New court facility on board's agenda
Members of the Little Rock Board of Directors on Tuesday are scheduled to consider a draft resolution to authorize a contract for pre-construction and construction management services tied to a new municipal court facility and police property room.
The proposal on the agenda would allow the city manager to execute a joint venture agreement with East Harding Construction and 1911 Construction for up to $528,000.
The draft resolution describes the sum as 5.5% of the $9.6 million total project budget.
Pre-construction services include the selection of an architect, the proposed resolution says.
After the old Little Rock Police Department headquarters at 700 W. Markham St. is razed, the new municipal court facility and property room are expected to be constructed on the land.
At the moment, Little Rock District Court judges and staff work out of a courthouse located at 600 W. Markham St.
Construction of a new municipal court building was one of six project categories Little Rock voters approved during an August 2022 referendum on whether to extend three capital-improvement mills and issue up to $161.8 million in bonds.
Directors to weigh $2M for port plan
Members of the Little Rock Board of Directors on Tuesday will be asked to amend their meeting agenda to add a proposed resolution authorizing the city manager to spend $2 million to help the Little Rock Port Authority develop a so-called supersite.
Officials hope that once an aviation navigation beacon near the port has been removed and additional acres are freed up for development, the site could be selected as the location for a major manufacturing facility or similarly large-scale enterprise.
A new beacon on the other side of the Arkansas River is expected to be activated and the old beacon at the port dismantled around September 2024.
A Little Rock budget amendment adopted in March included a $2 million allocation for the port supersite among other planned transfers out of the general fund.