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.
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14 UCW FEBRUARY 13-19, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM City Celebrates Engineers Week The City of Fayetteville's Engineering Division will be celebrating Engineers Week by hosting an E-Week Fair at City Hall on Thursday, Feb. 21. Citizens, engineering partners and City employees will be invited to join the division for presentations, demonstrations, food, fun and giveaways related to the engineering field. The event will last from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The goal of the City of Fayetteville's Engineers Week event is to translate the purpose of the national celebration into something that increases awareness amongst employees and citizens of what function engineers have within the City. It will inspire the next generation of local engineers to explore technical fields and consider the prospect of lending their talents to service in municipal employment. It also will allow the City to share stories of success of engineering staff with the public by highlighting current and past projects and endeavors that benefit the Fayetteville community. The citizens will benefit from experiencing a more transparent local government, leaving with a better understanding of how their tax dollars are used to provide infrastructure and services within the City. Likewise, the City benefits from the opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to maintaining a high quality built environment, as well as providing employees with an opportunity to collaborate to share knowledge, experience and better learn the capabilities of equipment and technology available in the industry. The City's Engineering Division is excited to share this event with City staff, members of City Council, citizens and students. The division has invited several student groups from surrounding colleges and universities to encourage participation. Throughout the four-hour event, the audience will experience engineering in several ways, including booths and displays set up by City staff groups, to include engineering, stormwater, traffic services, construction management and project management to inform participants of different aspects of the work they do. They will also be invited to watch demonstrations or receive information from the City's partners in engineering, including engineering firms, product and equipment suppliers and educators. Additionally, a series of more formal presentations will be conducted to explore the details of specific projects or other topics of interest within the field of engineering. To learn more about what the Engineering Division of the City of Fayetteville does, please visit our website at https://fayettevillenc.gov/government/city-departments/engineering-infrastructure/engineering-division or follow us on Twitter @FayNC_PubServ. City Council Chooses Strategic Initiatives for Next Fiscal Year The Fayetteville City Council, based on the City's established Strategic Priorities, identified several initiatives for the next 12-18 months at this weekend's annual Strategic Planning Retreat. Those initiatives include: • Redevelopment and business growth of the Murchison Road corridor • Job creation and retention for the local workforce through an internship program • Developing Smart City capacity, specifically through pursuing the installation of broadband across the City • Collaboration and empowerment by developing a Young Adult Engagement Program • Working to develop a quality stormwater program • Managing the City's future growth through a comprehensive land use plan • Improving connectivity by assessing the feasibility of railroad crossing safety at at-grade crossings • Elevating the conversation about how to combat poverty across the City • To advance community revitalization efforts, to include residential and commercial properties The city's elected officials met on Friday, Feb. 1 and Saturday, Feb. 2 at Fayetteville Technical Community College's Wesley A. Meredith Horticultural Education Center to learn from their most recent citizen engagement efforts, set strategic priorities for the next 12-18 months, agree on methods and specifics of reporting, accountability, and community, and create talking points for strategic priorities. The 2-day session was facilitated by Lydia Altman and Dale Smith, from the University of North Carolina's School of Government. Strategic planning is a roadmap employed by many local governments to guide the use of money, personnel and resources to realize a shared vision of the future. It outlines what a community hopes to achieve through a long-term and annual goal-setting process and provides steps for reaching those goals. More information regarding the City's strategy and performance programs can be found on the City's website at https://fayettevillenc.gov/government/city-departments/strategic-performance-analytics/strategic-planning. Citizens can also visit TRACstat for key performance measures, finance and budget data and Targets for Action updates at http://tracstat.fayettevillenc.gov for updates on strategic performance results. 433 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC 28301-5537 www.FayettevilleNC.gov (910) 433-1FAY (1329) /cityoffayettevillegovernment Insta Follow Your City on Social Media: Engaging You About Your City Government Engaging You About Your City Government KENNETH MAYNER, MPA, Chief Branding Officer, City of Faye eville Corporate Communica ons Department, Contribu ng Writer. What's Your Scene? Turn to the center calendar every Wednesday and see what's happening around YOU or go online www.upandcomingweekly.com