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Standing beside the all-inclusive playground at Hickory Park, one of the most visible projects completed after voters approved a parks sales tax in 2021, Mountain Home Mayor Hillrey Adams announced Thursday morning that he will seek another term in the November 2026 election.
“It’s truly been an honor to serve the people of Mountain Home the past seven years,” Adams told a small gathering of press and supporters at the park. “I have enjoyed every single day.”
Adams, who took office in January 2019, chose the Hickory Park playground as the backdrop for his announcement, calling it a personal turning point in how he understood the needs of the community. He recalled a woman who came before the city council years ago and asked for the playground to be built.
“I didn’t understand why,” Adams said. “And she said, we don’t know about those who need this because they didn’t have a place to go. We never saw them anywhere.”
That playground, funded through a $783,000 project with a $225,000 grant, became one of the most popular gathering spots in the city. On most days, Adams said, it is one of the busiest parks in town.
Seven years of building
Adams’ tenure has been defined by an aggressive push to modernize Mountain Home’s infrastructure, much of it funded through voter-approved sales taxes that have allowed the city to complete major projects without taking on significant debt.
The city’s marquee project, the Mountain Home Community and Aquatic Center, is on track for completion in May. The $36.2 million complex, approved by voters in 2021 by a razor-thin 47-vote margin, will include a 35,000-square-foot gymnasium with an indoor track, a natatorium with three pools, an outdoor aquatic center with a lazy river and splash pads, a 30,000-square-foot convention center, and parking for 400 vehicles.
Adams has repeatedly described the community center as the project he hopes will define his legacy.
“I would be really happy, whether I walk out of office in two years or six, to be able to say that I left a huge impact on the parks and the lives of the kids,” Adams said during a construction tour last fall. “You have got to have things for kids to do and you have got to have opportunities. You have to take care of the kids.”
The facility will open debt-free, funded by a temporary half-cent sales tax for construction and a permanent quarter-cent tax for operations. The temporary tax will sunset once construction bonds are paid off.
Public safety investments
Voters also approved a three-eighths cent public safety sales tax in 2018, and the returns have been visible across the city.
The Mountain Home Police Department moved into its new headquarters at 650 South Street in April 2025 after the city completed a $1.58 million renovation of a former bank building in the heart of downtown. The project increased the department’s space by approximately 3,000 square feet and improved its visibility to the public. The city acquired the building through a property swap with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and the project was completed with about $74,500 covered by a grant.
In July 2025, the Mountain Home Fire Department dedicated the new Sharp Family Station 2, a 10,800-square-foot facility on Highway 62 East that replaced the department’s aging second station. The city began setting aside public safety funds for the project in 2021, accumulating $4.8 million by the time the station opened. It was fully paid for on dedication day, with $350,000 to $400,000 left over for future fire department improvements.
Three firefighters were added to the department’s roster in 2025, giving both stations the ability to staff four firefighters on duty and put more equipment on scene when needed.
Roads, water and parks
Adams distributed a list of second-term accomplishments at Thursday’s announcement that included more than $1.6 million in street rebuilds, with projects on East 1st Street, Conway Street, East 6th Street, Cedar Street, Turnage Trail, Deer Path, and the Delwood, Meadowcrest and Grace neighborhood.
The city’s wastewater treatment plant is in the middle of a roughly $27 million rehabilitation, with Phase 1 completed in June 2024 and Phase 2 expected to wrap up by June of this year. The upgrade will replace the plant’s chlorine disinfection system with UV disinfection and update its electrical components.
A new southwest sewer extension was completed in January, providing service to the ASU-Mountain Home Tech Center and opening the west side of the city to future development. The $1.69 million project used $491,059 in American Rescue Plan Act funds.
On the parks side, Clysta and Keller Park received $4.5 million in improvements in 2022 and 2023, while McCabe Park added a fishing pier, trails, parking, trail lighting and restrooms with the help of a $500,000 open grant.
Adams noted that all of these projects were completed while maintaining strong financial reserves. The city started 2022 with a carryover balance of $2.57 million and entered 2026 with $2.51 million, a near-flat balance despite the volume of spending.
‘I’m not ready for a change’
Adams, a retired postal worker who spent 40 years with the U.S. Postal Service before entering public life, leaned on a piece of advice from his father during Thursday’s announcement.
“My dad always told me, when you no longer enjoy what you do, it’s time to make a change,” Adams said. “I did that after 40 years in the post office. It got to where it wasn’t fun anymore, so I changed.”
He paused.
“Well, I’m not ready for a change right now.”
Adams said he has looked forward to the next day’s work every night since taking office, and pointed to ongoing projects as motivation to continue. The city still has the community center to open, a rebuild of 9th Street in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Transportation, a water tank project on the southwest side of town in the design phase, and plans for fire department improvements aimed at boosting the city’s ISO rating.
The mayor credited the city’s approximately 200 employees for making the progress possible.
“We couldn’t have done what we’ve done in the last seven-plus years without the help of almost 200 city employees that we’ve got, very dedicated to making sure the city of Mountain Home does what the people want us to do,” Adams said.
With his wife standing beside him, Adams mixed humor into his pitch for another term. He joked that his son Stetson, who recently moved back to Mountain Home with his wife and children, would put him to work putting tires on trailers every day if he left office.
“This would be a whole lot more fun than working for my wife standing beside me full time,” Adams said to laughter. “And I don’t want that job.”
Adams asked those gathered for their support in November and said he hopes to serve four more years beginning Jan. 27, 2027.
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than continue to serve the people of Mountain Home,” Adams said.
