Parks director outlines River Market overhaul, bids and system upgrades
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Summary
Parks Director Leland reported a slate of projects including a $25 million River Market Hall improvement, a Reservoir Park ball-field bid, expiring maintenance contracts, and a planned Esri work-order system to better track park maintenance and dumping.
Parks Director Leland told commissioners the department is advancing a large set of capital and operating items this year, highlighting a River Market Hall improvement project the department said would involve roughly $25 million in combined funding from parks bond funds and partners such as the Little Rock CVB. Leland said the project would enclose pavilions, expand vendor space and could include a second story; construction and phasing details remain under development and were described as tentatively starting in the fall.
Leland listed other near-term items: a bid for the Reservoir Park ball-field project, expiring maintenance contracts for more than 30 parks, a maintenance agreement for pools, and several lease and security-system procurements. He also described work to secure grants including CPRG and RTP projects and follow-through on a Tri Creek Greenway structural review.
On operations, Leland said the department is preparing to implement an Esri-based GIS work-order system so staff can geolocate and track maintenance requests instead of relying on emails and paper forms. That system, he said, will let Parks quantify issues like illegal dumping more precisely: "We fill up a 30 yard dumpster every month with just debris from people dumping," he said, to illustrate scale and inform future resource allocation.
Commissioners asked about funding packages for large projects and whether parks bond funds or CVB funds would be combined; Leland said the city CFO and partners are coordinating the financing plan. He characterized the Reservoir ball-field and related restroom and playground work as a top priority for the year.
