Bond projects described as spread throughout community 

Oct. 28, 2008

At the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Forum, My Community Bonds Campaign Committee Co-Chair Bobby Drakeford made the following presentation. A Q&A followed.

"The Parks and Recreation bond is a countywide bond and it is in the amount of $250 million.

"There is a website that lists where all of the bond funds will be expended. But for example, one project that is included in this bond is the facility we're in now, the West Charlotte Recreation Center, which is slated for a half-million-dollar improvement.

"The Parks and Recreation Department has gone through a pretty extensive process to ensure that there is a lot of geographic equity in the distribution of the bond. It does cover conservation and stewardship, greenways, neighborhood parks, community parks, regional parks, and recreation and aquatic facility renovations.

"We're just here to ask that you give it due consideration.... I'd like to talk to you next about the three city bonds.

"We have a map here that is titled, '2008 City Bonds.' It identifies where all the neighborhood improvements and street imrpovements will occur. Again, there's been an effort to disperse those throughout the entire community. There are some that affect this particular area, including Lincoln Heights and McCrorey Heights, where neighborhood improvements will occur. Those are typically sidewalk, curb and gutter improvements, and storm drainage improvements as well.

"There are also some major road improvements in this area of town, specifically Fred Alexander Boulevard, and also the Statesville Avenue widening. "This final map shows you where the county park improvements are located throughout the city and county...."

Q. Have previous bonds been used for the announced purposes? Will the housing bonds build housing for homeless people?

A. "There have been studies that have shown that the bond commitments have been met. Regarding the current bond, and in particular addressing the housing issue you refer, there is a $10 million Housing Trust Fund bond. Those dollars are allocated based on proposals by developers. The homeless population in particular has expressed some interest in funding for their projects. The Housing Trust Fund has actually revised its criteria to better accommodate efforts to provide housing for homeless folks. So, to directly respond to that question, we have heard that. We have responded to that.

Q. Why are contractors from other counties hired to do the work financed by Mecklenburg bonds?

A. "I don't have an answer to that. That's administered by the city and county through their various departments."

Q. Given the economy and the likelihood that projects will be trimmed back, where are the safeguards that all the trims won't be made in African-American neighborhoods?

A. "The bond dollars, in particular the county parks, is an approved figure. So if the economic climate does not allow or would not encourage the county to issue those bonds, you're correct, they would reconsider that. Regarding where the safeguards are for which projects are funded, there is a discretionary figure in that $250 million amount that is $60 million for acquisition. My presumption is that those $60 million in acquisitions would not happen, and that the projects that have been identified would be the priority.

"For the neighborhood improvement and road bonds, I know there has been a sequence that has been established over the years, which prioritize which projects would occur. I don't know which ones of those are at the top or at the bottom.

"For the housing bonds, that is on an as-proposed basis. So if there were, for example, projects proposed and there were other funding sources required to match the Housing Trust Fund dollars that were not available, those projects would be the ones that would not occur."

Map below from Mecklenburg Park & Recreation. Details, see below.

For more information about park bonds, click here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Forum welcomes all persons to its meetings beginning at 8 a.m. most Tuesdays of the year
at the West Charlotte Recreation Center, 2222 Kendall Drive, Charlotte, NC
down the hill from West Charlotte High School.