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/1220016
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 22 UCW MARCH 11-17, 2020 Meetings For details about all meet ings and act iv it ies, including locat ion where not listed, call Tow n Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. Most meet ings take place at Tow n Hall or t he Hope Mills Parks and Recre- at ion Center. • Historic Preser vation Commission, Wednesday, March 11, 5 p.m., Parks and Recreat ion Center. • Board of Commissioners, Monday, March 16, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Lu- t her Board Meet ing Room. • Parks and Recreation Adv isor y Committee, Monday, March 23, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreat ion Building. • Appearance Commission, Tuesday, March 24, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreat ion Center. • Veterans A ffairs Committee, Thursday, March 26, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreat ion Center. • Board of Commissioners, Monday, April 6, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Lut her Board Meet ing Room. • Historic Preser vation Commission, Wednesday, April 8, 5 p.m., Parks and Recreat ion Building. • Board of Commissioners, Monday, April 20, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Lut her Board Meet ing Room. • Mayor's Youth Coalition, Monday, April 20, 6 p.m., Front Confer - ence Room. • Veterans A ffairs Committee, Thursday, April 23, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreat ion Center. • Parks and Recreation Adv isor y Committee, Monday, April 27, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreat ion Building. • Appearance Commission, Tuesday, April 28, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreat ion Center. Holidays • Good Friday, Friday, April 10, all tow n of f ices closed. Promote yourself : Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com. CALENDAR Hope Mills police prepare for tricky move of headquarters by EARL VAUGHAN JR. NEWS Moving consistently ranks as one of the most traumatizing experiences people have to negotiate. But if relocating to a new resi- dence is a giant headache, imagine the chal- lenges of going from one location to another while temporarily keeping both open for business. That is the chore Hope Mills police chief Joel Acciardo and his staff will be tackling in the weeks ahead as they vacate their home of some 30 years on Rockfish Road and relo- cate to temporary headquarters on South Main Street. This is part of the process to build the new public safety building on the current Rockfish Road property, which will eventu- ally house both the police and fire depart- ments when it's done. The new building was going to be placed in front of the existing police and fire departments during the early plan- ning stages, but when Rockfish Road was expanded, that idea was ruled out as it had to be moved further back from the widened road. The fire department will lose some of its parking area but will still be able to function at its current location. The police department is headed for the former Ace Hardware building, where it expects to be located for as long as 24 months while the new building is under construction. Acciardo said the challenge for him and his staff is to complete the move in an orderly manner while still providing services to the town of Hope Mills without any gaps. Work on the interior of the temporary police headquarters is progressing, and the goal is for the entire department to be fully relocated by the end of March. "It's going to be a phased move,'' Acciardo said. "The first thing we are going to be shutting down is the front of the police department, where recep- tion and records and all that stuff is. "That way, we can officially close this build- ing and still have a location where the public can come, get reports and meet with officers.'' After that move is done, the most complicated part of the move will take place, transporting evidence to the new location. "You have to main- tain complete control and a chain of custody,'' Acciardo said. Because of security concerns, there will be no publicity as to when the actual evidence is being moved. Armed officers will accompany the evi- dence when it is moved. "It's a little bit more complicated than having a moving company come in and load up some desks and filing cabinets,'' Acciardo said. "It has to stay with the officers.'' Once the evidence is moved, the next stage will be to move the investigative division, followed by the administrative offices. Acciardo stressed the public will see no disrup- tion in field services since those officers were hired to work outside the building in police cars. A moving company has been contracted to help with large items like desks and file cabinets, but all of the smaller things will be taken care of by Acciardo and his staff. The plan is to shut down the police head- quarters as usual one Friday afternoon and conduct the initial move of the front office area over the course of the weekend, open- ing the portion of the temporary building where staff interacts with the public the fol- lowing Monday. It's during the process when the depart- ment is between buildings that problems are most likely to arise. Acciardo said it won't be much different from moving to a new house and realizing when you arrive that some- thing you need is still in a box at your former residence. "As with any move, there will be tweaking during the process to make it work right,'' he said. Acciardo said measures are in place to address glitches. Just prior to the start of the move, Acciardo said a ceremony will be held to officially close the cur- rent police headquarters. "This facility served the public in Hope Mills for 30 years,'' he said. "I think everyone got their money's worth out of it.'' The current building is actually sitting in what will become the construction zone for the new building, so it will have to be demolished. "It's a complicated move but it's one we will get done,'' Acciardo said. "The goal is not to disrupt any service the citizens are currently enjoying. That's what we are all striving for.'' EARL VAUGHAN JR., Senior Staff Writer. COMMENTS? EarlUCWS- ports@gmail.com. 910-364-6638. Hope Mills News & Views The Hope Mills police department is headed for the former Ace Hardware building, where it expects to be located for as long as 24 months.