Hope Mills Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting - April 6_ 2026

Hope Mills, NC · 2026-04-08 · More Hope Mills, NC meetings · More North Carolina meetings

Transcript

Download: Text · SRT

SOURCE TRANSCRIPT

This transcript is downloaded from the source you provided but we haven't reviewed it for accuracy. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record. You can also request an AI-transcription of the audio file with the button to the left.

[0:00] Welcome, everyone, to our regular meeting tonight. Thanks to all those that are here and those that are watching us. Live stream. I'm going to call the meeting to order. Please rise for the invocation by Pastor Wilbert Harrison and stay standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:21] Dear Heavenly Father, we pause to thank you for who you are. We thank you for a community. We thank you for people. We thank you for people of all races and gender who make up this wonderful city. We ask, O Lord, to keep us humble. Help us never to promise what we cannot fulfill. Help us to be transparent and knowing that the people that we serve can reach out and touch us. That we they can hear our pain and we can hear theirs. We ask your blessing upon everyone here today. We ask you, Lord, for our community. We pray for our country. We pray for the men and women of service of all branches. Ask your divine protection. We pray for the leaders of our country. Help them always to remember to do the right thing and have the people in mind they serve. We thank you, O God, for your Son, Jesus. We thank you for eternal life. We thank you for the freedom that we have to rejoice and to enjoy the activity of sports and many other, and to watch our kids and grandkids grow. We thank you for our neighbors. We thank you, Lord, and we ask you to bless this great city. These folks that are here, their families, their children, their grands, their ailing parents, those that they know who have gone on. We ask you, Lord, to let them be the light that you promised that we should be. You didn't put us on this earth. Just eat hot dogs. You put us on this earth to be a servant, to be a light to those that are in the darkness. Bless this town hall meeting, for your sake and for those that are listening. For those who they this they serve. We pray this in Jesus name.

[2:29] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Amen. Please be seated.

[2:48] Pastor Harrison, I will tell you, sir, I am a servant. But I do like hot dogs.

[3:06] Motion to approve.

[3:07] Second, we have a motion. We have a second. All in favor? Seeing. None opposed. Agenda is approved as presented. We run right into our lengthy manager's report, which is on the screen.

[3:19] Thank you. Mayor, um, board commissioners, uh, everyone in the audience and everyone watching from our live stream. Welcome to the April 6th Board of Commissioners meeting. Um, the first page of the manager's report. You have several upcoming events from Juneteenth. Uh, the hive at Hope Mills grand opening is this Friday at 1130. Um, the third annual Gun violence Awareness Walk is coming on June 6th. Um, Kiwanis hope of holding this barbecue fundraiser is April 24th. Opening day is this Saturday as well. Um, for the second page, um, you have photographs of the Cottontail Trail from this weekend. Spring litter sweep. Spring community yard sale. Um. Flowers are in the second page as well. I also wanted to highlight and commend Commissioner Mitchell and Karen Sorensen in the audience. Um, they got together last week to put together and mobilize support for our TSA workers. And so they actually did a collection in conjunction with the Cottontail Trail. And I was very impressed with the turnout. It was it was put together pretty quickly, but the impact and the response was most massive. Third page you have um, infrastructure updates. Um, the Camden Road widening project is well underway. I like to reiterate again that, um, town staff has been able to secure funding from Campo to cover, uh, sidewalks on both sides of the street. Um, at no cost to the town for the length of this entire project. That's a major, major cost savings. The Gulf View Rockfish Road Widening project is taking place. If you look at the far right rendered image, that's a rendering of what the roundabouts could potentially look like. And so D.O.T. staff and our public works staff are currently coordinating. But, um, the roundabouts, we're going to enhance them. We actually make more than likely include the appearance committee as well. This render has a tree. If you go into Massey Hill there are sculptures. And so we may actually opt to put a sculpture out there. Um, but we wanted to give an idea to people to kind of see this is what this will look like. We're talking about underground utilities and things of that nature that would anchor this site in a way that brings some beauty to the town hall complex. Next page, um, Greater Fayetteville Business Journal, um, has issued or reissued some articles on wah wah and elevate hot meals. I just wanted to show those here. Um. Next page is Parks and Recreation. Um, summer camp registration is open. If you haven't registered your kid, you better hurry up. Um, I'm surprised it's not already closed. Um. Big tease is now open. Also big tease. I'm not sure if we announce this, but Big Tease is the official, um, I guess, restaurant inside of the hive of Hope Mills. And so they. They have their seven food truck spots. The main kitchen is ran and operated by Big T's in Hope Mills. Um, the next chamber monthly luncheon is April 8th, 11:30 a.m. at VFW post ten, 630. The next business breakfast is scheduled for April 28th at 8:30 a.m. at the Harmony at Home Mills assisted living facility. And then the last two page will remain dedicated to NCDOT construction updates. And that does conclude the manager's report I would like to announce, and this is kudos to our public works staff. We have a fully retired town hall. They completed the work today. And so, um, we do have it in the universal pieces. There are two masters with three master keys I have one. Public works has one and one is in another location. And so if there are some issues, then we do have a uniform set of keys for town hall. That does conclude the presentation for April 6th, 2026. Thank you.

[7:35] All right. Any questions? Okay. If not, go into board member comments. I'll start with Commissioner Morley.

[7:44] Thank you sir. I don't have anything at this time.

[7:48] Okay. Thank you sir. Commissioner Trammell.

[7:52] Good evening, and welcome to the meeting.

[7:56] All right. We're short tonight, I see.

[8:06] Thank you. Mayor. I just want to welcome everybody that's here in person and those watching live stream. I just want to welcome everybody to the meeting tonight. Thank you.

[8:15] Thank you, Commissioner Mitchell.

[8:18] Good evening, everyone. Thanks for being here. First, I want to say thanks to everyone that came out and supported the Easter Sunrise service. It was an awesome service and the weather was very, very generous to us. Two years in a row. And we had, I think, probably one of the largest crowds we ever had. I think I kind of saw between 110 and 120 people in, uh, in attendance. So it was an amazing service. Thank you. On another note, I must hate to inform us on this, but on the sad occasion, we lost one of my heroes. And some of y'all know him very well. His name? We call them Bud, but his name was Lawrence Roy Wilson, Jr. The Korean prisoner of war that y'all always seen at our events. Um, I was with him yesterday, and thank God I had a moment to spend that time with him, but, uh, he was truly. He was. I think he was one of our last ones. He was the last one to think of our Korean prisoner of wars. He always seen him at events. So let's keep his families close friends and his comrades in our thoughts and prayers.

[9:37] Thank you. Commissioner. Mr.

[9:54] Thank you mayor. Good evening everyone. Thank you for everyone watching and coming out in the meeting. I did have a chance to go by Cottontail Trail this past Saturday by going to the almshouse. I don't know if anybody went, but it was really well attended. There were a lot of events and a lot of things going on, and I hope each and everybody, each and every person had a chance to stop by and take part in that town event.

[10:17] Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. I too was there along with Commissioner Trammel and then Commissioner Hamilton was there also. And it was cold that morning. I will tell you, it was it started off and. Wait a minute. Commissioner. Commissioner Mitchell was there. I know because we were loading up Bill's truck. It was cold that morning, but I'm. I'm here to tell you that once that sun came up, the kids came out, and it was really a good time for everyone that attended. It was well attended, just like yesterday's event was well attended our sunrise service. It gets larger every year, right, Commissioner Mitchell? It does. It seems like it gets larger. We're going to run out of chairs because there's so many people that come and want to attend our sunrise service, and that's really a testament to our community. There's been a busy week. Uh, the mayor pro tem and I met with Commissioner Patel earlier with the fam po. Uh, we had a very productive meeting about fam po funding request. Last week, we met with our legislative delegation about our town funding request. When they go back into General Assembly here in a couple of weeks. Uh, they have our wish list. And as I know it, as I learned today, that local bills have to be sent and sent in by April 21st. Uh, that's the way I got it today in an email. So I will be nudging them again to see which direction we're going to go in for some possible funding for some community projects this year.

[12:26] And the highlight is that our Hope Mills, Parks and Rec department was recognized and nominated for a Collaborative Impact in Aging nomination. It was really an honor to be there, along with the staff of Parks and Rec, to have that type of award from our regional awards banquet at Mid Carolina Impact Report. It was really something that tells something I want to and I want to read this. The Hope Mills Parks and Rec Department enhances community quality of life by offering diverse recreational programs, events and accessible spaces for residents of all ages and abilities. Though partnerships not, though through partnerships with aging services and community organizations, the department supports active aging, social engagement, and lifelong recreation through wellness activities, shared programming, and intergenerational events. And as everyone knows, there's five living generations in our society today committed to inclusivity and collaboration. Hope Mills, Parks and Rec Recreation Continues to create welcoming opportunities for connection, wellness, and especially community engagement. That's the paragraph that was submitted for the nomination. They came in second to another recreation center that's right up the road here. But if you don't want to know something, if you want to come in second, then coming in second to the Bill crisp senior center is well worth it. For those of us who knew Bill crisp when he was living. I was there, fortunate for the ribbon cutting, and that was the that was the winner of the aging nomination. But nonetheless, we were nominated and highlighted at the at the awards banquet. And I just wanted to say that lastly,

[14:46] I was at the golf course again this weekend. There is a fleet now of trucks that have parked in that parking lot Now count it four tractor trailers and four trailers without tractors. A fleet of them have now started parking there. There must be something that we can do, because I know it's prohibited in town to stop the parking of these trucks that are there.

[15:18] Now, the reason I highlight this is because, of course, it's against our ordinance to have this. But the other part is these trucks, when they're entering golf, you are tying up golf. You. And there's a lot of kids that use that golf course. There's a lot of families that are out there on that golf course. I don't know, maybe we need to think about Ashton, Mister George, but signage up. But something's got to be done before someone is seriously injured with this temporary or permanent parking situation that all these trucks have found. And I don't even know if Mr. George. I think he's still the owner. I don't even know if the property owner. He's even aware that all these trucks are there. But this weekend, it just seems like they just magnified. So I would appreciate something being done or investigated of what we can do to to take care of this issue before something really seriously happens.

[16:17] Man, we can do it twofold. Um, typically it's enforced by PD, but we can include code enforcement to direct and engage Mr. Beasley. George. And so I think some of the times these things come in waves. They'll stop for four months and they'll come back for a little while. They'll stop for a few months. And so we do feel that sometimes making the property owner aware while policing it does present some results. So I'll put code enforcement and PD on it first thing in the morning.

[16:48] I think he still owns that lot. I don't.

[16:50] He does.

[16:51] I don't think it belongs to GMR.

[16:52] No, that's still his. And so what may happen is, like he said, he may not be aware. I'm not sure what he did the last time. Um, but we can provide him with some options. Um, because it is illegal. Um, now, with what was and Sheetz, there have been some additional commercial and commercial parking areas in Hope Mills. Um, I'm not sure how many truck drivers are using that. The issue is with the ordinance not allowing commercial vehicles in any residential area. There is not a full service truck stop anywhere in this region if you're traveling on 95. I think you have a pilot one in Florence. And then if you're coming this way, the next one is in Benson. So if you're coming through this area, if you're looking for overnight truck parking in a large capacity, it does not exist anywhere in Cumberland County. So that's why that is considered an issue we work with was and Sheetz to add commercial parking for this reason. But until something changes, um, we can police it through code enforcement and NPD.

[17:56] Okay. Thank you. Chancellor, I just, I, I say this because I was out there, there were several families that are out there that complained about it as well. And and I told them, I said, well, it's on my list. And in fact, I sent a text message to someone yesterday and I said, it's on my list. I'll bring it up Monday night, uh, and see what we can do.

[18:14] Can I add something?

[18:14] You can.

[18:15] Uh, the last time I was out there, I was at the lower parking lot that the town owns. And when I was getting ready to leave, three huge trucks pulled in down there in that area, and I thought they were going to drive on the grass up to where they should have been. But they realized that someone was sitting there watching them. So they turned around and it's very tight in there. So they turned around and went back up. So maybe we want to put some signage in that area as well, because they do, they do miss the turn up there and come down to the lower parking lot.

[18:45] Mr. mayor, if I'm not mistaken, that's why we put we locked. We blocked off that one time years ago. We had the same problem back then.

[18:53] You mean the the the gate that was at that we were requested to remove.

[18:58] Yes, that and that was a deterrent. And that was what, about 6 or 7 years ago? Well, yes.

[19:06] Just took it out last year. The one on the channel. Because there was some because there were some folks that didn't want the gate there, so they wanted it removed. So we removed it. So I think I think that main parking lot with Mr. George, that's the one we need to target on.

[19:22] Yeah, he still owns it. I'll reach out to him first thing in the morning.

[19:25] Okay. Next item is number three presentations. Item A proclamation recognized in April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. And it's under tab one.

[19:37] Town of Hope Mills proclamation recognizing National Child Abuse Prevention Month April 2026. Whereas our children are our most valuable resource and the foundation of our community's future, and every child deserves to grow up in a safe, stable and nurturing environment, free from abuse and neglect. And whereas child abuse and neglect are significant public health issues that have long term psychological, emotional and physical effects on victims affecting their development and well-being into adulthood. And Whereas child abuse prevention is a community responsibility and effective prevention programs succeed because of partnerships among families, social service agencies, schools, faith communities, civic organizations, and law enforcement. And Whereas, we recognize that supporting families through community based resources such as such as quality child care, mental health services, and economic support is the most effective way to prevent child maltreatment before it occurs. And whereas the blue pinwheel serves as the national symbol for child abuse prevention, representing the bright, healthy and happy childhood that all children deserve.

[21:03] Now, therefore, I, Jesse Bell Flowers, mayor of the town of Hope Mills, do hereby proclaim April 2026 as National Child Abuse Prevention Month in the town of Hope Mills. And I call upon all citizens, community agencies, faith groups, medical facilities and businesses to increase their participation in our efforts to support families and prevent child abuse, and thereby strengthening the community in which we live. This sixth day of April, 2026.

[21:30] Um. Mayor. Before we go, I would like to add to that, um, one thing we do every month in conjunction with this initiative is we will have an event where we set our pinwheels. And so we typically do them out front, um, where the fountain is. They did reach out to all the agencies today. And we'll be picking up our pinwheels this week. So we'll set a date probably towards the end of the month, but it's very ceremonial. Um, we like for everyone to come out so we can actually capture you setting your pinwheels out. And so when the pinwheels go out, they'll stay out there for a significant amount of time so that when people because each wheel represents a child. And so it's something we do. I think we've been doing it for about three years in a row. And so that's something I wanted to make sure everybody is aware of. We're actually in the process of setting it up now.

[22:22] Thank you Chancellor. And I encourage the board that once we set this up to come out and be part of it, it's a huge community project, an endeavor of recognition. Next item is item B, a proclamation recognized in April as the month of the Military Child. It's under tab two. Before I read it, I forgot to say something. I want everyone to know. And I know that you know this, but we live in a great nation. As we sit here tonight, we have four astronauts That are looking at the backside of the moon as we set in here. 53 years it's been since we put somebody in space. I barely remember it myself because it was just yesterday.

[23:10] Amazing. Also, our great military rescued an airman behind enemy lines. We live in our great nation. I'm here to tell you two fundamental events occurring right here this week. And I kind of wanted to highlight on both. And I and I probably can say this about really it brings me back when I, when I heard this about the airmen, it brings me back to our Sere training that all of us went through when we were first in the military. And that's survival, evasion. But that was a heck of a journey. Town of Hope Mills proclamation recognizing the Month of Military Child April 2026. Whereas every April, our nation pauses to recognize the more than 1.6 million military connected children who serve as a vital part of our military community, demonstrating exceptional resilience, courage and strength. And Whereas these young heroes face unique challenges, including frequent moves, new schools, and the stress of parent deployments yet discontinue. Yet they continue to display an unwavering spirit and a strength in every story. And whereas military children play an essential role in our national defense by providing the unconditional love and support that allow our service members to focus on their missions around the globe. And Whereas The Color Purple, which I am wearing tonight and will wear this month in honor, symbolizes all branches of the military blending the Air Force, Navy, Space Force, and Coast Guard Blues, the Army green and the Navy and the Marine Corps Red, representing the unity and shared sacrifice of all military members. And whereas our schools, businesses and communities are encouraged to purple up and participate in programs that celebrate the achievement and sacrifices of military connected youth throughout the entire month. And now, therefore, I, Jesse Bellflower, mayor of the town of Hope Mills, do hereby proclaim April 2026 as the month of the military child in the town of Hope Mills, and I call upon all citizens to join in recognizing these remarkable children and to participate in Purple Up Day on April 15th, 2026, as a visible sign of our support and gratitude this sixth day of April 2026. And actually, I want to thank you for doing this, for putting this proclamation together. This was her. This was Ashley's pen that put this together for me to read tonight. And I wanted to acknowledge her for doing it.

[26:06] No problem. This is her public comment.

[26:16] We only have one speaker, and that would be Deanna.

[26:20] Hey, guys.

[26:23] How are you doing this evening? Good.

[26:25] Can you know the rules? Right?

[26:27] How much time do y'all have? Yeah. Three minutes.

[26:29] Okay.

[26:30] I'll try to do my best. I promise it's positive. Um, so, you know, with my work, with the chair as the.

[26:38] You got to say your name.

[26:40] Hi. I'm royal. I'm the chair for the homeless. Homeless advisory committee. Yes. Okay. So, you know, with the work that I do with the committee. Um, one of the things that I wanted to bring light to was not just feeding people with homelessness and doing things like that is building a resource hub and making sure that we have resources that stop and combat the homelessness that we experience in the area. So one of the great partners that I have that I do work with is the veggies for vets program. Um, and their location that they have is over at the my Rover Reece um fellowship homes. And that is going to be one of our community partners that I've been working on building a partnership with. So for any, um, people that are homeless that may be experiencing problems with drugs, uh, substance abuse or anything like that, we will be able to lead them in that direction and get them some of that information. But I say all of that to say, this Saturday, May 9th, we are, um, kicking off a ribbon cutting for a project that we've been working on where we partnered with Lowe's, Scotts Miracle-Gro, Bonnie Plants, Fayetteville Woodpeckers, and a couple of others and were able to build two huge greenhouses where veterans and local people that experience homelessness and the underserved community can come and work together, as well as the people that are a part of the Mira Varese community, um, to grow their own food. So I am inviting you out Saturday, May 9th from 2 to 3 p.m. to see the ribbon cutting, ribbon cutting, and also introduce you to all the partners that made this possible because after speaking with each partner, this is a project and something that we would like to look to bring to the town of Hope Mills too. So I would like to see how we could work to make that happen. Here's my rover Reese off Wilks Road, 560 Wilks Road. And you know they just built the new women's shelter there. So we broke ground on it about two months ago. Yeah. So this ribbon cutting like I said, it's May 9th from 2 to 3. And I think the introductions and meeting with some of the people over there will be great to bring some of those resources back to the town of Hope Mills.

[28:46] Okay. Thank you very much. Moving on. Item number five consent agenda items A, B, and C. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as a.

[28:57] Motion to approve item A, B, and C under consent?

[29:00] Second.

[29:01] I have a motion. We have a second. All in favor? Seeing none opposed. Consent agenda is approved with items A, B, and C. Congratulations, Commissioner Lisa Trimble as the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce Board liaison. Thank you very much for accepting this. And the president is and the president is also here, Jim Bleeker. So it's it's good to go new business under item six i.e. approval to receive grant funds from aa a and approved corresponding budget amendment number 24, in the amount of $11,700 for the police department. That's under tab four. Drew, you got it.

[29:41] Mr.. AA grant that we received, we've already received this funds. We have to have the budget amendment to show the revenue and the expense. So we just need a budget amendment approved.

[29:50] Okay.

[29:50] Motion to approve Budget Amendment Number 24 for 11,700.

[29:56] Second at have a motion. Have a second. All in favor? Seeing. None. None. Opposed. Motion carries. Uh, item B, approval of amended bylaws for the Homelessness Advisory Committee. That's under tab five.

[30:12] Who's who's got? Who's got it? I do.

[30:20] Motion second? Yeah.

[30:21] None.

[30:22] No, the only thing. We just changed the quorum statement in there, and I had that actually took care of that this or last week.

[30:29] Okay.

[30:29] And that's the only change that we made to it. So it's good to go.

[30:32] Motion. Second. Have a motion. Have a second. No further discussion. All in favor? Seeing. None opposed. Bylaws are approved. Item seven.

[30:50] Um, motion to conduct a closed session pursuant to N1433. 18.186 to discuss personnel matters.

[31:03] Okay.

[31:51] Okay. Everybody back!

[31:53] No!

[31:54] All righty. Mayor pro tem.

[31:59] Yes.

[31:59] Okay, move. I move to seal the minutes. Move to seal the minutes of the closed session until such time as the release of the information will no longer frustrate the purpose of the closed session, and further, no action was taken.

[32:17] Okay. Thank you. Item eight is informational items. I'm not going to read all those, but all those are the committee Commission meetings for the remainder of the month. Item nine staff comments. Going once, going twice. Seeing none. Uh, item ten is adjournment to have a motion to a.

[32:34] Motion to adjourn.

[32:35] Second. Second. We are adjourned. Thank you very much.