The Hope Mills Board of Commissioners, at their first regular meeting of 2026, continued discussion of a beautification project to enhance Lake Park.
At the January 5 meeting, Lamarco Morrison—the town’s parks and recreation director—presented details of the project and a month-long effort to gather public input.
On April 14, 2024, the board approved the purchase of 0.3 acres adjacent to Lake Park to expand its greenspace, improve vehicular access, and expand parking, according to Morrison’s presentation.
The town then contracted with The East Group, an engineering firm in Raleigh, to design and engineer upgrades to parking, pedestrian circulation, playground improvements, accessibility, and the overall visitor experience.
On August 4, 2025, the firm presented three concepts for the Lake Park beautification project. The board then directed staff to conduct a public survey to gather citizens’ input. A month-long online and paper survey last summer received a record 502 responses.
Mayor Jessie Bellflowers expressed his excitement to see citizens engaged. “That amount is higher than the input we’re getting right now on the Land Use plan,” Bellflowers told Morrison.
Town Manager Chancer McLaughlin agreed with Bellflowers. “I’ve never seen 502, and that’s in 30 days.”
Morrison told the board it’s a reflection of how important this park is to the citizens. “It has been a priority to the board also,” Morrison said.
Morrison revealed to the board that 46% of the citizens picked design option 3.
The responses prioritized safety, a fenced playground with traffic barriers, restrooms and cleanliness, parking and traffic flow, shade and comfort, recreation equipment such as a splash pad, and the overall park experience, such as seating by the lake.
Morrison told the board that option 3 was preferred by the citizens because it maximizes parking. It also creates a buffer between the playground and Main Street, which was among the top priorities listed by the citizens. Clean restrooms and the elimination of portable toilets were also among the needs citizens wanted.
Paying for the Upgrades
Morrison told the board that the probable construction cost of option 3 is $1.54 million.
“Don’t let the price tag shock you. Typically at the conceptual stage prices are a little bit higher because there are also some unknown there, and you’re looking at a planning standpoint,” Morrison said.
Morrison told the board this project was eligible for grant, state, and federal funding and the project would be broken into phases.
“We are not asking for the citizens to fund this,” Morrison said. “There are grant opportunities already we can begin to look at.”
Morrison told the board the next phase of the project was to refine the plan’s details and create a master plan to secure grant funding.
New Town Business
Under the town’s new business, the board voted and unanimously approved two budget amendments.
Amendment #16 is for $26,750 to cover costs for the police department. These include $14,402 for a training conference—$3,050 of which was covered by registration fees—light towers from United Rentals at $3,420, horse boarding at $300, and $2,567 for K-9 equipment and supplies.
Of the total $26,750, $20,700 was funded from asset forfeiture funds, with the remaining amount from grants and registration fees.
Amendment #17 is for $40,425 to help with the police department’s record management and IT services. This amount supplements the $297,000 already approved by the board in July 2024 for these services. According to the agenda form, it was necessary for the town to purchase their own servers after ending a shared service agreement with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
The town also promoted two police officers to the rank of sergeant: officers Joseph Kress and Tony Locklear.
The board announced it will hold its next Land Use Plan meeting at 6 p.m. on January 8, in the gym at South View High School. The meeting will be a public forum to gather public input that will help shape the town’s development.
The board’s next meetings are scheduled for January 20 in Town Hall. The evening includes a special meeting at 6 p.m. where commissioners will hear presentations on stormwater maintenance, followed by the regular meeting at 7 p.m.
