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RESOLUTION NO. 7.035
RESOLUTION IN MEMORY OF WERNER C. KNOOP,
FIRST MAYOR UNDER THE CITY MANAGER FORM OF
GOVERNMENT, PRESIDENT OF THE LITTLE ROCK
SCHOOL BOARD, PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF
TRUSTEES OF LITTLE ROCK JUNIOR COLLEGE,
PRESIDENT OF THE GREATER LITTLE ROCK
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AND ONE OF THE
STATE'S MOST CIVIC MINDED CITIZENS,
WHO DIED JULY 3, 1983.
WHEREAS, Werner C. Knoop and his wife, Faith Yingling
Knoop, chose Little Rock, Arkansas, as their home in
September 1929; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Knoop firmly established himself in the
field of engineering and general contracting by becoming
Consulting Engineer in 1940, Executive Vice - President of the
Baldwin Company in 1946 and its President in 1964 and later
shared his professional expertise by serving on a committee
which wrote the City's first building codes; and
WHEREAS, in 1957, Mr. Knoop, along with six members of
the Good Government Committee slate, was elected to the
seven - member Little Rock Board of Directors; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Knoop and the Committee were instrumental
in replacing the Mayor - Council form of government with the
City Manager system; and
WHEREAS, at the City's Board meeting of November 11,
1957, he was elected Mayor by his fellow Directors, was
reelected to the Board in 1960 and served until 1964; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Knoop exhibited extraordinary leadership
during one of the City's most difficult periods, the
transition to the City Manager form of government
simultaneously with the Central High School crisis; and
WHEREAS, as early as 1962, Mr. Knoop began making
appeals to the public for support of a broad -based elastic
source of revenue for the City by warning, "We are trying to
maintain a high level of service with static revenues, and
this, eventually, will become an impossible situation "; and
WHEREAS, other public officials took heed to
Mr. Knoop's warning and continued with pleas to the public
until a successful bid for a sales tax was made some 20
years later in February 1982; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Knoop was elected to the Little Rock
School Board in 1945, serving until 1950, and was President
in 1947; and
WHEREAS, while serving the Little Rock Public School
system as a Board Member, he was also President of the Board
of Trustees of Little Rock Junior College, overseeing the
purchase of 80 acres, the site where the University of
Arkansas at Little Rock presently stands; and
WHEREAS, in 1970, he was elected Chairman of the
Little Rock Parking Authority, which built the Municipal
Parking Garage adjacent to Robinson Auditorium, and which
was reactivated under his leadership for the planning of a
municipal parking deck near the new Statehouse Convention
Center; and
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WHEREAS, in May 1983, Mr. Knoop accepted appointment to
Little Rock's Private Industry Council, established pursuant
to the Job Training Partnership Act and designed to oversee
the training and employment of economically disadvantaged
people in Little Rock; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Knoop has served many other civic and
professional organizations, thus making countless other
contributions to our City and State.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.
SECTION 1. That the City of Little Rock Board of
Directors wishes to express its sincere appreciation for the
fifty -four (54) continuous years of dedicated service that
Werner C. Knoop gave the citizens of Little Rock. In
addition, we must recognize that Mr. Knoop's greatest legacy
to our City was the time, energy and forethought he levied
toward the establishment of the foundation upon which our
local government stands and thrives today.
SECTION 2. That the City of Little Rock Board of
Directors wishes to extend its heartfelt sympathy to the
family of Werner C. Knoop.
SECTION 3. This Resolution shall be in full force and
effect.
ADOPTED: July 19, 1983
ATTEST: Qaml, APPROVED:
J ne Czec .W. Benafield
City Clerk Mayor