Public forum at Fayetteville City Council spotlights school safety, bike lanes and protest ordinance concerns

Several residents used the Jan. 12 public forum to press the council on public-safety planning, mobility and civil liberties.

Jeremy Dozier (identified at the podium as Jeremy Dozier) urged the city to invest in layered school-safety approaches and described services his company, Axios Security Group, offers for threat assessments. "Safety influences enrollment, enrollment drives funding, and perception drives the family decision," he said, linking school safety to municipal stability.

Former councilman Christopher Davis and a security company representative promoted a free Saturday expo for faith leaders offering safety protocols and assessments; organizers said the training and some certifications will be provided at no cost.

Ben (Benjamin) Holtquist of Strong Towns Fayetteville urged citywide buffered bike lanes on arterial streets (starting with Margenton Road) to improve mobility and safety, citing local income and traffic-fatality statistics to argue equity and environmental benefits.

Resident Bobby Burgess applauded the council's decision to table a draft protest ordinance and urged a fuller review of its practical enforcement, paperwork impacts and potential chilling effects on First Amendment activity. "A policy like this... will ultimately deter the wrong citizens from exercising their First Amendment rights," Burgess said.

Other forum speakers raised rental-property maintenance and hazardous trees, concerns about museum development priorities amid public-safety worries, and calls for improved outreach and infrastructure prior to additional development.

The council did not take action on the public comments but acknowledged receipt and the public forum concluded before the business agenda resumed.