North Little Rock Mayor Terry Hartwick's first couple of weeks on the job have been hectic as he works on his new initiatives to improve life in the city while detailing ideas to help manage the local covid-19 pandemic response.
In his first 100 days in office he also wants to: clean up the city, establish an urgent care facility on East Broadway, meet with each alderman to learn about needs in their wards, revamp the drainage on Dixie and 38th streets, obtain Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to repair damage from 2019 flooding, create a pothole hotline, and set up pandemic offices, Hartwick said.
Hartwick, the city's mayor in the 1980s, was sworn in as the next mayor Jan. 2. North Little Rock's mayor serves a four-year term.
Last month, Hartwick defeated Tracy Steele in a tightly contested runoff to secure the office. He succeeds Mayor Joe Smith, who did not run for reelection.
Hartwick told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Wednesday that he has met with two Baptist Health representatives about getting an urgent care center on or near East Broadway.
"We had a great conversation," he said. "They gave me some ideas about what we could do, for example creating a shuttle service to some urgent care centers, and we talked about maybe giving them a building. We've got options to serve the public who have a hard time getting to the doctors office or hospitals."
He also said he is thinking about reaching out to CHI St. Vincent's and physicians in the city about the plans.
Hartwick said he wants an urgent care center on East Broadway because of the development in the area.
"I would like for it to be in East Broadway or around there due to the bus stop being there and residential homes that are being built," he said. "When you get past Main Street there are very few urgent care facilities close by, and I want to change that."
One of Hartwick's major campaign promises was establishing "pandemic offices "within the city and he said he is in near-constant contact with medical officials about vaccine distribution.
Details about the pandemic offices haven't been finalized, but Hartwick said they could be places where drive-thru vaccines are distributed.
"We are very involved with that [vaccines] and we hope to submit a plan to the governor soon," he said. "We are very interested in this covid [vaccine] distribution."
Hartwick has already made good on one of his first campaign promises in his second week in office by rolling out UNIT 50, a new litter patrol street unit.
North Little Rock Street Department workers will drive a new UNIT 50 marked vehicle daily to pick up debris and trash.
Residents can call (501) 340-5355 to report spills, street trash, potholes or anything else in the beltways and streets that needs to be removed.
"UNIT 50 is already out and working," Hartwick said. "They are working in all sections of the city, and I am already getting calls and text messages. We are getting a lot of positive reactions from UNIT 50."
The pandemic has changed Hartwick's plan to talk to all community leaders at once.
"We are mailing letters to the neighborhood presidents and neighborhood services and the mayor will schedule times to visit with them," Shara Brazear, director of communications for North Little Rock, said. "This gives the neighborhood presidents time to gather and talk to people in the neighborhoods and we can use the presidents as their representatives.
Hartwick said he feels confident the foundation is being already being laid for the beginning of his term.