Candidate Full Name: Theodore W. Mohn (Ted Mohn)
Daytime Phone Number: (910) 495-3634
E-Mail: tmohn@aol.com
Current Occupation Position: Retired
Previously Elected/Appointed Positions: Elected to City Council District 8 in Nov 2007, 2009, 20013, 2015 & 2017. Currently also serve as Mayor Pro Tem. I did not run for election/reelection in 2011 due to family reasons being a single parent.
Community Involvement: I Initially became involved in late 2004 upon my retirement from the U.S. Army because of the Big-Bang Annexation and have remained totally involved with our collective community.
Community Endorsements: Citizens of Fayetteville and district 8 have endorsed me by electing me the five times I have previously ran for election.
Do You Have and Active Campaign Account? Yes (Ted Mohn for City Council)
Do You Accept PAC Checks? Yes
QUESTION 1: The current City Council recently passed a new stonnwater ordinance in which a property owner may be
responsible for repairing their stonnwater drains instead of the City taking responsibility. The city is also still charging a
stonnwater fee. What are your thoughts on this new policy? How do you propose to fix the massive stonnwater problem
in our city?
City Council recently appropriated 1.8 Million Dollars (Drainage Assistance Program) in our current budget for off-right-of-way drainage improvements on private residential properties that connect to our in-right-of-way stormwater drainage systems. We are the only large city in North Carolina doing this. We’ve also hired Gradient (Gordan Rose’s Team) to help evaluate these off-right-of-way drainage complaints and also help inspect our approximately one hundred and thirty (130) Stormwater Control Measures (SCM’s – formerly referred to as BMPs). All of these off-right-of-way structures are important aspects of our overall stormwater infrastructure throughout our City.
As the City continues to study the various water basins across our City additional projects will be identified that need to be addressed. To be able to pay for these improvements I support a voter approved stormwater infrastructure revenue bond referendum similar to the Parks & Recreation Bond Referendum. The reoccurring revenue stream to pay off the bond would be from the existing stormwater fund and not an increase in property taxes.
QUESTION 2: How do you propose to create a more walkable, pedestrian friendly community? Are you aware of the
REALTORS Build a Better Block initiative? www.betterblockfaync.com
I am very familiar with the Build a Better Block Initiative. The one in Haymont lead to NCDOT approving and paying for
the for the installation of a pedestrian (protected) crosswalk near the Cape Fear Regional Theater. The one next Spring on Murchison Road by Fayetteville State University will help guide NCDOT and their planned improvements to the southern end of Murchison Road. Some plans include reducing the speed limit from Langdon Street to Rowan Street, narrowing traffic flow to one lane in each direction, add on-street parking, adding bike lanes and having a protected center median for additional pedestrian safety.
As a ten-year member of the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (FAMPO’s) Transportation Policy Board (TPB) we’ve allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars requiring a small local match over the past ten years for improved walkability across our City. This includes miles of sidewalks, walking trails, protected pedestrian crosswalks, improved streetscapes, an upcoming study to potentially have a trail along Cross Creek from Rowan Street all the North to Fort Bragg and other walkability options for our City.
If reelected to City Council I will continue to serve on the TPB to help bring Federal and State Transportation dollars to our City to continue improving our walkability and bike options.
QUESTION 3: Do you want the NC Civil War History Cenrter to be built?
Yes. I voted to support this project in December 2016 and remain committed to the potential economic development and Educational aspects of this project as presented. The foundation along with City, County and State level elected officials must ensure trust across our City that this History Center will tell all sides of this point in our NC history.
We must better embrace our African American citizens to ensure they feel comfortable and supportive of the History Center’s mission and dedication to telling their story. This has been done to some level but the Center’s personnel need to continue going out to community watch meetings to explain the process/research do date and their commitment to ensure additional citizen engagement through the Center’s construction, initial operation and future operation.
QUESTION 4: How would you make it easier to do business in the city? What are your ideas for job growth?
Since coming back on City Council in December 2013 the City Council has worked with the broader development community to continue updating the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and stormwater ordinance. I know with the passage of the UDO this would be a living and breathing document subject to updates in the decades ahead. Updates indeed have been occurring over the past several years.
Our unemployment rate has declined over the past several years due to numerous new businesses coming to our major NCDOT corridors. New apartments and houses continue to be built and we need to continue our residential development based on demand. Large areas of land in Western Fayetteville are ripe for residential and commercial development and the I-295 extension south of Cliffdale Road and Raeford Road will make the surrounding lands more appealing for new development.
The Campbell Soup Distribution Center is currently operating at initial/partial capacity and should be fully operating with close to 200 new jobs by next summer. These are the type of new projects we need to continue encouraging to come into our City. We must continue working with the County and the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation (FCEDC) to continue recruiting new businesses and new jobs into our community. The process is in place and we need to be successful with our City policies/ordonnances to encourage new growth and infill developments.
QUESTION 5: Homelessness … what are your thoughts on how to address this issue?
Homelessness in Fayetteville will never truly be eliminated because it’s a revolving door. Some get help and others then fall into homelessness. Cumberland County is the State of NC designated lead for Health and Human Services which homelessness and individual root causes are part of the County’s responsibilities. No two homeless persons stories are identical. With that said the City Council and County Commissioners need to do a much better job directing their Senior Management Teams to propose actual programs with a funding source designed to treat the root causes of homelessness.
The best solution in my personal opinion is to get our homeless population in direct contact with their immediate and/or extended family members to see if they can be reunited because family support is the best kind of support available in most cases. Where this is not possible, we need to continue working with our non-profits that already provide support services to our homeless population to see what can be done to help our homeless secure safe affordable housing to help them on their road to recovery and out of homelessness. We have some of the best fed homeless citizens in the country because of the many gracious organizations helping with food and basic life necessities. While admirable this is simply a bridge for our homeless population’s day-to-day existence versus addressing the symptom(s) and causes(s) to their homelessness. I do thank these private entities for their efforts and compassion. They are truly helping keep some of our homeless population alive.
Our Cumberland County Commissioners must step-up and boldly take the lead once and for all with a county-wide plan so Fayetteville, Hope Mills, Spring Lake and our other municipalities can be in a supportive role and a collective part of any future solution to reducing our County’s homeless population.
