Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1183910
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM NOVEMBER 13-19, 2019 UCW 21 Hope Mills News & Views NEWS Fun family fare earns Putt-Putt recognition by EARL VAUGHAN JR. With all the competition for family entertain- ment in greater Fayetteville, Michael Edwards said it's good for a business like Putt-Putt Fun Center in Hope Mills to get special recognition. The Hope Mills business was recently recog- nized by the Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce as its small business of the month. Next year, Putt-Putt will mark its 10th anni- versary in Hope Mills. The business is located at 3311 Footbridge Ln., not far from the Millstone Shopping Center. "The competition in the area is hard,'' Edwards, the assistant general manager at the Putt-Putt Fun Center said. "I think it's awesome we were recognized and we were able to stand out among (our competitors).'' Edwards said the secret of success to the Hope Mills location is simple: offer good customer service and a clean facility and try to stay current with the best games available to the public. And there's one other important element he said, affordable prices for the customers. While the business continues in the tradition of the Putt-Putt franchise that was created by the late Don Clayton years ago, the hallmark of the Hope Mills location is a variety of family entertainment options. In addition to the two 18-hole Putt-Putt courses, the Hope Mills Putt-Putt offers a go-kart track, bum- per boats, bumper cars, a two-story laser tag facility and up to 30 video games in an indoor arcade. The bumper boats are currently closed for the sea- son and typically won't re-open until March. Hours of operation vary with the seasons of the year. For now, Putt-Putt is open Sunday through Thursday from noon until 9 p.m., Friday from noon to 11 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. Summer hours extend from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to midnight on the weekends. In the event of bad weather, including heavy rain or lightning, the outdoor attractions close, but the indoor ones remain open. Parties are a big part of what Putt-Putt offers, with package deals ranging from $160 to $240. A typical party pack covers a guest of honor and seven guests. It includes two large pizzas and two large pitchers of drinks. The special guest gets a $10 game card and the others get a $5 game card. The number of guests can be increased with add-ons. The larger party packs offer more attrac- tions than the smaller ones. Putt-Putt also offers fundraisers. For $15 per person, a group can get two-hour unlimited use of the park for each person that buys a ticket. The organization doing the fundraiser is required to get everyone planning to come committed prior to the event, then they are given $5 back for every per- son that pays. Group prices are also available for groups of 15 or more. Hope Mills solicits citizen input for town committees by EARL VAUGHAN JR. From now through Dec. 15, citi- zens of Hope Mills who would like to be more involved in the goings on in their town are invited to apply for membership on any of several official town committees. Anyone interested in applying for committee membership who has never served must fill out an applica - tion that can be picked up from the clerk's office at Town Hall on Rockfish Road. Anyone who has applied in the last 12 months does not have to sub - mit a new form. Members who are currently serv- ing on a committee and wish to con- tinue do need to contact the town and make it known they'd like to serve again. In addition to getting applications at Town Hall, they are also available on the town website, www.townofhopemills.com. Any questions should be directed to town clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113 or by email at jstar- ling@townofhopemills.com. The town reloads its committees every two years in line with the town election cycle. Once all the names of candidates have been received next month, a nominating committee will go over them and make assignments to the various committees. A full list of all the committees can be found at the town website as well, along with cur - rent members of the committees. Hope Mills mayor Jackie Warner said the com- mittees are like advisory boards for the town. "When special interests or special projects are brought to the town, they go to whichever com- mittee they would apply to,'' she said. Each committee also has a member of the town's Board of Commissioners that serves as a liaison between the committee and the board. "That member reports back to the board what took place in the meeting,'' Warner said. "Sometimes they make recommendations for things they'd like to see and for concerns they've heard.'' One body that's a little different from the others is the town's Historical Commission. Town commissions can have a budget and spend money. They can also make decisions that don't require approval of the full Board of Commissioners. There are also certain criteria for members of a commission that require the members have specific expertise in the field the commission works, not just a personal interest. If more people ask to be on a commit - tee than spots are available, the nomi- nating committee uses a ranking system based on which people submitted their request to be on a committee first, so it's important to apply as soon as pos - sible before the Dec. 15 deadline. Warner said there have been discussions of limiting the amount of time someone can serve on a committee or rotating people between various committees. Neither idea has been approved. Warner said it's feared that any limits placed on serving could cut the number of people inter - ested in volunteering. "We get what we hope is a good representation of the community, so we are getting their opin- ions,'' Warner said. "It keeps us informed and gives us the opportunity to have input on the decisions we make.'' Applications for committee membership can be picked up from the Hope Mills Town Hall. L-R: Mayor Jackie Warner, Michael Knight, general manager; Michael Edwards, assistant. gemeral manager; Tammy Thurman, member of cham- ber of commerce board, board of trustees of Greater Fayetteville Chamber and member military affairs council.