[0:05] and welcome to Connecting

[0:07] Cornelius, our Evening Edition.

[0:10] Thanks for coming out. What a

[0:11] great crowd and thanks to David

[0:13] and the folks with Barley

[0:14] Market for hosting us once

[0:16] more. This is this is the hot

[0:18] spot. So, we're going to show

[0:20] our our county commissioners

[0:22] that are our guest tonight. Two of my favorite folks on the

[0:26] county commission. We're going

[0:27] to tell them how to actually

[0:30] have fun in town of Cornelius.

[0:34] So, they've got a lot of good

[0:36] stuff to share with you and I'm

[0:38] looking forward to all the

[0:39] great input we'll have. We'll

[0:40] have some things to update you

[0:42] on as well. Uh I want you to to

[0:46] meet our incoming new police

[0:48] chief that's with us tonight. I

[0:50] want you to hear about our

[0:52] history museum, his great

[0:54] progress being made there and

[0:56] we've got some folks here that

[0:57] can tell you a lot about what's

[0:58] going on there. I want to talk

[1:00] about the wonderful, beautiful

[1:03] Cane Center of the Arts which

[1:05] is scheduled to open in

[1:06] January. So, we got a few neat

[1:08] things on our agenda. So,

[1:10] Elaine, come on around. This is

[1:12] your stool and we want you just

[1:13] to relax and we'll just have a

[1:16] conversation. I know you got

[1:17] some some things you want to

[1:18] tell us but you know, we're just on a I'm your host

[1:23] and welcome to Cornelius TV.

[1:27] So, but this is recorded and it

[1:30] will be out on our Facebook

[1:32] page. So, a lot of folks will

[1:33] join in that way as well. So,

[1:36] Let me tell you who we've got

[1:39] with us tonight from the county

[1:40] commission. Uh first of all,

[1:43] our district one representative

[1:45] Elaine Powell. The both of

[1:47] these ladies are fresh off of

[1:49] successful election campaign

[1:52] and we congratulate you both on

[1:54] your reelection to the county

[1:57] board.

[2:00] Also with us is one of our

[2:02] at-large representatives, Lee

[2:04] Altman. I've gotten to know Lee

[2:05] over the past few years that

[2:07] she served our county. I work

[2:10] with Lee closely as it relates

[2:13] to our MTC board in Charlotte.

[2:17] She's our chairman now at least

[2:19] for this particular round and

[2:21] she does a great job there and

[2:23] I've enjoyed getting to know

[2:24] her better as we work through

[2:25] some issues related to cats and

[2:27] our MTC board. So, she might

[2:30] update you on a couple of

[2:31] things there if there are

[2:32] anything to update. So, so

[2:33] anyway, we're going to have a

[2:36] great night tonight. If you

[2:37] haven't giving David a little

[2:40] business back here at Barley

[2:42] Market, feel free to do that.

[2:43] Uh you know, this is not

[2:45] formal. Like I say, we'll just

[2:47] have a conversation with each

[2:48] of you and we'll open it up to

[2:51] any questions you may have for

[2:52] me, our commissioners. Let me

[2:54] find our commissioners. Here's

[2:56] one right here, Commissioner

[2:57] Colin Firch. Uh let's give him

[3:00] a hand. There you go. And let's

[3:03] see. By missing any

[3:05] commissioners? Uh manager

[3:06] Grant, do you, I think I, I

[3:08] tell you he's he's carrying the

[3:11] load tonight.

[3:16] He'll he'll make sure the

[3:17] others realize that he's

[3:18] carrying their load tonight but

[3:20] we're going to have a good time

[3:21] anyway. So, let me start with

[3:25] our very own district one

[3:27] representative Elaine Powell.

[3:29] Um. Yeah, we're going to give

[3:31] you on the microphone, Elaine.

[3:32] If y'all just pass it back and

[3:34] forth and we'll just let you give us a perspective

[3:37] of what's going on with our

[3:40] county. You know, you're

[3:41] getting ready to start another

[3:43] term. This is your what term?

[3:44] Third. Your term of of serving

[3:48] as a Mecklenburg County

[3:49] Commissioner and Elaine's got a

[3:52] great history beyond that of

[3:53] serving on our county park

[3:56] board. So, you will find out

[3:58] that Parks and Rec and our

[4:01] environment are some real real

[4:03] hot buttons. Uh these both of

[4:06] these ladies were so supportive

[4:08] of us as we work through the

[4:10] Kane Center for the Arts. The

[4:12] county's contribution to that.

[4:14] It was a very major

[4:14] contribution and helped us

[4:17] encourage our state folks to

[4:19] step up and do even better and

[4:21] they did just that But thank

[4:23] you for that support. So, I'm

[4:25] just going to turn it over to

[4:26] you and and let you cover

[4:27] whatever's on your mind and

[4:28] then we'll give Lee a chance

[4:30] and and then the the questions

[4:31] will start. Whatever's on

[4:33] folks' mind. Good evening. Can

[4:36] you hear me? Okay. So, my name

[4:41] is Elaine Powell. I am the

[4:42] Mecklenburg County Commissioner

[4:43] for this district. Uh this is

[4:46] like Mayor Washam said, my

[4:48] third, this will be my third

[4:50] term And

[4:56] When I was in fifth grade, I

[4:58] gave up public speaking. I I

[5:02] had to do the Gettysburg

[5:04] address and I thought that was

[5:05] it the end. I'm not doing this

[5:07] anymore. So you can imagine.

[5:10] Better than that. You can so

[5:13] how did I end up here? Um for

[5:15] me to end up in such a public

[5:18] position. Came from a deep,

[5:21] caring about the really about

[5:25] the environment. And so this is

[5:26] your number thirty-three. I

[5:28] moved here in 1986 to work with

[5:31] the Sisters of Mercy. To work

[5:33] health care And when I saw the

[5:36] suffering that people were

[5:37] going through, I thought

[5:38] somebody has to do something.

[5:39] And so, early on, in 1989, I I

[5:45] was appointed to different

[5:46] boards and commissions for 29

[5:49] years. Thinking that believing

[5:51] that that would make a

[5:52] difference. And so my latest

[5:55] stint was stent almost nine

[5:57] years on the Park Commission.

[6:00] So they appointed me to an

[6:01] extra term to serve on

[6:05] environmental stewardship.

[6:08] after working for so many years

[6:10] trying to make a difference, I

[6:11] knew that if I really wanted to

[6:13] make a difference, I would have

[6:15] to be elected and so I am very

[6:17] excited to tell you what has

[6:19] happened since I've been

[6:22] elected. Um the major changes

[6:24] and differences that we have

[6:26] made as a board. I hear a lot

[6:30] of input, you know, especially

[6:33] as we were running for office

[6:35] about what is important to the

[6:36] community but I heard it before

[6:38] I was elected. So, 29 years I

[6:39] was elected, I heard what was

[6:41] important regionally, what was

[6:43] important locally, and it's not

[6:45] that different, like when you

[6:47] go to district to district,

[6:48] it's not that different about

[6:50] what is important to people.

[6:53] when we go over the budget,

[6:56] it's a big deal. We're in a

[6:57] three-day retreat and there are

[7:01] things that we have to fund.

[7:02] There's, we have no choice

[7:03] about it. In fact, most of the

[7:04] budget is already predetermined

[7:07] and then, there is a part where

[7:10] we have a say about what we're

[7:12] going to do with this money,

[7:12] what are our priorities? And

[7:14] so, as a board, the nine of us

[7:16] agree on our top five

[7:18] priorities. And so, I want you

[7:20] to know and you all the experts

[7:24] take input as well. We have

[7:26] researchers at the county that

[7:27] take community input These

[7:30] match what the community wants

[7:32] and so I'm just going to tell

[7:33] you what the board priorities

[7:35] are. Um and have been for the

[7:37] past two years in case you

[7:38] aren't familiar with that.

[7:40] Affordable housing. For the

[7:42] past 6 years, it has been the

[7:45] top priority for every person.

[7:49] Polled in in Mecklenburg

[7:51] County. a big concern about

[7:53] education attainment gaps

[7:56] There's a concern about

[7:58] environmental leadership. There

[8:01] is a concern about that pre,

[8:02] you know, making sure that

[8:03] children are prepared when they

[8:04] get to kindergarten. So, Mec

[8:07] Pre K is one of our priorities

[8:09] and there's a concern about

[8:10] workforce development, making

[8:12] sure that we're preparing a

[8:13] workforce for the future and

[8:14] Commissioner Altman, it like

[8:16] that is one of her passions and

[8:19] so, we have nine commissioners

[8:21] who we all care about these

[8:24] priorities. They are all our

[8:25] top priorities. The ones that I

[8:28] mentioned. We agreed on this.

[8:31] we have we have different areas

[8:35] of expertise and so I would say

[8:36] that is definitely your area

[8:37] and then my area is what I

[8:40] want to talk about. And I don't

[8:41] just have one area. But I am

[8:43] passionate about the

[8:44] environment. And I am

[8:45] passionate about emergency

[8:47] preparedness and medic and and

[8:49] so we we funded in this budget

[8:52] we funded an initiative for

[8:54] Matic through CPCC and with the

[8:58] leadership at Medic. And in

[9:01] fact I was out late last night

[9:02] honoring Medic. Um but I will

[9:04] to the mat for them. Uh they're

[9:06] a critical part of the quality

[9:09] of life here. and then

[9:13] interwoven into every single

[9:15] thing that we have as a

[9:16] priority is making sure that we

[9:18] are reducing racial

[9:20] disparities. And in fact we

[9:22] were working on something this

[9:23] morning where I think we made a

[9:25] big difference. So, let me talk

[9:28] about environmental leadership.

[9:30] When I was elected and sworn in two thousand and eighteen,

[9:34] there was no environmental

[9:35] stewardship committee at the

[9:37] county of 1. 1 million people.

[9:39] Imagine that. We are

[9:41] responsible for that. We're

[9:43] responsible. The county is

[9:44] responsible for air quality,

[9:46] water quality, stormwater

[9:47] management, all these things

[9:49] and there was no environmental

[9:50] stewardship committee. So,

[9:51] before I was even sworn in, I

[9:54] went and met with the county

[9:55] manager and I said, I think we

[9:57] really need an environmental

[9:57] stewardship committee and she

[9:58] said, well, you to have the

[10:01] support of your colleagues. So,

[10:02] before I was sworn in, I

[10:03] started working on that and we

[10:05] had I had unanimous support. We

[10:07] formed an environmental

[10:08] stewardship committee. We took

[10:12] our time to do it the right way

[10:15] We had community involvement,

[10:17] board involvement, staff

[10:19] involvement on it, developing

[10:20] an environmental leadership

[10:22] action plan. And once we

[10:24] approve that unanimously, in

[10:27] March of twenty twenty-one, we

[10:29] had dedicated funding for that.

[10:31] And so I just want to go over

[10:35] if you could hold this for me.

[10:45] Now, these handouts are at the

[10:47] front. If anybody wants to see

[10:48] the pie but for our priorities,

[10:51] we invested $81. 8 million

[10:53] dollars. And 54. 2 million of

[10:56] that was invested in in

[10:58] environmental leadership. And

[11:00] of that fifty-four point two,

[11:03] 50 million is dedicated to land

[11:04] acquisition. As our county

[11:06] approaches build out and there

[11:07] isn't much green space left.

[11:11] And so, at some point, we will,

[11:13] we'll put up the map of where

[11:15] we have invested since I got

[11:17] sworn in because this is part

[11:19] of environmental leadership,

[11:21] investing, and protecting our

[11:22] natural resources and it's not

[11:23] just parks, it's protecting

[11:25] natural resources. So, you'll

[11:27] see a significant chunk of land

[11:29] that we bought on the Catawba

[11:30] River and if you read the

[11:31] newspaper, you know that I was

[11:34] doing the Snoopy Dance. because

[11:37] we are protected. I've seen

[11:38] that. Yeah. Cuz we are

[11:40] protecting the water supply and

[11:44] the water quality And you know

[11:47] you hear elected people talk

[11:49] about, oh, you know, I'm

[11:51] going to do this, I'm going to

[11:52] do that. But it is our

[11:53] responsibility to protect our

[11:55] natural resources. And who

[11:57] does, you know, it's, you don't

[12:00] hear a lot of elected leaders

[12:00] talking about what a priority

[12:02] that is. It is our

[12:03] responsibility and we need to

[12:04] elect people who care about the

[12:06] environment and who are willing

[12:08] to do the work. Because it it

[12:10] took a long time to get all

[12:12] this together. And and we are

[12:14] making a significant difference

[12:17] as we approach build out which

[12:18] is a concern. So, here is the

[12:20] map that you can see. This is

[12:22] district one. So, this is just

[12:24] the district that that I

[12:26] represent and that we live in.

[12:27] We have made significant

[12:29] strides throughout the entire

[12:30] county but this is district one

[12:32] where we have purchased land

[12:33] and it's color coded by the

[12:34] year we buy it. But the most

[12:37] important thing is that we are

[12:38] making progress and we since

[12:41] I've been elected, have

[12:42] purchased two hundred 54 acres

[12:44] to protect.

[12:54] in district 1. So, I I wanted

[12:56] to, I learned that during this

[12:58] election, I'm not really good

[13:01] at bragging about the work I've

[13:02] done. Like, I grew up in a real

[13:03] humble family where you just

[13:04] did the work and it was kind of

[13:08] like a sin. It was brag about

[13:09] it but I think that I need to

[13:11] do a better job bragging about

[13:13] the work the board has done

[13:14] because this is really

[13:16] important work and I don't

[13:19] think it's a sin to talk about

[13:20] how your tax dollars were spent

[13:21] to protect the environment. So,

[13:27] I don't want to hog up all the

[13:29] time but I just want to tell

[13:32] you that there will be areas

[13:35] that are used for we bought all

[13:38] of this with the park and

[13:41] recreation environmental

[13:41] leadership money but it's not

[13:43] all going to be parked. Some of

[13:45] it will be passive green space.

[13:47] Some of it will be part of

[13:48] Greenway. We're doing

[13:49] accelerated greenway projects.

[13:51] Um and hopefully we'll we'll be

[13:53] doing some partnerships with

[13:55] the town of Cornelius in the

[13:56] future. In areas that that we

[13:58] have walked together. And so

[14:01] for now, if you want any

[14:03] details on the other things

[14:04] that we're doing in

[14:05] Environmental Leadership, there

[14:06] are many. Um we're doing

[14:08] retrofits, solar, solar panels,

[14:11] and electric vehicles and

[14:13] things like that. But the bulk

[14:14] of it right now has to go into

[14:16] land acquisition. As we

[14:18] approach build out, It's hard

[14:20] to take much more impervious in

[14:22] Mecklenburg County and not have

[14:24] a a big impact on our

[14:25] environment. And so for now,

[14:27] I'll hand it Alright, that's great. I'm I can't tell

[14:32] you how many opportunities that

[14:35] we've had to partner with the

[14:36] county. Uh the list is long and

[14:39] I'm going to I'm going to call

[14:40] on Troy Fitzsimmons, our park

[14:42] director in just a minute.

[14:43] Gonna give Lee a little time

[14:46] first and we'll get get Troy up

[14:47] here and and talk to you about

[14:50] some of those opportunities.

[14:51] They're they're significant and

[14:52] our board has led the way and

[14:55] Elaine is the leader in this

[14:56] topic on our board for sure.

[14:58] So, you know, I'm I'm really of

[15:00] that. We worked hard for that

[15:03] for years and we've come a long way. So, each of these new

[15:08] Greenways we open and there's

[15:09] been quite a few of those. She

[15:11] and I take the first walk,

[15:12] don't we? So, we've had that

[15:14] opportunity. Region Rec Center.

[15:16] Yeah and she has been

[15:19] instrumental. How many of you

[15:20] been down to the North Mac Rec

[15:22] Recreation Center down on one

[15:23] fifteen? Ain't that absolutely

[15:25] beautiful? I mean, it's amazing

[15:27] facility. $44 million dollar

[15:29] county facility right here in

[15:32] Cornelius that serves all of

[15:33] North Mecklenburg. It is

[15:35] absolutely outstanding and

[15:36] Elaine was the leader of our

[15:39] board. Obviously, our board had

[15:40] to had to support that but they

[15:43] did it and it's been a

[15:44] phenomenal story. So, with

[15:45] that, we're going to get Lee to

[15:47] talk about some even more

[15:50] interesting things like maybe

[15:51] he's on your mind like Rival

[15:54] and some good stuff coming up

[15:56] that I'm not giving her a total

[16:00] direction there but I'm sure

[16:02] we're going to hear about that

[16:03] before the evening's over. So,

[16:05] Lee, welcome. Welcome. Good to

[16:06] have you. Thank you very much.

[16:07] Mayor Washam and I will clip

[16:09] through some of this because I

[16:10] do want to have some time to

[16:11] hear questions from you. and I have to just stop real

[16:15] fast and say, if you ever were

[16:17] looking for the most salt of

[16:19] the earth and person of

[16:22] integrity who just wants to

[16:23] serve, you are so blessed to

[16:26] have is your district one

[16:28] representative truly and this

[16:31] is someone that I have seen up

[16:32] close and personal behind the

[16:33] scenes and everything she says

[16:35] in public is what she says in

[16:36] private and the other way

[16:36] around and you are truly, truly

[16:39] blessed. So, you do have nine

[16:40] members on the board of county

[16:42] commissioners. You have one

[16:43] district representative and

[16:44] three at large who represent

[16:47] you and so, I'm one of the

[16:47] at-large people. Uh when we do

[16:51] have a two-billion-dollar

[16:52] budget in addition to our green

[16:54] priorities that Commissioner

[16:55] Powell has been talking about,

[16:56] we also and sort of broad

[16:59] categories oversee public

[17:01] health, mental health. We give

[17:03] over $900 million dollars to

[17:05] education and literacy and the

[17:07] Department of Social Services.

[17:09] So, all the services that

[17:11] protect children and seniors

[17:12] and at-risk populations come

[17:13] under the county. Um and I'm a

[17:16] public interest lawyer. I spent

[17:17] a 17-year We are working for

[17:19] kids and families and when I

[17:21] moved to Charlotte, I became a

[17:23] guardian. I'd like them to

[17:24] seniors and adults with

[17:24] disabilities and later, I

[17:26] represented at-risk children

[17:28] and so that's why I ran for

[17:29] this office because we do human

[17:32] services and I wanted to work

[17:33] at the policy level for

[17:34] everything that I've been

[17:36] focusing on throughout my

[17:37] career. So, when Commissioner

[17:39] Powell got on the board two

[17:40] terms ago, that was the first

[17:43] board to ever add affordable

[17:45] housing as something that the

[17:46] county worked Prior to that, it

[17:50] was only the towns and the city

[17:51] of Charlotte that was funding

[17:53] affordable housing priorities

[17:55] but there's such a crisis in

[17:56] the community that the the

[17:58] board before I joined had the

[18:00] wisdom to add that to our work

[18:03] and we are doing great work not

[18:07] only with looking for

[18:09] opportunities to help get great

[18:11] projects built but funding

[18:13] critical home repair and and

[18:15] related services like So, I'm

[18:17] really proud about our work in

[18:19] the affordable housing space.

[18:20] Um I serve on the board that

[18:24] delivers mental health services

[18:26] to people who are uninsured and who are on Medicaid. Um we

[18:30] had a previous company not

[18:32] company but managed care

[18:33] organization. Um Cardinal that

[18:35] was doing it and I felt that

[18:37] they were delaying and denying

[18:39] the claims of our sickest

[18:41] residents and I fought very

[18:42] hard to get them fired and I'm

[18:44] very happy that we have a new

[18:45] organization on board and I'm

[18:48] watching them very closely for

[18:49] our residents. Um I do serve

[18:52] with your mayor on the

[18:53] Metropolitan Transit

[18:54] Commission. It has been such a

[18:56] pleasure. Uh I learned so much

[18:58] from him. Um you know, you

[18:59] don't run for county commission

[19:01] to do transit. It's kind of

[19:02] more seen as a city and town

[19:04] kind of function and I have

[19:06] learned so much and I I really

[19:09] value our close partnership to

[19:11] ensure that whatever we do, it

[19:13] serves the people of North

[19:15] Mecklenburg and that you feel

[19:16] good about the choices that

[19:18] we're making so that all the

[19:20] people and throughout this

[19:21] county are are are happy with

[19:23] your investments. Um and that's

[19:25] a commitment that I have. Um

[19:28] Commissioner Powell didn't say

[19:29] one of the most important

[19:30] things about our Green

[19:31] Priorities and that is that we

[19:33] committed a landmark. No pun

[19:36] intended. $50 million dollars

[19:37] to acquire green space for the

[19:39] residents of this community

[19:40] this year alone. $50 million

[19:44] dollars. Four years ago it was

[19:45] $6 million dollars. That's what

[19:47] leadership is. That's why it

[19:48] matters who you vote for. Um

[19:52] and so, the last thing I just

[19:55] do want to say is for anybody

[19:56] who is interested in workforce

[19:58] development, it is my passion.

[20:00] We have employers that don't

[20:03] have enough skilled folks to

[20:05] field their ranks and they are

[20:08] desperate to to to have their

[20:11] labor needs met and meanwhile,

[20:12] we have many people in this

[20:13] community who do not make a

[20:15] family a sustaining wage, who

[20:16] are not getting ahead, who are

[20:17] not making progress, and I feel

[20:19] the county has a very important

[20:20] to play to help connect these

[20:23] people and create better

[20:24] communications so that we can

[20:26] serve everybody better and and

[20:28] continue to move the needle for

[20:30] upward economic mobility

[20:30] because that is the key. You

[20:33] know, we can build affordable

[20:34] housing but we're never

[20:35] going to build enough. We need

[20:36] to make housing more affordable

[20:38] by increasing household wages

[20:39] also and so, I'm very committed

[20:41] to that because it's the key to

[20:43] better housing, better health

[20:44] care, better transit is to to

[20:46] help improve our our residents'

[20:48] ability to afford the

[20:49] necessities of life So, that's

[20:51] me in a nutshell and Rival, the

[20:54] mayor, the one thing he asked

[20:54] me to talk about, I will not

[20:56] avoid. Yes, Rival is coming. I

[20:58] want to tell you that, you

[21:00] know, I will not prejudge the

[21:02] process. My my commitment to

[21:04] you is that I will be looking

[21:06] to ensure that the tax assessor

[21:08] is fair and equitable in his

[21:10] work and that he delivers the

[21:13] professionalism and and how he

[21:15] goes about it so that so that

[21:18] this is born in a in a just way

[21:20] because as you have heard, we

[21:21] have incredibly important

[21:23] things that we do. Your

[21:25] taxpayer dollars in Mecklenburg

[21:26] County are being well spent and

[21:28] we need every dollar to give

[21:30] you the infrastructure and the

[21:31] services that that you deserve

[21:34] and that our residents expect

[21:36] and that's why we do this work.

[21:38] So, with that, I will turn it

[21:39] back over to the mayor for the

[21:41] next stage. Absolutely and you

[21:43] know, Can I say one thing? You

[21:47] can, Elaine. So, I just want

[21:48] everyone to know because

[21:51] there's everyone worries about

[21:53] revaluation. We have one of the

[21:55] best tax assessors in the

[21:57] country and you know, he was he

[22:00] was happy in his job at the

[22:01] school of government. He was

[22:03] very happy and we lured him

[22:05] away and I just want you to

[22:07] know like I have confidence in

[22:08] his ability and I think that's

[22:12] important for everyone else to

[22:13] know that we have one of the

[22:14] best in the country. Thank you.

[22:16] Yeah, it's a it's a tough time.

[22:18] Uh your property values have

[22:19] gone up. You know, that's a

[22:22] good and bad thing. You want

[22:24] your values going up but you

[22:26] don't want your taxes going up.

[22:28] So, you know, it's a process

[22:29] we'll we'll have to work

[22:31] through. I don't, I pay taxes

[22:33] in this in this town, in this

[22:35] county and I don't like paying

[22:36] em any better than anybody

[22:38] else. So, you know, we we will

[22:40] be presenting a revenue neutral

[22:43] budget and we'll go from there.

[22:45] If if the needs out there to to

[22:48] etch it up and the

[22:49] commissioners agree with that

[22:50] and the citizens want it, then,

[22:51] it's something that your board

[22:54] will consider. So, so thank you

[22:56] for for bringing us Ken Joyner.

[22:59] He presented our town board the

[23:01] last meeting. Did an excellent

[23:03] job and so we appreciate his

[23:05] efforts and I do think he will

[23:06] be fair and equitable and we we

[23:08] will do the right thing as

[23:10] political bodies at the end of

[23:11] the day. I'm convinced. So, so

[23:13] thank you for for hitting that

[23:15] head on and sharing that with

[23:16] us. One of the things I want to

[23:18] go back to is the comments that

[23:21] Commissioner Altman made about

[23:21] a housing because that's a

[23:25] priority of mine in this

[23:26] community as well. We've come a

[23:27] long way. It's a problem when

[23:31] 90% of the citizens that work

[23:34] in your town cannot afford to

[23:36] live in your town. That's a

[23:38] problem. So, we've gotta do

[23:40] something about that. I want to

[23:42] thank the county's involvement

[23:43] and support. Your town is

[23:45] going to is involved with it

[23:46] and will is supporting it as

[23:49] well. Uh I established a task

[23:51] group. Uh I don't know, a less

[23:53] than a year ago

[24:01] that has attacked this wide

[24:01] open and we have now set up a

[24:02] CDC community development

[24:03] corporation here in Cornelius.

[24:03] Pretty unheard of for a town

[24:06] our size to have that but it'll

[24:09] be a resource of gathering

[24:10] funds in, helping the town and

[24:12] the county gather funds for the

[24:15] right purpose and that is

[24:16] providing rental assistance,

[24:19] all the kinds of things that

[24:20] will make it that that will

[24:22] make those percentages look a

[24:23] little bit better. So, so

[24:25] anyway, we're we're not in a in

[24:27] a position where we can go out

[24:28] there and build a bunch of

[24:28] affordable housing units but we

[24:31] do support people that do like

[24:34] the Smithfield Community

[24:35] Coalition. The county has

[24:37] stepped up with $3 million

[24:39] dollars to support the

[24:41] Smithfield Community Coalition

[24:43] and their redevelopment

[24:43] efforts. I'm really excited

[24:45] about that. the town will be

[24:49] voting on our Arpa Funds this

[24:52] coming meeting or actually the

[24:53] manager will be representing

[24:57] his report for consideration

[24:59] for a vote. We'll be moving

[25:00] that forward and I think that's

[25:02] going well and we will also be

[25:04] supporting the Smithfield

[25:06] redevelopment plan as well. So,

[25:07] I think you'll see that when

[25:09] the final vote is taken. So,

[25:11] affordable housing is something

[25:12] we've all got to get real about

[25:14] and and you know, put some

[25:16] money where our mouth is and

[25:18] make a difference in our

[25:19] community. So, so with that,

[25:22] you know, I really want you to

[25:23] hear how important it is for

[25:25] our town to work closely with

[25:28] the county. It's a priority of

[25:29] mine. I I've, you know, it it

[25:32] doesn't matter who's elected in

[25:34] these chairs to me. Whoever's

[25:36] elected, it's my priority to

[25:38] work with everybody. I

[25:40] particularly enjoy these folks.

[25:41] Uh but at the same time,

[25:43] whoever's sitting there, we're

[25:45] going to work with them because

[25:46] it's such a important

[25:47] ingredient to the betterment of

[25:50] our town and to making our town

[25:53] a better place and supporting

[25:55] so many things that are

[25:55] important. So, I I want to I

[25:58] you to have a little bit of a

[25:59] clue about some of the things

[26:01] that we have worked so hard

[26:02] over over many years to put in

[26:05] place and I'm going to ask Troy

[26:05] to come up and Troy Fitzsimmons

[26:08] is our park and rec director.

[26:09] He's been here for quite a

[26:11] while and and let him brag on

[26:13] our county because they have

[26:14] been they have been so

[26:15] responsive and we have such a

[26:17] good relationship and we're we're really trying to be

[26:21] really nice to him because more

[26:23] to come, right? Yeah,

[26:25] absolutely. So, I know answered

[26:28] the question about who's been

[26:29] to the Regional Rec Center?

[26:30] Well, who's been on one of our

[26:34] Greenways? Raise your hands.

[26:35] Alright, quite a few. Those of

[26:37] you who have not, right here,

[26:41] pamphlet, map, no excuse not to

[26:44] walk or bike right over at that

[26:47] table there. So, we've been

[26:49] working very progressively with

[26:51] Mecklenburg County over the

[26:51] past decade on getting our

[26:54] greenway system in place. We

[26:55] have nearly six miles of

[26:58] Greenway that we've developed

[26:59] and that would not have

[27:01] happened just solely on the

[27:03] town. It's it's a pretty good

[27:06] network for a small town like

[27:07] ours. So, we've worked

[27:09] cooperatively with Mecklenburg

[27:10] County to to plan, design, and

[27:14] build these greenways. Now, the

[27:16] town has always had skin in the

[27:19] game in terms of building them.

[27:21] We've always chased after

[27:23] grants but we've also always

[27:25] worked with Mecklenburg County

[27:27] to develop these greenways

[27:28] whether that's just offering

[27:29] technical assistance or

[27:32] offering funding to help buy

[27:33] land or build the greenway and

[27:37] then, as importantly, once the

[27:39] facility is done, maintaining

[27:41] and managing it is critical. We

[27:44] have a very, very small parks

[27:45] department. Mecklenburg County

[27:48] has a very, very deep bench

[27:51] because of the hundreds of

[27:52] parks and miles and miles of

[27:55] greenways that they have. So,

[27:55] they actually operate and

[27:56] maintain all of our greenways

[27:59] and again, none of this would

[28:00] have happened without them. Um

[28:03] so, I do appreciate all that

[28:04] work and we do have another

[28:08] really big project in the

[28:09] pipeline I can't go into

[28:11] details right now but we are

[28:12] working on that right now. She

[28:15] knows what it is. But it it'll be something special.

[28:20] That's for sure. And then also

[28:23] we have another section of

[28:24] Greenway that's going to open.

[28:26] And my hope is that we have a

[28:27] grand opening just before

[28:28] Christmas. So we have a nice

[28:30] Christmas gift for folks in

[28:32] Cornelius as well as North

[28:34] Mecklenburg. But again we've

[28:36] done a lot with Mecklenburg

[28:38] County. We're looking forward

[28:39] to doing more. I have to give a

[28:41] out to Commissioner Powell

[28:43] about the Regional Rec Center.

[28:45] Little bit of back story. It

[28:47] was questionable if that was

[28:49] going to get built or not. So,

[28:51] we saw a lot of people raise

[28:52] their hands but it took a joint

[28:54] park commission meeting one

[28:56] evening years ago between

[28:59] Davidson, Huntersville,

[29:00] Cornelius, and Mecklenburg

[29:01] County, Cher Powell, she

[29:04] chaired the Mecklenburg Parks

[29:06] Commission, and Doctor Scott

[29:08] Higgins, who was chair of our

[29:09] parks and recreation

[29:11] commission. Well, that night,

[29:12] top priority. Top priority for

[29:16] all three towns of Mecklenburg

[29:17] County was the regional rec

[29:18] center and I'm going to call

[29:21] her Elaine because we're close

[29:23] friends but Elaine went to bat

[29:26] and I will never forget out in

[29:28] the parking lot. I'm not

[29:29] going to name who but she went

[29:31] toe to toe with that person to

[29:32] fight for it. Low and behold, a

[29:35] few months later, the planning

[29:36] had started and now it's open.

[29:40] So, hope you all are enjoying

[29:41] that but Commissioner Powell.

[29:44] Altman, thank you. and if

[29:48] you'll stop and think how lucky

[29:50] our our town is, we have three

[29:53] beautiful, wonderful

[29:55] Mecklenburg County parks in the

[29:57] town of Cornelius. Three.

[29:59] That's probably unheard of in

[30:01] most any other town other than

[30:03] Charlotte. So, we're really

[30:04] proud of that and there's some

[30:06] of your finest, most beautiful

[30:07] parks because they they face

[30:10] Lake Norman. They're they're

[30:11] part of Lake Norman and on Lake

[30:13] Norman and if you hadn't done

[30:15] that, we probably couldn't have

[30:16] afforded too. So, thankfully,

[30:18] the county stepped up and made

[30:19] that happen In addition, invest

[30:21] in this forty-four million in

[30:23] our rec center. In addition,

[30:26] making all these investments

[30:27] and giving all the help you've

[30:29] given on our greenway system.

[30:31] You know, we've got I think our

[30:33] greenway system is 13. 1 miles

[30:36] in all the way around. Is that

[30:38] about right? Troy? Yes. So, we

[30:40] have the concept of an emerald

[30:42] necklace which is a borrowed

[30:43] term but a 13-mile loop

[30:45] altogether which also goes into

[30:48] Davidson and Huntersville for a

[30:50] while but so far, we have three

[30:52] quarters of that completed.

[30:54] Little bit. Seventy-five

[30:56] percent. We're working with it.

[30:58] We've come a long way. We

[30:59] really have. If the county

[31:00] hadn't been there, it wouldn't

[31:02] happen. It wouldn't happen.

[31:03] That's right. So, I just have

[31:04] to brag on you a little bit.

[31:06] So, anyway, thank you all very

[31:07] much. We we do definitely

[31:09] appreciate that and thank you,

[31:11] Troy. We we appreciate your input there. So, now, any

[31:14] questions you have for your

[31:15] county commissioners before we

[31:18] maybe turn to some other topics

[31:20] that are of interest to some of

[31:22] you. Okay. Somebody got any

[31:24] questions. Ask him a hard

[31:24] question because I can you they

[31:26] can answer. Bob. Okay.

[31:35] It's a good one. I don't have

[31:37] the chart in front of me but

[31:39] we're starting, we're starting

[31:41] with the EV charges on our

[31:42] government properties. That's

[31:44] true. And so, we've already

[31:46] installed, there are some at

[31:47] the government center, there

[31:49] are some, and, and a lot, we

[31:51] just approved funding last

[31:52] night for. We which approved

[31:55] like five-figure, got aminos,

[31:56] like a million dollars. So,

[32:00] you'll see it coming like, but

[32:01] it will be in our government

[32:02] facilities starting. And and

[32:05] the electric cars as well. Yeah

[32:08] and if you it's easy to find

[32:11] us. I'm Lee dot Altman at Mech

[32:14] NC. gov. Elaine dot Powell at

[32:17] Meck and C dot gov. If you'll

[32:19] send me an email, I can get you

[32:20] the exact numbers of of what's

[32:23] been spent and how many have

[32:24] been purchased and.

[32:31] So this will be on our agenda

[32:33] in environmental stewardship in January. January or February

[32:37] but we're hoping January.

[32:38] Because we're reviewing all of

[32:40] that right now. Um we have the

[32:43] federal dollars coming for

[32:45] infrastructure. And then we

[32:46] have federal dollars coming for

[32:49] environment. So we're looking

[32:52] at all of that. And and also if

[32:54] you are interested again if you

[32:57] send me an Email, either of us

[32:58] I can get you added to the list

[33:00] so you can listen to the

[33:01] Environmental Stewardship

[33:02] Meeting. Um and of course by

[33:03] the just so you know, all of

[33:05] our meetings are televised

[33:08] second and fourth, Tuesday,

[33:09] every month. That's a great way

[33:12] to know what's happening with

[33:12] your county government also.

[33:15] Okay, what else? Any other, any

[33:18] other questions out there? Man,

[33:22] y'all did a really good job.

[33:25] Thank you to the, you know,

[33:26] these folks are shy. They, they really are. I think

[33:29] they're very impressed with

[33:30] what we're doing. I think they

[33:32] are too. Yeah. That's why you

[33:33] got re-elected, right? That's

[33:35] right. You know, when we talk,

[33:37] through all the years that I

[33:39] listened to citizen input,

[33:40] especially on the Park

[33:41] Commission. So, we were talking

[33:43] about this the other day. I

[33:45] represented the North region.

[33:46] So, I represented Huntersville,

[33:48] Davidson, Cornelius, North

[33:49] Charlotte on the Commission, I

[33:53] represented Environmental

[33:54] Stewardship for the Park

[33:55] Commission. I represented

[33:57] Therapeutic Recreation and and

[34:00] multiple other entities and

[34:04] it's big. Park and Rec touches

[34:06] at in my view as many lives as

[34:09] our utilities do. Like, it is,

[34:11] they do way more than you

[34:13] realize on the surface and so,

[34:17] Troy, you guys are so lucky to

[34:18] have Troy Fitzsimmons working

[34:20] in Cornelius because he has

[34:22] such a an extensive background.

[34:23] Um. Put your it up, Troy. No,

[34:29] I'm, it is the truth. Any true,

[34:33] like to have people that care,

[34:35] I mean, you can't, you cannot

[34:37] pay for that. We're very

[34:39] fortunate for sure. Very

[34:40] fortunate. Um but I heard what

[34:43] the priorities were in the

[34:45] north region but also

[34:46] throughout the county because

[34:48] we had to go to all the

[34:49] community meetings at on the

[34:50] Park Commission and so and then

[34:53] through Central Lina, those

[34:54] were also meetings that I

[34:56] attended for many years hearing

[34:58] the regional priorities and so

[34:59] when we talk about education,

[35:02] and environment in parks and

[35:03] rec. This is what you hear

[35:04] everywhere. Um these are the

[35:06] top priorities and so I met a

[35:08] scout at Jetan. I was just

[35:10] walking into Tom Park one day

[35:12] because you will find me in the

[35:13] parks. All I am to deal with

[35:17] all the stress of this job. but

[35:21] I was at Jetan and a scout came

[35:22] up. He did not know who I am or

[35:25] anything. He just started

[35:26] asking questions and I said,

[35:27] what are you doing? Like, what

[35:29] is your job? And he said, he

[35:31] was a scout looking to relocate

[35:32] a company to this area and what

[35:35] the they took surveys from the

[35:37] employees. What do you want to

[35:38] see in the community that we

[35:40] move to and the top priority

[35:42] was education. They wanted to

[35:45] have good schools in that area

[35:47] and the next priority was good

[35:47] parks and he said, I love this

[35:49] park. And so he had a lot of

[35:52] questions. And I thought this

[35:54] is fascinating. And he showed

[35:56] me the the poll that they had

[35:57] taken from the employees but

[35:59] not just the employees. The

[36:00] employees and their families.

[36:01] That was important to that

[36:03] company. And they were they

[36:05] were really looking in the

[36:06] Cornelius Huntersville area. So

[36:08] I like to share that with

[36:09] people because it's exactly

[36:11] what I have heard. So it's not

[36:12] like you know sometimes they'll

[36:14] think oh it's an Elaine

[36:15] priority. It's a community

[36:17] priority. I wouldn't be here

[36:19] wasn't so important to the

[36:22] community. Exactly. I just

[36:24] want to say one more thing.

[36:25] Just one last thing to wrap up.

[36:27] Um thank you so much for

[36:29] inviting us. Sure. Um and for

[36:32] convening all these residents.

[36:33] It's a really great group. It's

[36:35] hard to get people to turn out

[36:36] to hear about local government.

[36:37] So if you are a part of a book

[36:40] club or anything where you you

[36:41] know are going to gather some

[36:42] people and you think they could

[36:43] be interested. Please call us

[36:45] because you know we do make

[36:46] house calls. And and the other

[36:48] thing is I do a newsletter two

[36:51] or three times a month updating

[36:53] on county business. If you'd

[36:55] like to be added and stay in

[36:56] the loop, just Email me.

[36:57] Thanks. Great. Thank you all so

[37:00] much for for being with us.

[37:02] Hold on. Something else may

[37:03] come up and I've got an update

[37:05] folks on another couple of

[37:07] things going on in our town. Uh

[37:09] first of all, let me get Sarah

[37:14] Thomas come up and give give me

[37:17] give us a minute update on

[37:21] what's going on with our

[37:22] history museum and how excited

[37:24] we all are about the potential

[37:27] of our new history Museum. Just a real cliff notes. She

[37:32] can still talk a lot. Well,

[37:34] she's excited. It wasn't that

[37:35] long ago that we were all

[37:37] sitting here. Many of you and

[37:38] it was standing room only.

[37:39] There was probably, I don't

[37:41] know, 90 people in here talking

[37:43] about the history of Cornelius.

[37:45] I was fascinated with the fact

[37:47] that not being a native, so

[37:49] many people were here that were

[37:50] interested in the history. And

[37:52] part of that is that there is

[37:53] no place to go view that see

[37:55] that, learn about it. Um

[37:57] hopefully, you all went and

[37:58] voted recently and you may have

[38:01] walked past this little tiny

[38:02] room. Thanks to Mayor Washam

[38:05] and other people. We have a

[38:07] small collection. I say we

[38:09] other people have put that

[38:10] collection together called the

[38:12] Connor Collection and some

[38:14] things in the hallway to tell

[38:15] you about the town that we all

[38:17] live in. But there is no

[38:19] museum. There is no place to go

[38:21] learn about your history. And

[38:22] all of the people moving here,

[38:24] all of the children going to

[38:25] school here. We need to learn

[38:27] about where they, you know, the

[38:27] roots of this area. So, we are

[38:31] looking at something very close

[38:32] to the elementary school where

[38:34] we can house a museum, tell the

[38:37] history. We have so many

[38:39] wonderful people. Mister Potts

[38:41] is here tonight. Mayor Washam,

[38:45] Joy, you

[38:46] want to say something?

[38:47] Joy Dean. Joy Dean, many many

[38:50] people that were here that

[38:51] night where we were just

[38:52] gaining interest. Do people

[38:53] want to know more about this

[38:55] town that they are living in?

[38:57] And the answer was absolutely

[38:59] yes. So, we are getting ready

[39:02] to launch that. We've have a

[39:04] task force put together and we

[39:05] are getting ready to move

[39:08] forward with that. We'll be

[39:09] telling you more about that in

[39:11] the coming months. Thank you,

[39:12] Sarah and we're working very

[39:14] closely with with CM S, Elaine,

[39:17] and Lee, just so you know, to

[39:19] get our old ag building at

[39:22] Cornelius High School. Uh

[39:24] turned over to the town. That's

[39:26] a process. We may have to call

[39:28] on our county friends. I'm not

[39:29] sure but anyway, it's it's

[39:33] going to be another exciting

[39:35] venture here in the town of

[39:37] Cornelius that I can't wait to

[39:38] happen. So, the other quick

[39:42] news is we're we will be

[39:45] getting a new police chief here

[39:48] in our town. As of the first of

[39:50] January, Chief Black is

[39:52] retiring and our new police

[39:54] chief will be Major David

[39:56] Baucum and David's right here

[39:59] and we're looking.

[40:04] forward for very

[40:06] great things to keep our police

[40:08] department moving forward.

[40:09] Public safety is such a

[40:11] critical component for our

[40:12] community and we're excited to

[40:14] have have David step up to the helm and take us to the

[40:19] next level. So, the other thing

[40:20] I want you to get a real quick

[40:22] update and Imma hand the

[40:23] microphone off once more. We're

[40:25] going to make em fight over it

[40:26] but I want to give you a quick

[40:27] update on the Kane Center for

[40:29] the Arts which is right on the

[40:31] brink of opening. So, so

[40:33] whichever one will you y'all

[40:34] would like to do this. This is

[40:36] Paul Newton. Uh Paul's also

[40:37] helped us on the History Museum

[40:39] too by the way but he is the

[40:43] incoming chairman of the Kane

[40:46] Center, Kane Center for the

[40:48] Arts Board of Directors. So,

[40:50] his term will begin about

[40:51] halfway through the coming year

[40:53] and so he'll take the helm.

[40:54] He's very significantly

[40:56] involved in the construction of

[40:57] that facility. So, we're

[40:58] going to open it. Paul, is it

[41:00] going to happen? It's going to

[41:02] happen. If you haven't heard,

[41:05] we're opening on January third.

[41:07] I invite everyone to come down.

[41:09] It's for everyone. We've got a

[41:12] lot scheduled for that first

[41:14] week. Um we have tickets

[41:16] available to many shows. Please

[41:19] get online. Take a look at our

[41:21] site. Buy tickets. Come on down

[41:23] and and enjoy this wonderful

[41:25] new facility that's being

[41:27] built. Um it took a long time

[41:30] to get to where we are. Uh as

[41:32] the construction guy, I

[41:33] apologize for any inconvenience

[41:35] that might have happened along

[41:36] the way. Have a cellphone if

[41:40] any of y'all need it. We're almost there. Um if you

[41:44] haven't noticed, take a look at

[41:45] our new sign. It's on. Uh you

[41:48] can see what you can see that

[41:50] we're opening soon because it

[41:52] says so on the sign. And it's

[41:56] going to be a wonderful

[41:58] addition to the community. It's

[42:00] a economic catalyst and there

[42:04] are a lot of other businesses

[42:05] that are already looking into

[42:07] this area because of the Canes

[42:09] presence. We're very proud of

[42:11] that. And we're going to open

[42:14] and serve the community. So, we

[42:16] need to get response from the

[42:18] community. If we're doing

[42:19] something good, tell us. If we

[42:22] need to improve, tell us.

[42:27] there's a lot on the agenda

[42:29] already and again, the best way

[42:30] you can learn is take a look at

[42:33] our website, learn, and have

[42:35] your credit card handy. Thank

[42:37] you. Thank you. Well, that

[42:42] concludes our Connecting

[42:43] Cornelius for this evening.

[42:46] Pardon? Yeah, transportation.

[42:51] let me turn to transportation.

[42:53] That's always a good topic and I have special permission

[42:57] from our our boss here that we

[42:59] can take a couple of minutes,

[43:01] Wayne. So, thank you. Well,

[43:01] I'll take just a couple. Uh I

[43:03] know everybody has plans for

[43:05] the evening but very quickly on

[43:08] transportation. We have 13

[43:10] projects that we're all eagerly

[43:11] anticipating in our

[43:13] partnerships with DOT. Once we

[43:15] get even half of these

[43:17] projects, we will be in so much

[43:18] a better position for not only

[43:21] congestion but capacity. Uh I

[43:22] was talking to Scott earlier he

[43:24] said it took him 25 minutes to

[43:26] get from the west side over to

[43:27] here and I said, well, don't

[43:28] laugh but it took me 10 minutes

[43:30] just to get from town hall over

[43:31] there to here. So, we

[43:33] understand congestion. We

[43:35] understand what it's doing. So,

[43:36] we're very excited about our

[43:38] project. I'm going to just flip

[43:39] through real quick. That's a

[43:40] map of the thirteen. Let's keep

[43:41] rolling. In 2022, keep going.

[43:45] Uh the Gem Street extension.

[43:46] Now, this is actually a town

[43:48] project. It's fully town funded

[43:50] but this is given us an

[43:51] alternate to get from one over

[43:53] to twenty-one. Right now, many

[43:55] of you might know we finished

[43:56] Nanny Potts Lane. So, you'll be

[43:58] able to have an alternate to

[43:59] get from 21 going down Gem

[44:00] Street, down School Street,

[44:03] over to Nanny Potts. Now, I I

[44:05] keep saying it's going to be

[44:06] just for us locals. Uh other

[44:08] folks won't know about it but

[44:10] people keep telling me, oh,

[44:11] it's going to show up on GPS

[44:12] immediately. Uh and that that's

[44:14] true. So, it will be an

[44:16] alternate. It will be a quicker

[44:18] way. So, real quick. Um and Jim

[44:20] Street's scheduled to open

[44:22] January, I do believe. So,

[44:24] pretty pretty quick on the pull

[44:26] for getting this one open. Uh

[44:28] twenty twenty-three, Catawba

[44:30] twenty-one. Uh that's one end

[44:32] of our diverging diamond. Uh

[44:34] there's two projects. Uh

[44:36] Torrance Chapel is another one.

[44:37] I'll touch on that in a minute

[44:38] but that should start. North

[44:40] Cross Drive Extension. This

[44:41] will give us a north, south

[44:43] alternative to get from

[44:46] Westmoreland down to 73 in

[44:48] Birkdale. So, you don't have to

[44:49] use West Catawba. This will

[44:50] start in twenty three. Torrance

[44:54] Chapel, the only we we

[44:56] originally said because the

[44:58] cost got so high, the town

[44:59] asked DOT, we probably need to

[45:01] cancel this project. DOT came

[45:03] back and said, no, we don't

[45:05] want you to cancel it. We

[45:06] want to work with you to make

[45:07] it more cost effective. So, we

[45:09] downsize the project. The

[45:11] little delay means it will not

[45:13] start until 20 twenty-four now.

[45:14] That's the only negative but

[45:16] it's still going to be a good

[45:17] project where we're going to

[45:18] have improvements at Torrance

[45:19] Chapel. The left turns remain.

[45:22] So, you're, yes, you're

[45:24] welcome. So, you'll get to

[45:25] continue to make your left turn

[45:26] coming out of Torrance Chapel

[45:27] but there will be several

[45:29] intersection improvements that

[45:30] will make life better for us,

[45:32] not only at Torrance Chapel in

[45:33] West Catawba but down at One

[45:34] Norman. Uh next slide, 115

[45:37] Potts Roundabout right up here

[45:38] going toward Davidson. If

[45:40] you're coming out of the YMCA

[45:41] and you're going north, you

[45:42] take your life in your own

[45:44] hands, hands. If you're going

[45:45] north and you want to turn into

[45:47] the YMCA, you're taking your

[45:48] life and your own hands. So,

[45:49] this roundabout will improve

[45:51] safety and congestion. Next

[45:53] slide, Bailey Road Extension.

[45:55] Now, this is a small one that a

[45:56] lot of people aren't aware of

[45:57] but if you're familiar with the

[45:59] sharp curve in Bailey, this

[46:01] one's going to start in twenty

[46:02] twenty-three and we're going to

[46:04] punch that out to twenty-one.

[46:05] So, you don't have to drive

[46:06] through Oakhurst and you don't

[46:08] have to drive beside 131 Main

[46:09] and I still call it Cowboy but

[46:12] I think it's Waterman. Uh but

[46:13] you'll be able to punch out

[46:15] twenty-1. So, that'll be a

[46:16] little bit more convenient.

[46:17] Next slide. The shoulder

[46:19] hardening. This is another one

[46:21] that will be tremendously

[46:22] impactful that you be able to

[46:24] get off on exit 2-five and go

[46:26] to 28 without getting into the

[46:28] lanes, without getting out into

[46:30] the regular or the toll lanes.

[46:32] You'll be able to stay on the

[46:33] shoulder and just go from one

[46:34] exit to another. This will be a

[46:36] major benefit to us. Next

[46:38] slide. In 20twenty-four, the

[46:40] Hickory Street Signal. Uh and I

[46:42] continue to apologize.

[46:44] Everybody says it's just a

[46:45] signal. Why can't you just

[46:46] throw that thing up tomorrow?

[46:47] Believe it or not, it is so

[46:48] difficult right away.

[46:51] Utilities, but we are getting a

[46:53] signal at Hickory Street that

[46:54] will add for safety. Uh add for

[46:57] congestion management there at

[46:58] Hickory in one fifteen. Thanks,

[46:59] Slide. 2026 and beyond West

[47:02] Catawba. Uh everybody, we all

[47:05] want West Catawba but it's so

[47:08] voluminous and and it it the

[47:09] cost is now over 51 million. Uh

[47:12] DOT has told us it will start

[47:14] construction in twenty

[47:14] twenty-six. We continue to push

[47:16] that because that's the big one

[47:18] that we all need. It'll go from

[47:19] two lanes to four lanes. Um

[47:21] have a nice green, medium,

[47:23] multi-use path. Uh it'll just

[47:25] be so nice. Uh so, we're really

[47:27] pushing for the next slide. 2-1

[47:28] widening I did hear yesterday

[47:31] that it got moved back up in

[47:33] this draft step. So, we hope

[47:35] that'll get adopted and

[47:36] hopefully that will come along

[47:38] in twenty twenty 20 27s I think

[47:41] when it was. Next slide. NC

[47:44] seventy-three, there's three

[47:45] segments of this coming from

[47:47] Lincoln County all the way over

[47:48] to Cabarrus County. Uh 2027 is

[47:51] the date. Uh that's mostly in

[47:53] Huntersville but I tell you

[47:54] because we all use it. It's all

[47:55] a road that we all use. Next

[47:56] slide. Next slide. That's it

[48:00] So, very quick. Alright.

[48:07] Wayne, Wayne will be around if

[48:08] you have any questions but

[48:09] again, thank you for being here

[48:11] tonight. We'll be hanging

[48:12] around for a little bit. So,

[48:14] come back and come back up and

[48:16] meet your county commissioners

[48:16] again. Thank you again for

[48:18] being with us tonight and we'll

[48:20] see you soon, I'm sure. Thanks

[48:22] a lot. Good

County Commissioners - November 2022 Evening Edition

Transcript