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.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1349017
6 UCW MARCH 10-16, 2021 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Leaders are supposed to make the hard decisions and embrace the mantle of responsibility, or so I learned in my 20 -year Army career. For too long, the current Fayetteville Mayor and City Council have shirked their responsibilities and avoided making the hard choices that come with their positions. is vacuum has resulted in the waste of taxpayer money, destruc- tion of public and private property, a rise in crime and a decrease in morale within our city's police department. My heart breaks for the city that I have made my home and grown to love. In the past few years, this wonderful town took a turn for the worse due to failures at City Hall. I owe it to my children, grandchildren, friends, family and neighbors to turn Fayetteville into a safe and prosperous city for them. For these reasons, I, Jose Alejandro "Alex" Rodriguez, have decided to become a City Council candidate for Fayetteville District 1. is city is in dire need of leadership, and I am more than capable and willing to provide it. As a retired soldier, a middle-school teacher and police officer, I have served my country and community. I will continue to do so should the citizens of my district bless me with the opportunity to serve them. For too long, the mindset in City Hall has steered this city in a destructive direction. Excessive spending and the waste of taxpayer funds are plaguing the weak members of the current City Council. eir lack of knowledge and inability to ask the difficult questions has made them ineffectual at being proper custodians of taxpayer dollars. e same weak-willed City Council enabled the burning and looting of our Market House and Downtown District. ose same "leaders" ordered the police to stand down, allowing the rioters to destroy property and failed to protect the livelihoods of residents and business owners alike. As I watched this occur, I was disappointed at the lack of respect that City Hall has for Fayetteville's citizens. Change is also needed at the very top of the Fayetteville Police Depart- ment. e current leadership is failing at serving and protecting the citizens and property of this city. Morale con- tinues to decline because of the toxic climate and failed indecisive leader- ship within the department. As a result of this command climate, the decline in personnel willing to serve in the department is growing with early re- tirements and officers leaving for other agencies. e men and women in blue serve to protect this city's citizens; they need leaders that will serve and protect them. Our city can be better with leader- ship that is serious, committed and decisive. Leaders willing to make the hard decisions, expose the ugly truths, and have the courage to accept the consequences regardless of the out- come. I need your help and support to help Fayetteville live up to its title as an "All-American City." I am Alex Rodri- guez, and I am running for Fayetteville City Council in District 1. OPINION Jose Alejandro "Alex" Rodriguez make your Radio sound funny. Mornings 6am to 10am on WFAY. Bud & Broadway Help Wanted at City Hall: serious leaders needed by JOSE ALEJANDRO RODRIGUEZ e Cumberland County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved two economic development incentives during their regular meeting held March 1. Fayetteville Cumberland Economic De- velopment Corporation President Robert Van Geons presented the two incentive proposals during two public hearings at the meeting. e first proposal, Project Wolfpack, is an incentive grant for Cargill that would see the company maintain a minimum of 70 jobs at its River Road facility, invest more than $5 million in real estate im- provements and add approximately $20 million in new personal property. e 70 jobs pay an annual salary of at least $70,000 — substantially above the average wages in Cumberland County. In exchange, the County will provide a six-year incentive grant offset by the tax revenue generated by the increased as- sessed value of real and personal property. In the first year of the agreement, the grant amount will be $90,000 and in years two through six, the grant amount will be $101,000. In no year shall the grant exceed 50% of the net increased tax revenue re- ceived by the county. e project is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. Cargill processes soybeans at its River Road plant, which is among facilities the company is evaluating for expansion. e second proposal, Project Nuar, is for an unnamed company headquartered in the U.S. that is considering an existing building in east Fayetteville for a new pro- duction facility. e building is located at 595 S. King St., between Eastern Boulevard and the Cape Fear River. e proposal calls for the company to create 75 new jobs with an average annual salary of $45,000 and invest more than $4 million in real estate improvements and equipment. Cumberland County would provide a grant of $1,500 per job for the first 15 jobs created and a grant of $625 per job for the next 60 jobs created. e local incentive grant would not exceed $60,000. e City of Fayetteville will hold a public hearing to consider a similar request. e company anticipates a final decision within the next 45–60 days. e Economic Development propos- als are available in the March 1 meet- ing agenda on the county's website at co.cumberland.nc.us. In other business, commissioners heard a report highlighting success of the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. e JCPC partners with the N.C. Department of Public Safety to help prevent and reduce juvenile crime and delinquency in the community. Nichelle Gaines, coordinator for the JCPC, presented the report. In fiscal year 2019-20, a total of 543 young people were served. An example provided by Gaines is Cumberland County Teen Court, which served 178 clients in 2019-20. Teen Court exceeded goals set for all four measurable outcomes. ese outcomes were for clients to have no new complaints with an offense date after the admission date, no new adjudica- tions, improvement in developing and/ or maintaining social and interpersonal interactions while in the program and successful completion of the program. Cumberland County has a total fiduciary responsibility for local and state dollars for JCPC. e county received a total of $1,119,291 in funding from NCDPS in fiscal 2020-21 for 11 JCPC programs. e county is ac- cepting JCPC requests for proposals for fiscal 2021-22 through March 19, 2021. To learn more about the JCPC, or to sub- mit a request for proposal for programs for 2021-22, go to www.co.cumberland.nc.us/ departments/court-group/court-system/ juvenile-crime-prevention-council. Commissioners approve two economic incentive packages a STAFF REPORT NEWS