Charlotte makes Juneteenth a paid holiday. See how the City Council voted.
Starting next year, Charlotte city employees will have Juneteenth as a paid holiday after the Charlotte City Council unanimously approved the day off Monday night.
Juneteenth, which occurs on June 19, will be the 13th paid holiday for city employees starting in 2023. That’s the same number of holidays offered by Mecklenburg County government, which also gave employees Juneteenth off in 2022.
The holiday represents the day news of slavery ending reached states in the southwestern United States in 1865, more than two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. In 2021, it was recognized as a federal holiday.
“Many of us can look at this today and it say it’s been needed and necessary,” Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said. “At a time, there were people who didn’t know about this and suffered for much longer than necessary.”
The City Council voted to designate June 19, 2023 as “Juneteenth Independence Day,” and observe the holiday annually.
City Council members on Monday also heard an update on the city’s arts and culture plan and Housing Trust Fund projects.
How will the city of Charlotte spend $12.2 million of its Housing Trust Fund balance
City officials heard updates from housing and neighborhood services about pending affordable housing projects that are requesting gap funding.
Gap financing makes up the difference when low-income rents are too low to cover the full costs of building and managing the property, according to housing policy group Local Housing Solutions.
The city has about $12.2 million to allocate to the following organizations, which are requesting $22.5 million.
The council is expected to vote Nov. 28 on how much it will spend and on which projects.
Updates presented to council include:
▪ Fairhaven Glen planned for Nations Ford Road is requesting $1.15 million in gap funding to maintain 40-year affordability for 140 units.
▪ Ovata at Reedy Creek planned for Newell Hickory Grove Road is requesting $2 million in gap funding to maintain 40-year affordability for 78 senior apartments.
▪ Galloway Crossing planned for East W.T. Harris Boulevard is requesting $2 million in gap funding to maintain 40-year affordability for 78 units.
▪ Bishop Madison homes is a homeownership project building nine for-sale units. The project is requesting $250,000 to maintain 15-year affordability for the homes.
▪ Grounds for Change planned for Park Road is requesting $4.5 million in gap funding to maintain 60-year affordability for 104 units.
▪ Ballantyne Seniors is requesting $1.4 million in gap funding to maintain 40-year affordability for 82 units.
▪ Evoke Living at Morris Field is requesting $5.5 million in gap funding to maintain 40-year affordability for 132 units.
▪ The River District, 124 units planned for Dixie River Road, is planning to return the subsidy it was allocated to the Housing Trust Fund and resubmit a project proposal.
▪ Lakewood Apartments is a 36-unit project spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The housing department recommends the city leave funding to be based on federal allocations.
▪ South Village Apartments is requesting $4.7 million to maintain 60-year affordability for 82 units.
▪ Easter’s Home, 21 units of supportive housing for homeless people on East Fifth Street, is requesting $1.9 million to maintain 30-year affordability.
The city’s housing department presented three options for the council to consider: Only fund the first four projects; fund all projects under $63,000 per unit; or fund all projects under $70,000 per unit.
That breaks down to:
Option 1: Spend $3.15 million of the Housing Trust Fund on 227 units
Option 2: Spend $8.9 million of the Housing Trust Fund on 409 units
Option 3: Spend $15.8 million, including $3.6 million of American Rescue Plan Act dollars, on 623 units
District 4 Councilwoman Renee Johnson said she’d like to see the breakdown of units by area median income before deciding what projects to fund.
District 3 Councilwoman Victoria Watlington raised the need for urgency for project closing dates in case interest rates change before the end of the year, affecting gap funding again.
At-large Councilwoman LaWana Mayfield also expressed worry for the changing economy.
“We have to have some real conversations around our thoughts and plans for a recession,” Mayfield said. “We don’t know what it’s gonna look like, but we know it’s gonna come and at the same time we’re having a mass foreclosure crisis happening across the nation.”
Mayor Pro Tem Braxton Winston said he’d like the city to spend as much of the Housing Trust Fund as it can.
“That’s what it’s there for,” he said.
After February 2023, the $50 million for affordable housing approved by voters last week in the bond referendum will be allocated to the city’s Housing Trust Fund to subsidize new projects.
Arts and culture update
Priya Sicar, the city’s arts and culture officer, updated the council Monday night on the city’s arts and culture plan expected to be revealed in spring 2023.
The city engaged 3,236 Charlotte area residents across 75 ZIP codes to create a State of Culture report with the intent of guiding leaders on how they invest time and money in the arts. The arts and culture advisory board will hold ongoing discussions with council during the planning process, Sicar said.
“I think the public engagement is phenomenal,” Lyles said.
District 6 Councilman Tariq Bokhari raised concerns about the lack of the council’s input in the process and that select council members were chosen to lead the efforts. City Manager Marcus Jones said council members Winston, Ed Driggs and Malcolm Graham have been working with the rest of the council to provide a statement for input.
“It’s groundhog day,” Bokhari said. “The same people are asked behind the scenes to do all the stuff, and we’re asked to react to it.”
Graham responded that everyone on council was interviewed and their input will be considered for the final plan.
The survey asking what Charlotte-area residents want for the future of arts and culture in the city closed Monday night.
Expansion and update of Charlotte fire station
Charlotte officials approved a $215,000, half-acre land acquisition to allow for the expansion of Fire Station No. 21.
The station is at 1017 Little Rock Road near Freedom Drive in west Charlotte. It’s one of 13 facilities evaluated in a local study to determine whether each station has nationally accepted safety standards, equal facilities for women and ADA compliance.
The additional land acquired will allow the facility to include a women’s restroom, exercise room and additional bunks to meet the goals of the study.
The Charlotte Fire Station opened the station in 1978.
This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 8:59 PM.
