Fayetteville staff report progress on FY25 priorities; Orange Street School ribbon cutting set for Feb. 27

City staff presented a second-quarter update on the FY25 strategic plan to the Fayetteville City Council on Feb. 24, reporting progress on five priorities: violence reduction and mental-health response, affordable housing and revitalization, youth engagement, economic development on city‑owned property, and city branding and communications.

The presentation, led by Chris Lowery, strategic and performance analytics manager, said staff completed 15 collaborative initiatives tied to the violence-reduction and mental‑health priority and recorded 47 individuals using a mental‑health liaison. Staff described steps toward a community‑paramedic mental‑health co‑response model and said the Office of Community Safety (OCS) has hired two employees and is accepting applications for an OCS director.

On housing, staff said the city adopted a Section 108 lending policy and closed on three affordable housing projects using about $3.6 million in city investment. The report said staff had leveraged grants and loans that preserved 37 jobs and supported development of 26 new multifamily affordable units. The city also launched a single‑family housing development program making 47 lots available and said it used ARPA funds to remove blight without drawing on the general fund.

Youth engagement work highlighted the continuing reservation and rehabilitation of Orange Street School; staff said the second floor — which will house STEM programming, a science lab, an art studio and a recording studio — is complete and a ribbon cutting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27. Parks and Recreation also reported a $20,000 grant for youth football safety equipment and an application for a $15,000 program support grant for Festival Park events.

On branding and communications, staff said a redesigned city website launched Feb. 11 and had recorded 37,995 visits and 100,782 page views since launch; staff said design and rollout were funded entirely with ARPA funds. Communications staff also reported a higher-than‑industry open rate for the city e‑newsletter and several recognitions for city marketing materials.

Council members asked staff to add Cumberland County as an explicit partner on mental‑health and violence‑reduction materials to encourage county cooperation as those programs develop, and to add an on‑site way for website visitors to submit feedback and surveys. Staff said it could add an online, fillable feedback form and that future outreach would emphasize county partnership.

Council received the second‑quarter strategic report by motion and vote.