The Spring Lake Board of Aldermen expects to hear an update about improvements to Veterans Park and approve an amendment to the Special Events Advisory Committee bylaws at its regular meeting Monday.
The board will meet at 6 p.m. in the Grady Howard Conference Room of the Spring Lake municipal complex.
Alderman Marvin Lackman, who serves as the board ex-officio to the Military and Veterans Advisory Committee, said the group is looking to make improvements to Spring Lake Veterans Park, located at Main and Ruth streets.
“We were given $114,000 from the state to do something more for the park and will be asking for feedback from residents,” he said. “Some ideas include a new monument and a gazebo. We want to hear what people want to see.”
Trees were recently removed from the park for safety reasons — at no cost to the town — in anticipation of improvements there.
“We had 17 trees that had to be taken down due to weevil infestation, rotting exposed roots and erosion making them unsafe,” Lackman said. “The town is being proactive in ensuring the safety of our residents, especially during hurricane season, but we also hope to add some very meaningful features for reflection and peace.”
Lackman also said his group Spring Lake Matters has collected about 3,500 pounds of trash in its monthly Saturday cleanups.
“We have already beat our totals from last year,” he said. “(On) Saturday, we were able to divide into three teams for different areas of Spring Lake. We also had student volunteers from the Early Cross Creek High School come out on Saturday. If anyone else is looking for volunteer hours, we’d love to have them.”
Spring Lake Matters has helped the town maintain the grounds at the Spring Lake Veterans Park with cleanups over the past few years.
Also on the agenda, the board is expected to add a seat to the Special Events Advisory Committee for a staff liaison from the Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation. The committee approved the amendment unanimously at its Sept. 28 meeting and hopes the board approves it to help further communication with special events being held at Spring Lake's recreation center and town parks.
