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/568136
8 SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2015 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Par t II of my column of t wo week s ago: Curiously, t he local daily paper in a recent Sunday editorial and accompany ing op-ed piece at tempted to t ake issue w it h my conten- t ion t hat Fayet tev ille is an Army tow n and likely always w ill be — as if t here's somet hing w rong w it h t hat . The paper suggested we can be so much more, just like San Diego, California, or Tacoma, Washing ton, bot h of which are k now n for more t han t heir milit ar y neigh- bors. Act ually, Fayet tev ille is not hing like t hem. To even put Fayet tev ille in t he same leag ue w it h San Diego is absurd. It has a pop- ulat ion 1.3 million and is t he eight h largest cit y in t he United St ates. We come t he closest in populat ion to Tacoma, which is home to Joint Base Lew is- McChord. But t he similarit y ends w it h our milit ar y bases. Tacoma is t he home of several internat ional companies. Fayet tev ille has none. The Washing ton St ate cit y has been named one of t he most livable places in t he United St ates. It boast s nine inst it ut ions of higher learning as opposed to Fayet tev ille's t hree. Public t rans- por t at ion in Tacoma includes 43 bus routes, compared to Fayet tev ille's 16. They also have commuter rail and light-rail ser v ice. Even in Nor t h Carolina, Fayet tev ille has no peers. Now look, t his is not a put dow n of our fair communit y. It 's a realit y check! Fayet tev ille is what it is… a proud Army tow n, just like Chapel Hill is a college tow n and A shev ille is a tourist haven. We became a cit y of more t han 200,000 resident s not t hrough grow t h, but t hrough annexat ion. Fayet tev ille gobbled up it s suburbs and now has t wo-t hirds of Cumberland Count y 's populat ion. W hat about ot her comparables like busi- ness, healt hcare and public educat ion? Forbes Magazine says Fayet tev ille rank s 159t h among best places for business in t he count r y. A shev ille is #12. A s for public educat ion, Forbes rank s Fayet tev ille 164t h, Raleigh is 12t h. W hen it comes to healt h care, where would you want to be hospit alized? Would you choose Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, First Healt h Moore Regional, Wake Forest Bapt ist, Carolinas Medical Center, Duke Universit y Medical Center or UNC Hospit als? The most persuasive ev idence t hat our com- munit y cannot be compared to ot her large met ropolit an cit ies in Nor t h Carolina is it s t a x base. Suf f ice it to say we are unlike v ir t u- ally ever y ot her large cit y in t he st ate. We have no high rise of f ice towers. Our t a x base is most ly resident ial. Single family homes and apar t ment s represent t he largest segment of t a xable proper t y, which places t he greatest t a x burden on home ow ners. W hy? Because we are a bedroom communit y for For t Bragg. The cit y says real and personal proper t y t a x revenues have grow n by just t hree-tent hs of one percent . Because our economy is primarily based on ret ail and ser v ice indust ries, sales t a x reve- nues are up nearly 6 percent . A lso on t he plus side, Fayet tev ille is ranked by Time Magazine as t he nat ion's most pro-milit ar y cit y. And it 's among t he most popular places in t he count r y for milit ar y veterans to ret ire. That says it all! So let's continue to do all we can as citizens, local government and business to recognize who we are… the best damn Army town in America. Fayetteville: The Best Damn Army Town In America By JEFF THOMPSON JEFF THOMPSON. Columnist. COM- MENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. • As a full service dealer we have over 50 trailer units for sale in various sizes, colors and options for any of your hauling needs. • Elite dealer for Forest River Trailers as well as other brands like dump, enclosed, pull behind and many more. 910-424-7660 910-424-7660 We also have tires available for your trailer needs. Est. 2011 www.diamondtrailersales.com • We also have trailer tires available for your trailer needs. Bring in this ad or mention it to receive