Top Stories for Jan. 24, 2024

Family walking on the greenway.

Mecklenburg County provides this weekly rundown of top stories from the Board of County Commissioners meetings and the Public Information Department’s newsroom. The Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. The agenda is available online. View the meeting at Watch.MeckNC.gov. The Board will next meet for its annual budget retreat Jan. 24 – 26.

1. Your Money. Your Community. Your Voice. The Board of County Commissioners has begun the process of developing Mecklenburg County’s FY2024-2025 budget. This week through Friday, the Board is discussing policies and priorities at its annual budget retreat at CPCC’s Harris Conference Center. Residents are also invited to offer their input by completing the annual resident budget survey. Learn more about the retreat, survey, and FY2025 budget process at Budget.MeckNC.gov.

2. Point-in-Time Count: Beginning at 5 a.m. on Jan. 25, volunteers will span out across Charlotte-Mecklenburg streets, parking lots, encampments, and other locations to survey people who are living without shelter. It’s the “Everyone Counts Charlotte: 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count,” co-led by Mecklenburg County Community Support Services and Hearts for the Invisible Charlotte. Staff and volunteer teams will convene at 5 a.m. at two “hub” locations: Homeless Resource Center, 618 North Tryon Street, or Pineville Neighbors Place, 561 North Polk Street. The goals are to estimate the number of people experiencing homelessness, understand their situations, and connect them to available resources.  

3. Controlling Mpox: With mpox cases rising, health officials are working to make sure at-risk residents have the help they need. Mecklenburg County Public Health and N.C. health officials are increasing the availability of the JYNNEOS vaccine, a two-dose vaccine that reduces the chance of infection and severity of symptoms if given prior to or within seven days of exposure to the mpox virus. Since late 2023, six new cases of mpox were reported in Mecklenburg County. Vaccines are available at no cost and are effective at reducing the risk of mpox infection and disease severity. 

4. Birth of a Greenway: Park and Recreation is now clearing trees and brush to prepare for the construction of a new greenway through Reedy Creek Park and along Reedy Creek Nature Preserve. This project will add 2.5 miles of trail, primarily through woods, and connect Plaza Road Extension to Grier Road. The new greenway will connect adjacent neighborhoods and schools with the park and the protected nature preserve.  

5. Rise of a Library: Construction of the new University City Regional Library is now underway. In 2022, the Board of County Commissioners approved $39.6 million for the new branch. This allows the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library to purchase the land, building, and necessary furniture, fixtures, technology, etc. The new facility will be part of the new Waters Edge development, less than a mile from the existing location, and is anticipated to open in 2025. The University City branch is one of the most visited branches in the Library system.