Park Hill residents and business owners urged North Little Rock officials to address repeated flooding and overgrown vegetation that they said creates safety hazards and property damage. City staff said they will inspect storm lines, send a contractor and request that the state highway agency inspect its right of way.

Why it matters: speakers described repeated flooding that has damaged a local business’s investment and left residents worried about water in crawlspaces; residents also said overgrown grass and weeds obscure stop signs and sight lines on routes between East Broadway and the 440 interchange.

Lynette Brown, who said she lives near Mill Street, told the council that overgrown grass along the corridor from East Broadway to the Interstate 440 interchange has grown for “at least 6 to 8 weeks” and said motorists cannot see turns or stop signs. “It is a safety. It is an accident waiting to happen,” Brown said.

Business owner Brandon Tony, who identified himself as owner of Renown Music on West Avenue in Park Hill, said his business has been flooded multiple times during heavy rain. He told the council he has spent thousands replacing flooring and that recent storms brought water into the building again. Gary Aberacy and other nearby residents said they have paid for repairs and installed sump pumps after repeated flooding.

Park Hill merchants and residents asked the city to examine drainage infrastructure near JFK and F Avenue, camera buried pipe runs, and seek help from the Arkansas Department of Transportation (AR DOT) because some drainage originates in state highway right of way. City engineer David Cook said city crews can camera the storm lines that become the city’s responsibility and that the city will make a “strong request” to AR DOT to inspect what lies in the state right of way. Cook said contractors would be sent to assess immediate fixes and that staff are tracking multiple low spots where water concentrates.

Council members and staff discussed practical limits: some stretches are on state highway right of way and require AR DOT cooperation; crews also face seasonal safety limits (snakes, heavy summer growth) and staffing or equipment constraints. Council members advised residents to report specific addresses to the mayor’s office or street services to prompt targeted inspection and work orders.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: city staff said they would (1) run CCTV inspection of in-house storm pipes in the affected area, (2) dispatch a contractor to perform identified repairs, and (3) make a formal request to AR DOT to inspect drainage in highway right of way. The transcript does not include a formal, council-level vote on a funding appropriation for larger remediation projects.