Friends, 

Community involvement is an essential component for any City to achieve its goals. For Little Rock, our priority to unite, grow and transform this City takes all of us working together. You can make a difference for your neighborhood and the entire City by serving as a volunteer. There are multiple service opportunities available year-round, from helping clean up city parks to working with the Little Rock Animal Village and so much more.

Next week is the annual observance of National Volunteer Week, so we are placing a special emphasis on volunteerism with our annual  Impact The Rock: A Day of Unity and Service. On Saturday, April 20, we will focus on specific volunteer projects all across Little Rock in a joint effort with nonprofit organizations, businesses and individuals to make our City better.

Hundreds of volunteers are planning to participate in the Impact The Rock projects. This year, we are returning to each of our seven wards to work on cleaning up parks and city streets or assisting with other needs. The 2024 Impact The Rock event follows last year's, where countless Little Rock residents donated their time and effort to assist in recovery from the March 31, 2023 tornado.

There are multiple volunteer opportunities available. Visit our website to learn more and to sign up to help your community!

On Saturday, we will begin the day with an Impact The Rock kickoff at Union Park, located in Ward 6 at the intersection of 38th and Walker streets. Volunteers may enjoy a free breakfast between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. before heading out to work at specific service project sites.

After the Impact The Rock event, we ask residents to consider service opportunities throughout National Volunteer Week before joining us again at Union Park on Saturday, April 27, at 9 a.m. for a service project that will help us close out the week.

Please join us as we Impact The Rock and make a difference in our City! Follow the City of Little Rock on Facebook, X and Instagram for the most up-to-date details.

Congratulations to Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority on a milestone achievement! The utility successfully met the requirements of a Settlement Agreement with the Sierra Club and a Consent Administrative Order with the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment to reduce 339 sanitary sewer overflow locations by December 31, 2023. This key compliance milestone was the final component needed because in 2009 the utility met the first phase of compliance.

The issue of overflows is not unique to Little Rock. Cities around the country continue to struggle with them.

To address the issue in our community, the utility invested $500 million over the past twenty years to improve its vast infrastructure and processes. It also developed several programs that residents can take advantage of including "Cap the Cleanout", "Sewer Service Line Replacement Program", and "Can the Grease." I invite you to explore the full breadth and depth of their work and programs to reduce overflows by visiting lrwra.com/CAO.

Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority is vital to protecting public health and the environment and creates a key foundation for Little Rock's community and economic development efforts.

I am grateful to Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority for its leadership in the state and for leveraging the most advanced technology to protect our residents' health and our most valuable natural resource - our water.

• The Little Rock Board of Directors will meet Tuesday, April 16, at 6 p.m. at The Centre at University Park, 6401 W. 12th St. All board meetings are livestreamed on the City of Little Rock's Facebook and YouTube pages. To view the agenda for Tuesday's meeting, click here.
• The Little Rock Board of Adjustment meets Thursday, April 18, at 4 p.m. at the Willie L. Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center, 3805 W. 12th St. This Board considers requests for variances to the Little Rock zoning ordinance. 
• The regular quarterly meeting hosted by the Little Rock Police Department at LRPD's Northwest Station is Thursday, April 18, at 6 p.m. at the Station, 10001 Kanis Road. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. Residents are encouraged to attend the meeting to learn more about crime statistics and trends, and offer feedback to LRPD officials.
• The City's Public Safety Commission will hold the second meeting since it was approved by the City Board of Directors earlier this year. The commission meets at 6 p.m., Thursday, April 18, at the Willie L. Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center.
• The Guatemalan consulate will be present April 20 - 21 at the West Central Community Center. This presents an opportunity for our community to access essential consular services right here in Little Rock. Services for appointments were available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ensuring a smooth process for handling consular ID, passport, and other pertinent document needs for Guatemala, but are now full. This event is particularly significant for our Hispanic community, as the nearest Guatemalan consulate office is in Oklahoma. By offering access to these vital services, we extend a warm welcome to our Hispanic brothers and sisters, demonstrating our commitment to meeting the diverse needs of our residents. For more information please contact ODEI@LittleRock.gov.