LR mayoral hopefuls talk infrastructure

The five candidates for Little Rock’s next mayor discussed the city’s infrastructure issues and how to fix them in a forum held at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library on Monday night.

The event was the third in a series of candidate forums hosted at various Central Arkansas Library System locations ahead of the Nov. 6 election, and moderated by Michael Hibblen, news director at KUAR public radio.

One Little Rock space the candidates shared their visions was War Memorial Park, which holds Coleman Creek and an 18-hole golf course. Candidates expressed the need for a dedicated greenspace that would bring people together.

Frank Scott, a 34-year-old bank executive, said he was in favor of reducing the golf course from 18 holes to 9 and putting in a regional sports complex. Baker Kurrus, a 64-year-old lawyer, said he favored an interactive park connected to the surrounding neighborhoods, but said he wanted to accommodate the golfers, possibly at another location in the city.

Vincent Tolliver, a 51-yearold consultant for the Little Rock School District, said he envisioned a park where people from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock could take breaks. Warwick Sabin, a 41-year-old state representative (D-Little Rock) said he would ask residents, especially those who live near the park, what they’d like to see.

Glen Schwarz, the 64-yearold executive director of the state chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said he wanted to see Faraday cages — enclosures used to block electromagnetic fields — in city parks to keep people safe from lightning strikes. Another offbeat idea Schwarz offered was using roller coasters as a form of mass transit.

When Hibblen asked the candidates what they thought was Little Rock’s most pressing infrastructure issue, Scott declined to choose one, saying that the city needs a comprehensive infrastructure improvement plan. Sabin said mobility — specifically the need for car ownership and the lack of interconnected neighborhoods — was Little Rock’s biggest hurdle.

Kurrus said better financial management and revitalizing the central city were his priorities. Tolliver said sidewalks, and Schwarz said preparation for growth he believes Little Rock could experience if sea levels rise, which he has touted as one of the three prongs of his platform, along with marijuana decriminalization and expansion of the recycling program.

The city already plans to spend $56 million on street and drainage projects throughout Little Rock scheduled to be completed from 2019 through 2021. That comprises the final phase of a 10-year plan that began in 2011 and is funded by a three-eighths percent capital improvement portion of a voter-approved sales tax, along with $42 million from the 2018 Capital Improvement Bonds.

Previously during the forum, Sabin and Tolliver said they favored prioritizing high-need areas first for infrastructure improvements. Similarly, Scott noted drainage and sidewalk issues in the city’s east and southwest and said Little Rock needs an infrastructure bond program.

The forum will be broadcast on KUAR public radio tonight. The other sponsors are the League of Women Voters of Pulaski County and the American Association of University Women, Little Rock.

The mayoral position pays $160,000 a year. The mayor serves a four-year term, has an office in City Hall, presides over Board of Directors meetings, and has veto and appointment powers.

Early voting begins Oct. 22.