Charlotte City Council Committee Discussions - June 3, 2024
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Charlotte City Council Committee Discussions - June 3, 2024
The June 3, 2024, Charlotte City Council Committee Discussions meeting covered major reports from four committees, including a detailed presentation on the proposed Bank of America Stadium renovation deal, updates on transportation and planning, housing initiatives, and budget governance reforms. The meeting began at 6:00 PM and was hosted from Room 267 of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center.
Jobs and Economic Development Committee – Bank of America Stadium Renovation
- Councilmember Malcolm Graham and City Manager Tracy Dodson led the presentation on a public-private partnership with Tepper Sports and Entertainment (TSE).
- Public investment: $650 million from travel and tourism funds (convention center fund), not general funds. These funds are legally restricted to travel and tourism purposes.
- The investment is a one-time cap; TSE covers all cost overruns, future capital improvements, and operating/maintenance during the lease extension.
- Term: 20-year extension (15 years firm, 5 years optional for the team). If the team exercises the early exit option, they must fully defease any outstanding city debt.
- Economic impact: Over $1 billion annually, supporting more than 9,000 jobs and generating over $54 million in annual taxes.
- City mandated work: Tier 1 focuses on infrastructure modernization (HVAC, seating, safety, etc.). Tier 2 could include additional city-elected improvements if cost savings exist.
- Community benefits plan: Access to stadium for high school games, expanded workforce development (at least 10 apprenticeships), enhanced MWSBE participation, and continued philanthropic contributions (over $44 million since 2018).
- City use days increase from 5 to 7 per year. Traffic management contribution rises from $250,000 to $500,000 annually.
- A public feedback website was launched; next meetings include a committee session on June 12 and a potential vote on June 24.
Transportation, Planning and Development Committee – Updates
- CATS update: Ridership is increasing but not yet at pre-pandemic levels. On-time performance is 79% (industry target 85%). No-shows under 1%. A second FTA report is in draft.
- Community Area Planning: A 14-area planning process is underway, aiming to produce 30-50 page area plans. The policy map update is expected next year.
- Compact Development: A UDO amendment to allow smaller lot sizes and higher density (with 10% open space) in specific locations. Proposed lot widths: N1A 50 ft, N1B 40 ft, N1C/D 30 ft. Vote scheduled for June 17 committee meeting.
Housing Committee – Affordable Housing and Teacher Village
- Affordable housing report: Since January 2023, 2,334 units approved (58% multifamily, 15% NODA acquisition/rehab, 14% homeownership, 9% repair, 4% supportive housing). Discussion on expanding housing strategies beyond the Housing Trust Fund.
- Teacher Village: A $1 million earmark was included in the FY2025 budget approved by full council. The housing committee requested additional staff evaluation and answers on construction funding and tax status before distribution. Mayor and others clarified the earmark stands, and questions will be addressed during the RCA process.
- Katie Blessing Center: Committee voted to advance a 70,000 sq ft youth mental health facility with 72 beds, owned/operated by the Katie Blessing Foundation. An RCA is being prepared for full council.
Budget, Governance and Intergovernmental Relations – Financial Partners and Procurement
- Financial partners process: New criteria require performance measurement, five-year term limits, and audits for organizations receiving over $100,000. Recommended allocations: Stoleto Boss University ($77,500), Carolina Asian Chamber of Commerce ($100,000), and six other nonprofits (Block Love, Carolina Youth, Charlotte Museum of History, Hearts for the Invisible, Home Again Foundation at $100,000 each; Save Our Children’s Movement at $34,000). Total workforce development allocation about $700,000.
- Procurement policy review: A pilot program (CIP Pilot Framework) to develop an MWSBE utilization master plan. Councilmember Mitchell suggested changes including quick pay, a new safety metric (DART instead of EMR), and a county commissioner model for interview panels. Staff will study and report in September.
Key Outcomes
- Committee reports accepted; stadium deal timeline set with public input and further briefings before a potential June 24 vote.
- Compact development text amendment to come before full council on June 17.
- Teacher Village $1 million earmark confirmed; staff to return with answers before fund distribution.
- Katie Blessing Center to advance to full council for approval.
- Financial partners recommendations will be incorporated into the budget appropriation.
- Procurement policy changes under study; recommendations expected fall 2024.
- No public comments were taken at this meeting; a public hearing will be scheduled later.
Meeting Transcript
Good to go. We're ready to go live. I'm doing yeah, go. Do we have our studio? Are we ready to go live? There you go. All right. Good afternoon, everyone. Um today is June the third, and this is the Charlotte City Council meeting where we actually try to address the committee issues, the things that we have put in the council committees, and have re we do not do report outs, we actually ask for highlights if necessary. But tonight we have some very significant things to cover. And we're gonna start with our um jobs and economic development committee, um, so that we can begin this and have everybody's attention as we begin. Mr. Jones, um, we'll start with introductions and we'll start with Mr. Bakari Tarek Bakari, District Six. Ed Driggs, District Seven. Malcolm Graham, District Two. Marcus Jones, City Manager. Dante Anderson, Mayor Pro Tem, District One. Um Palash Mara at large. Marjorie Molina, District Five. Good afternoon, Renee Johnson, district four. Fleet City Clerk. All right. So that with our introductions, we will now um ask the manager to introduce the well, we don't you have any other things to add? So then we will now follow up and we'll ask Councilmember Graham, the chair of the jobs and economic development committee for his comments and as well the brief report out that we're going to have. Thank you. Mr. Graham. So thank you, madam mayor. Uh is that? I've got background music. It's already open. Cool. Okay, I'm gonna need you in this. I kinda like that, you know. Thank you, thank you, Mr. Manager. Madam Mayor. Uh the day the Economic Development Committee and Jobs Committee met today, and we unveiled a public-private partnership between the City of Charlotte and Temper Sports and Entertainment. Um, the meeting um went extremely well, I thought in terms of an initial um introduction to this partnership that we are examining. As you know, Bank of America Stadium is owned by the Carolina Panthers, the City of Charlotte owns the land. Uh, we had um a number of speakers at today's meeting. Um just a brief summary of some of the highlights and then um uh Manager Dodson will um make a presentation as well. Uh $650 million public support from travel and tourism. Um again, these dollars cannot be utilized for anything other than uh a narrowly tailored purpose, no public housing, no homelessness, no crime of public safety, uh strictly uh airmarked for travel and tourism with the support from the hospitality tourum. With support from the hospitality travel uh tourism alliance. Uh this is not a blank check, it's a reimbursement, so work has to be done, and then the city of Charlotte will reimburse uh temporal sports and entertainment for the work that's being done. Uh the first trunche of work is city mandated projects. These are projects that the city of Charlotte would like to see uh done first and foremost. They do not add to his economic interests like suites, uh those type of things.
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