At their Monday night meeting, the Spring Lake Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a $26,000 budget amendment, the majority of which allocates funds to the Spring Lake Police Department. Other funding detailed in the budget amendment will be used to cover the cost of legal fees incurred by the town in their ongoing legal proceedings against Plush Sports Bar.
Let’s break it down.
Police department budget
The largest portion of this budget amendment, totaling $20,626, will be moved into the Spring Lake Police Department budget. These funds were generated from the sale of several surplus police vehicles late last year.
The Spring Lake Police Department also received $500 in community donations for a toy drive hosted by the department in December. Town Finance Director James Overton explained that these funds will be transferred back into the police budget in order to cover the cost of toys that were given to children and families in the community for the holidays.
Legal fees
The budget amendment also allowed for $5,000 in miscellaneous income to be used for legal fees incurred by the town in their recent legal action against Plush Sports Bar.
Overton spoke briefly on the matter, explaining why this funding needs to be transferred into appropriate accounts to cover the legal costs.
“Because of the incident at Plush, and the legal fees we’ve spent to shut that business down, we have spent most of our legal fees above the retainer,” Overton said.
Plush Sports Bar, which sits along N.C-210 in Spring Lake, has been closed since late November when courts issued two temporary restraining orders on the property. A preliminary injunction was granted by Cumberland County Superior Court on Dec. 16.
Spring Lake, working in tandem with both Cumberland County and State of North Carolina, are pursuing legal action against the sports bar under North Carolina nuisance law, citing a “breach of peace,” which includes actions like homicide, assault, unlawful possession of dangerous or deadly weapons, and discharging firearms, as reported by Greg Barnes for CityView in late December.
At the end of the board meeting, commissioners and town officials entered closed session pursuant to matters of attorney-client privilege and economic development.
The next Spring Lake Board of Commissioners meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3 at Spring Lake Town Hall, 300 Ruth St.
