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Residents and nonprofit push phased beautification plan for Highway 74 corridor
Summary
Residents and a local nonprofit urged the Hamlet City Council to support phased cleanup, tree trimming and a youth employment program to improve sidewalks and commercial appeal along Highway 74, saying small steps could capture visitor dollars and reduce long-term maintenance costs.
Esco Ladimer, a resident who said he lives at 98 Williams Street, told the council he has spent two years improving his property and urged the city to pursue small, phased beautification projects along U.S. Highway 74 that would make Hamlet more attractive to visitors and capture local spending.
Ladimer cited the city charter’s tree-maintenance language and said simple actions — trimming trees, edging sidewalks and cleaning curb lines — have allowed senior neighbors to use sidewalks and could entice drivers to stop rather than bypass town. “That’s when people are looking at that point ’cause I was looking — that’s how I found the house,” he said, urging volunteer efforts and modest public investment.
A representative of the nonprofit SWELL (Swell Stem Wellness) followed with a formal proposal and a case study of an Aug. 30, 2024 sanitation project on High Street from Spring Street to Highway 74. SWELL said the city deployed six workers and five trucks to clean roughly 25% of a block, which the presenter described as a disproportionate use of resources and used that example to outline a proposed, phased one-year partnership to expand cleanup, youth employment and skills training in the corridor.
The SWELL presenter said the program would assume liability for youth workers and seek to reduce municipal maintenance costs over time while increasing civic pride and employment opportunities. “Our goal … is to improve the urban sanitation and cleanliness, engage and empower local youth, promote STEM education and skill development,” the presenter said while urging council review of a written proposal and a case-study packet provided to staff.
Council members and staff pressed on implementation details, including who would be liable for trip hazards where tree roots have uplifted sidewalks. A council member asked whether a work order had been placed to fix the affected sidewalk; city staff said they would follow the SWELL proposal, take staff recommendations from engineers, and asked the nonprofit to return at the next meeting for follow-up discussion.
Next steps: the nonprofit asked council to review its proposal and case study; staff agreed to coordinate follow-up and an item for a future agenda.
