Little Rock going over next locations to reopen; venues like zoo, museums in mix

FILE — Little Rock City Hall is shown in this 2019 file photo.
FILE — Little Rock City Hall is shown in this 2019 file photo.

Little Rock isn't in the clear from the spread of coronavirus, but officials are reviewing "return to business" plans that would reopen city buildings and recreational facilities in compliance with state public health guidelines and directives.

In recent weeks the city has taken small steps toward normalcy, including resuming operations at its golf courses and tennis center, and phasing waste pickup crews back to their pre-pandemic schedules. Pools and community centers remain closed.

The city also has developed or reviewed reopening plans for the zoo, the Jim Dailey Fitness and Aquatic Center, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, the Junior Deputy Baseball Program, and the Parks and Recreation Department, which includes community centers, city emergency management administrator Matt Burks told the city Board of Directors on Tuesday.

A timeline for when those facilities will reopen hasn't been finalized, city emergency management specialist Nathan Spicer said, but officials are developing a framework for how operations will look while incorporating adjustments for the pandemic.

Although the state has allowed restaurants, bars, clubs, gyms, pools, salons and barbershops to reopen, it's still prohibited to gatherings of no more than 10 people where a 6-foot distance among people cannot be achieved, and venues remain limited in capacity.

The city's emergency management division communicates daily with the Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, Burks said. The city is going over reopening plans with the Health Department to ensure that the blueprints for allowing people back meet guidelines laid out by the state.

Mayor Frank Scott Jr. and City Manager Bruce Moore said the city will be cautious and will focus on data in its approach to reopening.

Pulaski County had 802 covid-19 cases as of Tuesday night, according to the Arkansas Department of Health. Of those, 136 cases were active, with 636 recoveries and 30 deaths.

Burks could not provide the exact number of cases within Little Rock during Tuesday's meeting. Moore said Little Rock had the bulk of the cases in Pulaski County and that the number was proportional to the population of the county that the city makes up.

"We're definitely not out of the woods by any means," Burks said. "We know we'll keep dealing with this for many months to come."

Guidelines from the White House say that states or regions looking to move to a phased comeback should first satisfy criteria that includes a downward trajectory of covid-19 cases reported within a 14-day period.

Moore said the city has not seen two weeks of decline.

Spicer said the city's criteria for reopening may be stricter than that of the state as a whole since Little Rock is the largest city in a relatively rural state. Those plans also will be subject to adjustment as needed, he said.

Burks added that the city will continue to need personal protective equipment, such as masks and gloves, for city staff members. It also will need to continue its support for community efforts that include testing, and providing meals for students and their families.

At-large City Director Joan Adcock said families in the city are concerned about recreational opportunities for children now that school has closed. Playgrounds remain taped off, and though city parks have remained open some have been closed indefinitely on weekends because of crowding.

"Today's the first day kids are out of school, and they're wanting to know, 'where can I take them? Where can they go?" Adcock said.

Moore said he understands the eagerness to allow kids to get out and expend some of their energy after the past two months, but reopening will come with limitations.

He said when the city staff worked out a plan for the Jim Dailey Fitness and Aquatic Center, for instance, officials felt that they would be able to allow only 10 people inside the facility at a time to exercise.

"Everybody else has to stay outside at a safe distance until everybody leaves," Moore said. "We're going to slowly open up as soon as we can, but we're going to do it with the safety of children foremost."

Adcock pointed out that families could simply drive to nearby towns, such as Benton, that have opened more of their facilities.

Scott said other cities in Arkansas have had higher jumps in positive tests than the state's capital has.

"There are a lot of folks that have recently increased [in cases] more than Little Rock, so we want to be very cautious," the mayor said.

Ward 1 City Director Erma Hendrix said children should stay close to home.

"I would suggest if these children want to play, then let the mom take them out in the backyard," Hendrix said. "You've got to follow the rules, period, making no exception for nobody."

Ward 4 City Director Capi Peck, chef and owner of Trio's Restaurant, said she felt that the city needs to keep up its messaging about the importance of maintaining people's distance from others for the duration of the pandemic.

She said she had heard from fellow restaurateurs and other merchants that some patrons had given workers a hard time with regard to public health measures since establishments reopened. Restaurants were cleared by the state to reopen for dine-in service with some restrictions May 11, and standalone bars and clubs were allowed to reopen Tuesday.

"People are just belligerent," Peck said. "I think we need to continue to preach the importance of social distancing or the spike's going to be uglier than it is."

Little Rock Zoo Director Susan Altrui said in an emailed update that the zoo is awaiting approval of its reopening plan from the Department of Health and hopes to reopen sometime in June.

"We will take extensive measures to ensure the safety of our guests, animals and volunteers," Altrui wrote.

The city also will relax some of its parking enforcement operations until Monday as part of its reopening process. For the remainder of May, warnings for meter and pay station violations will be issued. Other parking violations will continue to be ticketed as normal.

Anyone who received a ticket for a meter or pay station violation last week can contact the city's parking enforcement office at (501) 918-5222 with the citation number and contact information to discuss voiding the ticket.

The city issued 397 parking violation tickets the week of May 18-21, according to a news release issued Tuesday.

A Section on 05/27/2020

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