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What makes the Fayetteville community so attractive, you may ask? Well, many things, but I would think the two biggest influencers are our location with easy access to the I-95 North-South corridor and a young and abundant labor force of thousands of men and women exiting Ft. Bragg each year. So, what's not to like about creating hundreds of jobs and bringing thousands of new residents into our community? With this being the case, you would think the City of Fayetteville would be doing everything possible to welcome these new arrivals by showcasing our unique local amenities that create and enhance our quality of life. Indeed, we would want to welcome these newcomers, introduce them to our diverse resources, invite them to engage in our abundant cultural activities, explore our historic Downtown, shop in our stores and eat in our restaurants. At best, you would think city leadership would not intentionally create barriers for this kind of introduction and indoctrination. You would think.
Well, I was surprised to learn that the Downtown Alliance Vice-President C. John Malzone announced that they would be introducing and circulating petitions asking the City to eliminate evening parking fees Downtown because the Alliance feels these fees are stifling the growth and development of local downtown businesses. The Alliance is a non-profit 501(c)(6) entity of people, organizations, and businesses in downtown Fayetteville. Over the last decade, the Alliance has invested in and nurtured a hospitable, consumer-friendly downtown business district. They have facilitated many changes that have allowed businesses to grow, expand and prosper by implementing suggestions and improvements that have made the Fayetteville Historic downtown experience more inviting, exciting, and enjoyable. Outdoor merchandising, better signage and sidewalk dining options are just a few of their many accomplishments. These business and property owners are located in a Municipal Service District. The MSD requires that they pay an additional self-imposed property tax. This allows Alliance members to have a voice on how these tax dollars are spent and weigh in on policies and ordinances that directly and indirectly affect their businesses and livelihoods.
Specifically, the Downtown Alliance will distribute petitions to downtown businesses, make them available online, and ask all residents to sign on and support the demand to end nighttime paid parking and charges for event parking during ball games. The petition also supports limiting the number of event paid-parking locations and hours. Free evening weekend parking supports downtown businesses, restaurants, museums and entertainment venues that visitors and residents love and support. This action comes 18 months after enforced paid parking went into effect. During this period, it has become evident that people avoid coming downtown in the evenings to enjoy movies, dining, shopping, fitness and even just walking to enjoy the city's ambiance. Alliance members are adamant that there should be no on-street parking enforcement after 5 p.m. at any time. Without a doubt, paid parking and evening enforcement drives away visitors and customers. It's a complaint heard repeatedly and is becoming too hard to ignore. Paid parking after 5 p.m. and during events on weekends has harmed downtown businesses' cultural and economic vitality. We agree. This practice hinders patrons and investors and penalizes visitors who readily support downtown Fayetteville, art venues, restaurants or cultural events. We don't agree with or understand why the Downtown Alliance organization carries this initiative forward by itself? The evening and event parking fees are a problem that affects the members and operations of several organizations. Is there support from the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce? The Cool Spring Downtown District? Fayetteville Convention & Visitors Bureau? And, the Arts Council? These are questions that need to be answered.
The Downtown Alliance is made up of business people. Entrepreneurs operate bottom-line, profit and loss operations that become a reality and "hard truth" of their success or failure. These are not agencies that depend on government funding, specialized community grants or donations through the generosity of others. These folks have their livelihoods on the line every day. These small to medium-size local companies are the lifeblood of a prosperous city center. Up & Coming Weekly supports this petition and feels the City of Fayetteville should be doing everything within its power to encourage, support and nurture these businesses rather than continually imposing barriers and hardships impeding their success. The organizations mentioned above, all relevant in their own right, need to step up and support those who have readily and unselfishly invested in Fayetteville's Historic Downtown community. I end with this reality and insight: Every prosperous City has a thriving downtown community. It's time to dismantle all the organizational silos, count the empty storefronts and the businesses that have come and gone out of business trying to support the downtown community, and start working as a dynamic coalition in support of a city we love.
To support this initiative, contact the Downtown Alliance at shopdowntownfaync@gmail.com, www.faydta.com, Facebook/fayDTA. To sign the petition, contact any Downtown Alliance downtown merchant or sign online at www.change.org/freeparkingdowntownfaync. For more information or questions about the petition, contact C. John Malzone 910-813-7378. And, as always, thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.