Mayor Tony Chavonne was very candid during his morning talk. One question on everybody's mind - How does the mayor rebuild confidence after he came to the aid of a friend who was about to get a traffic ticket?
"Well I think we continue to rebuild confidence by making progress and showing you have blips in the road... you learn from them and move forward," Mayor Chavonne told reporters. Residents say that's not much of an answer about an incident that ripped the city apart.
Fayetteville resident Mickey Hudson said he's ready to move on and deal with some bigger issues. "What are we going to annex and where the City of Fayetteville's boundaries will be in the next five years," Hudson asked.
The Mayor says the city has one annexation plan at Fort Bragg. "Fort Bragg is one of the last military installations that have not been incorporated into the local municipalities. And we have a tentative agreement between Fort Bragg and Spring Lake and Fayetteville for that incorporation," Chavonne adds, "I think that will happen within the five year period."
Eva Hudson, another Fayetteville resident, asked Chavonne about the military base closings and its affect on the City of Fayetteville. "It's a federal law by September 2011 it has to happen so I think there's been some encouraging news recently. The funding for the construction of the Forces Command building was actually moved up a year," Chavonne said.
"I would like to know," Marva Moore asked, "What are the plans on widening Murchison Road from Pamalee Drive slash Country Club Drive towards Fayetteville State University?"
The mayor says there's no funding for that part of the Murchison Road Project, but the city is working on a plan. "The Murchison Road Corridor Advisory Committee, their work over the next five or six months will help us collectively as a community identify what we want Murchison Road... what we want that part of our community to look like," Chavonne said.
Chavonne says Fayetteville's projected growth and revitalized downtown will make the city a jewel in the Heart of Carolina.
