Dear CAMN Members:
A final “Masterplan” for the area around the now-completed highway construction in downtown Little Rock is now coming to the attention of the LR Board of Directors (BoD) and to the public. Sasaki Consultants will present their “30 Crossing Masterplan” to the BoD TOMORROW night (December 2) and to the public on Wednesday (December 3). The agenda for the BoD meeting (6 p.m., Board Room, City Hall, 500 West Markham) indicates that this is a presentation that will occur at the beginning of the meeting. Given that it is a presentation, the directors will have an opportunity to ask questions, but the plan will not come up for a vote. I have been told that there is likely to be opportunity to ask questions and make comments on the plan at the public presentation (7 p.m., Darragh Center, 5th floor of the CALS Main Library, 100 Rock St.).
This plan will affect all residents and visitors to downtown Little Rock. CAMN members could have a positive effect on the plans—we could push for the use of native plants, especially in the area south of 2nd Street across from the CALS Main Library, between River Market Avenue and Cumberland Street.
The development of the greenspace across from the library has become somewhat of a political football, the ins-and-outs of which are way above my paygrade!
At the behest of Nate Coulter (CALS Executive Director), Debbie Milam, Patrice O’Donoghue, and I developed a plan to use native plants in the 2nd Street greenspace. Anne Holcomb sent an email about this proposal to CAMN members on November 15, but you can view the plan at https://cals.org/lawn-proposal.
I do not think the “2nd and Cumberland Lawn Proposal” is part of the bigger-picture Sasaki Masterplan. Nate Coulter has lined up several city directors to support his plan and has attracted a $10,000 donation in support of this plant. I think (actually guessing) he will make a presentation to the BoD on December 16. If we care about this idea, we should attend this meeting and show our support.
So, I ask that you try attend one or both of this week’s meetings and avoid other commitments on December 16. I have personally seen that support by community members can sway the votes of undecided directors. This plan has gotten entangled with city politics and so your support could have a big impact. If we want to promote the use of native plants, we should put our bodies where our mouths are!
Below is a post about the Wednesday meeting that I received in an email, probably because I commented on an earlier iteration of the plan.
Feel free to contact me directly if you have questions.
Sincerely,
Janet Lanza, jxlanza@ualr.edu; 501-960-3739 |