Session held for public input on Fayetteville police headquarters project

FAYETTEVILLE -- Opinions expressed during a public input session Tuesday over the planned police headquarters ranged from adamant support for officers and their safety to the fear people of color experience from over-policing.

The meeting was held online via Zoom as a way to gain input on the design of the headquarters planned at Porter Road and Deane Street. Voters in April 2019 approved a nearly $37 million bond issue to build the campus, which will include a main police station, indoor firing range, storage space and garages, as well as road improvements. In the special election, 4,245 residents, or 71%, voted in favor of the issue while 1,773, or 29%, voted against.

Members of the City Council called for more public input during a meeting Oct. 7 in which the rezoning associated with the project was approved 8-0. The council saw the proposed layout for the site in summer and a workshop over the design was subsequently held in July.

Council members at the time expressed concern with how the headquarters will address the street, its arrangement and its impact to the neighborhood and community. Hired firm Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects in Dallas is working on revisions.

Nearly 50 residents spoke during the two-hour input session Tuesday. Support for and against the project largely was split. Those in favor called for the City Council to follow the advice of design experts and police administration to carry the design, and to put officer safety at the forefront. Those against said they viewed construction of the headquarters as upholding a system detrimental to minority populations, and that public sentiment regarding policing has changed since the vote was held last year. Some said policing and racial justice aren't mutually exclusive ideas, and the campus should reflect that.

Mayor Lioneld Jordan opened by saying the city will build the headquarters, and that it is on time and on budget. Construction is set to begin late this year or early next year. He also said the city is committed to ongoing reviews of police practices.

"We will always strive for continuous improvement, community outreach and training," he said.

Mayoral candidate Tom Terminella was among the speakers and said the headquarters is long overdue, and sowing division is not helpful.

"It's important to protect the people who are protecting us," he said. "Right now, our people are exposed."

Mayoral candidates Ron Baucom and William Harris didn't speak.

Several residents expressed displeasure with how the vote was rolled out to voters last year and how the city neglected to properly engage people of color in the process. Others said it's a resident's duty to know about major projects happening in the city.

Anahi Lopez said the conversation around public safety often doesn't include the well-being of people of color. The city is no exception, she said, adding that, as a Latinx person, police represent the opposite of safety.

"A decision to build a new police station is a decision to uphold systemic racism," she said. "If the city really wanted to address racism, it would stop this construction and follow and take the lead of communities of color -- their visions and alternatives for a safe and free community."

Sarah Peace said the city held an election, surveys and multiple late-night meetings on the topic of policing. The department is operating out of an inadequate facility, and the ballot language was explicit in what the headquarters should include.

"It does feel like we're starting to beat a dead horse and digging it up and beating it again," she said.

John Bass said the design of the campus will speak about its function and serve as a message to the community. He asked the city to not build a fortress.

"Build into this plan room to pivot, to change, as the conversation around police functions changes," Bass said. "These conversations are going to continue to happen and change is going to come regardless of whether the station is built."