April 2025 Meeting Minutes

Little Rock Downtown

Neighborhood Association

General Meeting

April 3, 2025 | 6:00 PM

ZOOM MEETING

MINUTES

IN ATTENDANCE (15)

Brittany Nichols, Kathy Wells, Rip Weaver, Danny Lewis, Arion Crenshaw, Ne’Nita Clayborn, Bobby Mathews, Angela Mathews, Whitney Elayne Hill, Amy Rodgers, Stephanie Govatos, John Landosky, Wesley Prewett, Tricia Bean, John Hedrick

CALL TO ORDER & INTRODUCTIONS

President Nichols called the meeting to order at 6:01pm via ZOOM. Introductions were given.

QUORUM & APPROVAL OF MINUTES

As there were 11 dues-paid members in attendance, quorum was met. March general meeting minutes were presented for approval and accepted by acclamation.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Executive

Secretary Weaver shared current membership is 46 total (30 individual, 16 business) with 15 sign-ups since the last general meeting. Many registrations from SoMa businesses thanks to Valerie Wingert (South Main Creative) and the SoMa BAM group.

Finance

Treasurer Lewis gave an update on the association’s finances. Current Arvest bank account balance is $1287.73 and current PayPal balance is $917.49 for a total of $2205.22.

Communications

Chair Weaver reported that the committee did not meet in March and will hold its next meeting later this month. Committee members should keep an eye out for an email from him.

Membership

Chair Crenshaw shared that he will create a calendar for business member promotions and events to aid in organizing membership perks. He attended the SoMa BAM meeting this morning to represent LRDNA and promote membership. He reminded business members to share logos and a picture of their business with him/LRDNA, so we can post to the association’s membership webpage here. Finally, he has contacted Bernice Garden Farmers Market organizers to inquire about having a table for LRDNA at upcoming markets; if anyone would like to sit at the table, please contact Chair Crenshaw at arion.crenshaw@engelvoelkers.com.

Member Tricia Bean, QQA Executive Director, updated everyone that the QQA Tour of Homes Preview Party is now scheduled for April 14th due to inclement weather on the previous date. They are also seeking volunteers for the ToH weekend, May 10-11. Contact her at tricia.bean@quapaw.com if you would like to help.

Historic Preservation

Chair Wells reported that the City Board of Directors did not approve the development proposal for 1516 Ringo. The developers will pursue a single structure (duplex). She also updated the association on proposed legislation making way through the Arkansas Legislature; the current session ends later this month, so stay tuned for updates to come.

Community Liaisons

SoMa BAM community liaison and member, John Hedrick, shared that the next SoMa After Dark event is  June 6 – please attend! These will now be held quarterly. He also highlighted SoMa PRIDE on June 7. Finally, he reminded everyone that the MacPark 5K race is on May 2 and recommended that LRDNA sponsor the race. Motion to donate $100 (for organization logo on race mile marker) to the race was approved. President Nichols will make the donation.

Member Amy Rodgers with City Pharmacy offered to match LRDNA’s donation of $100 to the race.

Member Tricia Bean, QQA Executive Director, shared that a pub crawl for the SoMa Squeeze beer release is April 18 from 5-7pm. Please attend!

OLD BUSINESS

Online Meeting Platform

Officers have decided to stay with ZOOM. Vice President Kathy Wells graciously offers use of her paid account for meetings that run over 40 minutes. Thank you, Kathy!

Recurring Fires/Nuisance on Louisiana Street

President Nichols shared an update on this: she sent an official letter via email to city officials on March 24. No reply as of this meeting. She will reach out at a later date, if still no response. 

Member Stephanie Govatos shared she has seen some people with clipboards stop by recently. 

Some pointed out that city officials who claim to respond to all messages and concerns from constituents have been silent. 

Some shared that nothing seems to have been done to secure the structure since the most recent fire. Vice President Wells offered that the fire report might be sought (for a fee, perhaps) for details on what happened; she will email LRFD Chief Hubbard.

Secretary Weaver reminded everyone to always request contact from the responding officer when making a report to LRPD, to get the incident report #, and to retrieve/review the report for accuracy. If it is not correct, contact LRPD as soon as possible to update.

LRPD Incident/Accident Report Fee Update

Secretary Weaver shared that there are two types of reports: Incident and Accident. Each has associated fees for both in-person and online copies, however the fee for an Incident report retrieved in-person may be waived for victims listed in the report. Retrieve in-person reports at the LRPD Records Division inside the Markham Street HQ in downtown.

SoMardi Gras Parade, Little Rock Marathon, and Citywide Cleanup Debrief

President Nichols gave updates on these three events that LRDNA participated in. All-in-all, she was pleased with how things went, especially with the parade which had over 32,000 people and 102 vendors in attendance; LRDNA gave out all beads, candy, and advertisement cards. Recommendations for next year are to start planning earlier and budget more funds. One suggestion is to have a calendar of events to plan around, particularly for events that occur close to each other in time (parade and marathon were the same weekend this year, for example). Also, be sure to include other stakeholders (like Amber Carter Jones’s marathon aid-station group) in planning.

Thanks to MetroGnome of Little Rock for allowing LRDNA to partner with them for this year’s citywide cleanup! Officers will work with them this year to organize more cleanup events.

Membership Bundling with Other Organizations

This is tabled for now.

NEW BUSINESS

Downtown Master Plan Implementation Group – March Meeting Recap

President Nichols sits on the Downtown Master Plan (DMP) Implementation Group and attended the March meeting. She updated the association that some parts of the DMP will begin implementation this year including a road diet for a portion of Capitol Avenue/5th Street (from Main Street to the State Capitol) and requests for proposals/qualifications for the River Market renovation. President Nichols will advise on a tree planting strategy with the group.

President Nichols proposed forming a Transportation Committee within the LRDNA to look into some concerns by downtown residents. This committee's work could inform LRDNA as it works with other downtown stakeholders to support and implement the DMP. If you are interested in helping with this committee, contact President Nichols.

Sponsoring/Volunteering for MacArthur Park 5k

See Community Liaison section above for sponsorship information. President Nichols encouraged folks to register for the race. Please contact her if you would like to volunteer.

Sponsoring/Volunteering for Quapaw Quarter Tour of Homes

President Nichols will contact Tricia/QQA on how LRDNA can support their volunteer needs.

Love Your Block Grant

President Nichols will explore if there is enough time to submit a grant proposal for the City’s Love Your Block Grant program. Pettaway NA President Ne’Nita Clayborn clarified that there are two grants available: one for groups (due April 11) and one for individuals (due April 14).

NEXT MEETING & ADJOURNMENT

Next general meeting is set for May 1 at 6pm at CALS Williams Library.

President Nichols adjourned the meeting at 7:25pm.

Apr 2025 LRDNA General Meeting MINUTES.odt

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