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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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM FEBRUARY 12-18, 2020 UCW 35 433 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC 28301-5537 www.FayettevilleNC.gov www.FayTV.net (910) 433-1FAY /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. City Receives $50,000 from First Horizon Bank for New Program to Help Police Officers Purchase Homes in Targeted Areas Within City The City of Fayetteville received a $50,000 check at the Jan. 27 council meeting from First Horizon Bank for the Good Neighbor Homebuyer Loan Program. This program, administered by the City's Economic and Community Development Department, is designed to offer Fayetteville City police officers a depreciating loan of up to $20,000 to use for a home down payment, closing costs or pre-paids. For police officers to qualify, the homes must be in Fayetteville's revitalization corridors of Murchison Road or B Street. "We are very excited to receive these funds as part of a collaborative effort with the City Council's new program," said Police Chief Gina Hawkins. "This provides our officers with a great opportunity to receive assistance with a home purchase within the city." "I am very thankful for First Horizon Bank's graciousness in providing this money and thank Council for the initial funding and support for this effort," said Mayor Mitch Colvin. "This type of partnership is what makes our city so successful and demonstrates our partnership with the private sector, making homes within the city more affordable for our police officers. We encourage other businesses and organizations to consider such beneficial partnerships." City Council Defines and Sets Strategic Goals for Next Fiscal Year The Fayetteville City Council defined and set their strategic goals for the next fiscal year at the conclusion of their annual city council strategic retreat, held at the Fayetteville Cumberland Youth Council building on Rowan Street. The goals include: • Safe and Secure Community • Responsive city government supporting a diverse and viable economy • City investment in today and tomorrow • Desirable place to live, work and recreate • Financially sound city providing exemplary city services • Collaborative citizen and business engagement "Our retreat enabled council to come together as a team to collectively decide upon and prioritize our focus areas for the next fiscal year," said Mayor Mitch Colvin. "We have a lot of great momentum going on now with the completion of Segra Stadium, millions of dollars in private development downtown, heading well down the path to completion of $35 million in Parks & Recreation projects and improvements, among many other efforts we are taking to improve Fayetteville. This is an exciting time for our city and I look forward to where the city is headed in the future." "This annual retreat affords us a great opportunity to match our goals to our budget, to ensure we doing things in a most fiscally responsible manner that strives to achieve council's intent," said City Manager Doug Hewett. "With 1600 employees and over a dozen departments, we have a lot of programs and services we offer our citizens. We want to make sure we are putting our efforts in the right places." "We were able to set performance expectations and focus our efforts for the next year, ensuring council is all rowing in the same direction," said Rebecca Jackson, Strategic Performance Analytics Director. "It's important that we do this year to ensure relevancy for and within the community." Special sunrise at Market House on Hay Street Video is available showing the special sunrise event at the Market House on Hay Street in downtown Fayetteville Jan. 29. The sun was visible through the Market House arches. You can only see this phenomenon twice per year, weather permitting, when the earth aligns so the sun is framed by the arches. The video can be viewed on YouTube at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD9QdiiwyZU