Members of the Little Rock Board of Directors on Tuesday evening approved a series of measures that allocate funding for improvements to Little Rock parks and recreation facilities along with the zoo.
As part of the city board's consent agenda, members adopted a resolution that establishes their intent to spend up to $10.1 million on parks and recreation assets as well as improvements to the Little Rock Zoo, with funding to be drawn from an initial cycle of capital-improvement bond proceeds that is expected to run from 2023 to 2025.
On the parks side, the money is meant to target improvements to several playgrounds, trail infrastructure, the city's fleet of vehicles for park operations, the River Market area and the Jim Dailey Fitness & Aquatics Center, among other things.
For the zoo upgrades, the resolution mentions improvements to the amphitheater, animal exhibits and "Ambassador Animal holding."
A category of improvements related to parks and the zoo was one of six spending categories Little Rock voters approved during an August 2022 bond referendum that authorized the extension of three capital-improvement mills.
A separate resolution that got city board approval Tuesday authorizes a nearly $200,000 design-services contract with Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects for a future senior center to be attached to the Centre at University Park, a community center located at 6401 W. 12th Street.
Funding is available from the interest accrued on the city's allocation of American Rescue Plan Act money, according to the city.
The city currently does not have a dedicated senior center, though programs intended for seniors operate out of some community centers. The design work also is expected to encompass a new proposed pickleball complex between the Centre at University Park and the nearby Rebsamen Tennis Center, according to meeting materials.
Four other resolutions approved on Tuesday authorize the Little Rock city manager to enter into contracts tied to planned improvements to the Rebsamen Tennis Center, the East Little Rock Community Center, the Southwest Community Center and the Dunbar Community Center. All but the tennis center improvements will be funded using the interest accrued on the city's allocation of federal direct aid.