Friends,

At the heart of our mission to serve our residents and guests are the 2,500 City of Little Rock team members. We value their commitment to excellence, and in turn, it is our goal to make certain we are an employer of choice and one of the best places to work. To do that, we lead the way in offering an array of benefits unmatched by any other municipal government in Arkansas.

Most recently, we became the first city in the state to offer up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave to mothers and fathers across all paths to parenthood, whether natural birth, adoption, surrogacy or foster care placement.

Paid parental leave allows mothers and fathers to be fully present for their children during the earliest stages of life. Parents do not have to be worried about going without a paycheck or getting back to work. Instead, they can spend quality time bonding, connecting and recovering.

There is a demonstrated connection between paid parental leave and positive outcomes for both children and parents, including a reduced risk for post-partum depression and decreased rates of low birth weight and infant mortality.

As a workplace that prioritizes work-life balance and support for Little Rock families, we know this new policy will have a lasting and positive impact on our team members and all of Arkansas’s capital city. We appreciate the Little Rock Board of Directors for approving the policy, and we are grateful to Chief People Officer Sheridan Richards and Chief Education Officer Jennifer Glasgow for their efforts to get the policy implemented.

In addition to paid parental leave, the City of Little Rock’s benefits package includes generous time off, employer-paid health care premiums, and a relocation bonus of up to $5,000 for new employees moving into the City of Little Rock. Learn more here.

I appreciate you!

Grant Funding Empowers, Transforms Neighborhoods

Our residents and neighborhood groups are important partners in strengthening our City and improving the quality of life and place in every community. We are proud to support associations and community groups that seek to uplift their neighborhoods, and have two distinct grant programs to support their work.

Applications are now open for the Love Your Block grant program. This initiative offers mini-grants ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 to community organizations seeking to improve their neighborhoods and public spaces.

Similarly, applications are open for Neighborhood Challenge grants awarded by the Little Rock Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs. Neighborhood Challenge grants of up to $2,500 are awarded to neighborhood-based organizations for projects that focus on sustaining and enhancing Little Rock neighborhoods. These projects foster civic pride and volunteerism.

The Neighborhood Challenge program was launched in 2012, and our Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs team recently highlighted some of last year’s grant recipients with special recognitions. That included the Saint Charles Neighborhood Association, which used its grant funding to create a walking trail, restock its pond and remove debris.

The City expects to award 15 Neighborhood Challenge grants. Applications and additional details are available on our website. Neighborhood Challenge applications are due March 20.

An informational webinar is scheduled for Thursday, March 5, for residents and stakeholders who want more information about the Love Your Block grant funding opportunity.

Love Your Block is open to neighborhood associations and nonprofit organizations for beautification projects that make lasting impacts and create stronger neighborhoods in Wards 1, 2, 6 and 7. Projects must be for beautification or revitalization, such as a community garden, playground repairs, or public space cleanups.

Thursday’s Love Your Block webinar is at 6 p.m. Register here for the webinar.

We appreciate our community organizations and residents who show pride in our City through their engagement and their interest in helping prevent blight, invest in neighborhoods and unlock our City’s full potential.

Faymonville Tops Out

$100 Million Project at Little Rock Port

We celebrated with Faymonville Group, one of our newest corporate citizens, this past week as it placed the final steel beam on its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility now under construction at the Port of Little Rock.

The $100 million project will be Faymonville’s first manufacturing plant in the United States. We appreciate Faymonville, a European trailer manufacturer, for selecting Little Rock because of our skilled workforce, our investment in shovel-ready sites at the Port, and our centrally-located hub for logistics and manufacturing.

The Port of Little Rock is located where road, river, rail and runway converge. Our City is a high-quality, global hub for advanced manufacturing, logistics and distribution, and other industries.

Last week’s topping out ceremony represented a milestone of construction for Faymonville’s 409,000-square-foot building on 54 acres at the Port.

We eagerly look forward to celebrating again with the Faymonville team with its grand opening later this year.

Faymonville is actively recruiting for open positions at its Little Rock facility.

Annual Marathon Paces Little Rock

We welcomed an estimated 30,000 visitors to Arkansas’s capital city this past weekend for the 24th annual event. The marathon featured athletes from all 50 states and more than a dozen other countries.

Our City always puts its best foot forward for Marathon weekend, which is a great time to highlight our history, feature our hospitality, and demonstrate  our progress and potential.

We would be unable to have such a successful weekend without the hard work, leadership and dedication of the Little Rock Marathon staff. especially Executive Director Geneva Lamm, as well as sponsors, volunteers, and the City of Little Rock teams that help the event run so smoothly.

Congratulations to Benjamin Williams of Baltimore, Maryland, who was the top male finisher in the marathon with a time of 2:32.07, and Holly Moser of Jacksonville, the top female finisher with a time of 2:53.23.

We also congratulate all the athletes, event staff and supporters that continue to make Little Rock Marathon weekend such a success.

Here’s a quick look at what’s going on this week in the City of Little Rock:

Tuesday, March 3: The Little Rock Board of Directors will meet at 6 p.m. in the Board Room at City Hall, 500 W. Markham St. All board meetings are open to the public, and all meetings are livestreamed on the City of Little Rock’s Facebook and YouTube pages. View the agenda here.

Wednesday, March 4: The City of Little Rock’s Commission on Children, Youth, and Families will hold its monthly meeting at the Willie L. Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center, 3805 W. 12th St. That meeting starts at 11:30 a.m.

Thursday, March 5: The Little Rock Civil Service Commission meets at 8:30 a.m. in Room 207 at the Willie L. Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center.

Thursday, March 5: Residents are invited to an open forum meeting to discuss plans for Phase 2 of the Bowman Road Trail project in Wards 6 and 7. The meeting is at West Central Community Center, 8616 Colonel Glenn Road.

Saturday, March 7: The Little Rock Zoo hosts its quarterly Community Day, with Little Rock residents receiving $2 admission with a valid ID or proof of residency. The Little Rock Zoo, at 1 Zoo Drive, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.