New chief begins at Animal Services
David Miles, an Animal Control officer for more than 13 years in North Little Rock, has taken over as director of the city's Animal Services, Mayor Joe Smith announced last week.
Miles, 38, has been the department's lead Animal Control officer and supervisor for the past 2½ years. He is a North Little Rock native.
Miles' annual salary will be $63,860, Smith said in a letter to the City Council announcing Miles' appointment.
Miles replaces Billy Grace, who had been director of Animal Services, which encompasses the city's Animal Control Department and its animal shelter in Burns Park, for the past 21 years. Grace was a city employee for 41 years, previously working for the North Little Rock Police Department.
Grace's retirement was effective Sept. 9. He announced his retirement last month.
Thea Foundation to host exhibition
The nonprofit Thea Foundation will host a photo exhibit by Bentonville-based photographer Kat Wilson in November.
Wilson's photographs have been published in The Washington Post, the Oxford American, the Los Angeles Times and the Virginia Quarterly Review, according to a Thea Foundation news release. She is a 10-time participant in the annual Arkansas Arts Center's Delta Exhibition.
The Thea exhibit, titled "Habitats: Bentonville," will open with a reception from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 4 at the Thea Foundation, 401 Main St. in North Little Rock's Argenta district. Tickets to the reception are $10 and include heavy hors d'oeuvres, an open beer and wine bar, and a musical performance by The Funkanites.
The exhibit will be displayed through the rest of November at the Thea Foundation. Admission is free during gallery hours, 9 a.m.-noon and 1 p.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.
More information is available online at theasartdepartment.com.
Parking lot ready for use in Argenta
City Street Department crews finished paving and lining a new public lot in North Little Rock's downtown, where parking is free during weekdays and at times when no special events are scheduled downtown.
The asphalt parking lot, one block off of Main Street behind Argenta Drug at Fourth and Poplar streets, has 53 lined parking spaces. The lot is on two blocks of property the city agreed to lease for three years at a cost of $8,000 annually, with the stipulation that the city repair and maintain the parking area. The property is owned by a private limited liability corporation headed by businessman and philanthropist Harold Tenenbaum.
Repairs included filling a large hole in the formerly dirt and gravel lot. The city included that work as part of a $534,893 contract with Cranford Construction Co. of White Hall to repave several city streets. The lot repair was estimated at $11,606, according to cost figures provided to the City Council with the paving contract. A final cost wasn't available from the city last week.
The City Council approved the lease in March with the intent to expand free public parking during normal times and paid parking during special events, according to legislation passed. The city is supposed to put up signs when the lot will charge for parking. It will collect the parking revenue during its lease period, according to the agreement.
$51,000 sweeper bought for bridge
North Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department has ordered a sweeper/vacuum that will change the way debris is removed from the Big Dam Bridge and the North Little Rock side of the Arkansas River Trail.
The $51,000 sweeper was purchased through a partnership between the North Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department, Pulaski County and the Arkansas River Trail Foundation, Parks Director Terry Hartwick said. The city Parks Department's share was about $24,000, he said.
The sweeper/vacuum will be able to vacuum up dirt, trash and debris from the trails and bike lanes instead of blowing debris off to the sides, according to a news release from the Parks Department. The partnership with the county will let North Little Rock take over cleaning of the entire Big Dam Bridge over the Arkansas River between North Little Rock and Little Rock, Hartwick said.
The sweeper was supposed to have been delivered Thursday, but shipping was delayed, Hartwick said Friday.
Metro on 09/18/2016