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/159900
COMMENTARY Former Councilman Ted Mohn Seeks Reelection by TED MOHN I'm grateful for the confidence you placed in me when you elected me to the Fayetteville City Council in November 2007 and 2009. I did not seek reelection in 2011 for personal reasons to include ensuring my son made a successful transition from high school to college. That transition is complete so I am again offering my services to be "Your Voice at City Hall." During my four years on city council we collectively made many positive gains. We added personnel and equipment to our Police and Fire Departments to serve our growing community. The number of active community watch groups grew across our city and crime rates from the spike in 2008 were reduced. Blighted properties were demolished and neighborhoods revitalized We combined resources from Safe Routes to School programs and added sidewalks on major thoroughfares across our community. We made our public transit a priority and made significant financial investments in buses and benches. A fitting tribute to those that have served our great nation, phase one of the N.C. State Veterans Park was opened and improvements to other parks and recreation centers were made. In the spirit of true collaboration, we developed a joint incentive package with our county commissioners to encourage economic growth. We worked as a cohesive team and moved Fayetteville in a positive direction. Now more than ever, we need to strengthen that team approach with elected officials, citizens, city workers, county leaders and local organizations to continue to make Fayetteville a better place to live, work and play. As we look forward to 2014 and beyond, our community has many challenges with crime being the greatest threat to our ability of becoming an even better community. I know firsthand the frustration of being a victim of property crime as my house was broken into twice, once while serving as your council member. Criminals don't care who you are when they look for and find targets of opportunity. Public safety is my number one priority, which includes police, fire and sanitation. As your council member I will work to ensure public safety is funded first with our city's reoccurring revenue streams and available public safety grants. Council needs to provide required resources to support the police department initiatives to reduce crime and protect our fellow citizens. We need to work with county, state and federal law professionals for solutions that are working in other communities. Fire/emergency management must be adequately funded to help with emergency response times, department capabilities and personnel/equipment required to support growth across our city. We must fund and staff our Environmental Services Department adequately so they are able to provide quality waste-collection services to help keep our neighborhoods free of trash and environmental hazards that come with discarded items. Working as a team, we must continuously review city service levels and work towards improving efficiency before deciding to raise property taxes or impose extra fees (taxes). Clear priorities must be set and communicated to the city manager and senior city staff members. We need to encourage quality development and job creation. The Unified Development Ordinance replaced our older development codes and ordinances. The UDO must be a living document that is updated to reflect changes in our city and be streamlined when problems are identified. There must be constant dialogue between our business owners, development community, citizens, city staff and elected officials. We need to support initiatives that tackle neighborhood blight and improve the quality of life of our fellow residents. This includes pay-as-you-go improvements to our parks and recreation services. While I did not run for reelection in 2011 I've never stopped helping citizens of Fayetteville. I continue to receive citizen requests for help and I help each and every one of them. As your District 8 Councilman I'm committed to: • Working for and listening to citizens. • Public safety. • Smart growth and planning. • Safe routes for pedestrians. • Advancing local policies and ordinances that encourage job creation. • Equal representation for all of our fellow citizens. • Teamwork. Please vote in the Fayetteville Primary Election on Oct. 8 and again in the General Election on Nov. 5. Public service is a privilege and I'm asking for your vote to allow me once again to represent you on the Fayetteville City Council. Together we can continue to make Fayetteville a better community for all of us. Colt Ford In Concert The Lafayette Society and The Fayetteville Area Transportation & Local History Museum present Saturday, September 7th At The Outback Motorsports Complex in Laurinburg, NC Outback Motorsports Complex in Laurinburg Country music's Colt Ford and his band will headline a daylong fes;val at the Outback Motorsports Complex in Laurinburg. The day starts at 9:00 a.m. and will include: Tickets: Outlaw Motorcross Races Full day of bands $20 in advance Colt Ford Concert at 6:00 $25 at the gate www.col&ord‐concert.com WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Lafayette Birthday Celebration! The Katrina General Friday, Sept 6th 11 am Reeves Auditorium Methodist University Lafayette Birthday Sidewalk Sale ! Saturday, Sept 7th 10am-6pm in Downtown Saturday, Sept 7th 10 am-5pm Museum of Cape Fear Visit our website for other fun activities events! sponsored by www.LafayetteSociety.org Margaret and Richard Player, Jr. Lafayette Business Machines • Michael Green • Methodist University Lafayette Ford • FACVB • City of Fayetteville AUG. 28 - SEPT 3, 2013 UCW 5