City Council seeks input about parks
A public hearing during the North Little Rock City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall will allow comment on a proposed land exchange of properties in the former Big Rock Quarry and Burns Park.
The proposal would convert a 52.5-acre tract of the former quarry to city park land in exchange for 73 acres along Charles Boyer Drive within Burns Park so the city can pursue a concept for building a hotel or lodge inside the park.
The city-owned quarry lies along the Arkansas River and between Burns Park and Emerald Park.
Swapping out the pieces of city property would be necessary to allow an indoor facility in Burns Park because federal Outdoor Recreation Grant funds were used in developing the park, restricting the park to be used only for outdoor activities. Exchanging property from within the park with another city property of equal or higher value would lift the outdoor restriction on the Burns Park site.
The quarry site was proposed for a commercial development last year until a group of residents formed to object to developing the quarry. A city task force later recommended that the quarry be preserved as green space.
Although city officials have said there aren’t any current proposals for a lodge, an early concept was for a 200-room lodge with a restaurant, meeting rooms and an activity center to house participants in sports tournaments held in Burns Park.
Mayor to speak at chamber luncheon
North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith will be the speaker Friday at the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce’s F.Y.I. Luncheon at the chamber’s conference center, 100 Main St.
The luncheon is scheduled for 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m.
Tickets are $12, if reserved by Wednesday, or $15 at the door.
Seats can be reserved by contacting the chamber at (501) 372-5959 or nlrchamber@ nlrchamber.org.
City clerk picks up ‘master’ designation
Diane Whitbey, North Little Rock’s city clerk and collector,has earned the Master Municipal Clerk designation from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks.
The Master Municipal Clerk is the higher of two professional designations granted by the institute and requires completion of the Master Municipal Clerk Academy. Achieving the status involves “an extensive and rigorous educational component” and pertinent experience working for a municipality, according to an institute news release.
The program, according to the institution news release, prepares participants to “meet the challenges of the complex role of municipal clerk by providing them with quality education in partnership with 47 institutions of higher learning.”Speech competition to be held Saturday
The 25th Annual Speech Competition, sponsored by the North Little Rock branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Sherman Park Community Center, 624 Beech St., North Little Rock.
This year’s theme is “Choices, Decisions, Consequences: My Future!” There will be five categories of competition for students to demonstrate speaking skills using a set of rules.
Categories will be Pre-K to 5 years, grades 1-3, grades 4-6, grades 7-9 and grades 10-12. Judges will issue scores to participants.
The event is open to the public. More information can be found by calling the NAACP branch at (501) 376-1003.
Woman’s Club plans
annual fundraiser
The North Little Rock Woman’s Club will have its annual Fall Follies Fundraiser on Nov. 9 at the Patrick Hays Senior Citizens Center, 401 W. Pershing Blvd.
The event is open to the public and includes lunch,homemade desserts, music and a “Country Store” for seasonal gift buying. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $25. Proceeds will be used to provide phone cards for military service members who are overseas, assistance to the Breast Clinic at Baptist Health and other community projects supported by the Woman’s Club. More information can be found by contacting Helen Greenfield at (501) 835-5019.
Arkansas, Pages 15 on 10/27/2013