Hope Mills continues to move forward on a $2.36 million project to renovate and upgrade Lake Park.
Town commissioners received an update on the project at their February 16 meeting, their first since canceling the early February session due to inclement weather.
The East Group, an engineering and architecture firm in Raleigh, presented a refined option 3 for the park project, which residents overwhelmingly favored during a month-long effort to gather public input.
“This will serve as the basis for the final master plan and the construction documents,” Parks and Recreation Director Lamarco Morrison told the board. Morrison informed the board that the town’s staff recommends this option and requested a vote to move forward with it.
After two motions—one to approve the plan and another to proceed—the board unanimously approved the plan and authorized moving forward with a request for qualifications.
New Amenities for Lake Park
Key amenities at the approved site include:
- 50 new parking spaces
- Two restroom facilities
- A fenced playground
- Public art and a Main Street crosswalk
- A gazebo
- A boat ramp and boat trailer parking
- Big T’s restaurant
- Picnic seating and a pergola
The estimated total cost is $2.26 million, which is higher than the $1.5 million estimate city officials offered in January before option 3 was revised. Morrison reminded the board that the plan is to secure grants to cover the full amount, though the town would need to fund the design phase.
Before the vote, Commissioner Cynthia Hamilton asked Morrison whether the design could be modified in the future if needed. Morrison assured her that changes would be possible, explaining that construction would be divided into phases that could be adjusted as necessary.
The town is also moving forward with repairs to VicBlends Basketball Court at Hope Mills Municipal Park. The court was damaged by arson on January 13. Town Manager Chancer McLaughlin told commissioners that repairs will cost $14,000 and will take about 30 days to complete.
Town staff projects the court will reopen in April. The court was rehabbed last year and was dedicated during an event in November.
City Finances Receive Clean Audit
During the meeting, commissioners also received a report on the town’s annual audit for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The town’s annual audit presentation was presented by Jay Sharpe of Sharpe Patel CPA. Sharpe told the board they just don’t come in and start crunching numbers. There are procedures to do up front and test internal controls such as cash disbursements, payroll, and credit cards.
“We have a risk base audit approach where we assess risk to all the significant financing reporting areas the town has,” Sharpe said. “The risk assessment gives us the approach we use during our audit procedures every year.”
Sharpe told the board the town has once again received a “clean audit opinion” or “unmodified opinion” of financial statements, which is the best possible opinion they could receive. Sharpe also told the board if they found any issues they were required to report them.
“I’m happy to report there were no findings of 2025,” Sharpe said.
Sharpe also reviewed the town’s expenditures for 2025 and noted growth in revenue since 2013.
“In 2025, the town had $19.5 million in revenue and almost $23 million in expenditures for the year,” Sharpe told the board. According to his presentation, the two largest sources of revenue were property taxes, which accounted for 36% of revenue, and unrestricted intergovernmental revenue, which was 34%.
Sharpe’s charts also showed the General Fund balance took a dip from $9.52 million in 2024 to $8.07 million in 2025, which is the lowest since 2018. Sharpe told commissioners that overall they had a relatively healthy balance.
Pinecrest Drive Renamed
The board and police department also recognized and promoted officer Justin Jones to the rank of Sergeant.
The board also voted and unanimously passed the renaming of Pinecrest Drive to Suncrest Drive.
