, and I'm tired of fighting. We shouldn't have to fight over something like this. When your developers, when you allow Citi, a developer, to build a giant hill of mud behind homes.

Ma'am, there's a three-minute timeline, but if you have anything written down, we can give it to the CARTAC.

I don't, but I can send you all the videos and things you need.

We'll make certain that our team reaches out.

Okay, thank you.

Ms. Johnson? After Ms. Johnson, Vanash Thombre to come after.

Good day to all mayors, vice mayor and the board. I had come up here in April and asked about what the city had planned for the youth for the summer. And I was instructed to talk with Michael Sanders. I did follow up with Michael Sanders. I talked to him and I just want to give him a shout out and let you all know he's doing an awesome job. I appreciate everything he's doing and to find out that city is sponsoring, they have over a thousand students to participate with, like children rather, to participate in the park and recreation program for the summer. And I just think that's awesome. And that's, I just wanted to give them a shout out. That's it. Thank you.

Thank you. Avanesh Thombre. Daniel Eden after that.

Hello everyone. My name is Avinash Tomray and I am a professor at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. I've been here, I came to Little Rock when I got hired at UA Little Rock in 2004. So I'm here since the last 21 years and serving the students in many ways. In the last ten years, I got involved into doing yoga. And things happen one after the other. And now we have all kinds of challenges in the city, mental health issues, physical fitness issues, and all of that. And then we partnered with the Little Rock Parks. our department to do yoga, to bring yoga to the parks. So last couple weeks back on 21st of June, we did a big yoga event in the War Memorial Park. And so I just wanted to report with the help of my friend here, Velvet. We did this partnership and about 30, 40 people came in there. And Mr. Couch here, I think he's here. There you go. He helped us to organize this event. So what we want to kind of tell you guys, the city board, is that if you go to the Fayetteville area, there's all kinds of stuff happening in the parks. And so we want something like that to happen right here in Little Rock. So I'm ready to offer my services and Mr. Leland has also promised to help. So we need to get more people into our parks and do some yoga. So that's all I have to say.

My name is Daniel Eaton. I live at 422 North Spruce Street in Hillcrest, Little Rock. There is a street called Lee Street in Hillcrest. It runs from University to Fair Park to Kavanaugh. It's two miles. There are no traffic lights. No stop signs, no speed bumps. There are two schools and churches, elementary schools. The speed of the cars that go down that street are absolutely unreasonable. I'm pleading for the city to install Stop signs or traffic lights or speed bumps to regulate the speed of cars going down that street. There are kids, families, dogs being walked. I beg your pardon. I'm sorry. Um It's just unreasonable, the speeds that people drive up and down that street. And I'm pleading for the city to install either traffic lights, stop signs or speed bumps to regulate that speed. Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you, Mr. Eaton. Miss Jackie Smith.

Good evening, everyone. How you doing, Mayor Scott?

Good evening.

I debated and baited on coming to this board what to ask and what to talk to you guys about. But the violence is not down, and we need to stop lying to ourselves and everybody else about the violence in this city. Every time I come, it's because of violence.

It's because of what's going on in these streets. I'm here 24-7 with these kids in these streets. They're calling me in the middle of the night to ask what is left and what can they do. Asher is out of control. If you don't stop it now, somebody else has to lose their life. I lost my son in a drive-by. I lost my nephew. in a killing on Asher. Someone else's son is in the hospital. It doesn't make sense that we got to continuously come here to ask you to do something about what's going on in our city. A curfew, downtown, parents dropping them off. I don't fault the city board. I fault us as parents dropping your kids off. Don't know where they are, when to do it. The mayor doesn't pull the trigger. The police chief doesn't do that. We gotta come together now, it's enough. Enough is enough. We won't stop, we gotta bring it together. Programs, judicial systems, the mayor, the schools, and the churches, they all work together. And until we all come together and do it, we're gonna continuously lose kids. But until it hits one of your doorsteps, you're not gonna do anything like me. You're not gonna walk these streets every day and every night and do what needs to be done, because I do it. And I call this man, I call this woman, and they answer, but they can't fix it by themselves. But I don't want it to be a mockery that it's the mayor's fault. And I mean that, because it's not. It's not Andrea's fault. It's not Antoine's fault. It's not Hubbard's fault. It's not BJ's fault. It's our fault that we're not controlling our kids. It's our fault that we need to go and we need to build better programs. We need to talk to the governors. We need to talk to legislators. We gotta stand firm on this thing out here, y'all. And I mean that, and I want that store closed down, Virgil Miller. That's your district. It's more than one person's been killed there. We gotta demand that they not come in our neighborhoods and kill our kids. That store's selling dope, selling drugs. Got homeless people out there. They're barbecuing like it's a street corner. And we're okay with that? Dyer and I worked on this thing in 2019 and it's still not fixed. Y'all, I'm tired. I'm tired.

Thank you, Ms. Jackie. Lynn Ballard. After Miss Ballard, Velvet Victorian.

OK. Good afternoon. Thank you for letting me speak this afternoon. My name is Lynn Ballard and I am the mother of Hunter Shane Ballard. I'm here today to share the reality of my family's loss and urge you to take immediate action regarding the safety of our community. As my husband, Lewis, mentioned previous meeting that our lives has been permanently altered. I will never see Hunter graduate as a valedictorian, hear his speech or see him earn his law degree. I will never attend his wedding or know his grandchildren. We mourn the life that that was denied to him. While our family no longer has school age children, we are deeply concerned for the neighbors and the students who walk near Mabelville Elementary every day. With the road that was extended, the decision was made to remove the crosswalk, a decision that Hunter paid for his life. We understand that the current project caused a streetlight. However, while funding is being sought, we suggest that the junction of Hinky Road and Mabelville cut off to be made as a three-way stop sign and a crosswalk and extra signage. In addition to protecting students, this would provide neighbors with a safe way to access Mabelville Park. We need the Crosswalk and Mabelville Elementary School restored immediately. Please find a solution before someone else lose their life. That's all.

Yes, ma'am. We're praying for you.

My name is Velvet, Victorian, and I've been here exactly three years for the last three years this month. And when I came here the last time, I was very upset because I had moved three times in two and a half years. And I just came to let you know that I took advantage of the initiative that you guys have to buy a home. And I bought my first home in November. And after buying the home, I realized that I hadn't slept since 2011. Because I've been suing, I sued about 11 landlords in the list since 2011. And California was seven. And I just want to say thank you for the affordability and the pinch in the pocket. And I've also been able to go back to school, and I got accepted into University of Arkansas' pre-law program. I just came back from Fayetteville. I got a chance to see your vision of the parks. And I came back, and I told my professor, I said, you got to get on that board, the commission, the parks commission, and start doing yogas in the parks, because we have a lot of obesity, and people need things to do. And in Long Beach, which is California's port city, when you drive down Pacific Coast Highway, all you can see is people stretching and bending and doing yoga. And I like to see that here. Thank you.

Thank you. And congratulations, Claude Alexander. Claude Alexander. All right, Aptek.

How y'all doing today? My name is Claude Alexander. Don't have nothing road. I'm really here for the crosswalks. I also want to add in on this gentleman right here. He did. There's a lot of people speeding down on Mapleville. If signs, stop signs, speed bumps, something, something to prevent an accident, a fatality. A lot of people flying down the roads. You got three schools within a five-mile radius. You have Mapleville Middle School, you have Mapleville Elementary, and you have Southwest High School. Can we not get a better pedestrian infrastructure? I know us as a community, We could talk about kids being distracted driving. We could talk about parenting and all this, but us as a community, if we come together and we can just make it safer for the kids, I mean, a crosswalk across the street for a school, elementary, I mean, that's something simple. I'm kind of blurring all my words too. I don't really like speaking in front of a lot of people.

Take your time, sorry.

As I'm just asking, I'm pleading with y'all. My little brother passed away last year. It's definitely dealt a lot of pain on the family. And I'm just coming to y'all as can we make a difference? Can we do something together? Whether it's a stop sign, crosswalks, a crossing. I mean, this is our future. These are our kids. You know, they're going to be the next board of directors, doctors, lawyers, whatever. But this is our future. And if we don't do something now, if we don't make a difference, don't do no type of change, it's just going to get worse. Now, whether that's with programs, the whole nine yards, y'all, if we could just do something. Like you said, I have to pull up on my phone. Give me a second. Life is good. It ain't easy, but we will do our best. If we can just do our best, y'all, we can try. Us as a community, us as leaders, we can all come together and come with some solution. That's all I have for y'all. Thank you. Thank you.

Chico Tejas.

Alrighty. All I can say is here we go again. I thought as some of my fellow neighbors thought we were going to discuss the ordinance concerning the data centers. We wanted to talk about why there was a carve out for Google. We're trying to find out why you guys keep trying to push these ordinances that exempt Google. How many times do we have to show up here in the stand and talk in the microphone and just beg for basic transparency? I mean, we all know the story, it's the same tired story we see everywhere. Big business buys its way into our backyards, backyards that are flooding. They demand massive breaks for their infrastructure projects and then when the dust settles, we're left with the bag. We're already dealing with so much and just another thing that we have to worry about is just Yeah, when do we get our break? But honestly, it's our fault really. Just like the lady before me said, we have to hold ourselves responsible. We'll stay at home watching our TikToks. As our utility bills go up, our water gets depleted and poisoned, and all we do is just complain on social media that the game is rigged. But I mean, how can we complain that the game is rigged if we don't even attempt to play? Tonight, I'm not just addressing the board. This is a direct call to action for anyone who's tired of watching the same cycle repeat over and over again. If you all want to change the way that we do government, I mean, let's stop these people from running unopposed. It's not too late to step up and play the game. I mean, if you want to be on the ballot, it's not that hard. You got to be a registered voter. You got to be 21. You must have lived in the city of Little Rock for at least 30 days. You designate no party affiliation and you need to gather at least 50 signatures from your fellow voters. And there's a lot of people that are willing to help sign for that. There isn't even a filing fee. I mean, that's it, that's all someone can do to actually do something if we just keep complaining about that we have a board that isn't representing us and protecting our homes. I mean, there's a lot of people in this room that are fired up about the data center issue from left to right, from young and old. And we're more than willing to put our time, our energy, and our own hard-earned money towards stopping these data centers and backing candidates who actually want to do something about it and not complain. If this board isn't brave enough to protect our city and put residents first, maybe the next one will. Hopefully in the future, the next board won't be bound by NDAs and nor will they make the same mistake trusting quiet promises again from big business. And let's hope you guys think twice about accepting money from big business for your campaigns. because again, we're tired of saying, here we go again. Thank you and God bless.

Kathy Wells.

Good evening, Mayor Scott, ladies and gentlemen of the Board of Directors. I'm Kathy Wells, I'm President of the Coalition of Little Rock Neighborhoods. I'm here tonight to raise the question about preparing disaster relief and remedies for the data center coming to the Port of Little Rock. You've told the public nothing about city preparations to handle any fires or other disasters that may occur at the city's newest factory, the Google Data Center at the Port of Little Rock. We recently were educated at a public forum about the major work required in advance and the high cost of preparing to deal with a potential data center fire. We urge you to budget funds in 2027 for this necessary work. Google cannot pay its way until you present that invoice. An impact fee is needed. Former Little Rock Fire Chief Gregory Summers addressed us at the June 27 forum and listed these preparations to undertake. Create a pre-incident plan involving all concerned responders. Include protection against plumes of toxic smoke arising from fire. Arrange air monitoring with remote reporting stations. Create specialized training to handle this fire type. Assess hazardous materials present and protective equipment needed. Decide on capacity needed among emergency responders of all agencies. Develop review mutual aid agreements with sister agencies nearby. Develop the funding process to buy and update needed assets. If you're going to get a fire truck with attached devices to handle the fire like this data center, this takes years to procure, so you need to start now. Schedule and fund annual multi-agency training amongst all expected responders. Schedule and fund replacement of protective gear and fire trucks. This is a 30 year facility, remember. Ban use of PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam for this or any other city fire. The coalition will be discussing this at our meeting Saturday morning, July the 11th, this Saturday. from 10 to noon at the Hinton Center in Room 104. Mayor Scott, directors, you're cordially invited to come. In the event your schedule doesn't allow you to come, we invite you to send a City Hall representative who would be working on this so we can begin the discussion because we need to know what you're doing. Thank you. Thank you.

Members of the City Board, Madam Clerk rather, if you would please read the grouped items for the first time.

An ordinance to amend Little Rock, Arkansas ordinance number 22,718 February 3rd, 2026 to amend the legal description and for other purposes. An ordinance to declare it impractical and unfeasible to bid to authorize the city manager to enter into a contract with Roberts McNutt an amount not to exceed $89,782 plus applicable taxes and fees for a new roof on the City Hall annex building to declare an emergency and for other purposes. An order is to declare it impractical and unfeasible to bid to authorize the city to enter into an agreement with the Bezos Earth Fund and the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce to provide funds for a more definite design of 30 Crossing to declare an emergency and for other purposes. First reading.

There's a motion. Is there a second? All those in favor please say aye. I was supposed to say nay. Ayes have a second reading.

An ordinance to amend Little Rock, Arkansas Ordinance number 22,718 February 3rd, 2026 to amend the legal description and for other purposes. An ordinance to declare it impractical and unfeasible to bid to authorize the city manager to enter into a contract with Roberts McNutt an amount not to exceed $89,782 plus applicable taxes and fees for a new roof on the City Hall annex building to declare an emergency. An ordinance to declare an impractical and unfeasible to bid to authorize the city to enter into an agreement with the Bezos Earth Fund and the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce to provide funds for a more definite design of 30 crossing to declare an emergency. Second reading.

There's a motion to second.

All those in favor please say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. Ayes have a third reading.

An ordinance to amend Little Rock, Arkansas Ordinance Number 22,718, February 3rd, 2026 to amend the legal description. An ordinance to declare it impractical and unfeasible to bid to authorize the city manager to enter into a contract with Roberts McNutt in an amount not to exceed $89,782 plus applicable taxes and fees for a new roof on the City Hall Annex Building to declare an emergency. An ordinance to declare it impractical and unfeasible to bid to authorize the city to enter into an agreement with the Bezos Earth Fund and Little Rock Chamber of Commerce to provide funds for a more definite design of 30 Crossing to declare an emergency third and final reading.

Members of the board, we've heard three readings. Three readings. Question from Director Webb.

Thank you, Mayor Scott. Is there somebody here who could talk a little bit more about this item 12?

Yes, I can. Item 12 is the part of the process with the 30 Crossing Park announcement that was announced today for the $30 million. There was an internal team, which I would say co-led by Leland Couch, Jack Thomas with the Chamber, Suzanne Grubmeier with Arkansas State Parks and Tourism, Kelly Wiley with Arkansas Department of Transportation, and many others who played a role in the whole grant making process from November of 25 to now. Part of that process to uh, get the projects going as a member and understanding, uh, where the funds will go through the chambers foundation, uh, from a, from a, a safety and from a financial safety and soundness standpoint, uh, and the ability to get to work sooner rather than later. Um, that's part of that memorandum understanding also with the, conjunction that all of the design, construction work of that $30 million process goes through the procurement process of the City of Little Rock as well throughout that. So that's the process, that's the member and understanding. Very similar, there are various different things that we may have with other member and understanding with private entities that are doing work with and for the City of Little Rock.

Can on the third, whereas where it says the city has the opportunity to contract and combine its monies with those under the control of the chamber? I mean, I'm still not 100 percent clear.

So that would be a great example. So, for instance, when and if we go after various federal grants. So a great example of when we started this process, if you look at the downtown master plan, downtown master plan says The total project amount is $120 million. During this process with Leland and Jack Thomas and others, we downgraded that process from $120 million to $85 million. The reason being is there's a portion of the downtown master plan that encompasses work you have to deal with the U.S. Army Corps engineers. And part of the process, the Basils Earth Fund, and they've had experience in dealing with other cities that sometimes where they may have a time standpoint that when dealing with the U.S. Army Corps engineers with those waterways, it can kind of extend the time. And so that portion was taken out. So this project now has been reduced from 120 million to 85 million. And so when it talks about the monies, that's for instance, we go after a particular federal grant alongside the state that we have grant match part of that process, which we've already done with the city with various bill grants and things of that nature where we have money set aside from the grant match. And that means that we can combine that as we are putting together other dollars for the complete completion of the project. so this is and everything let me make sure i say this any monies that goes before the city but any monies that the city transfers to any type of project has to come before the city board so all this is doing is setting the mechanism from the memory understanding one between the city and uh the chamber secondly when it comes to that third whereas when it relates to the combined monies any monies must be approved by the city board first no monies have been approved by the city board at this date

So this is not any general funds. This is if if this were to proceed, it would be grant money, but not any city.

It would be general. It would be grant. I mean, we have grant match a part of the general fund. So it'd be grant match that you all have already approved in the budget of which and or funds that may come from bonds that you've already approved in the bond. standpoint for parks. So these are dollars that the city's already included in our budget for projects like this. So we have set aside money that the city board has previously approved to be utilized either for bonds and or other financing mechanisms to get various things done within the parks budget as it relates to uh, the bonding package as well as grant match relates to the general fund package. So we have two sets of monies in our budget. We have the bond funds as well as the general revenue funds, all of which have already been passed by the city board. And secondly, before they get transferred, they may have been allocated because the budget process before they're funded, they have to be again passed by the city board as well. So everything has to come through the city board before anything's transferred.

Thank you.

Uh, director wire vice mayor work. I'm sorry.

Thank you. According to this, whereas that we were just talking about starting on item 15, it says that five million dollars says the contract with the chamber in the amount of five million dollars. So is that the money that we're talking about with this with this ordinance?

No. If you're referring to what Director Webb just asked, that's completely different. The city board's previously approved approved in our budget on funding as well as general revenue funds for the grant match. The five million is the dollars that are this project is for the city of Little Rock. So we're part of the process is a true public private philanthropic program. And so the money is flowing through the Chambers Foundation per the Bezos Earth Fund, which is what they wanted. So that five million dollars is the Bezos money. So.

Okay. It's not City of Little Rock money.

No, ma'am. You have not received it before the City Board yet. So any money that the City Board will contribute will come before the City Board. All this money is Bezos money at this point in time. Bezos Earth Fund.

Okay. So the $5 million is Bezos money?

Yes.

Okay. Thank you.

Bezos Earth Fund, not Bezos. Just want to make sure we're clear. Right. Director Compuras.

You did a good job of explaining it. I think you need to talk about why the money is going to the foundation?

Yes, the money is going through the foundation from a number of different tax. When I say tax from from a nonprofit status standpoint, it's just more fruitful for those who are given money that the money flows to another nonprofit through that process. While the city is a nonprofit, it's just more advantageous for those who are given the money that it goes through that process. Again, at the end of the day, we didn't have the money for their they're giving it to us from the standpoint And so whether it would it could have easily been the Arkansas Arkansas Parks Foundation. But since we already have a strategic partnership with the chamber that this city board is previously approved with half a million dollar contract, we felt it was best to go this route since we had that such a close relationship. We treat this like an economic development project in any other parks quality life project. So that's the reason why it went through that vehicle again. The vehicle, the flowing of money comes from Bezos to that foundation. They can't spend it till they go through the procurement process from us and anything that's going to be spent from a bond standpoint and or general revenue standpoint must have to go through the city board, which is already have. But again, as we all know, we may pass a budget, but once it's time to contract, you still have to have a second approval before it's funded. Yes, sir.

And one of the things I think is important to know is that another reason it's there is that they have the capacity to monitor the money carefully. We don't have the capacity in the city to do that, to fill out all the reports we need to do to get the money when it comes in.

I wouldn't say we don't have the capacity. We just choose that we think it's just more efficient that way. I don't want to take that away from our finance team. We got a 331 million dollar budget, sir.

This new responsibility.

We just don't want to add additional responsibilities. That's right.

But I think that that's the reason. But I think the other salient thing that we have to reemphasize is that they hold the money, but we allocate the money.

Correct.

And that's, it's not, it's not, they're, they're the holding house of it. They do the accounting of it. They fill out the forms for it, but we have to appropriate it.

Yes, sir. All those favorably say aye. That was just a question. We already had three readings. All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, say nay. Ayes have it. We have emergency clause. Director Webb, before we go to emergency clause.

Yes, Mayor. I don't feel like I have enough information even with what you all shared, and I would like to abstain on item 12.

That's fine. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, say nay. Aye. Ayes have it.

Director Comparis? Just to ask the city manager. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, just a second. There was no vote on the emergency clause, and that means only seven votes, so it failed. Did you abstain on the emergency clause as well?

Director Webb, I would ask that you at least vote on that. Okay. All those in favor, please say aye.

I heard a no.

But she's rescinding her. Are you still saying no?

I'm upset. There's only seven votes. Even if she changed vote, but she can't do that because she abstained for whatever reason. Yeah, and once you abstain, you're out.

Well, the emergency clause, at the end of the day...

The emergency clause is a part of the ordinance. Okay. And we've got a no vote, so you don't have eight votes for the emergency clause.

And was it... We got it passed, but...

You did pass it.

Yeah. All right.

We have two emergency clauses, though, so 11. Yeah, there's another one on the first ordinance, isn't it?

So which one are you saying?

One for City Hall, the roof on City Hall.

The roof on City Hall needs an emergency clause, too. All those favorably say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. Ayes have it. So we have the MOU. It's fine. Okay. Yeah. We got the MOU. It's not going to stop anything. Director Caputus.

To the city manager, I've Three weeks ago, I was asked to have a list of all the vehicles in our fleet, whether it is garbage trucks or fire trucks or working in parks. Where are we on that process?

Thank you, Director Pierce. We should be ready to present that after speaking with the fleet director at the latter part of August. We have a few more presentations here in the coming weeks, it should be ready to be presented at the end of August.

What kind of presentations do you have to have?

We have the insurance one that you requested.

No, I'm talking about the number of vehicles we have in our fleet. Right. Yeah.

You said what type of presentation would that be? What did you say?

You know, I asked for all the situation, how much it's going to cost to replace them. And it's not going to be ready until August? It's not going to be ready until August. That's correct.

What I can't tell you is we got all the police cars coming. They'll be here in August. Vice Mayor Warrick.

Thank you, Mayor. On item 12, I'm like Kathy, Director Webb. I didn't understand and don't have enough information to make a yes vote on item number 12. And so she abstained and I voted no. So that was the reason for that.

No problem. It's already passed.

Director Phillips. Yes, Mayor. And I think just a point of clarity for the public. Uh, if you can explain what just happened, why it still works, even though the emergency calls in past.

So everyone that, um, nothing's basically there's a MOU as we went through an extensive explanation of MOU, it passed unanimously. So the MOU passes. And so, uh, there are certain options where you have to, uh, and so in city of the right government, If you pass something without an emergency clause, it takes 30 days to go into an effect. And so in 30 days, the MOU will be city law, as simple as I can put it, whereas it would be city law tomorrow with an emergency fund. That being said, the MOU, it is going to take time to go through the dealing with the legal process. It's gonna probably take 30 days to go through the legal process as well anyway. Uh, so that's why I said it didn't matter because it already passed from that standpoint.

Thank you, ma'am.

Yeah. I moved to a budget, but again, technically the city work can't be done for the next 30 days. Is that right? City attorney from this one?

I don't think anybody's going to spend any money for 30 days anyway.

Correct. We're on the same court. Director Webb, is your hand still up? Well, that being said, I think, again, as I heard someone say, not only this is a watershed moment here in the city. I think many people thought it wasn't going to be possible to do anything at that park. once we got it back from the Arkansas Department of Transportation. There's true teamwork all involved. The City of Little Rock not only made national news by being one of eight that the Bezos Earth Fund gave, but we received the most money of the eight cities. We received $30 million, which is a big freaking deal. It's all because of the teamwork of the Arkansas Department of Transportation, Arkansas State Parks Tourism, Little Rock Chamber, City of Little Rock, Little Rock Parks and Recreation, um our state federal local delegation to get us to this point for us to be on the national map this way and so grateful for all the members of city board that voted for this process uh it's a big deal and you all are a big reason for it and so uh thank you to the city board meeting adjourned