SPRING LAKE — The Spring Lake Board of Aldermen has applied for a rural transformation grant to revitalize Main Street, the board said at its meeting Monday night at Town Hall.
Mayor Kia Anthony also announced that the N.C. Local Government Commission is in full support of the town seeking the funding and that the town is capable of properly overseeing the award for downtown development. That is a turnaround from when the commission took control of the town’s finances amid concerns of budget deficits, fiscal disarray, and missing money.
“As you know, we are under Local Government control, and we have been since October 2021. While we were writing this grant (application), we needed to get approval from the LGC to apply for funding. Not only did they give us approval, but they also gave us a glowing letter of support,” said Anthony.
Susan Edmundson, secretary of the Local Government Commission and a deputy treasurer of the state and local government finance division of the Department of the State Treasurer, submitted the letter of support on behalf of the Local Government Commission.
In the letter, she wrote that the commission has worked closely with the board and town officials to improve the town’s budget discipline and business practices.
Edmundson reported that the town is in a much better fiscal position and the finance staff is working toward a positive audit, expected to be complete by late summer.
“The town board and staff are enthusiastic in making improvements to the town’s downtown area,” Edmundson said in the letter.
The town is seeking $478,000 for downtown revitalization efforts through the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Those efforts include curb and gutter improvements, pedestrian walkways/sidewalks, gateway signage, landscape improvements and moving utility lines underground. The project is expected to take two to five years to complete and will have multiple phases. This is the initial application for the first phase. The town plans to submit more applications over the next few years to complete the project.
New police officers
In other news, Police Chief Dysoaneik Spellman introduced four new police officers including Detective Antoinette Hurtt and patrol Officers Cornell Causey, Malik Passmore and Paulo Paulo.
“We have been filling vacancies and slowly but surely have been chipping away at it,” said Spellman as he introduced each officer to the board.
Interim Town Manager Jason Williams, who also is the town’s fire chief, lauded Spellman for hiring the new officers.
“People are feeling safer in Spring Lake,” said Williams.
Williams added that the town is working with national phone service T-Mobile to mount cameras to help with crime prevention and record illegal dumping.
The board also gave unanimous support to create a special events committee to work with departments including fire inspections, medical services, police, vendor permits, traffic services, solid waste, street maintenance and health inspections.
One of the first events the committee will coordinate is First Friday on Main Street. The town is also planning two more events through the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.
The Spring Lake Veterans Day ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. May 26 at Spring Lake Veterans Park at Main and Ruth streets.
Alderman Marvin Lackman said the committee is looking to host a Veterans Day ceremony to serve the community’s growing veteran population on Nov. 5 at Spring Lake Recreation Center. He said the committee is seeking veterans service organizations to participate.
The next regularly scheduled work session of the town board is scheduled for 6 p.m. May 22.
