Little Rock will continue to hold ward meetings this week to announce proposed priorities for street and drainage projects to be funded with the first round of citywide sales-tax infrastructure money and from the first half of the capital-projects millage-extension money.
Both funding streams were approved by voters.
The remaining meetings are:
Ward 6, Wednesday, 6 p.m., Northwest Police Substation, 10001 Kanis Road.
Ward 1, Thursday, 6 p.m., Dunbar Community Center, 1001 W. 16th St.
Ward 3, April 23, 6:30 p.m., Saint Paul United Methodist Church Sanctuary, 2223 Durwood Road.
At the meetings, city officials will announce staff recommendations for about $2.6 million in sales-tax funding for street and drainage repairs in each of the wards. The recommendations will also include projects to be funded by the first round of millage money.
The Little Rock Board of Directors still has to approve issuing the bonds from the planned millage revenue.City Manager Bruce Moore said during Ward 4, 2 and 7 meetings held last week that staff members planned to ask that the bonds be issued in two rounds, with the first issuance for roughly $60 million approved for this round of projects.
Residents have been encouraged to give input at the meetings, but a process to change the funding priorities has not been well-defined. Staff members said most of the priorities were chosen on the basis of the greatest effect on the greatest number of residents, the severity of the need, and stretching the available funding as far as possible. The recommendations include about $3 million in street repaving projects perward.
City staff members anticipate two more rounds of gathering residents’ input on project needs and priorities before the next two funding cycles: 2016-18 and 2019-21.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 04/09/2013