Charlotte Has Six Weeks and a $64 Million Bill | CLT Daily

Description

Charlotte walked away from the I-77 South toll lanes in May. In July, the state budget answered with a rule requiring NCDOT to recover its costs from any city that backs out — and now the bill is roughly $64 million, due unless the city reverses course by October 5. That's about six weeks. We go inside Monday's transportation committee meeting, where councilmembers floated litigation, questioned whether the penalty is even constitutional, and asked whether six weeks is enough time for anyone to be heard. Plus: whether Charlotte landlords should have to provide air conditioning, the data center moratorium at its halfway point, gas at $3.81, and Charlotte FC hosting Pumas UNAM tonight.

CLT Daily — Charlotte's independent daily briefing. New episodes every morning. cltdaily.com

Sources this episode: WBTV, WFAE, GasBuddy, Charlotte FC.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

Speaker #0
Two minutes from now, I'll get to the news. First, there's a match at Bank of America Stadium tonight against one of the biggest clubs in Mexico. I'll give you the kickoff at the end of the show. But first, this is CLT Daily. I'm Steve Baboulis. It's Tuesday, August 4th, your independent daily briefing for the Queen City. Today, Charlotte has about six weeks to decide whether to pay the state $64 million. Here's where this stands. In May, the City Council walked away from the I-77 South Toll Lane project. Then in July, the state budget passed with a provision requiring the Department of Transportation to recover its costs from any city that backs out. Charlotte is that city. The bill is about $64 million. And the deadline to reverse course and make it disappear is October 5th. That's roughly six weeks from yesterday. The council's transportation committee met yesterday to talk it through, and if the state was expecting that number to scare somebody into folding, it didn't. District 2's Malcolm Graham wants a line item accounting of the $64 million, quote, for how that money was spent. He wants a legal analysis of whether the state can even do this. And he raised the obvious question, whether six weeks is enough time for real community input on a $4.3 billion project. Renee Johnson asked whether the state could widen the highway in stages, without tolls at all, the way it did on I-85 in Gaston County. Dimple Ajmera, joining by Zoom, wanted more on that same approach. Lawana Mayfield pointed out the state has been withholding resurfacing money and new projects from Charlotte for years. And Victoria Watlington asked the question that should have come first. How much would $4.3 billion actually improve your commute. One member didn't criticize the state's penalty threat. Ed Driggs, the committee's chair, and its only Republican. No decision was made. Residents who opposed the toll showed up anyway. So here's the shape of it. A city that voted no. A state that answered with a bill. Six weeks on the clock. Whatever Charlotte decides by October 5th, it won't be because anyone had time to think it through. One follow-up before we move on. Yesterday, I told you the council safety committee was meeting and that I'd tell you whether the license plate camera system came up. The week a Charlotte Mecklenburg officer was charged with misusing it. I can't find any record that it did. The housing committee took up air conditioning. The transportation committee took up tolls and data centers. Both of those got covered. Surveillance oversight, as far as I can tell, wasn't on the public agenda at all. I'll keep asking. All right, here's what else you need to know today. The housing committee is looking at whether landlords should have to provide air conditioning. Right now, North Carolina's building code requires heat, but not cooling. A landlord who gives you an air conditioner has to keep it working, but nobody has to give you one. The committee voted unanimously to draft real language for its September meeting. Two catches. City attorneys aren't certain Charlotte even has the legal authority to require it, and council member Kimberly Owens wants to know the cost before anyone votes. The data center moratorium hit its halfway mark, 150 days expiring November 5th. Staff presented Monday, and the recommendations so far are modest. More site assessments, more community engagement. A task force gets appointed and meets August 13th. If you were expecting a hard line on water and power, that isn't on the table yet. And gas is down, $3.81 a gallon in Charlotte, off more than nine cents in a week. per GasBuddy's survey of 665 stations. Enjoy it in context. That's still 92 cents higher than a year ago. Now, as promised, tonight at 8, Charlotte FC hosts Pumas-UNAM at Bank of America Stadium. That's League's Cup, and Pumas is one of the great names in Mexican football. First of three home matches in eight days. Atlas on Friday. Pachuca a week from tonight. That's CLT Daily for Tuesday, August 4th. I'm Steve Baboulis. We'll be back tomorrow. Same time, same city. Until then, Charlotte, take care of each other.

Description

CLT Daily — Charlotte's independent daily briefing. New episodes every morning. cltdaily.com

Sources this episode: WBTV, WFAE, GasBuddy, Charlotte FC.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

Speaker #0
Two minutes from now, I'll get to the news. First, there's a match at Bank of America Stadium tonight against one of the biggest clubs in Mexico. I'll give you the kickoff at the end of the show. But first, this is CLT Daily. I'm Steve Baboulis. It's Tuesday, August 4th, your independent daily briefing for the Queen City. Today, Charlotte has about six weeks to decide whether to pay the state $64 million. Here's where this stands. In May, the City Council walked away from the I-77 South Toll Lane project. Then in July, the state budget passed with a provision requiring the Department of Transportation to recover its costs from any city that backs out. Charlotte is that city. The bill is about $64 million. And the deadline to reverse course and make it disappear is October 5th. That's roughly six weeks from yesterday. The council's transportation committee met yesterday to talk it through, and if the state was expecting that number to scare somebody into folding, it didn't. District 2's Malcolm Graham wants a line item accounting of the $64 million, quote, for how that money was spent. He wants a legal analysis of whether the state can even do this. And he raised the obvious question, whether six weeks is enough time for real community input on a $4.3 billion project. Renee Johnson asked whether the state could widen the highway in stages, without tolls at all, the way it did on I-85 in Gaston County. Dimple Ajmera, joining by Zoom, wanted more on that same approach. Lawana Mayfield pointed out the state has been withholding resurfacing money and new projects from Charlotte for years. And Victoria Watlington asked the question that should have come first. How much would $4.3 billion actually improve your commute. One member didn't criticize the state's penalty threat. Ed Driggs, the committee's chair, and its only Republican. No decision was made. Residents who opposed the toll showed up anyway. So here's the shape of it. A city that voted no. A state that answered with a bill. Six weeks on the clock. Whatever Charlotte decides by October 5th, it won't be because anyone had time to think it through. One follow-up before we move on. Yesterday, I told you the council safety committee was meeting and that I'd tell you whether the license plate camera system came up. The week a Charlotte Mecklenburg officer was charged with misusing it. I can't find any record that it did. The housing committee took up air conditioning. The transportation committee took up tolls and data centers. Both of those got covered. Surveillance oversight, as far as I can tell, wasn't on the public agenda at all. I'll keep asking. All right, here's what else you need to know today. The housing committee is looking at whether landlords should have to provide air conditioning. Right now, North Carolina's building code requires heat, but not cooling. A landlord who gives you an air conditioner has to keep it working, but nobody has to give you one. The committee voted unanimously to draft real language for its September meeting. Two catches. City attorneys aren't certain Charlotte even has the legal authority to require it, and council member Kimberly Owens wants to know the cost before anyone votes. The data center moratorium hit its halfway mark, 150 days expiring November 5th. Staff presented Monday, and the recommendations so far are modest. More site assessments, more community engagement. A task force gets appointed and meets August 13th. If you were expecting a hard line on water and power, that isn't on the table yet. And gas is down, $3.81 a gallon in Charlotte, off more than nine cents in a week. per GasBuddy's survey of 665 stations. Enjoy it in context. That's still 92 cents higher than a year ago. Now, as promised, tonight at 8, Charlotte FC hosts Pumas-UNAM at Bank of America Stadium. That's League's Cup, and Pumas is one of the great names in Mexican football. First of three home matches in eight days. Atlas on Friday. Pachuca a week from tonight. That's CLT Daily for Tuesday, August 4th. I'm Steve Baboulis. We'll be back tomorrow. Same time, same city. Until then, Charlotte, take care of each other.

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