The six leaders who spoke for the annual State of the Community on Thursday, Dec. 2, presented the diverse face of Greater Fayetteville. From the mayors of small towns to the top elected official of the state’s fifth-largest county, the group was united, however, by events that have challenged the area for the past two years and at the same time energized the region. 

Case in point: Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, for the second year, the Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce’s State of the Community forum took place virtually. 

As Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin noted while promoting vaccinations, “We are not out of the woods yet.” 

Colvin was joined at the forum by County Commissioners Chairman Charles Evans, Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner, Spring Lake Mayor Larry Dobbins and Fort Bragg garrison commander, Col. Scott Pence. 

Chamber Chairman Brian Pearce, the forum’s host and a vice president with Cape Fear Valley Health, said the Chamber and the community continue to journey through “unprecedented times of economic uncertainty and a global health crisis,” noting that the COVID-19 era has been the most challenged two years the Chamber has faced since it was founded in 1899. 

At the same time, Pearce said, meeting those challenges head on and with a “can-do” attitude have spurred unprecedented innovation in the business community. 

While COVID-19 has taken a negative toll -- major interruptions in places such as schools and businesses as well as an ongoing worker shortage, for example -- the pandemic also has resulted in millions of state and federal dollars being poured into the area. Several leaders said they continue to work on strategic ways to spend the windfall from the American Rescue Plan. 

Related to COVID as well as to the flooding from recent hurricanes, the speakers stressed the need for resiliency, not only physical, but also in key assets and services, such as human capital, communication, cyber technology and transportation. 

Another common theme was the importance of diversity and equality, ongoing issues that emerged nationally in the summer of 2020. Several people from the panel offered updates on diversity initiatives, including efforts to better understand how the issue plays out in the community and steps that can be taken to address it. 

Here are some of the highlights from the forum, which prior to COVID-19 had been held as a breakfast event: 

CUMBERLAND COUNTY

• The Health Department created a mass-vaccination location and has administered 54,000 vaccinations over the past year, Chairman Evans said; 
• Plans are in the works for a new homeless shelter, with early funding from the COVD-19-related ARP and the state; 
• In the recently passed state budget, the legislative delegation secured $400 million in funds for county projects and organizations; 
• The county attorney’s office is currently reviewing plans to spend the $65 million received in ARP funds, ensuring all federal and state requirements are met; 
• On capital projects, construction is underway for the building at 500 Executive Place to house the county’s emergency services and 911 center and a new fire and rescue training center at Fayetteville Technical Community College; and plans are underway for a new multipurpose center to replace the Crown Theater. 
• Colvin also stressed that getting public water to Gray’s Creek and other areas affected by chemical contamination from the Chemours plant is a high priority. 

FAYETTEVILLE 
• Project Bronco, the working name for a rumored 1 million-square-foot Amazon Distribution Center at Fayetteville's Military Business Park, represents a $100 million investment in the local economy and will employ 500 workers. Both Fayetteville and Cumberland County are providing economic incentives. 
• Business activity has resulted in a 13% increase in tax revenue from the downtown district; 
• A new policies guarantees that no city employee will be paid less than $15 per hour; 
• Phase One of what ultimately will be a $50 million overhaul and expansion project at Fayetteville Regional Airport has been completed; 
• Various bonuses are being provided for transit drivers and new police officers; 

FORT BRAGG
• Col. Pence thanked the area’s local and state leaders in helping pass a law that exempts retired armed services members from paying state taxes on their military pensions. “The tax exemptions make the state a very welcoming place for our military professionals who are retired,” Pence said. “This decision will result in many more military retirees settling in the state and contributing to the community and the economy.” 
• Troops from Bragg helped evacuate 60,000 people from Afghanistan earlier this year; 
• Pence noted that over the past 20 years the base has rotated a major percentage of its forces through Iraq and Afghanistan, with a third of base personnel deployed in any given year. For the first time in two decades, most of Bragg’s troops will be home, the colonel said, adding that the full complement of troops means soldiers will draw even more on public and private resources in the community, both on and off base. Pence pointed out that the government agencies and private businesses that provide those needed services already are strained by a shortage of workers, a concern echoed by others on the panel, too. 
• Based on the number of personnel, Bragg is the largest military establishment in the world, Pence said, adding that 85% of its population lives in the community rather than on base. “This community is the most-supportive military community in the nation,” he said. 

HOPE MILLS 
• Mayor Warner cited a year of big transitions for the fast-growing town, as both the town manager and police chief retired; 
• The town is working closely with Southview High School to develop a top-tier vocational program to train students in trades, especially those in high demand; • In the I-95 industrial corridor, Liberty Park has completed its first phase and will be the new home of a Postal Service distribution center. Meanwhile, Dirtbag Ales, Brewery & Taproom has become a top destination for people across the region; 
• Despite the rapid growth, Warner said Hope Mills doesn’t want to lose its “home-town” feel. 

SPRING LAKE 
• With its finances having been taken over by the N.C. Local Government Commission (LGC), a humble Mayor Dobbins said the town was focusing on its future rather than the troubled past. As for the financial problems, Dobbins said leaders made the mistake of trusting without verifying. Dobbins, who did not run for election, said the town and Mayor-elect Kia Anthony will continue to work closely with the LGC. 
• The mayor cited what he called an “R” plan for the town: restructuring, rebuilding, rebranding, regaining the trust of citizens, rebirth and resilience. 

The 1-hour forum can be viewed at www.tinyurl.com/3f25pw6u