This fall, several communities within the region have referred bond measures to the voters for their consideration. Today we are highlighting two of those efforts.
***
The City of Charlotte is asking residents to approve three measures related to housing, neighborhoods, and transportation.
Housing – The housing bond will invest $100 million into new affordable housing for low and moderate-income residents. The breakdown looks like this:
$35 million for rental housing production
$25 million for homeownership
$14 million for rental housing, preservation, and anti-displacement
$9 million for supportive housing and shelters
$5 million for rehabilitation and emergency repairs
$5 million for innovation pilot fund
$5 million for site acquisition
$2 million for administration and evaluation
Neighborhoods – The neighborhood improvement bond will invest over $60 million into new bike paths, sidewalks, and economic development in underserved areas of the city. Here’s the list of projects.
Transportation – The transportation bond will invest over $238 million to repair roads, reduce traffic congestion and make our roads safer. In addition to improving sidewalks and improving safety, several specific projects are detailed here.
For additional details visit: Vote Yes for City Bonds | Vote Yes. For A Stronger Charlotte. (voteyesforbonds.com)
***
The City of Belmont is promoting a transportation bond. Here are details on its plan.
Addressing Transportation Challenges through Infrastructure Investment – The proposed 2024 Belmont Transportation Bonds aim to tackle pressing transportation issues within the city and ensure future economic prosperity for Belmont and Gaston County. This will be achieved through targeted investments in road, intersection, and sidewalk improvements.
Enhancing Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety – A core focus of the bond package is enhancing safety for pedestrians and cyclists, particularly around key areas like schools, parks, and retail establishments. The improvements aim to reduce vehicle congestion and create a more pedestrian-friendly environment.
Campaign’s Engagement and Transparency – The bond referendum allows Belmont residents to directly decide the city’s future transportation landscape. The campaign emphasizes the importance of community understanding of what the bonds will fund and accomplish, including project lists, FAQs, and a dedicated Facebook group, to inform voters.
Funding Mechanism – Voter-approved bonds are presented as a fiscally responsible and sustainable solution to finance the proposed projects. The City highlights its “proven track record of fiscal responsibility” to build trust with voters.
Project Scope – The bond package will fund various projects, including road expansions, intersection improvements, new sidewalks, pedestrian safety features, and connectivity enhancements.
Alignment with City Plans – The proposed projects align with Belmont’s 2023 Pedestrian Master Plan and Bicycle Master Plan, emphasizing the need for improved sidewalks and crosswalks.
My take: We are on record supporting both of these bond measures as they address primary needs in their respective communities. We also believe they are necessary to move both cities forward.
In the case of Belmont, we support the bonds largely because they will be utilized to build road projects that will relieve congestion at several key intersections within the city. Bonding for infrastructure improvements have, over time, been proven as an efficient and less expensive way to finance projects. Sadly, we see organized opposition to the bonds. It’s unclear at this point whether or not that comes from individuals who misunderstand the process of how, over time, to effectively fund improvements to infrastructure, or if these opponents are simply opposed to any kind of future growth. If these bonds fail, and the opposition is successful, the outcome WILL bring problems. It surely means long term stagnation and decay of a community and missed opportunities. The “I’ve got mine, you can’t have yours” mentality cannot freeze time. It can only destroy the future.
Now, here’s the kicker! This opposition also comes on the heels of the Belmont City’s own Council deciding to impose a moratorium on development within a large portion of the city limits. This brings us to an interesting tipping point: Additional development is necessary in order to spread the tax burden more proportionately and pay back the bonds. The building moratorium creates a barrier to doing that. We WILL be working with leadership in the City of Belmont encouraging them to come to a resolution that shortens the timeframe for the moratorium and improve planning to ensure these kinds of backwards/forward decisions can’t happen again.
Belmont Bonds Website (yesforbelmontbonds.com)
What’s happening here? Make sure you read to the end:
In an earlier edition of Two For Tuesday, we reported that the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) Board had requested that the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) prepare a comparative analysis to compare a traditional toll alongside and a Public Private Partnership (P3) delivery for additional lanes for the eleven-mile segment of I-77 running through the City of Charlotte and south to the border of South Carolina. Those results were presented by representatives of NCDOT at the August 21, 2024, Board Meeting (Agenda, Minutes – item 14, pages 5-8).
During a recent Charlotte City Council business meeting, an update was provided by NCDOT containing highlights of its NCDOT: I-77 South Express Lanes Supplemental Report and next steps were discussed.
Some of the details of the project along with recommendations include:
Now, we have this to report:
Last Monday night, the City Council voted unanimously to make a formal recommendation to the CRTPO that it move forward on consideration of a P3 engagement for the future expansion of I-77 South.
The next night, the Mecklenburg County Commissioners met and took a vote by a slim 5-4 margin to recommend an opposite course of action.
In the end, the CRTPO voted overwhelmingly to proceed with further consideration of a public private partnership arrangement and following additional discussion and negotiation, the project will be sent out for bid next year.
My take: We find ourselves returning to the past as we revisit the challenges we faced years ago relating to the south section of I-77, a time just prior to the creation of the managed lanes on the north section of the same highway. As local leaders determine how to address these challenges, some still don’t seem to see the urgency this time around. Especially since there are limited resources available to widen the road to properly accommodate today’s traffic. One option to complete the project within current budget constraints in a timelier manner includes the establishment of a public private partnership (P-3). The City of Charlotte and ultimately the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO), voted to proceed to explore that opportunity while the Mecklenburg County Commission narrowly voted to oppose that direction. As we move forward and get to the point where we are able to actually negotiate the details of the agreement to widen the highway, my hope is that we loudly communicate the benefits of acting sooner rather than later. What troubles me and no doubt many of us is that some elected officials don’t seem to see a vote to delay improvements hurts everyone. In fact, it’s down-right disappointing that some commissioners display the inability to come to terms with our current reality. Commissioners Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, Vilma Leake, Arthur Griffin, and Elaine Powell who are up for re-election are the ones who opposed the resolution. We should ask ourselves why people who claim to bring vision to their seats, turn a blind eye to infrastructure needs.
Want to learn more about the leadership we need to move forward? Please visit the REBIC Voter Guide for more information as you consider support for candidates on your 2024 ballot.
BACK TO LATEST NEWS