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Little Rock will be the greenest city in the South if Mayor Mark Stodola gets his way. “We won’t get there overnight, but there’s no reason to believe we can’t raise the consciousness level of all our citizens to make the same great strides in sustainability that they have already,” he said.

Stodola’s successes include the 2008 creation of the Little Rock Sustainability Commission – which organized the city’s first sustainable summits that led to the establishment of the Little Rock Land Bank Commission, which encourages infill development in the city’s older neighborhoods – and the adoption of a city-wide Sustainable Purchasing Policy, under which employees must make considerations prior to purchases, including use of local businesses, depletion of natural resources, waste generation, greenhouse gas emissions, human health impacts, life-cycle cost assessment, pollutant releases and toxicity, to name a few. “Each small step, taken as a whole, is a stride toward Little Rock’s sustainable future,” Stodola said.

His other steps include the delegation of $1.9 million from the federal Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant for recycling education, a financial incentive program for green buildings, energy-efficient lighting and HVAC upgrades in city buildings, a new round-about at Rebsamen Road and Riverfront Drive and new sidewalks at Roberts Elementary School. The grant also funded the distribution of compact fluorescent light bulbs to students and neighborhood associations along with a related educational program.

City officials must be good stewards of both the environment and city funds, Stodola said. “Sustainability and economics go ‘hand in glove.’ Oftentimes, the most sustainable practices are the most sensible way to handle the public’s finances,” he said. “The passion for sustainability fuels itself, because the more progress you make, the more you want to continue to build on your successes.”

Next, Stodola hopes to install 13,000 feet of sidewalk via the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act and secure $6.8 million through a bond refinancing program to invest in the city’s parks. Potential park projects include making more passive green space available in War Memorial Park, cleaning and redeveloping Coleman Creek in War Memorial Park and clearing out the overgrown pond, establishing a new park with soccer fields in west Little Rock and renovating Rebsamen Tennis Center.

“Sustainability is a part of progress, and if Little Rock wants to be a progressive city, we must move forward on sustainability issues.”