Archaeological spending OK'd
During a meeting Wednesday, members of the Little Rock Port Authority board approved a resolution to affirm paying $69,400 to Flat Earth Archaeology, LLC for work on several sites and to authorize the port authority to spend more money on additional archaeological work.
Port Executive Director Bryan Day at the meeting described it as a sole-source arrangement because the firm is the only archaeological services provider recognized by local tribes.
In response to a question, Day suggested officials might need to spend another $25,000-$35,000 to have an archaeologist on-site while dirt is being moved at the location of a planned Trex Co. Inc. factory.
The resolution was adopted in a voice vote.
Port contract with barge firm tabled
A resolution for the Little Rock Port Authority to enter into an agreement with Oakley Barge Line to provide fleeting services was tabled for 120 days in a vote of the port authority's board on Wednesday.
According to Port Executive Director Bryan Day, since the port's inception, the fleeting service for barges has been provided by another company, Little Rock Harbor Service.
Day told board members that for reasons he did not fully understand, Little Rock Harbor Service has decided to exit the business and has brokered a deal with Oakley Barge Line.
The measure before board members Wednesday would have authorized a five-year contract with two one-year options guaranteed if Oakley Barge Line meets certain to-be-determined benchmarks, Day said. The company would have exclusive fleeting rights at the port under the agreement, he said.
After Day's comments, board chairman Bobby Brown said he wanted more time to consider it and explained that he was not prepared to make a motion for approval when faced with such a big decision.
Birdhouse at zoo reopens to public
The Little Rock Zoo's tropical birdhouse has reopened to the public, according to a zoo newsletter issued Tuesday.
Zoo officials closed the birdhouse to visitors this spring as a precautionary measure amid the spread of avian influenza elsewhere in the U.S.
Cemetery epitaphs to be library topic
The Central Arkansas Library System will host a hybrid live-and-virtual event at noon Aug. 3 featuring Ron Fuller, a former state lawmaker and current member of the Arkansas History Commission, who will address his work cataloging epitaphs in Little Rock's Mount Holly Cemetery, according to a news release issued Friday.
The event will take place online and in Room 124 of the Bobby L. Roberts Library of Arkansas History and Art. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lunch; the library system will supply drinks and cookies, the release said.
More information is available at cals.org/events-classes.