The Spring Lake Board of Aldermen is expected to receive a financial update from the N.C. Local Government Commission and decide on designating obsolete vehicles as surplus property.
The board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the Grady Howard Conference Room at the Spring Lake municipal complex.
The Local Government Commission, which took control of the town’s finances in October 2021 after an investigation into missing money and cars, will present the monthly financial update.
David Erwin, the town’s finance director and accounting and financial management adviser for the N.C. Department of the State Treasurer, will give the update.
Interim Town Manager Jason Williams is asking the board to declare vehicles that no longer are needed as surplus property. By state law, the town is required to declare the vehicles surplus before it sells or disposes of the equipment. This includes 14 vehicles, including two 2011 Ford Crown Victorias, three 2013 Dodge Charger SEs and a wood trailer.
“These are vehicles that we will need to replace,” Williams said on Friday.
Most of them support the Spring Lake Police Department.
The town also recently received $8.26 million in American Rescue Plan funding, which was used to purchase equipment that included police vehicles.
Also on Monday, the board will hear an update on the first mural being painted as part of the Spring Lake Art Trail. Alderman Raul Palacios, who is the board liaison to the Spring Lake Appearance and Sustainability Commission, will present the report.
Artist Max Dowdle, who has an extensive resume of working on large-scale public art and mural projects across the state, was chosen to paint the mural on Main Street.
“The proposed mural will be a vibrant and patriotic depiction of America, its troops and the 82nd Airborne Division,” Dowdle has said. “This mural will be an artistic representation of the support and admiration that we, as Americans, have for our country and those who defend it.”
Dowdle is currently working on projects in Oxford, Apex, and Raleigh and at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock.
Because bad weather delayed some of his other projects, Palacios said, Dowdle had to postpone the start of the mural in Spring Lake.
“His new plan is to start on Oct. 9 and finish Oct. 18,” said Palacios.
The plan from the committee is to unveil the mural at the Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 10. The ceremony will be a joint venture between the Appearance Commission and the Military and Veterans Affairs Advisory committee.
The board is also expected to go into executive station to discuss attorney-client and personnel matters.
