Here comes the money: How $127M in tax dollars will be used in and around Fayetteville

Paul Woolverton, Fayetteville Observer
·5 min read

New buildings at Fayetteville State University, a new water system for the “forever chemical” contaminated zone of Gray's Creek, and cash to pay for projects in Hope Mills and Spring Lake are some of more than 30 items earmarked for Fayetteville and Cumberland County in the $30 billion state budget that the North Carolina General Assembly approved on Friday.

The new state budget allocates more than $127 million to projects in and around Fayetteville, according to information provided by state House Reps. Diane Wheatley of Cumberland County and Charles Smith of Fayetteville, and state Sen. Tom McInnis, who serves Moore and Cumberland counties. The two-year budget covers spending through June 30, 2025.

Republicans, including Wheatley and McInnis, voted for the $30 billion, 1,437-page budget. Most Democrats, including Smith, state Reps. Marvin Lucas of Spring Lake and Frances Jackson of Hope Mills, and Sen. Val Applewhite of Fayetteville, voted against the budget.

The new budget will take effect at midnight Tuesday morning. Here is what is coming to Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

Sports gambling to underwrite college athletics

A new law that legalizes gambling on sports and horse racing takes effect next year, with the state taking a cut to pay for college and youth sports.

A budget document estimates this will send $1.16 million to Fayetteville State University in the 2024-25 fiscal year for collegiate sports.

Place your bets: Sports gambling coming to North Carolina.

Money to replace contaminated wells with public water

The budget allocates $12 million to the Fayetteville Public Works Commission for a new water system to supply the Gray's Creek area of Cumberland County.

The Chemours Co. chemical factory nearby has contaminated drinking water wells with chemicals known as GenX or PFAS. These have been linked to cancer. They are called “forever chemicals” because they are slow to break down.

The new state budget allocates $70 million for projects at Fayetteville State University and $2 million to Methodist University.
The new state budget allocates $70 million for projects at Fayetteville State University and $2 million to Methodist University.

Millions for Fayetteville State, Methodist and Fayetteville Tech

The budget lists more than $72 million for Fayetteville State, $2 million for Methodist University and $10 million for Fayetteville Technical Community College.

For Fayetteville State:

  • $2.5 million for a risk management school.

  • $36.4 million of a $63 million project to build a new College of Education building.

  • $4.5 million to renovate the H.L. Cook building and put an addition in. This is part of a $10 million project.

  • $26 million toward the construction of a $40 million residence hall.

  • $2 million in financial assistance to students who are on track to graduate but are at risk of dropping out because of financial issues.

Methodist University is to get two grants totaling $2 million. This is for efforts to make the school more resilient to natural disasters and for other expenses.

Fayetteville Tech is getting $10 million for construction and renovation.

State lawmakers are putting $14 million into a surgical residency partnership between Cape Fear Valley Health in Fayetteville and Womack Army Hospital at Fort Liberty.
State lawmakers are putting $14 million into a surgical residency partnership between Cape Fear Valley Health in Fayetteville and Womack Army Hospital at Fort Liberty.

Surgical residency partnership with Fort Liberty

The legislature is spending $14 million on a medical residency partnership between Cape Fear Valley Health in Fayetteville and Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Liberty.

The program trains orthopedic surgeons.

Airborne museum and Civil War museum money

The budget allocates $2 million to the U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum in downtown Fayetteville.

It has another $5 million for the ongoing development and construction of the North Carolina Civil War Emancipation and Reconstruction History Center, which is to be built on the grounds of the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex in the Haymount area of Fayetteville.

Cash for Cape Fear Regional Theatre and Gilbert Theater

Fayetteville’s Cape Fear Regional Theatre has a $2.1 million grant toward its ongoing renovation and expansion. The project is expected to total $20 million and it’s getting money from several sources.

The Gilbert Theater, a shoestring-budget live theater company housed in a city-owned building in downtown Fayetteville, is getting a $250,000 grant.

Rhodes Pond, veterans court, veterans cemetery

The budget has $500,000 for the bathrooms and parking area of Rhodes Pond, a state-owned public recreation pond in the Godwin area of northeast Cumberland County. Rhodes Pond was emptied in 2016 when Hurricane Matthew damaged its dam. A new dam was completed in the spring. The state said in August it has begun refilling the pond with water, and it will be restocking it with fish in the coming year.

The budget allocates $500,000 to the Cumberland County Veterans Treatment Court. This court, established in 2015, aims to administer criminal justice to military veterans while keeping in mind their mental or physical health issues and needs stemming from their military service.

The Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery in Spring Lake is getting $300,000 to address a backlog of work needed there.

Money for nonprofit organizations

These nonprofit organizations in Cumberland County are getting grants or allocations:

  • $100,000 for the Cumberland County Fire Chiefs Association to upgrade defibrillators and related equipment.

  • $50,000 for the Heritage Square Historical Society. This Fayetteville organization maintains three historic properties.

  • $100,000 to the Falcon Children’s Home in Falcon (a town on the east side of Cumberland County). This is a home and a school for foster children who are not placed with families.

  • $125,000 for the Vander Civic Association, an organization that supports the Vander community just east of Fayetteville.

  • $375,000 for the School of Hope in Fayetteville. This is a private school for autistic students.

  • $50,000 for the Karen Chandler Trust of Fayetteville. This organization helps the families of cancer patients pay for nonmedical costs.

  • $245,000 to the Gray’s Creek Ruritan Club of Hope Mills, “to support its mission of community improvement through fellowship, goodwill, and community service.”

Projects for Fayetteville, Hope Mills, Spring Lake, Eastover, Stedman, Wade and Linden

Fayetteville and some of the towns in Cumberland County are getting money:

  • Fayetteville: $500,000 for improvements to the Fayetteville Regional Airport.

  • Spring Lake: $400,000 for a gas line extension and related costs at its parks; $250,000 for a new computer system; $300,000 for water and sewer improvements.

  • Hope Mills: $240,000 for the new Heritage Park, which will have a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 6.

  • Eastover: $450,000 for capital improvements or equipment.

  • Stedman: $250,000 to expand the boardroom of the town’s Board of Commissioners.

  • Wade: $165,052 for its water system.

  • Linden: $331.402 for its water system.

Senior North Carolina reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@fayobserver.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: How much money Fayetteville gets from North Carolina General Assembly