LAURINBURG — A day after speaking before the Laurinburg City Council, the former chaplain for the Laurinburg Police Department said he is “extremely disappointed” that the city has not done more to address crime.
The Rev. Michael Edds was at Tuesday’s city council meeting to ask what progress had been made on crime fighting suggestions provided to the city in December. Mary Evans, a former school board member, joined Edds in seeking answers from council.
The two recommended the city hire more officers, give a raise to law enforcement staff, establish police substations in high crime areas, impose a curfew for those 17 years old and under, build a recreation center to keep youth off the streets and pursue grants for law enforcement to proactively address juvenile crime.
“Mary and I gave them some ideas two months ago,” Edds said Wednesday afternoon. “There has been a murder and a lot of shooting since then. Our purpose was to find out is being done. But they just sat there and made no response.”
Council members said they are doing what they can to tackle crime in Laurinburg.
The council talked in depth about crime during its January retreat, according to Laurinburg City Council member J. D. Willis.
“We are not looking at it with a blind eye,” Willis said.
Council member Drew Williamson said the city may consider many of the suggestions as it puts next year’s budget together over the next few months.
“We had our public input session last month and a lot of the same issues you raised were raised there,” Williamson said. “In my opinion at least, in our budget discussions a lot of these problems were surely be discussed — I wouldn’t say I have an answer for you right tonight.”
Edds said Wednesday that the city has shown little inclination that it will do much.
“This has been going on for three years,” he said. “When are they going to wake up?”
What Laurinburg needs to do is develop a plan to stop young people from getting involved in one of the five gangs in the city, according to Edds.
Evans said the city should have bought the Washington Park School for $1, instead of spending $11 million on a new City Hall. She said the school could serve as a police substation to provide a greater law enforcement presence.
“You have the money,” Evans said.
Council member Mary Jo Adams asked if Tuesday’s presentation was more about criticizing the City hall project.
“So actually, you are just here to let us know that you opposed to us building a city hall,” Adams said.
Edds and Evans have both been vocal critics of constructing a new City Hall. Evans has said that she may run for a seat on the city council this year. Edds was asked to step down as police chaplain after repeated criticism of city actions.
Council member Curtis Leak said Edds and Evans are not the only ones concerned with crime.
“We know we have problems in our community,” Leak said. “No one in the audience or no one sitting up here goes through or knows what I go through where I live. I live in the hotbed Washington Park, I live on Welch Street, I hear that AK-47 every other night and I understand the cries. Before I go home tonight, I am going to hear gunshots and I’m going to have to call 911.”
Leak added that the people committing most of the crime are not juveniles.
“Those crime guys, those are not juveniles. These are mature individuals,” Leak said. “With crime and drugs, all of it is happening all across the United States,” he said.
City officials said they plan to listen to recommendations from Laurinburg Police Chief Darwin Williams.
In other business, Creech & Associates provided an update on the design and budget of the new city hall and police department. The firm has removed some of the features previously in the design plans to lower cost and are currently at a budget of $7,957,352.
The firm hopes to have construction documents finished by May and break ground on construction in late summer. The project should take up to 14 months to build, according to Creech & Associates.
After the update, council approved a budget amendment for the General Fund to proceed with construction of a new City Hall and police department project.
Council approved phase two of the architectural and design services for the project at its November 2016 board meeting. The funds from phase two, along with funds for pre-construction services, were encumbered in the Electric Fund and had to be reallocated to the General Fund for a total of $109,350.
Council also approved to proceed with Phase III of the architectural and design services for the city hall project, the funds needed for this phase, which is the development of the construction documents and phase one environmental testing and subsurface exploration is $226,000.
“I am steadfastly, 100 percent against any further expenditures on a project that only two citizens in this great city of ours have come out publicly in favor for and where at least 95 percent of the citizens are against it,” said Mayor Matthew Block.
Block called continued spending on the project “a travesty and an abuse of power.”
“I just want to make sure that goes in the minutes because I don’t want it to be said years from now that I presided over this abuse of the citizens’ will,” he said before council voted unanimously to move forward with the project.
In other business, council received an update from Edward Roberts of ElectriCities on an updated city logo and website.
Roberts brought two logo options; one with Laurinburg spelled out in thick Celtic lettering with three trees above it and North Carolina in cursive below it. The second logo shown was a shield with a Celtic tree symbol and tartan partner with Laurinburg spelled out to the side.
Council voted to go with the first logo option with three trees to clearly show that Laurinburg is a tree city, council members said.
Also, council discussed the use of Powell Bill money given to Laurinburg by the state each year for local road maintenance.
The city is eligible to receive $800,000 from the fund to use for the upkeep and maintenance of city-owned roads, according to city officials. That money is used to maintain equipment and make repairs.
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