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Looking at 15 years of results

Hovey-King running on his City Council record

By BEN NELMS
bnelms@TheCitizen.com

Speaking Wednesday of his participation on the City Council and his run for re-election, incumbent Post 5 council member Al Hovey-King said his candidacy is one that is based on his record of service on the council for more than 15 years.

“I’m running on my record. You better believe it. And based upon the results it’s a darn good record,” he said. “My record speaks for itself. My record as part of this council, the things that I’ve supported, the things I have worked hard on have produced jobs, have kept the costs down, have given us good public safety, have provided us zoning, have provided us a variety of Main Street programs. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This council and myself have really brought a great deal of positive things to the city of Fayetteville.”

As a resident of Fayetteville for nearly 26 years, the 59 year-old Hovey-King is a Vietnam veteran and plant engineering manager with a major manufacturer, having retired after 30 years. He and his wife Lisa have owned several successful retail businesses in Fayetteville. The first business opened in 1983 while the most current opened nearly two years ago. That business experience, he said, offers a significant benefit when conducting city business such as the amending or creation of ordinances.

“The fact is that we have an investment in Fayetteville. It really is important to see our business be successful and other businesses to be successful,” said Hovey-King. “We understand how to make a payroll, the nature of retail business and the difficulties in marketing and advertising a business. So if you understand those things you can bring that perspective to your thought process as you discuss and amend or change existing ordinances or to create new ones.”

On the issue of the city’s sign ordinance, Hovey-King said the original ordinance has been updated three or four times since its adoption around 1989. The original intent of the ordinance matches that of today, he said, in that the council has involved various community members and attorneys to continue to evolve a strict but fair sign ordinance for every business.

“The point is we don’t do this in a vacuum,” he said.

Citing a past example where McDonald’s wanted to install a larger sign at a higher elevation, Hovey-King said the council requested documentation showing that such a sign would correlate with increased business.

“The response from the council was, ‘Show us the facts. If you’ve got data to support the contention that, in order to be successful, you’ve got to be big and you’ve got to be high, we will definitely listen to those and consider them.’ And we asked this not only of McDonald’s. No one has ever brought data that indicated that big and high was necessary or was better,” Hovey-King said. “So we’ve tried to tailor our sign ordinance to meet the needs of the community. And in light of that sign ordinance, we’ve involved the community. I believe that very sincerely.”

Looking at the performance of the City Council over a span of more than a decade, Hovey-King said that performance would likely be ranked in the top tier, whether in issues involving zoning or those including the broad spectrum of public safety. He said the efforts of the city council since the late 1980s has resulted in a continuing upgrade of both fire and police services. Issues such as the need to purchase newer firefighting and crime fighting supplies and equipment, events within the police department early in 2005 and crime fighting requirements continue to be addressed forthrightly by the City Council, he said.

“We have something in the neighborhood of an $8 million General Fund budget. Over 60 percent of that money is spent on public safety, fire and police. In fact, that’s where it ought to be spent. Public safety is what impacts most citizens. That’s the safety of their property and the safety of their person,” Hovey-King said. “Now we have lowered our ISO rating to, I believe, a 4, which is very good. That saves the business owner and the homeowner money in their insurance premiums.”

“With our police department, we’ve had some turmoil there and we addressed that turmoil as it surfaced. Did we like it? No, but we addressed it. If you go back and look at the state of the police department in the early years, 1989-1990, and look at the strides that have been made in professionalism and equipment, it’s just mindboggling. And our crime rate, if you compare it, is low. We have a very low crime rate.”

In terms of property taxes, Hovey-King used the example of a $200,000 home with a tax bill of just over $200 a year. That amount pays for all the public safety and other services provided by the city, he said, and that amount is perhaps less than one-third of what a typical cable television bill would be. And citing his own tax bill from 1990, Hovey-King said it is virtually unchanged from the current one due later this year. He said a $200 tax bill is, realistically, a bargain when factors such as a rapid response by firefighters to a quickly contain a house fire are considered.

With other city services such as engineering, Planning & Zoning, inspectors and the Building Department, Hovey-King said they are likely some of the best in the metro area.

“They know what is going on. They keep abreast of what is coming down from the state and federal governments,” he said.

Hovey-King said the current planned expansion of the wastewater treatment system, the prior innovative deep-well projects to provide drinking water and the many accomplishments of the Main Street program are indicative of both his and the city council’s proactive approach to city governance.

Looking from the broad perspective of the involvement of his family in the community, Hovey-King stressed the importance of that perspective and his various affiliations in the Fayetteville as it relates to his continued service on the city council.

“We’ve been involved in the community, with the school system and in business. We have our roots here and they have been here for 25 years plus,” he said. “This is home to us. This is where we want to be and this is where we will be.”

Hovey-King was asked to assess his role, past and future, as an advocate for citizens and their needs.

“I feel I am an advocate for the people. How do I do that? My number is published in the phone book. If somebody doesn’t feel comfortable getting up in a public meeting they can always pick up the phone,” he said. “And you can believe that happens. Is that the only way? No. I go out in the community. People know me. I think most people are comfortable talking to me. I’m available. People stop me on the street. People stop me in Home Depot if they’ve got an issue. It happens all the time. Do we always resolve the issue exactly the way the person wants it? Not all the time. Do we consider it? You betcha.”