Little Rock plans phase-ins for bosses

Planning, Parks directors retiring

New leaders for Little Rock's Parks and Recreation and Planning and Development departments will begin transitional positions within the next two weeks in anticipation of taking over by the end of the month.

John Eckart, formerly the head of Benton's park agency, will start work for the Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department on Monday. He will take the helm from Truman Tolefree, who started working for the city 42 years ago. Tolefree retires June 30.

Taking over for longtime Planning Director Tony Bozynski will be current Little Rock employee Jamie Collins.

Collins will leave his post as a civil engineer in the city's Public Works Department on June 12 to train under Bozynski before taking over the Planning and Development Department when upon Bozynski' departs June 30. Bozynski has worked for the city since 1978.

Collins will be paid $110,000 in his new role. Eckart will earn $112,000. Each will receive a $300 monthly car stipend.

City Manager Bruce Moore made the decision to hire both men.

Moore touted Collins' work on a multimillion-dollar sales tax project that began in 2011 and has funded hundreds of street and drainage improvements citywide. Nearly two of the three cycles of projects from that bond series have been designed or completed.

"I worked with him a lot over the past years, and his attention to detail was always really on target," Moore said of Collins. "He worked well with the residents in community meetings. I've seen him interact with people and have gone to a lot of site visits. He has a very unique ability to explain a complex issue where people can understand it."

The Public Works and Planning and Development departments work closely together. Collins said that will make his transition smooth.

He has years of experience with private engineering firms, which will help him understand the viewpoint of the developers he will be working with in the Planning Department, he said. Developers must go through the department for permits and zoning approval when developing projects.

Collins graduated from Arkansas Tech University with an engineering degree in 1994. He is a professional licensed engineer. He's worked in Arkansas, Georgia and California. He started his current job with the city in October 2012.

His main challenge in coming years will be leading the department as it deals with westward growth, he said.

"Is the west side of Little Rock going to be revamped for projected growth? And how do we service those areas? That growth out west is going to change. It might get rethought what gets produced and developed out there," he said. "Also, apartments is one of the big development items right now. ... There needs to be a plan for that and where we want to put those. A role the city is going to need to have in the future is to look at that type of growth."

Collins said he's thankful to be following in the footsteps of Bozynski, who has successfully led the department since 2004, and to inherit a knowledgeable staff. Collins will lead a department of 35 full-time staff members, with three division heads reporting to him.

Eckart will enter his new job leading 144 full-time and 260 part-time parks employees.

He had been head of Benton's Parks Department since September 2012 until Wednesday.

While at Benton, Eckart oversaw $1.6 million in improvements to existing park facilities, expanded programming and obtained more than $1.7 million in grant and sponsorship money. He said he was integrally involved in the planning and construction of Riverside Park, an almost $50 million regional park that recently opened.

Moore said the fact that Eckart lives in Little Rock and is familiar with the city's parks system made him stand out.

"I was real impressed with the work John has been able to accomplish in Benton. I've seen the brand-new facility they just opened, which is remarkable. In talking to people who worked with him on that project, they spoke real highly of him as a visionary and someone who is able to get things done," Moore said.

"He already lived in Little Rock and had experienced our park system. He said we have some great parks, but we have some things to improve on. I really thought having someone that has been in a smaller city, but also is a big thinker, would be a great addition to the Parks team," Moore added.

Eckart was out of town on vacation Friday and unavailable for extended comment. He sent an emailed statement saying he's proud of his accomplishments in Benton and hopes to help make Little Rock "one of the premier parks systems in the South."

He graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2004 with a degree in finance and economics.

Before becoming the Benton parks director, Eckart owned and ran a small business consulting firm in Florida for four years.

He was the assistant director of athletics for facilities and operations at Florida International University in the latter part of 2007 and most of 2008, and he was the university's assistant director of athletic facilities for two years before that.

In his cover letter applying for the Little Rock job, Eckart said he logged thousands of miles on Little Rock streets and trails as a member of the cross country and track and field teams at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in his college years.

"Over those miles, I was able to explore a beautiful network of parks, with desirable locations and great amenities. What I also saw was that most of these parks were dated and that infrastructure was failing in several instances," Eckart wrote, adding that he would embrace those challenges and "capitalize on the tremendous opportunity that exists in Little Rock."

Metro on 06/03/2017

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