Up & Coming Weekly

SEPTEMBER 23-29, 2009 UCW 7 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM The City of Fayetteville has formed a team to draft a sustainability plan that will help lead the community in reducing the city's carbon footprint. Citizens are asked to get involved by viewing the plan on the city Web site at www.ci.fayetteville.nc.us under Front Page News and then provide input on it at three public meetings. The public meetings are scheduled for the following dates: Thursday, Sept. 24 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Westover Recreation Center, located at 267 Bonanza Drive Monday, Sept. 28 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at College Lakes Recreation Center, located at 4945 Rosehill Road Tuesday, Sept 29 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at City Hall Lafayette Room, located at 433 Hay St. This important plan addresses four major topic areas: Environment and natural resources, planning, community and city agencies. The categories cover 13 specifi c issues. The goals are to identify methods and educate the public on how to improve energy effi ciency, reduce noxious and toxic emissions and enhance the greening of the community. Developing the plan meets part of the requirements of accessing $1.65 million in Department of Energy stimulus funds. A sustainability plan helps the community become more environmentally conscious, conserves energy and reduces emissions to preserve resources for the future. Professionals in the fi eld of sustainability from across the country will contribute to the plan, as will local sustainability subject matter experts. "We feel that the culmination of the information will allow us to develop a plan that will lead us to a more sustainable community," Environmental Services Director Jerry Dietzen said. Fayetteville Outperforms State and National Averages in Economic Indicators The economy in Fayetteville is performing better than the rest of the state and country. That's the message that Fayetteville City Manager Dale Iman conveyed to the Fayetteville City Council recently. Iman presented information culled from the Fayetteville housing market, job market and per capita income research, which are all above the state and national norms. The appreciation of housing values is the best in the nation, according to Zillow. com, a Web site that tracks home sales nationwide. Earlier this year, Fayetteville was featured in Parade Magazine and on ABC's Good Morning America for its housing market, which has actually seen most homes sell for a profi t. Across the country, homeowners have been forced to sell below value. But, in Fayetteville, where a strong local economy is driven by steady military and defense jobs at Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base, homes are appreciating at a 13.4 percent rate since the second quarter of 2008. Unemployment is below the state and national averages in Fayetteville, while the per capita income is above that of the rest of the state, rising steadily over the past fi ve years. "We are fortunate in Fayetteville to have a strong local economy that is doing very well compared to the rest of the state and country," Iman said. "Government jobs through the military and defense industry are helping us substantially and so are steady jobs in private industries like Goodyear, Purolator and Wal-Mart Distribution. Solid jobs locally are allowing us to thrive during a historic economic downturn that is being felt almost everywhere. Meanwhile, Fayetteville is an exception to that rule and our property tax base remains strong." Iman also points out that the military economic impact to the community in 2008 was over $9.6 billion as estimated by the U.S. Army and Air Force. Visitors, both business travelers and others, had an economic impact of $328 million in 2008. "While we have not been immune to the economic factors that have hurt other cities across the nation, the facts show that we are weathering the storm in much better shape than most other communities," Iman said. "This is very exciting news for Fayetteville, our citizens and our city government as we continue to strive to make our municipality the best it can be." Citizens can view the presentation and see the economic indicators status report on the City's Web site, www.cityoffayetteville.org. City Sustainability Plan Available for Comment a STAFF REPORT An dy Anders o n M ovi ng Co . Thank You Fayetteville hank You Fayetteville For voting us For voting us Best Moving Company Residential • Commercial 1517 Hope Mills Rd. 910-826-MOVE 910-630-MOVE (6685) 910-425-8413 Boxes for Sale Free Estimates • Reasonable Rates Fully Insured COMMUNITY NEWS

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