Little Rock Parks Need Big, Bold Ideas and a Public-Private Partnership

Jesse Gibson is a Little Rock lawyer and chairman of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, which has been involved in talks about repurposing War Memorial and Hindman parks. The commission has recommended to a task force created by Mayor Frank Scott such ideas as commercial activities, a restaurant; a competitive-level soccer and baseball/softball complex; a disc golf course and pro mountain bike trails at Hindman Park; connectivity of the parks and improved access to War Memorial; and an expanded Little Rock Zoo. We asked him about the future of Little Rock’s parks.

I think it’s safe to say that many people in Little Rock are unaware that there is a parks commission.

Yes. What I hoped to do as president is be a little bit more public, more out front with the issues … have the community be more engaged. I think since I’ve been on the commission, we’ve been a better commission. … It’s a very engaged commission now.

An issue for the parks department is its budget cut. It amounted to about $1 million and job cuts?

I know no one that works for parks is thrilled about it. But I think what [Mayor Frank Scott and the City Board] hope for is short-term pain for long-term growth. … I’m hoping that long-term there’s a way to provide a vision to the board and citizens for park repurposes, especially Hindman and War Memorial, and citywide. It’s going to take a vision and it’s likely going to take dedicated funding.

Does Little Rock’s proximity to natural areas make it harder to drum up interest in city parks?

It sounds so bizarre to say — when I grew up we didn’t have nearly so much to compete with our attention — we have to almost schedule activity time with the kids. There’s so many things competing. That might be the way some people view parks. They’re maybe not front-of-mind. However, when people are provided with more than just a theoretical vision [of a park] and they can see what it can be … I think people will really get behind it. … I think people can see that a big, bold vision, especially for War Memorial, would be a net positive for the city.

In 2018, consultants suggested selling off parkland for such things as multifamily housing and a hotel. Is that under consideration?

I don’t think anyone supports the sale of parkland. I don’t think the mayor does, I don’t think the commission does. The first recommendation we did have was to include, in keeping with the whole idea of not selling parkland, was some kind of commercial activity — food and beverage, leaseholds you could enter into. That was something the commission strongly supported. Here’s what our vision [of a park] was: a place you can go with a family and spend all day doing different things. Maybe you’ve got sister in a softball tournament and little brother gets bored — the zoo is there. The team goes to lunch after the game at a restaurant [in the park] and the family spends the day in the park. That’s what our vision is: get kids from all neighborhoods in there and use it for multiple things.

Would the ballparks at War Memorial be owned by private entities? Is that how they would get built?

I think we would like a private partner, but not private ownership. The best way to attract private funding is public funding as a baseline. It’s important to look at private partners, but the best way to do that is to illustrate the commitment of the city. They [private donors] don’t want to feel like they’re paying the freight. What I hope we can do as a city is to illustrate to private business that we are committed to doing this, to making a big bold change, in the form of dedicated funding for parks. If we do that, I think we’ll see more private investment.

Dedicated funding? A bond issue?

Everything is on the table, from a bond issue to a dedicated sales tax. The zoo has done a lot of research [that found] a half-cent to a cent could generate $25 million to $50 million. Then, of course, the current budget [$11 million] would be available for other things. There could be a 10-year sunset on the tax.

What about War Memorial Stadium? How does it impact planning for the park?

It’s a weird dance. The stadium’s got obligations once every two years to provide parking for the [Razorback] football game. Nobody knows what’s going to happen with that five years from now, 10 years from now. The impact from those games is damage [to the ground] from cars.

So give me the elevator speech: What’s repurposing the parks about?

Big change. Big change, new concepts. Meaning, let’s not keep doing what we’ve done with parks for the last 50 years: creating an outdoor space and leaving people to their own devices to figure out how to use it. Let’s have both facilities and programming to make [parks] more conducive to engage younger people who are going to be the people to utilize the park for the next 50 years. … Facilities in the form of a climbing wall, nature centers, programs like events like the Running of the Rexes [a fundraiser in which folks run dressed up as Tyrannosaurus Rexes], cross country 5Ks. Big, bold change … you don’t have to have an open field and figure out how to use it.