Publisher's Note: Our recently promoted Associate Editor, Jenna Shackelford, interviewed Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin earlier this month. Whether you agree with his policies and decisions or not, not many leaders in Fayetteville’s history can say they have led through such a tumultuous series of events. From a pandemic, which is ongoing, to the civil unrest we experienced last year, Mayor Colvin’s leadership has truly been tested. Please enjoy Jenna’s interview below with Mayor Colvin.
God bless you and yours, Marty, Publisher, Greater Fayetteville Business Journal, martyc@bisfayetteville.com

By Jenna Shackelford

The past year has been a tumultuous one for businesses; whether dealing with a decline in sales, staffing issues, supply chain shortages or any of the other issues that the pandemic produced, recovering has been an arduous journey for many companies. Despite it all, Mayor Mitch Colvin sees how the community has managed to thrive and is eager to implement more positive changes in the area. 
“We are, from what I can hear from the business community, we are doing pretty good,” Colvin said. “We had about 200 million dollars of new construction from March 2020 to March 2021 … That means jobs are being created.” 
The biggest complaint that Colvin hears is how difficult it is to keep and retain qualified workers in the community. Mayor Colvin sees this as an opportunity to encourage “jobs of the future” in the area. “Cybersecurity — I’ve talked to a couple of people who have connections with employers in that world, so we may do some pilot programs with them to put people on a 12-month path so they can come out with a six-figure job in cybersecurity,” Colvin said. 
“I also want to work with the technical college and the universities … Jobs are the future and will be our key and that will help us with retention and attraction of young people. They graduate and leave … But when you have jobs that are in an area they have an interest in, they’ll come back.” 
Despite COVID-19’s impact, the region has had an influx of new businesses. One such business was Metronet, which is currently implementing its 100 percent fiber optic network in Fayetteville and surrounding areas — part of a $70 million dollar deal. “I worked on that deal in collaboration with PWC to make sure we laid out a path for businesses that was a path of least resistance,” Colvin explained. He says that Metronet’s product is needed to be a ‘smart city.’ 
“We are here to make sure that the message is loud and clear that Fayetteville is open for business. The low cost of real estate and commercial property compared to other places and [the fact] that we haven’t raised our taxes in five years plus show that this is a perfect environment for businesses. 
“We have a really good economic development director in Robert Van Geons … What we are doing is making sure we create the site-ready opportunities for businesses. We are acquiring properties in and around the airport so we can add a commercial aspect to that. We are adding to our private transportation corridor out there so that corporate clients can go in and out and do their transactions,” Colvin said. 
In the spring, the Fayetteville community heard about a potential deal with Bernhardt Capital, one that would put the company in charge of Fayetteville’s utilities. The deal did not go through, but Colvin said it opened the door to exploring the status quo and potential for change. 
“We have to make sure we vet any opportunities that could be in the best interest of the community. 
"Sometimes those are transactions that are uncomfortable for people who like the status quo. And, sometimes, it needs more of a deeper dive to find out more about it … I was not really familiar with the Bernhardt model, but I did know that a lot of private capital is on the sidelines looking at investments in communities and infrastructure and other things, and we’ll see more of that. .. The idea and the concept is not off the table,” Colvin explained. 
“We aren’t going to do anything — I haven’t talked to anyone at PWC or on the city side — that’s not in the best interest of the community … We’re going to have to have a realistic conversation about whether the government can do it better than the private sector,” he said. 
In the same vein, Colvin said the City is looking into how to best promote positive change in the area with its share of American Rescue Plan funds. 
While the decision for how American Rescue Plan money will be spent is still on the table, Mayor Colvin said some of his personal top priorities are housing, infrastructure needs, bringing jobs to the area, and helping small businesses. 
Colvin sees improving infrastructure as an important way to boost a positive view of the city. “Our street rating needs to come up. Companies look at that. We have a stormwater problem that is almost a quarter of a billion dollars. 
“Sidewalks are a big piece. We receive a hit on our quality of life rating based on walkability of this community. Those things make us appear on the WalletHub list in a negative way because we don’t have the sidewalk connectivity that people view as a safety and quality of life issue,” Colvin said. 
“Businesses are only as valuable as the people who work there, so if they have people who are struggling to pay rent or having to live in another community and commute, that hurts [businesses’] retention ability,” said Colvin. He sees improving these areas as ways to help businesses thrive.