0:18
And we are live.
0:39
Good evening everyone. Oh, go ahead. We know Well, Rebecca, you take it.
0:48
Okay. Well, we know that some of y'all are just rushing in from work and traffic was bad. So, we're going to give
0:54
it a couple minutes before we start, but we will be starting shortly.
3:18
All
3:35
right, Jackie, we've got a good crowd tonight. Why don't you kick us off?
3:42
Good evening again, everyone, and thank you so much for being here with us tonight. Uh, my name is Jacqueline
3:48
Horton and I serve as strategic operations manager and manager of the
3:54
engagement team with the city of Charlotte's housing and neighborhood services department.
4:00
This meeting is really important to me and my team because we work to make sure
4:06
residents and stakeholders are informed and have opportunities like this to hear what's coming next. Tonight we're going
4:13
to be talking about the mobility plus plan. At its core, this plan is about
4:18
more than roads, buses, or sidewalks. It's about connection.
4:24
Connection to opportunity, connection to each other, and connection to the future we want for our
4:30
neighborhoods. Our goal for this evening is to share information about what the
4:37
plan includes and what it means for Charlotte and how that will affect your
4:43
community. So before we begin, I'm going to go over a few housekeeping rules. So
4:48
give me a second to look at my notes and they are also on this screen. Uh
4:54
please put any questions in the chat. We'll answer as many as possible during
5:00
the Q&A session. If we don't get to your question live,
5:05
do not stress. Uh we'll share contact information at the end so that you'll
5:11
know exactly how to reach us with any questions or any further information
5:17
you'd like to know. This meeting is also being recorded. The recording and materials will be shared afterward for
5:24
you to review or pass along to others. And now I will go into a quick speaker
5:30
introduction. Um we're joined tonight by a panel of speakers who bring expertise
5:36
and vision to this work. So we have Brent Kaggel, interim CEO of Charlotte
5:42
Area Transit System, CATS as we call it, Danielle Frasier, special assistant to
5:49
the city manager for workforce development. and Rebecca Hefner, director of housing and neighborhood
5:56
services. Each will share a brief overview and then we'll open things up for questions.
6:02
And with that, we'll dive in and I'm turning it over to you, Brent.
6:08
Great. Thank you everyone. Again, I'm Brent Kaggel. Um, I guess I'll start out by saying I need to get my picture
6:15
updated. I I definitely didn't have a beard and I definitely didn't have as much gray hair back when that was taken.
6:22
So, um let's jump right in. I am Brent Kaggel. I am interim director or C
6:29
interim CEO of CATS. I am a City of Charlotte employee. So, I will start off
6:36
the evening by reading a message from our city attorney's office right here on
6:42
slide one. Um, per state statute, city staff are not permitted to advocate for
6:47
or against any measure or candidate. Staff may provideformational content to
6:52
help the public understand official processes, services, and decisions. Any
6:58
information shared by city staff is for educational andformational purposes and
7:04
should not be interpreted as an endorsement or opposition. With that, please let's move to the next
7:10
slide. Okay, we always like to start off with
7:16
um just a little bit of background on the proposed 1 cent sales tax. Uh the
7:22
voter referendum will will allow member county residents to approve or deny a 1- cent countywide sales tax to fund
7:31
investment and improvements in transit and transportation. When we think about the sales tax and we
7:38
start to break it down, the sales tax itself, we know based on information
7:44
provided by uh a study done by the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance
7:50
that residents and and local businesses, we end up as we buy things, as we pay
7:56
those sales taxes, we end up contributing about 70% of total revenues
8:01
to the uh to the transportation. and transit uh infrastructure projects. But
8:08
we also know that about 30% of those revenues come in from visitors, from
8:14
non-residents. Those are those folks who are coming into town for a conference and they buy things when they're here or
8:19
they're coming into town for a concert, those kinds of things. So there is uh about 30% of that revenues is derived
8:26
from non-residents. And I'll say that is important um
8:31
because those non-residents use our infrastructure. They use our roads. They use our transit system and the blue
8:37
line. And so they're participating as well and in using that infrastructure and so it makes sense that they would
8:43
help to fund improvements. The other thing I'll say about this
8:48
sales tax is for cats, our projects, our large
8:54
capital projects are generally funded first with local dollars, the sales tax
9:00
revenues, and then second, we we take those local dollars and we leverage them
9:05
for uh federal grants from the FTA. And
9:11
we estimate that about $5.9 billion over the 30-year period in federal
9:17
grants will be available for cats as we leverage those local dollars. Without
9:23
the local dollars, those do without the local match, those dollars are not available
9:30
uh to cats because we have to have the local match. The last thing I'll say is this sales tax, just like the existing
9:37
halfsent transit sales tax, excludes certain items. Most foods and grocery
9:43
items, um, household items, medicine, medical services, or not household
9:49
items, housing costs, uh, medicine, medical services, electricity, gas, and
9:55
telephone. So those are already excluded from the current halfsent sales tax and
10:01
they would continue being excluded should voters decide to vote yes for and
10:08
fund this uh new proposed 1 cent sales tax. Next slide, please.
10:14
How does the money get spent? It's about $19.4 billion over 30 years in total.
10:21
40% of that funding or 7.8 8 billion is
10:27
dedicated to roads and the roads money um is distributed amongst the city of
10:34
Charlotte and all of the towns in Meckllinmberg County. Um, and that formula is included in the state law
10:42
that was recently passed, the PAVE Act, and it's generally speaking based on um,
10:48
population, size of the towns. And so that the dollars go directly to each to
10:55
the city and to each town for them to make investments in their road
11:00
infrastructure. 20% of the funding is dedicated to bus and microtransit
11:07
uh transit programs. That's about $3.8 billion over 30 years. And then 40% is
11:14
dedicated to rail or rapid transit infrastructure um that cats would uh implement over
11:22
about 30 years. And again, that's another $7.8 billion.
11:27
Next slide, please. So, what's in the plan for roads? Um,
11:33
first of all, don't think about roads just as the pavement, you know, the surface that cars are driving on. It's
11:39
more than that. Roads uh funding can go towards sidewalks, pedestrian crossings,
11:48
streetscapes, intersection improvements, road capacity, new streets, and street
11:53
light. These are all the kinds of things that we hear every day that the community wants that we need uh to help
12:01
improve um our road network and our mobility infrastructure and really make
12:08
um roads safer for everyone. Next slide, please.
12:16
For the city of Charlotte, the roads uh allocation equates to about $102 million
12:24
in the first year or 5.7 billion dollars over 30 years. And the city of Charlotte
12:30
has been hard at work looking at and prioritizing the uh road and road
12:37
infrastructure needs across the city. You can see here uh the picture there,
12:42
the blueprint for Charlotte. That is a printed book that we have um and can be made available both in print or online.
12:50
And that really details all of the road projects that have been identified for
12:55
priority um should this uh initiative be funded.
13:00
The map really shows you those priority corridors or strategic investment areas
13:05
that the city has really been working hard to identify and then identify all of the improvements that would go along
13:11
with those. Next slide, please.
13:17
So again, you can see um all of this is aligned. It starts to build on each
13:23
other. the transit system plan, the strategic investment areas, the big moves, our partnerships, how we leverage
13:31
those dollars with others, thinking about how we deploy um or use innovation
13:37
um to make improvements to the road network and really organizing all of
13:42
this together across the programs. Next slide, please.
13:50
So, one example of a strategic investment area is the Harrisburg Road
13:55
area. This is this is a an area that had identified needs and really the city
14:00
went out and said, "What can we do if we start to identify all of these needs and
14:06
then we combine our efforts to really execute the project?" Um, Harrisburg
14:12
Road is a great example of that and the uh the strategic investment areas really
14:19
take that first proof of concept um and expand it with the new funding. Next
14:26
slide, please. Big moves. These are large um
14:33
infrastructure improvements um associated with new streets uh complete streets, road capacity and other special
14:41
projects. Next slide.
14:47
our partnerships. Um the city has in the past and will continue in the future to
14:53
work together with our partners um NC do private developers, municipal service
15:00
districts um to take the dollars that we have but also to leverage those dollars
15:07
with our partners. Examples are the Pearl uh the River District and Valentine Re-Imagined.
15:14
Next slide, please. innovation.
15:20
You know, we're always looking for how we can integrate and incorporate innovation into
15:26
um our transit and transportation network. So, again, as we think about uh
15:32
the future, we want to think about things like LAR based realtime adaptive
15:37
signal operations. Um that's a lot of words. Um, but really what it boils down
15:42
to is how do we uh use technology to help us better manage um the investments
15:50
we make but also better manage our uh transit and transportation infrastructure. Next slide please.
15:59
Programs. Um so again thinking about vision zero um pedestrian and sidewalk
16:06
infrastructure, bike lanes, congestion mitigation, bridge repair and
16:11
replacement. Again those intelligent transportation systems, traffic control
16:17
control devices and signals and street surfacing. Those all are represent
16:22
programs that we would look to implement uh through uh through this funding. Next
16:29
slide, please. All right, moving into transit. I always
16:34
think it's a good idea here to remind folks about who uses uh transit today.
16:41
Um so when we look at our ridership, and I won't go through every number on this slide, but we know that um about 61% of
16:50
our bus riders have no valid driver's license, and about 60% have no working
16:56
vehicle. What that really means is those folks are um they transit is their only
17:03
means of getting around or only affordable means and they rely on transit to live their lives to get to
17:10
work um to get to the doctor and the grocery store. Transit is an essential
17:15
service for them um as they're living their lives in the community.
17:21
We also know ridership um our riders generally fall into the moderate to
17:27
lower income category. 69% of our bus riders have a household income under
17:33
$50,000 a year. Um and then we look at the racial demographics of our ridership
17:39
in the bus. About 71% of our riders are African-American,
17:44
7% uh Hispanic, and 11% uh white. Um, the last thing I'll say
17:51
about our riders, we talk to our writers frequently. Um, we do surveys. We ask them, "What can we do? What can we do?
17:58
What do you want to see out of transit?" And there's always three answers. Every survey we do, the top three answers come
18:04
back the same. We want the bus to be reliable. When you
18:10
say there's going to be a bus here, there should be a bus here. We want more frequency. We'd like to see more buses
18:16
instead of coming every 30 minutes. we'd like them to come more frequently so we have more options. And the last thing
18:22
they say is we want more amenities. And what that really means to us is instead of that sign um stuck in the side of the
18:31
uh on the side of the road um with grass growing around it. They want
18:37
concrete pads and benches um shelters and lighting at those shelters. So those
18:44
are the amenities. Those are always the top three things and those were really the things that we were focused on
18:50
uh as we started to develop the better bus and microtransit plan. And I'll say the top three things they the reason
18:56
they come back all the time the same is because they're really reasonable, right? Those are all things that are
19:03
absolutely reasonable to expect from our transit system. Next slide, please.
19:11
So, what's in the plan? Um starting with bus and microtransit uh the first thing
19:16
that we'll do is um take the top 15 bus routes which carry about 60% of total
19:23
bus ridership and we'll move all of those routes to 15minute frequency
19:29
meaning the bus will come every 15 minutes. That's really important. We can
19:34
do that in the first five years uh after funding and it's really the the standard for um
19:42
high-erforming high frequency uh transit. Today we have one route in the
19:48
entire network at Central Avenue, the biggest bus route in the in the network that's at 15 minutes or better. All
19:55
other routes are above that. um for for the routes um that aren't those top 15,
20:01
all of those routes will go to 30 minute frequencies. Right now, those routes are
20:06
somewhere between 45 minutes and and 1 hour frequencies. So, significant improvements in frequencies across the
20:13
entire network. The top 15 routes go to 15 minutes. All other routes go to 30
20:19
minutes. The second thing we do is we we start to implement across the entire county
20:25
microtransit zones. We've identified 19 total microransit zones and we'll be
20:32
able to roll that roll out microtransit in the first five years of the plan.
20:38
What is microtransit? Microtransit is new to Charlotte but it is not new to
20:43
transit. Um, other cities have successfully deployed microtransit. And what it is is an ondemand service where
20:50
when you're ready to get a ride, uh, you live in the zone and you're ready to get a ride, you go on to
20:57
the cat's app and you schedule that ride. Today we have one microtransit
21:03
zone. It's in the north part of Charlotte around North Lake Mall up through Huntersville, Cornelius, and
21:08
Davidson. An average wait time for pickup is about 15 minutes. The service standard is 30 minutes. And so you're
21:16
ready to uh go to the park. Um and you live in the zone and the park is in the
21:22
zone. You uh schedule your ride about 15 minutes later. The van picks you up,
21:29
takes you to the park and picks you off and drops you off. And then when you're ready to go home, you go through the
21:35
same process. You schedule the ride, you get picked up, and it takes you home. What if you're going outside of the
21:41
zone? you're starting in the zone, but your final destination is outside of the zone. Then what you would do is schedule
21:46
that ride, and you would have it pick you up where you are and take you to um
21:52
to a bus stop, to a transit hub. Um and that's where you would catch one of
21:57
those fixed route bus routes uh to go on to your final destination.
22:04
This is part of the transit system, so it's standard fair, $2.20 per ride. um
22:11
if you're eligible for discounted fair um based on age uh $110,
22:17
but it's standard bus fair and all transfers are free. If you're starting
22:22
your journey with microtransit, but then you're moving over to a bus, transfers
22:27
are always free. It is not an additional charge. Uh and microtransit, like all of
22:32
our services, is ADA accessible. We have uh ADA accessible vans available for
22:38
pickup um as part of our microtransit. The third piece of the bus and
22:44
microtransit plan is making improvements or enhancements to
22:49
over 2,000 bus stops. Again, like I said, those are lighting, shelters,
22:55
benches, those kinds of improvements to over 2,000 bus stops um throughout the
23:01
county. Next slide, please. So again, when we think about it, we're
23:08
trying to create a highfrequency network. We're trying to expand coverage
23:14
of the transit system and we're trying to connect people um
23:22
where they live to the places they want to go to their jobs um to activity
23:27
centers is what we call it. Um, so jobs, um, schools, all of those kinds of
23:33
things. And if we're able to roll out this bus, uh, better bus and
23:38
microtransit plan, you can see the map here in the middle shows the coverage areas that we'll have, um, throughout
23:46
the county with really that high frequency, high quality transit service
23:51
for bus. Next slide, please.
23:56
So, better bus and microransit is one piece of the plan. The other major piece
24:02
of the plan is the rail plan. I'll start by walking through each of the um
24:08
planned um expansions of rail. The first expansion is the red line traveling from
24:15
Charlotte Gateway Station up through the northern part of Charlotte with a station in Derida on into
24:23
uh Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson. possibly with um approval from Morsville
24:33
and Ayardell County, the red line could extend into county, but that would only
24:39
happen based on approval from Ayardell County and Morsville. So today it um
24:46
goes from uh uptown Charlotte up to Davidson in the county line that is a
24:52
commuter rail service. Second, we have the gold line. Uh it
24:58
extends this project will extend both ends of the gold line on the east side.
25:04
It will extend the gold line from uh Hawthorne Lane onto Central Avenue and
25:11
out to the Eastland Transit Center. On the west side, it will extend the Gold
25:17
Line from basically John C. Smith University up Batty's Ford Road just past I 85 to
25:24
the Rosa Parks Transit Center. Then we have the Silver Line. It is our major
25:30
east west uh rail connector. In the first part um for the first segment, the
25:37
first expansion or construction of the Silver Line, we'll be able to build from the airport
25:45
into Uptown across Uptown and east to Bojangles or uh the Coliseum. That's the
25:52
first part of the expansion. We will have the ability if additional funding becomes available
26:00
in the future to continue extend extending the silver line uh ultimately
26:05
on over to Matthews on the east side and beyond the airport on the west side. The
26:11
blue line currently the blue line terminates at I485 and South Boulevard.
26:17
Uh the first uh the funded piece of expansion on the blue line would allow
26:22
us to ex expand from 485 down into Pineville and ultimately to
26:29
Carolina Place Mall. And then we would have the ability in the future at some
26:34
point in the future when additional funding is available um to extend beyond Carolina Place Mall
26:41
into Ballentine. Next slide, please.
26:47
Okay, at this point I will turn it over to Danielle Frasier.
26:52
Thanks Brent and good evening again everyone. Danielle Frasier and I lead the office of workforce development for
26:58
the city of Charlotte and I am here this evening to talk a little bit about our workforce and small business development
27:04
efforts. Uh and when we think about this potential uh one cent sales tax uh
27:10
investment, we're not just thinking about how it may uh enhance how people move about our our city and our county,
27:17
but then also how it will help move up move people upward and as well as our
27:23
small businesses. And so I know everyone on this call is is familiar with the economic mobility studies that have come
27:30
out uh come come out over the years and been released around Charlotte being 50 out of 50 against other major cities.
27:36
Now we are for economic mobility. Now we were 38 uh out of 50 and uh we are the
27:42
one of the top three fastest growing uh for economic mobility progress. While these are great strides and uh and great
27:50
progress, we know we still have a lot of work to do in this space. And I know you all are also familiar with our
27:56
opportunity task force report that came out uh in 2017 that highlighted the the
28:02
critical role that transportation plays in assisting folks um with with economic
28:07
and upward mobility. And so when we think about this, we're we're trying to be proactive in how uh we think about
28:14
this not just being infrastructure enhancement, but how are we also enhancing the lives of folks in our city
28:19
and our county. Um Harold, next slide. So a little bit about what we've been up
28:26
to, workforce and and small business council, you all are probably aware, has a number of priorities and policies that
28:32
are supporting small business and workforce development. Back in March, uh, city council approved our first
28:38
workforce development strategic plan. Uh, as well as there is a lot of small business development efforts that are,
28:44
uh, happening. Uh, as well, we know that with this potential, um, one-scent sales
28:49
tax, thousands of jobs will become available through the different um
28:54
projects that may come online, whether it's um construction and skilled trades or or supervision and operations or um,
29:02
frontline mobility. Uh Brent is always sharing the the statistic that we're
29:07
going to need 200 more bus operators and these bus operators are now starting at a wage of $26 and some change. And so
29:15
when we think about these jobs that may may come about, we're thinking about livable wage jobs as well, not minimum
29:22
wage jobs, but looking at those jobs that help our individuals become uh sustainable and put them on a career
29:27
path. One of the other examples that uh we have that uh is supporting our small
29:33
business uh is an organization called My Little Helper. So uh Brent shared the
29:38
pilot of the microtransit in the northern towns. My Little Helper is a woman minorityowned business that is the
29:46
one that is transporting uh all of the individuals around through microtransit in the northern towns. And so Brent
29:52
mentioned that there'll be potentially I think 18 other zones that could be expanded. And again, this this expands
29:58
more opportunities for more small businesses to um to support the infrastructure of microransit.
30:04
Next slide. A little bit about what we've been doing over the last year or so around uh
30:10
workforce uh talent development as well as business development. Uh about a year and a half ago, we deployed a little
30:16
over $4 million into the community through ARPA grants. So, we as the city don't provide direct services to to
30:23
talent and residents. We leveraged the great partners in our community to do this, to provide career development
30:29
services, to provide free training, um to to for short-term credential programs, um and help individuals
30:36
connect to good sustainable employment. And that those grants are helping roughly about 590 people over the two
30:43
years. A subset of those funds are how we're helping small business uh through training grants, on the job training
30:49
grants. And so $400,000 has been awarded to small businesses to help them create
30:55
and fill 50 new jobs over the 2-year period. And when we think about our our
31:01
talent and our talent development, we we think about it starting with our early talent, which is K through 12. And so uh
31:07
some of you may be aware of a program that we launched uh back in 2024. It's called education to employment. And so
31:14
this is a program that is in partnership with Charlotte Meckllinburgg schools. You're maybe aware of the three E. Dr.
31:21
Dr. Hill, our superintendent, has a goal for every student that when they graduate from high school, they should
31:27
be on one of three pathways. Either enlisting in military, enrolling in
31:32
post-secary, or uh employment. And so, uh, we we said as the city of Charlotte,
31:38
well, we're an employer. And so, we offer up a number of jobs. We pledge a number of jobs across our organization,
31:44
entry- levelvel roles to help employ uh newly graduating high school students. And so when we think about again this
31:51
potential investment in in our mobility infrastructure, we're also thinking about these jobs and thinking about the
31:57
pipeline of K- through2 students graduating and potentially u getting on a pathway in these respective areas.
32:05
Next slide. And so another uh project that we have been engaged with is that when we think
32:11
about the talent and the small businesses where we really want to support through this effort and being
32:17
proactive, we are looking at we have a gap analysis and so looking at where those gaps are with our small business
32:22
community as well as with our our talent. And so, uh, we are engaging with
32:28
the consultant that is assisting us with looking at our small businesses that, uh, are registered with us, um, if, uh,
32:35
specifically through our our CBI program, looking at where those businesses are, who can provide these
32:41
services right now, if if this were to happen today, who is in this space, but they just need some additional supports
32:47
and resources to be able to scale up to be able to work these projects. And so, uh, that's the work that we're doing to
32:54
identify what small businesses we can help support. City council has, uh, approved $ 1.5 million in our current
33:01
year budget to in in a sense scale up some of these businesses that may need some extra support that can be ready to,
33:08
uh, to work some of these these projects that may come down. Uh, again, the same thing on the talent side. So, we're
33:14
looking at what are those jobs that are going to be needed. Um, what where's the gap, right? Where's the gap in in
33:20
people? where's the gap in skills and credentials and what may be needed to connect the talent to those jobs. And so
33:26
looking at where the need and the demand may be if this if voters are v vote on this and how we can help make those
33:33
connection stronger to ensure that there are pipelines going into these these respective roles. And just a shout out
33:40
um we're excited about a new office that was created in this new budget cycle for the office of of youth opportunities.
33:46
And so this is this is a lot of work that's also center around workforce development, skill development, civic
33:52
engagement, safety, and and mentorship. Again, as we think about this holistically, we want to make sure that
33:57
we're thinking about this and our youth and and how they can participate in in
34:02
uh opportunities. Uh when we also thinking about this, I'm going to hand it over to to Rebecca. Again, as as you
34:09
can see, we're we're we're thinking about and being proactive how workforce development, small business development,
34:14
as well as housing all plays a role in and is impacted and being impacted by this potential um one-scent sales tax.
34:21
And so, I'm going to hand it over to Rebecca to talk a little bit about housing and anti-displacement.
34:29
Thanks so much, Danielle. Again, I'm Rebecca Hefner. I'm the um director of
34:34
the uh Department of Housing and Neighborhood Services and and really
34:40
appreciate all of you taking the time to jump on tonight um and have this discussion with us. And we are going to
34:46
do Q&A at the end, but I've been kind of, you know, kind of watching um as your questions are rolling in in the
34:52
chat. I just want to thank uh Ron Ross who asked what I think is one of the most important questions about all of
34:58
this work which is you know what are the impacts on communities? Um and and you
35:05
know the transit plan is um is is broad and comprehensive and thoughtful and
35:12
intentional and and transformational. But we don't have transit for the sake of having transit. We have transit and
35:20
transportation infrastructure so that people can move around our city easily, get to the things that they need um to
35:27
get from their homes to their jobs, uh to get to all of the services, to get
35:32
their kids to school. The this plan is about connecting us to one another and
35:39
to the things that we need every day. And so you you will have heard, you
35:44
know, Mayor Lyles has been talking about this since the the beginning of her tenure here, this three-legged stool,
35:51
jobs, housing, and mobility. And so while the while the uh sales tax itself
35:58
is proposed to fund the mobility part of the plan, the transit and transportation,
36:05
um the work that Danielle just described and what I'm going to share about now, the workforce development, the small
36:12
business opportunities, um affordable housing, the investments in anti-displacement,
36:18
these are all integral parts of the plan even though they have different um
36:23
funding. sources than the um proposed sales tax. Uh so I just want to talk a
36:30
little bit tonight about housing and anti-displacement and how this ties in.
36:36
So right now, you know, the voters of Charlotte, maybe even some of you, thank
36:43
you. Um voted for a$100 million affordable housing bond uh in the last
36:50
um bond cycle, which we're working to deploy now. Um but that that's not the only money that that the city has to
36:56
invest in affordable housing. So right now um we are currently investing over
37:02
$148 million um in support of affordable housing. Um nearly nearly um 90 million
37:10
of that is specifically dedicated to anti-displacement. Um and so we're really being uh
37:18
proactive around our investments in anti-displacement. Um, city council has been talking about that for many years.
37:25
Uh, they had a a um advisory commission called the nest commission, neighborhood
37:30
equity and stabilization commission. I see in the chat there might be one or two Nest members on this um call right
37:37
now. that commission was was uh really essential in helping us think through uh
37:43
how we can invest proactively and strategically in anti-displacement
37:48
as our city grows and as we work towards uh potentially these um transformative
37:54
investments in transit. So when when we think about the work of the city and you
37:59
can see on the map on this screen um in since the inception of the housing trust
38:05
fund over almost 25 years ago over $400 million has been invested in affordable
38:11
housing. Um and and what the the overlay here is showing um is those where those
38:18
investments are in relation to the planned expansion and upgrades to the um
38:25
bus and um transit in our city. Those adopted plans,
38:32
if funded and implemented, will connect all of these affordable places to live
38:37
with people's jobs and the resident services, the things they need, health
38:44
care and um and amenities um uh shopping and restaurants and the places that they
38:50
need to go. Uh next slide, please.
38:56
So, within that hund00 million bond um that that I was just talking about, this
39:02
that that's the funding for our housing trust fund and city council's goals
39:08
around affordable housing and anti-displacement. Um they are not just to count the
39:14
numbers and create new units. Um, we're really working and being thoughtful
39:20
about how do we use the development and and preservation of affordable housing
39:26
to help people achieve um residential stability to help create affordable
39:32
neighborhoods and to help put people on a path of economic mobility. And so
39:38
while we're investing primarily in housing through this bond, of course, through multif family, new construction,
39:44
home ownership, etc., all of the policy and the way those funds are deployed is
39:51
integrated with our plans around transit and transportation because that's a key
39:56
component of how we meet those larger policy goals within housing.
40:02
Next slide, please. And so I want to talk a little bit about anti-displacement because our, you know,
40:10
our city is growing. Our city has been growing rapidly for quite some time and
40:16
we are already feeling displacement pressures. Uh that that that is not new.
40:23
Um and and so we've been working on anti-displacement for quite some time, but it's we can expect that as we
40:30
continue to grow with or without new transit, we'll continue to have displacement pressures, but we've
40:36
certainly seen um th those displacement pressures increase in our community, for
40:42
example, along the blue line um uh over over the last 20 years. And so, uh, your
40:50
city council, um, is is really thinking about, you know, what what are the ways you get ahead of displacement? And, um,
40:58
and so in that in that hund00 million bond, um,
41:05
they they dedicated 44 million of that to anti-displacement and wealth building
41:11
activities. So, in in past bond cycles, the last couple of cycles where the bond
41:16
was 50 million, um a lot of a lot of that funding, uh a majority of the
41:22
funding was going towards multifamily new construction. Um and and within this
41:28
current, um bond and the way the council has structured their policy, um the
41:34
majority of the funding taken together is actually dedicated to anti-displacement.
41:39
So that's 14 million in the preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing, 5 million in home
41:46
rehabilitation and emergency repair. Um but notably $25 million in home
41:53
ownership. Um because one of the best ways to help people stay in place in
41:58
their neighborhoods is to help them in and um achieve home ownership.
42:04
So these um these these anti-displacement strategies are
42:09
embedded in that funding. And then and then you know when when I think about anti-displacement especially when you're
42:16
talking about transit um the best place to the best way to to to control the
42:22
destiny of our community is to control the land. Um developers know this, right? They've they've um they have uh
42:29
uh been been making that work for them. um here in our growing city and just
42:37
creating economic opportunity, but we also want to make sure that we're able to acquire land to preserve it for the
42:44
affordable housing in the future. So, there's $5 million in the housing trust fund now for strategic land acquisition
42:51
in transit areas. Um the city also has an affordable housing fee and loo program. Um and that's primarily coming
42:59
from um developments that are being constructed along the current blue line.
43:04
Um and that that's an opportunity for developers to pay into an affordable
43:12
housing fund uh when in in exchange for the ability essentially to build more
43:18
units. Um but so so we have $5 million that we've allocated already to two site
43:24
acquisitions. one that's along the blue line and one along the gold line. And then there's an additional $16 million
43:31
in commitments um from that fund that will be used for land acquisition in the
43:36
future. And and one thing I just want to note here is that a lot of people look at the blue
43:42
line and say, you know, we've really missed an opportunity around affordable housing. And and yes, early on, for
43:48
sure, we absolutely did as a community. Uh but but those opportunities aren't
43:54
over. Uh we we have uh over 2,000 units of affordable housing along the blue
44:00
line today. Um we still have um developments that are coming in and
44:05
being built are being proposed along the blue line um for the future. So, so
44:12
while we might have missed the opportunity to get in early, which we're thinking about um now for the expansion
44:19
of the transit, uh we are still thinking about how to incorporate additional affordable housing on that existing blue
44:26
line. And then just a note about land acquisition, we really are being thoughtful about how do we use land
44:32
that's owned by the city or the county or the school system. um and then and some of our faith-based partners to uh
44:39
ensure that we're really maximizing um those opportunities for land
44:44
acquisition for future affordable housing. Next slide.
44:52
All right. So, we have reached our the end of the presentation portion. Thank
44:57
you for um sticking with us uh while we shared with you um the overview of the
45:04
mobility plus plan and um in addition how that mobility plus plan creates
45:10
capacity and enables opportunities for workforce development, small business,
45:16
entrepreneurship and affordable housing. Uh our our chats our Q&A portion here
45:23
will be facilitated by Harold Thompson. So, Harold, I'll let you um give give the group here some instructions and
45:30
then uh kick off into questions. Thanks, Rebecca. Uh just be reminded
45:36
everyone that you can drop your questions in the chat or the Q&A function. Um and I'm just going to go
45:44
off and and read the questions off and let the uh the panel answer them. All right, first question here is,
45:53
let's see, what is being done to make cats safe for riders? I'm scared to allow my children to ride the cats. It's
45:59
unsafe. Yeah, that's a good question. Um, so, so
46:06
thinking about the transit system plan, but also just talking about what we're doing today. Um when we t when we think
46:14
about uh higher frequencies, increased frequencies, more amenities, um that all
46:20
contributes to sense of the sense of safety and the real safety for the
46:26
riders. Um, one interesting thing about our riders is
46:34
we are we are what we call a high transfer network and that's because of the city street network, the built
46:40
environment that that we operate in. Um, so when we think about having all of
46:46
those routes starting to align on 15 minutes or no more than 30 minutes,
46:52
having microransit and other rail uh infrastructure in place, that really
46:58
starts to reduce time that people have to wait to make those transfers. It also
47:03
gives them better options. instead of having to get um to the bus stop early because there are only a limited number
47:10
of buses, they can um sort of plan their day better, lighting at the shelters,
47:16
all of those things. So to drill down deeper though on safety and security
47:23
over the last couple years um one thing that I have done with cats is really
47:29
taken a look at our uh approach to
47:34
providing security throughout the system. The first thing we did is we replaced our security contractor
47:42
um and we brought in a new local company uh PSS. It's owned and operated by Lee
47:47
and Celeststeine Ratliff. They're former both of them are former CMPD officers
47:54
and they're native Charlatans. They have they have deep ties to this community and they understand policing and they
48:00
understand Charlotte. And when we brought them in, we also doubled um the
48:06
resources on that contract. Um, we went from about 100 110 officers under the
48:13
previous contract to allowing up to 28
48:18
officers throughout the system. And and what Lee and PSS are doing is really
48:24
taking a look at how they uh build a model that really focuses on moving
48:32
throughout the system, having visibility and resources available to respond and
48:39
to be there throughout the system. And so those are all of the things that we're currently doing and that we'll
48:44
continue to do with the transit system plan. If we are going to be expanding
48:50
then it's absolutely true that our uh transit security function will expand
48:56
right along with uh the rest of the system.
49:02
Thanks. Next question. How much has cats received from federal grants in the
49:07
past? That is a great question. Um we normally
49:12
rule of thumb based on history is and this is depends on the ab the size of
49:19
the project. How much does the project cost? As a project costs more the federal contribution usually goes down
49:26
as a percentage of total. So we assume based on past history that we will
49:32
receive somewhere between 45 and 49%
49:37
um in federal funding that comes along with our funding.
49:46
Okay, next question is what is micro? Before Before you go on, Harold, I just
49:52
want to underscore something that Brent just uh just said. The the local
50:01
funding source is essential to uh to making this work. Um
50:09
and right now the the proposal that's going to come before the community is the is the sales tax to generate that
50:16
revenue. But that that revenue is the thing that
50:23
makes us competitive uh what makes us eligible for those federal funds, makes
50:28
us competitive with other cities who already have a local source of funding
50:34
and are um um bringing down those federal funds to their cities. And so
50:41
it's it's a um really critical piece of the puzzle
50:48
in terms of um advancing the work and and if I got that if I missed that Brent
50:54
you correct me but something along those lines. Yeah, that's absolutely right. Look, those those dollars are captured at the
51:01
federal level um right through our income taxes and they're available for
51:06
cities who have local match. the cities that have that local match are getting
51:12
those dollars today and will continue to get those dollars. Um, you have to have
51:17
the match to be able to compete for those dollars. And right now, Charlotte doesn't have the match, right? So, those
51:24
dollars exist, they are out there and those dollars are
51:29
going to other cities um because they already have the match. they they've already passed these kinds of transit uh
51:37
initiatives and they have that match. Thanks. And I believe this question was
51:45
answered uh during your portion Branch, but uh again, what is microtransit?
51:51
Yeah, it's an ondemand transit service. Think about it as operating very similar
51:56
to Uber or Lyft with one key difference. It's affordable. It's $2.20 20 cents
52:02
with um with free transfers, right? Transfers are always free. $110 if
52:08
you're if you're eligible for reduced fair. Um it it is a doortodoor service.
52:14
Let me let me spin that question the other way because I think it's important. What isn't microtransit?
52:21
Microtransit is not a viable replacement to those high frequency fixed route uh
52:29
bus service, right? those top 15 routes, those big routes in the city. Microtransit doesn't, it's not
52:35
effective. It doesn't um replace those. What it does is create that first and
52:42
last mile access to the rest of that network. We hear all the time, you know,
52:48
I live off of Batty's Ford Road, but maybe I live a mile from Batty's Ford and that's too far for me to walk when
52:54
it's raining or it's real hot or I'm I'm getting up there in in age and it's just a long way to walk. Microtransit bridges
53:02
that gap. It's sort of the age-old problem with transit, that first and last mile. How do you get to those high
53:08
frequency routes? Microtransit bridges that gap in a way um that we can't, you
53:15
know, we can't go into every neighborhood with a large bus. Um and so microtransit shrinks that vehicle to a
53:22
small vehicle and picks you up and then takes you and gives you access.
53:28
And and Brent, I would add to on the what microransit is is even within um a
53:37
zone, right? it creates a lot of ability to get around without using a car. So
53:44
that can be for people who don't have a car and and need that or for people who
53:51
just don't want to get in their car and drive for those short errands or don't
53:56
want to you to to sit in traffic. Maybe maybe you'd rather uh I don't know, you
54:01
know, read a book um while someone else drives you around, right? So you think about where the microtransit zones are.
54:09
You could go from your house to the grocery store and then back from the grocery store to your house door to
54:15
door, right? So even if you're a transit rider now and you're achieving that on the bus, think about the convenience of
54:24
then not having to carry a large load of groceries on the bus. So yes, so we'll take you to the bus line and that bus
54:30
line will take you places. It opens up the ability to to move all across the
54:36
county, but even within your zone, you can um use you you would be able to use
54:42
it for those shorter trips, the things of convenience. Um, I think Brent, you shared a story um once about where where
54:50
microtransit is being implemented um in North Charlotte and and and uh in the
54:56
northern towns of a school teacher uh getting to work by utilizing
55:02
microransit. Yeah, it's interesting. It's coincidental. Our microtransit rider and
55:09
our 5,000th microtransit rider uh both school teachers uh worked at a school
55:16
and they use microtransit uh to get to and from work.
55:24
Okay, next question. I'm curious what data or studies support
55:29
the idea that increasing bus frequency in a community leads to higher ridership especially on the east side.
55:36
Yeah. So the east side, Central Avenue, um in general um there is high transit
55:44
demand. Uh like I said, Central Avenue is the number one bus route out there.
55:50
Um we also know that other cities as they have made improvements to their bus
55:56
uh system um through higher frequencies, better reliability, those kinds of things, you
56:04
you will see it's just more convenient for the existing riders and people who
56:09
will start to choose to use it. And and that's um that's proven true in other
56:14
communities. The the other thing I'll say is um
56:20
the 15 million rides we give today, we're seeing passenger um numbers
56:26
steadily increase. We've been seeing that since co um and the 15 million
56:32
passengers we have today, right? this is this is a top priority for those folks
56:38
who use the bus uh or transit every day um you know to to meet their their
56:46
transportation needs.
56:51
Thank you. Uh next question is, is there a plan B for funding if Charlotte does not receive those federal grants?
56:59
Yeah. So, um, one thing we've seen and and we get this question a lot. Um,
57:08
these projects do receive federal funding, right? We
57:15
historically, we have always seen these federal these these large projects. They are eligible for um capital funding from
57:24
the federal government. um if they did not receive uh and we think that all of
57:29
these projects will be um highly desirable, they'll compete well for these federal grants into the future.
57:36
And so if we do not receive funding, um yes, we we'll have to re-evaluate the
57:42
plan and start to uh make adjustments as needed. But but I would say it's you
57:50
know, we get this question a lot like so much is changing in Washington. It seems
57:55
like all the things that we could count on in the past are it's all changing.
58:01
What we see with every administration, it's not that the funding goes away,
58:08
it's that the priorities for how that uh those grants, how you compete for those grants effectively may change. Um, and
58:15
you see that really with every administration and and we're aware of that and we're planning accordingly for that. It's also important to note that I
58:23
know that right now we we think about sort of everything that's going on, but this is a 30-year plan, right? Um so
58:32
some of these projects that they most of these large projects,
58:38
if not all of them, they're they won't be coming forward for federal funding under this administration. they might
58:44
not be coming forward for federal funding under the next administration or the next because again this is a 30-year
58:51
plan that really starts to plan out 30 years worth of uh transit and
58:57
transportation infrastructure in this community in the region.
59:04
Okay, next question is what is prepared food McDonald's or food at Food Line Hot
59:11
Bar? Yeah. So, this is a really technical question. I will answer it the best I
59:17
can and then I promise we can get a technical expert to follow up. Prepared
59:22
foods is generally foods purchased at a restaurant. It is a good question if Food Lion Hot Bar
59:29
qualifies as prepared or not. I do not know the answer to that. Um, but I certainly can talk to the smart
59:36
attorneys and others who we have on staff and we can get you that answer.
59:42
and and I can just add that typically food that's prepared for consumption on
59:49
site um is considered um prepare prepared food. So typically
59:57
if it you know if you say within the grocery store you might have a few
1:00:02
tables or somewhere to sit once you've picked up from the hot bar or from the deli that's then considered prepared
1:00:08
food. Right. Next question is, how does the
1:00:14
mobility plan incorporate the needs of historically marginalized neighborhoods that have been disproportionately
1:00:20
impacted by highways and poor air quality?
1:00:26
Yeah. So, couple things on that. Um, one, when you look at the the the main
1:00:32
bulk of our bus network, those top 15 routes, those are in Charlotte in um,
1:00:42
existing neighborhoods that have been there, you know, areas that have been there for a while. Also, can be
1:00:47
marginalized communities that have been affected um, by past decisions, transit
1:00:53
and transportation decisions. And so it does help to support those communities
1:00:58
on the bus side. When you think about the rail side, the gold line, the silver
1:01:04
line, um both of those projects
1:01:09
um again serve uh those those marginalized or underinvested areas um
1:01:18
um into the future. The the last thing I'll say when it comes to poor air quality and and I'm really excited about
1:01:25
this as we've been moving forward with our buses, we've been exploring, we have
1:01:30
about 30 electric, fully electric buses in the fleet. We we continue to test
1:01:35
that technology as it advances, but we've also been buying um the newest
1:01:41
version of hybrid buses and these are diesel electric hybrids. They have a
1:01:46
really exciting feature on them that I that I that as we get the buses we want to roll out. Um you can it's it's called
1:01:55
geo fencing. And so you create sort of a an invisible barrier, a technology based
1:02:00
barrier. And when you enter areas um where maybe poor air quality is a concern, um the buses will automatically
1:02:09
um cut off the diesel and just run full electric until they leave that area. And
1:02:16
so that's something new to us with these um this new um generation of hybrid
1:02:22
buses, but we're really excited about exploring that and continuing to buy more of those um smart hybrids as well
1:02:31
as um the full electric buses. And Brent, I would I mean I would even
1:02:38
build on that thinking about sustainability more broadly. Um, and you
1:02:44
know, the the more transit that we have available,
1:02:49
the more opportunity to shift people out of their single occupancy vehicles um
1:02:55
and onto buses or rail, those other forms of transportation.
1:03:01
It's designed to mitigate the increase in in pollution and poor air quality as
1:03:07
we grow. So, it it really does contribute to uh um our city's
1:03:15
sustainability uh to get people out of their cars and and into other forms of transit. And
1:03:22
then on top of that, with Brent and Catz and and our in our city working together to, you know, think about the transit
1:03:30
vehicles themselves being more sustainable, it really give gives us that opportunity.
1:03:37
And and then I would really add, you know, when we think about uh historically marginalized or uninvested
1:03:44
neighborhoods um in our city, it's not just about the the transit impacts. You
1:03:52
know, the reason that we're being intentional around the workforce development investments and the
1:03:58
affordable housing investments being really integrated together here. um is that those same those same neighborhoods
1:04:05
are the neighborhoods that have been underinvested um with with housing and workforce opportunities and economic
1:04:12
mobility as a whole. And so Danielle, I don't know if if um if you wanted to add
1:04:19
anything in here, particularly about the the opportunity for upskilling and and
1:04:25
helping move folks into into jobs because this this is really, you know,
1:04:31
an important part, you know, we we have a lot of our neighborhood leaders and um um on this call. I think this is an
1:04:38
important question to dig into just a little bit. Sure. uh happy to elaborate a little bit
1:04:44
more on uh as I shared uh earlier in the presentation. You know, we're being
1:04:50
intentional about investing in specific programs and training programs that um
1:04:56
really help with economic mobility. So, one of the things that we're we're intentional about is investing in industries in demand. So, jobs that and
1:05:03
careers that we know are here now that are going to be here in the future. And so some of the industries that we focus
1:05:09
on are healthcare, construction and skilled trades, manufacturing, uh technology, supply chain, logistics. So
1:05:16
when we invest in programs, we're looking at one folks that we know who are underskilled, underresourced, um
1:05:24
individuals that need a a skill set, a credential to one get that get that job,
1:05:29
but then also get that job that's on a specific career pathway. again that either if it doesn't start at
1:05:35
sustainability that it leads to a pathway um of sustainability and I'll
1:05:40
just say too one of the areas that we are um also thinking about and focused on is where are the green jobs and so
1:05:46
there's some opportunity that is also going to come um potentially from this when we think about EVs and and what uh
1:05:54
what Brent talked about with the hybrid vehicles we need folks to be able to maintenance those and to uh keep them
1:06:01
running and so we're think again Uh thank you Rebecca for that. But thinking about this much more broadly. But again
1:06:06
the programs that we invest in, we try to be intentional with um their their their jobs that are really focused on
1:06:12
economic mobility and on that sustainable career path.
1:06:24
Harold, you are muted. I can tell you've moved on, but we can't hear you.
1:06:30
I'm sorry about that. Just talk it away, huh? Uh, next question is, what are the
1:06:35
impacts on communities displacement, uh, local employment opportunities, business
1:06:40
development, and housing, and how will this plan address and provide resources to address these concerns?
1:06:48
So, I'm I'm going to I'm going to say this one, we the presentation itself was
1:06:54
designed to answer this question. Um, and uh, so I think we can we can move on
1:06:59
to the next one, but Ron, if if we haven't satisfactorily answered that, either um, drop a followup in the chat
1:07:06
um, or um, we'll or reach out to us afterwards and we can have further discussion.
1:07:15
All these plans sound good. How do we get our people to appreciate the upgrades rather than to destroy or to
1:07:21
destroy our country?
1:07:28
Yeah. So, I I think I think this is a really interesting question um that that
1:07:34
maybe we're not we're not bringing to the forefront, but the question is, you
1:07:39
know, how how do we how do we work together to be good stewards of our
1:07:46
community and the assets in our community? And I I think that to me this
1:07:52
is really a question about even even the purpose of why why are we here tonight
1:07:58
or the purpose of the work that Jackie and her neighborhood engagement team does uh which is really around um
1:08:07
bringing communities together um to to work with one another um and and and to
1:08:15
be good stewards of um our community's assets and resources. Um and then you
1:08:21
know on on on the other side of that um when that's not happening um you know
1:08:27
Brent has talked about you the ways in which cats um you know maintain safety
1:08:33
and security but also maintains the the facilities and I'd also just like to pitch the an an opportunity that we've
1:08:41
just recently expanded um which is our um city's adopt a bus stop program. So,
1:08:46
this is something that um Catz is doing and and many of you may be familiar with
1:08:51
um adopt a street or maybe you participate in adopt a street. Um you can also now adopt a bus stop. Um and
1:08:58
and so the city will provide you with um the materials and the supplies to help
1:09:03
keep um the bus stops in in good condition and even even thinking about
1:09:08
you know what what's around those bus stops. Um, so if you or your neighborhood organization is interested
1:09:14
in that, um, you please, please check us out on the community hub or reach out to
1:09:20
your neighborhood engagement liaison because that's a great opportunity to get involved.
1:09:27
Right. Next question is, define livable wage. If 40k is considered livable, a
1:09:34
livable wage, and responsible consumers should spend 30% of their income in housing, then this salary equates to
1:09:41
12,000 per year for rent and mortgage, approximately 1k per month. Uh
1:09:47
Charlotte's rental rates exceed the 1k per month. Please connect the dots of how these new jobs will provide a
1:09:54
livable wage. Thanks, Harold. I I'll take a stab at that. Um, and great question, Valerie.
1:10:01
So, while we know that the livable wage definition is very fluid, uh, we do use,
1:10:08
uh, a rule of thumb, uh, or or benchmark of the MIT livable wage calculator, uh,
1:10:14
for Meckllinmberg County. Uh, and as fluid as it is, and I know you all are aware, just two years ago in 2023, that
1:10:22
livable wage for Meckllinmberg County for a family of of one with no dependence was $18.20
1:10:30
and it is now $2659. And so, um, while we know we can't
1:10:36
control um what, uh, businesses will will how they will compensate
1:10:41
individuals for the number of jobs that that may come online. we're being intentional about the training programs
1:10:48
and the initiatives that we have to help support um as close to that livable wage and beyond and at least career paths
1:10:54
that um that help get to that and and above. And so um we use that that
1:11:00
livable wage again as somewhat of our benchmark um of it of uh baseline or try
1:11:06
to get to that baseline and beyond that but keeping it top of mind that we know livable wage is very fluid um and it is
1:11:13
also individual right and and then we also a whole another topic is the
1:11:18
benefits um cliff right and so we also keep that in mind when we think about especially those individuals that we're
1:11:24
helping to self-sufficiency and to to support them throughout their their whether it's career journey, life
1:11:30
journey and so a lot of things that we take into consideration at looking at the whole person in the programs that we
1:11:35
help support through the housing through workforce development etc. So MIT livable wage is is our is our bench mark
1:11:42
and currently I think that that's at that 55,000 mark at that $2659
1:11:48
an hour.
1:11:54
All right, next question. Uh what provisions are being considered to utilize multi-use
1:12:00
for example commercial and parking uh structures facilities and to provide easier access to rail, street car and
1:12:08
bus. Yeah. Um so let me talk a little bit
1:12:14
about the UDL. Um also transitoriented development, transit oriented
1:12:20
communities. So, you know, with the 2030 plan and then ultimately that becoming
1:12:27
the UDL, um, we know as we make investments in
1:12:33
transit, um, park and ride locations or or other things, we also have an
1:12:39
obligation under the UDO, um, to do the kinds of things that I think you're
1:12:44
talking about, right? And and I think we refer to that generally as street level activation. Um and so you can see that
1:12:52
with some of our um newer parking uh facilities that were built on the blue
1:12:58
line extension and you see the difference with some of the older facilities that were built original blue
1:13:03
line and that concept of TOD and TOC continues to evolve but it's all guided
1:13:10
by the UDO and the requirements for that street level activation.
1:13:21
Next question is, what is being done to stop the gentrification of neighborhoods that have affordable housing but are
1:13:27
being wiped out due to gentrification and those of us that have affordable housing being priced out with higher
1:13:34
taxes? And Harold, will you also read the the
1:13:39
next comment down from um the same participant because it's related and I'd
1:13:44
like to answer them both together. Um let's see. I took them in order. So,
1:13:50
which one was that? The multi Well, hey, I can do it. How about that? Okay.
1:13:56
Erica has also Erica has also shared with us the multif family homes are not at all affordable to people making 50k
1:14:03
or less. They are building 7K and up homes in Washington Heights off Batty's
1:14:08
Ford Road. The people that live here cannot afford to purchase homes in their own neighborhoods. Um so I want to take
1:14:15
these two um two questions together um to really think about uh the
1:14:22
gentrification um and and get more specific about when when I when we say anti-displacement,
1:14:29
how is that really supporting our residents? And so
1:14:34
the the first part of the question, there is a concern about um residents
1:14:39
being priced out with the increase in um property taxes that comes um as
1:14:46
neighborhoods change and more and the land essentially becomes more desirable
1:14:52
and then also um larger larger homes get built. And so when when we're when we
1:14:59
when we think about anti-displacement, it's not just the the investments that
1:15:04
are being made specifically in our programs or specifically in the housing
1:15:11
uh units. So the the city has an anti-displacement strategy that was created as part of the nest commission.
1:15:19
Um and that and that strategy focuses on both the residents and their needs and
1:15:26
ensuring that the housing units um are affordable and available. And so a
1:15:31
couple of other pieces that that kind of get wrapped around um the programs that
1:15:36
we provide that we that are are um things like our community health
1:15:41
workers. And I'm glad you mentioned Washington Heights because actually Washington um Heights is one of the
1:15:48
neighborhoods where we initially piloted partnering with Atrium and community
1:15:53
organizations to deploy community health workers in the neighborhoods. And and part of the role of the community health
1:15:59
worker is to make sure that when we're supporting people with uh housing that
1:16:06
we're also then connecting them to a whole range of other things that they may need. Uh and and that's that's the
1:16:13
idea of promoting resident stability um as part of our our housing goals is
1:16:19
connecting people not just to the housing resources but to food resources
1:16:25
to health care, mental health care, um job training, you know, whatever the the
1:16:31
range of those resident needs may be. and and one of one of the needs um that
1:16:37
often does come up when we're working with folks in these changing neighborhoods is around property taxes.
1:16:43
So, there are a couple of resources that are that are currently available um for
1:16:48
people experiencing increases in their property taxes. Um there are they're
1:16:53
they're all they're all programs that are available through the county but funded by variety of sources. Um so uh
1:17:01
so um please do um see about those opportunities if you're in need of them.
1:17:08
Um I would say you know they're they're important but in in um insufficient in
1:17:14
terms of the amount of funding that's available for those programs. Um and so we're trying to get creative about what
1:17:20
are some other ways that we can support people. You know one thing that happens when your property taxes are going up is
1:17:27
that also the equity in your home is going up. So, we're trying to to work with some of our partners to think
1:17:32
about, you know, how how can how can people um access that builtup equity to
1:17:38
um to help them stay stable in their homes over time. Um but I but I also
1:17:45
think um you know, you think and this Washington Heights is just such a great example because we did our staying in
1:17:51
place pilot there. um really thinking about deploying our whole range of tools
1:17:57
and resources um in in terms of anti-displacement. So even just in Washington Heights um you know we we
1:18:03
have the community health worker um we have been doing down payment assistance um we're even um we're even planning a
1:18:11
um uh a new new build and an accessory dwelling unit um in the in that uh
1:18:18
broader community. Um and uh we we've even partnered with one of the property
1:18:25
owners um in Washington Heights to do rehab um on rental units with and in in
1:18:33
exchange for agreements that those rental units will stay affordable. So it really takes a whole broad range of
1:18:40
tools. Um when I think about anti-displacement, I always say it it's the the the right tool in the right
1:18:46
place at the right time. It doesn't really look the same for any household. It doesn't look the same for any
1:18:52
community, but we have a very broad range of tools um uh to to deploy um in
1:18:58
in those changing neighborhoods. Thank you. Uh next question is, can you
1:19:05
bring back up the map of the outlines of the different rail lines? Uh here you go.
1:19:11
And um feel free to drop a question if you have it based off of this slide. Um next
1:19:19
question is what is the plan for ADA improvements at the Archdale station? A wheelchair ramp is needed. Sidewalks
1:19:26
need to be expanded for wheelchair accessibility as well.
1:19:31
Yeah, that's a good question. Um that's that's a really specific question. I can definitely um look into that and we can
1:19:39
follow up offline, but I appreciate you bringing that forward as a concern. Um
1:19:45
and so I will uh talk to our facilities team tomorrow and we can follow back up
1:19:50
with you on that. specific to the arch station.
1:19:55
And and Brent, I just I want to make a quick addition to that because um the team was out um in in the um uh uh
1:20:05
community near the Archdale Station at a community meeting last week. Um and some
1:20:11
questions about the Archdale station came up. Um but one of one of the things that came out of that meeting um is that
1:20:19
Jackie and her team have actually connected with folks uh at CATS um to
1:20:25
create a workshop series um with CATS to bring their transportation trainers out
1:20:30
into communities. Um, so this is something that, you know, I've worked at the city for 15 years and I I just
1:20:37
learned because of this process, which is that cats cats employs people who will help you learn how to navigate um
1:20:44
transit ridership and their system and all of the tools that are available. So um I'm really excited about that um that
1:20:52
opportunity that Jackie and and her team are working on with cats. Um and and uh
1:20:58
I don't know about dates. Jackie will let you know. Um, but the first one is going to be um for Archdale.
1:21:06
Very good. All right. Next question.
1:21:12
How will you handle the upkeep of the future bus stop shelters? Will you allow
1:21:18
advertising on the shelters to ensure upkeep of the shelters?
1:21:24
Yeah. So, beyond just the the maintenance uh crews that we have, the the cleaning crews that we have, Rebecca
1:21:31
talked about um one of our new programs, Adopt a Stop. We're also looking at advertising um as a possible source of
1:21:39
revenue to to help um and and um in some instances possibly um little bit
1:21:46
different than advertising, but naming rights as well. Um, and so all of those
1:21:51
things come together as we um think about maintenance, ongoing maintenance
1:21:56
of the um of the stops and the shelters, the amenities that are at those stops.
1:22:05
And Harold, I think based on the time, I'm going to call for last question. Um,
1:22:10
so we'll do one more question um from from the Q&A and then wrap up. But um
1:22:16
but any questions that are still in the chat um we will address uh in followup.
1:22:22
So Harold, give us the last question of the night. Okay, this one says, "How is the city
1:22:29
providing support to organizations in or along the corridors that have relationships with the constituents the
1:22:35
city is hoping to reach and engage?
1:22:47
Harold, can you say that one more time? Yes, it was dropped in the Q&A section.
1:22:53
So, I wanted to make sure that's why. Okay, say it one more time, please.
1:22:58
You're searching there. Yes, it says, uh, how is the city providing support to organizations in and along the corridors
1:23:05
that have relationships with the constituents the city is hoping to reach and engage? It's a multi-part question,
1:23:12
but that's the first part. Yes. Okay. So, now that I can read it,
1:23:18
um, thank you, Tiffany. This is this is um a really also another really
1:23:24
important part of the overall strategy, which is none of this work can be done
1:23:30
by the city alone. uh we we rely um on uh our fantastic
1:23:38
partners who are working on the ground in communities directly with people who
1:23:43
need these services the most. Um and so the there there are a variety of ways
1:23:51
that the city provides support um directly to those organizations.
1:23:56
um whether that's through our um you know fi city's financial partners process annually in the budget or as
1:24:04
Danielle referenced um the variety of workforce development partners that the
1:24:10
city um supports um the the city has affordable housing um service providers
1:24:17
that we that we partner with in multiple ways um and so I I I I appreciate the
1:24:24
question um and and I I think part of that question too because I'm reading reading the second part here is really
1:24:30
about getting this information um out in a way that's comprehensive yet
1:24:36
digestible. Um and so you know based on what you've seen here tonight um you can
1:24:43
see we you know we're we're city staff. We do this and think about this all day
1:24:49
long. We're highly technical. We're city nerds. Um so what I would say is we rely
1:24:54
on you. you know, our neighborhood leaders, our community partners, our engaged residents. We rely on you to
1:25:02
help us communicate um uh with with people who that you know
1:25:08
e either either we're not able to reach them or even people who they don't trust
1:25:14
us, right? They trust you. You you live in these neighborhoods, you work in these neighborhoods. So, one thing I
1:25:21
would I would say is um and and actually I'll Harold, if you'll go forward, I'll
1:25:27
use this as a segue into the wrapup, which is that if you want um to have
1:25:33
this uh type of information brought to your neighborhood association,
1:25:39
um we we have an opportunity for that. If you'll go to the next slide, Harold.
1:25:44
So, there's a couple of couple of things um up in the the left top of this slide.
1:25:51
If you if you're interested and you want to have a more conversation, um we we
1:25:56
have a we have a program called need a speaker at the city, you can actually request a speaker on any topic, but if
1:26:02
you want to hear more about this, use that form and let us know that you want to hear more about the mobility plan. Um
1:26:08
but but we also we also have a whole team here um in housing and neighborhood
1:26:13
services that's dedicated to you. So Jackie is is the um is the manager of
1:26:20
that team and um but but each council district has a neighborhood engagement
1:26:26
specialist that's dedicated specifically to working with you and your
1:26:32
neighborhoods um within within each council district. So you can see on this slide um who they are and what districts
1:26:40
they serve um and and uh and how to get in touch with them. Um so with that I
1:26:48
think if you'll go back one slide um there's also more information about
1:26:54
the mobility plan um and and about the the work that Katz is doing and the
1:27:00
things that that they have planned. um on the city's website there's a web uh
1:27:07
uh web link I don't I don't know what's the word hyperlink here as well as um QR
1:27:13
codes to um to find more information. So um I just uh want to want to again um
1:27:21
thank you all for joining us tonight. Um, you know, engagement with our
1:27:28
community is a is a core value across the city of Charlotte. Um, but
1:27:34
especially uh here with Jackie's with Jackie's team and the work we do in housing and neighborhood services. um
1:27:41
you know the the people who are invited to this we're we're already engaging
1:27:46
with you um in many ways I'm sure and we appreciate the work that you do for your
1:27:52
neighbors and for your neighborhoods to make Charlotte um the incredible place that it is. Uh and um we will get this
1:28:01
slide deck out and uh so you'll be able to see the opportunities in here for
1:28:06
more information and how to connect with your neighborhood engagement specialist if you have further questions. And then
1:28:12
lastly, I'll just say um we did there, you know, you all so engaged, which I
1:28:17
appreciate that we didn't quite get through all the questions, but we'll be sure to follow up um with you on the
1:28:24
questions that you asked. Um, so with that, I'd like to thank the panelists who joined us tonight. So, thank you
1:28:30
Brent and thank you Danielle. Um, and especially thank you to Harold, um, who
1:28:36
has run our technology, uh, and Jackie who served as our host for the evening.
1:28:42
I hope you all have a great night and we look forward to continuing engaging with
1:28:47
you soon.