The danger of a renegade sheriff (11-14-2024--Hour2)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content, like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepeatkalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:28] And hour number two, News Talk 1110-993-WBT. Pete Kaliner here, 704-570-1110. The email is pete at thepeatkalendershow.com and on Twitter at Pete Kaliner, K-A-L-I-N-E-R.

[00:00:47] All right, last hour we were talking about another former Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office employee coming forward to tell her story about how badly the sheriff's office is being run by the current sheriff, Gary, not my fault, McFadden.

[00:01:06] Read to you the resignation letter from Kevin Canty, who was the former chief deputy that according to his letter, he was asked to apply for the job by the sheriff.

[00:01:20] And he said that he had heard about he had voted for McFadden twice.

[00:01:26] This is Kevin Canty said he voted for McFadden twice.

[00:01:30] And he had voted that second time, even after he had received detailed and damning information from the Charlotte chapter of the FOP, the Fraternal Order of Police.

[00:01:42] And at the time, Canty was the special agent in charge of the Charlotte Field Office of the State Bureau of Investigation.

[00:01:52] But he says he thought that the allegations had to be exaggerations.

[00:01:57] There's no way that the sheriff would not that Gary McFadden, I know, thought clearly they were exaggerations.

[00:02:05] And so then he's asked, hey, come work for me, be my chief deputy.

[00:02:10] And so he he takes the gig.

[00:02:13] And then he realizes, oh.

[00:02:16] Those those things that I heard were not exaggerations.

[00:02:21] And he is this poor of a leader.

[00:02:25] And he is engaging in these these bad behaviors that people are reporting internally.

[00:02:33] It's all the talk.

[00:02:34] Right.

[00:02:35] Or as McFadden calls it, you know, the whispers in the hall.

[00:02:40] Yeah, because people are afraid to go talk to you, because if they do talk to you, then you will denigrate them in front of their peers and such.

[00:02:50] And if the allegations are true that he that he weaponizes essentially its internal affairs or the Office of Professional Conduct, the OPC.

[00:03:05] And he would discard the results of internal investigations if he didn't like the results.

[00:03:12] Yeah, you need to be fired.

[00:03:14] You need to be removed.

[00:03:16] Like, that's why that process exists.

[00:03:19] And.

[00:03:20] You know, if you're if you're running it, well, dare I say, like a plantation, because that's what he keeps saying.

[00:03:26] He keeps talking about this plantation mentality, but then he runs the he runs the office like one.

[00:03:32] Like if you're friends with him, then you get to do whatever you want.

[00:03:36] And he'll just disregard results of internal investigations against employees if he likes you.

[00:03:42] And if he likes you, you don't have to go to your commanding officer.

[00:03:45] You could just go around that person and come right to Gary and he'll make it right.

[00:03:50] Which, of course, then prompts other people to buddy up to the sheriff so they can go around their commanding officers.

[00:03:59] And that's when you end up with chaos, which is what these employees who have quit are talking about.

[00:04:05] They're saying the place is chaotic and you can't run a professional organization.

[00:04:13] That oversees courthouse security and the jail.

[00:04:17] You can't run that kind of an operation with this kind of chaos.

[00:04:22] All right, let me go over to the phones and talk with Mark.

[00:04:25] Welcome to the program, Mark.

[00:04:28] Hey, thanks, Pete.

[00:04:29] Yes, sir.

[00:04:29] Yeah, listening to all the buzz about this sheriff, you know, actually for quite a while now,

[00:04:37] kind of two things went through my head.

[00:04:38] And I want to see if you can, through your keen sense of observation and history,

[00:04:42] can correlate these things and give me the common denominator here.

[00:04:48] So listening to that and then thinking, you know, having been in the Charlotte area over 20 years,

[00:04:54] and of course all the Mecklenburg school, you know, fiascos, and the turnover there,

[00:05:02] and added on top of, you know, I own actually several investment properties in the county,

[00:05:08] and watching the re-evales continually go up.

[00:05:11] Last one, a lot of them are 65% this past year.

[00:05:15] And then this time of year I get angry because I have to write, you know, the tax bills at the end of the year.

[00:05:21] And, you know, another good slip of just like the Fed withholds money so people don't see what's coming out.

[00:05:28] You know, taxes are that way until you pay everything off.

[00:05:31] But then, you know, I just picked one of my properties just to mention, you know, give you these numbers, right?

[00:05:37] So on this property, on a property that went from about $4,000 a year to $6,600 a year,

[00:05:49] of the $6,600 I'm paying $2,200 for education and literacy.

[00:05:56] And, of course, we know the Mecklenburg school system.

[00:05:59] That's the school system?

[00:06:00] That's for schools?

[00:06:01] Yeah.

[00:06:02] Okay.

[00:06:02] And we know the history there, right?

[00:06:04] I mean, I think we're, you know, 48%, 49% of math and English literacy.

[00:06:10] Yeah.

[00:06:10] I mean, I think they, yeah.

[00:06:12] I'm kind of curious as to how they can claim that they're using it to fund literacy

[00:06:15] when we all know that that's actually not what's happening at a lot of CMS schools.

[00:06:20] Yeah.

[00:06:20] Well, you know, the percentage of my overall bill is 49.5%,

[00:06:23] which coincidentally is about the percentage of math and English proficiency.

[00:06:30] So, yeah.

[00:06:31] And then, you know, looking at the sheriff thing, I had to pull this thing for the call.

[00:06:37] And, yeah, over on the police, the police tax is $1,100.

[00:06:42] And so we see how well that's doing.

[00:06:45] So these are properties that, this is a property that's just in the county,

[00:06:49] so you're not paying Charlotte taxes?

[00:06:52] This is a property that is in Mecklenburg County.

[00:06:55] In Unincorporated, not in the city?

[00:06:58] Gotcha.

[00:06:58] Okay.

[00:06:59] That's right.

[00:06:59] Right.

[00:06:59] Yeah.

[00:07:01] So of my 6,600 that went up from 4,000 last year, you know, 22 and 11 is a good, you know.

[00:07:14] 33?

[00:07:15] 33, which is, you know, half of my overall taxes.

[00:07:18] You know, the rest is, of course, you know, funding the facilities and the county services,

[00:07:24] which, you know, of course, they're always on the money and really quick in a response.

[00:07:27] And, you know, you call that number, and, I mean, they got the answer just right away.

[00:07:31] Oh, yeah.

[00:07:31] It's just, you know, DMV-level service.

[00:07:34] Right.

[00:07:35] So, yeah, I don't know.

[00:07:36] I mean, it's just kind of crazy, you know, just spitballing here.

[00:07:38] Well, I don't know.

[00:07:41] I'm watching the money keep going and the competency and metrics become nonexistent.

[00:07:48] And, you know, I don't see it ever.

[00:07:50] I don't see it changing.

[00:07:51] This is a point that was raised by a guy named Ezra Klein.

[00:07:56] He is a lefty, founder of Vox.com, and he was talking about the election results.

[00:08:02] And he was talking about how city, you know, urban voters and their shift towards Trump,

[00:08:10] he said that, you know, people who deal with life every day in urban areas are more acutely aware

[00:08:18] of how poorly they are being governed.

[00:08:21] And there's no amount of gaslighting you can do to tell them that they're not experiencing what they are experiencing.

[00:08:27] And that is a huge disconnect in the Democrat Party.

[00:08:30] Like, you can't just count on people who live in urban areas to vote for you just because they live in urban areas.

[00:08:36] You have to actually govern well.

[00:08:39] And basically, the blue areas, these urban cores, they're not being governed very well by and large.

[00:08:45] And I'm afraid that Mecklenburg County, and specifically the city of Charlotte, is on that path already.

[00:08:51] And that's what your bill seems to indicate.

[00:08:54] I'm speaking the obvious into the choir.

[00:08:56] But, I mean, it is pitiful.

[00:08:57] I don't see any change in it.

[00:08:59] They all stay blue.

[00:09:00] I mean, there's four or five people on the ballot that were Democrat even being run unopposed at different places.

[00:09:06] And, you know, you look at the board, the council.

[00:09:09] So, I mean, you've got, like, one, you know, Tariq guys, he's, like, the only semi-business guy.

[00:09:15] You know, it's like, I don't know what's going to turn this area around, you know, to get, like, a DOGE kind of thing going to root the stuff out.

[00:09:26] Because, anyway, those are my common thoughts.

[00:09:30] I'm listening to that and correlating and looking at my tax bills that I've got to start writing.

[00:09:35] Well, I mean, yeah, you're given, what, $1,100 for public safety, basically, for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Department.

[00:09:42] And, yeah, I think it's money well spent.

[00:09:44] I think that's obvious here.

[00:09:47] Mark, I appreciate the call.

[00:09:48] That's, I don't know, because the natural tendency of government is to get bigger.

[00:09:54] It's to grow.

[00:09:57] And the natural tendency of the citizens is to give up freedom to the government, is to yield in the face of that encroaching government.

[00:10:07] That's the natural order of things.

[00:10:10] And when you keep on empowering government, because they sell it as, hey, isn't this a good idea for a service or a benefit?

[00:10:19] Hey, we could do this and make your life better.

[00:10:21] And then people go along with it, even though it means they have to give up more of their own money.

[00:10:26] Or they think it's going to come from somebody else.

[00:10:28] Somebody else will get taxed to pay for this thing that will benefit me.

[00:10:31] And that's how government keeps growing.

[00:10:35] That is, like, that's the natural tendency.

[00:10:39] And it's very difficult to break.

[00:10:41] News Talk 1110 and 99.3 WBT.

[00:10:45] Maybe I am the sacrificial lamb for America.

[00:10:48] Maybe.

[00:10:50] Maybe.

[00:10:52] That's Gary McFadden, Mecklenburg County Sheriff.

[00:10:55] Gary, not my fault, McFadden.

[00:10:56] I also see him referred to as Giglio Gary.

[00:11:01] That's a court case, Giglio.

[00:11:04] And then it's sort of the shorthand for law enforcement officers who get a ruling against them.

[00:11:12] And they basically become useless on the stand.

[00:11:19] Prosecutors can't put a cop on the stand if they've got a Giglio finding against them in their record.

[00:11:25] Because they're impeachable now.

[00:11:28] Like, oh, they made a mistake.

[00:11:29] They did something wrong.

[00:11:30] They were, you know, found in violation.

[00:11:32] I forget exactly, like, what all the mechanics are on that.

[00:11:38] But that's what it's a reference to.

[00:11:41] And when McFadden has been asked about this, he says, you know, I'm not going to talk about any of my negative personnel file records or anything about that unless we look at my entire record, all the good things I've done, too.

[00:11:56] And then he wants to talk about all the good things because he's so awesome.

[00:12:01] Yeah.

[00:12:01] Like, yeah, but the good things don't keep you off the stand.

[00:12:06] Right.

[00:12:09] Let me go over and chat with Daisy.

[00:12:11] Hello, Daisy.

[00:12:12] Welcome to the show.

[00:12:13] Hi.

[00:12:14] I hope you don't mind.

[00:12:15] My question's a little off topic.

[00:12:18] You know, when they redid the property values in Mecklenburg County, and that's when we were in that boom where all the houses were overpriced.

[00:12:31] And since then, they've gone down.

[00:12:33] But when they did mine, they did my price up $80,000, my tax value, over the last tax value, which means right now I'm underwater.

[00:12:43] My tax value is way above what my home is worth.

[00:12:46] And I think most people are in that situation.

[00:12:50] What can we do about that?

[00:12:51] That I appealed, they turned me down.

[00:12:54] And, however, they granted the appeal on a house exactly like mine on the same street.

[00:13:02] They are a little older than me.

[00:13:04] They're retired, and they're a different race.

[00:13:08] I mean, I don't understand how they could be granted that, and I'm not.

[00:13:13] Yeah, I don't.

[00:13:14] It's the same unit.

[00:13:15] Obviously, I'm at a disadvantage because I don't know any of the details of the property, of the other person's property, of the decision.

[00:13:23] Same property.

[00:13:24] Yeah, but Daisy, like if you're asking me why, I can't tell you that.

[00:13:28] I don't know.

[00:13:29] Well, no, what I'm asking you is how tax values are now way above market value on our residential homes.

[00:13:39] That would be surprising.

[00:13:41] That would be good.

[00:13:42] It's true.

[00:13:43] No, I'm just saying like that.

[00:13:45] And that's why I said that would be surprising to me because tax values are almost always lower than the values that you can actually sell the house for.

[00:13:56] People can sell usually, like, and it's not even close.

[00:13:59] It's usually people selling their homes for way more than the property appraises for.

[00:14:06] Yeah.

[00:14:07] Yeah.

[00:14:07] I own rentals, and I know I've never seen tax values higher than what you can sell your house for.

[00:14:13] Have you tried to sell it?

[00:14:16] No, but I get offers all the time.

[00:14:19] Okay.

[00:14:19] And I know what the values are right now.

[00:14:23] Have you, is it under mortgage right now or do you own it?

[00:14:27] Yes.

[00:14:28] Okay.

[00:14:28] Mortgage.

[00:14:29] Yeah.

[00:14:29] So, I mean, you could go to the bank that you've got the mortgage with and ask them for an appraisal.

[00:14:38] Have you done that to see what they would appraise it at?

[00:14:41] No, that's what I'm thinking about doing next and filing another appeal.

[00:14:45] Yeah.

[00:14:47] Okay.

[00:14:47] Okay.

[00:14:47] Did you have any?

[00:14:48] I feel like the whole county is, I can't believe more people aren't screaming about this.

[00:14:53] Our home payment went up $1,200 a year.

[00:14:58] Our house payment.

[00:14:59] Yeah, $100 a month, that does seem to square.

[00:15:06] So, when you went to appeal, did you have an appraisal?

[00:15:10] No.

[00:15:10] Yeah.

[00:15:11] See, so that would be, in the appeal, that would be something that you would, I think, benefit from showing is like, hey, we went out and got appraisals, maybe one, two, three of them, whatever.

[00:15:23] And what they're appraising the house at is nowhere near what the county is appraising it at for tax valuation.

[00:15:31] Okay.

[00:15:31] Well, that's what I'll do.

[00:15:32] Yeah, try that.

[00:15:33] I'd be curious to know if you're successful.

[00:15:36] I'll let you know.

[00:15:37] All right.

[00:15:37] Thanks, Daisy.

[00:15:38] I appreciate the call.

[00:15:38] Yes, ma'am.

[00:15:39] Take care.

[00:15:39] Thank you.

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[00:16:43] News Talk 1110-993-WBT.

[00:16:47] 7045-701110.

[00:16:48] Here's a message.

[00:16:50] The email is Pete at thepetecalendorshow.com.

[00:16:54] Here's a message from Kirk.

[00:16:56] Pete, yes, an appraisal is a must.

[00:16:59] I used one in Gaston County to justify lowering my tax value.

[00:17:04] There you go.

[00:17:05] This is Teresa.

[00:17:06] Welcome to the show.

[00:17:07] Teresa.

[00:17:09] Hey.

[00:17:09] Hey.

[00:17:11] An appraisal doesn't do any good.

[00:17:14] It's one of the things, sort of like McFadden needs to step down.

[00:17:19] Well, there's a lot of other people that need to step down or get voted out or fired or something

[00:17:24] because they think that the answer to everything is just to raise the taxes when they don't know where

[00:17:30] and what they've done with the previous money.

[00:17:33] Just like the $900 million that the governor had just a few years ago.

[00:17:38] And then they wanted to put the bonds on the voter ballot for us to vote on all these millions again.

[00:17:47] Something's wrong with it all.

[00:17:49] But the appraisal did not do us any good.

[00:17:53] And I know you told her to get an appraisal.

[00:17:56] Well, that's about $700.

[00:17:59] I don't know.

[00:17:59] Maybe she has a lot of residual income that she can go out and get two or three appraisals.

[00:18:04] I have no clue.

[00:18:05] But it doesn't do one bit of good.

[00:18:07] They raised our tax assessment over $100,000.

[00:18:14] So I sent in to where, you know, I took it over there.

[00:18:18] My husband and I took over the appraisal, the paperwork that said we didn't agree with it.

[00:18:24] They did nothing.

[00:18:26] Yeah, again, so this is the problem.

[00:18:29] I'm at a disadvantage because I don't know the details of your property.

[00:18:33] I don't know the details of the process.

[00:18:34] No, it doesn't matter.

[00:18:36] It does.

[00:18:36] No, but, Teresa, it does matter.

[00:18:38] It might not have mattered in your case.

[00:18:40] And I'm not denying whatever happened to you happened to you.

[00:18:42] Well, I was commenting on her, the lady that called then, because she said she didn't know what to do.

[00:19:15] Mm-hmm.

[00:19:18] Those people.

[00:19:19] Yeah, that you go through.

[00:19:22] So your recommendation to her is what?

[00:19:27] Keep pressing.

[00:19:29] What does that mean?

[00:19:29] I wanted to quit, but keep pressing.

[00:19:32] But when I kept pressing, they wouldn't talk to me.

[00:19:36] So...

[00:19:36] So that doesn't sound like a solution then either.

[00:19:40] Well, it's up to her.

[00:19:42] I mean, it's the balls in her court.

[00:19:44] I'm just saying what happened to us.

[00:19:46] Right.

[00:19:46] And so you attempted, or you got an appraisal, you said?

[00:19:50] Yes.

[00:19:51] Right.

[00:19:51] And so you then tried to appeal that to the...

[00:19:55] Yes, we did appeal.

[00:19:56] Mm-hmm.

[00:19:57] And they were supposed to get back with us.

[00:20:00] We were supposed to discuss it, blah, blah, blah.

[00:20:04] No, no.

[00:20:04] Nothing.

[00:20:05] I mean, did not help one bit.

[00:20:09] When you say nothing, what does that mean?

[00:20:11] Like they never...

[00:20:12] That you never had an appeal?

[00:20:15] They denied it.

[00:20:17] They denied it.

[00:20:18] That's what I'm trying to tell you.

[00:20:20] They denied it.

[00:20:21] They want to raise the taxes, period.

[00:20:25] And they're going to do it.

[00:20:26] And they did it.

[00:20:28] That's all they care about.

[00:20:30] All right.

[00:20:30] Well, then I guess that's the answer for Daisy.

[00:20:33] Sorry, Daisy.

[00:20:34] There's no solution for you.

[00:20:35] I don't know what to tell you.

[00:20:37] Teresa, I appreciate the call, but I don't know what to do with that information.

[00:20:40] I don't know the details of your case.

[00:20:42] I'm trying to be helpful to Daisy and ask her if she had an appraisal.

[00:20:46] Kirk says, oh, no, I had an appraisal done, and that definitely helped in my appeals process.

[00:20:51] You're saying your appeals didn't work.

[00:20:53] But I don't know.

[00:20:54] Like, that's one instance of it not working.

[00:20:58] I don't know if that is reflective of the entire system.

[00:21:02] Actually, I know it's not.

[00:21:03] I know it's not.

[00:21:04] Because I watch enough county commission meetings, and I've seen enough of these things come through the agendas where people's appeals have been accepted.

[00:21:13] So yours might not have been, and that stinks.

[00:21:18] Like, I totally understand that, but I don't know why you would recommend to just basically give up.

[00:21:23] I mean, that's what it kind of sounds like you're recommending there.

[00:21:25] I don't know.

[00:21:27] Dan, welcome to the show.

[00:21:29] Hi.

[00:21:30] Good afternoon, Pete.

[00:21:31] Yes, sir.

[00:21:32] Looking forward to bringing some bikes down here pretty soon.

[00:21:36] Good.

[00:21:36] Thanks.

[00:21:37] We appreciate it.

[00:21:37] Yeah.

[00:21:38] The reason I'm calling is I guess it has to do with money.

[00:21:43] And that's the 485 Outer in Ballantyne, where it's been going on for three, four years.

[00:21:54] Approximately.

[00:21:55] It should have been done two years ago.

[00:21:57] And I want to know why they're building that monstrosity castle entrance exit for the speed lane, the pay lanes.

[00:22:09] And if anybody's trying to double-check the Department of Transportation on, you know, where all that money's coming from, why is there a two-, three-year delay?

[00:22:21] My wife and I drive that corridor every day to work.

[00:22:29] And I'm just baffled.

[00:22:32] I don't understand.

[00:22:32] I wish you could get your investigative reporters up to the DOT and to Valentine and figure out what the delay is.

[00:22:42] You know, maybe there's something I don't know, but that's the main reason I'm calling.

[00:22:48] Dan, you are aware that virtually every road project does not come in on time, right?

[00:22:58] Yeah, I am.

[00:22:59] Yeah.

[00:23:00] So I would...

[00:23:01] This is way overboard.

[00:23:03] Yeah.

[00:23:03] Dude, it took 30 years to do the I-45 loop.

[00:23:07] It was the longest interstate loop project in American history, the I-45 loop.

[00:23:15] And the only reason we were able to complete it was because Asheville wouldn't take money from the DOT to widen, I think it was I-26, because they didn't want more cars.

[00:23:27] They wanted bike lanes and all this other stuff.

[00:23:29] And they were like, okay, you guys aren't serious.

[00:23:31] And so they reallocated the money, and that's how Charlotte finally closed their loop, because otherwise it would have taken another decade.

[00:23:38] I mean, the problem with the NCDOT is, and there are a lot of problems at NCDOT.

[00:23:46] There are a lot of problems.

[00:23:48] And you've got these different divisions, these districts where money gets allocated, and how do you prioritize projects, and stuff moves up the list and then falls off the list and all.

[00:23:58] And that's why the toll lanes, the E-ZPass lanes, it's why they get leapfrogged up, is because they can actually get the job done.

[00:24:07] They can actually do the work and then turn it over to some other private entity that builds the lane and then keeps all the revenue for 50 or 75 years.

[00:24:16] Otherwise, it's not going to get built.

[00:24:19] Yeah, it's a major problem.

[00:24:20] And part of it is also gas tax revenue are down.

[00:24:24] COVID monies or the COVID pandemic, people weren't driving.

[00:24:28] Gas tax revenue went down.

[00:24:30] Cars are getting more fuel efficient.

[00:24:32] Revenue goes down.

[00:24:34] A lot of that stuff gets funded from the DOT gets funded from the gas tax, right?

[00:24:41] So that's all the two.

[00:24:43] Also, North Carolina, our state owns, I think the only state that owns more roadway miles than North Carolina is Texas.

[00:24:53] If I remember correctly, that's it.

[00:24:57] That's the only state.

[00:24:58] The state in North Carolina owns so much roadway because they just, that's the way it was set up, and they prefer it that way.

[00:25:05] They don't fund it enough, but nobody wants to pay the taxes on it, right?

[00:25:09] So everybody wants the roads, but nobody wants to pay for them.

[00:25:11] But it's like this is, I see it.

[00:25:15] Look, I see the same thing at the HOA level, my neighborhood level.

[00:25:18] People want all of this stuff, and then they complain about the cost of it.

[00:25:24] So I don't know what specifically would delay that particular project.

[00:25:31] So no, I'm sorry.

[00:25:32] And by the way, the NCDOT has got a web.

[00:25:34] Have you been to their website to look at the particular project?

[00:25:37] I've been there off and on, not recently.

[00:25:41] Probably need to update that.

[00:25:43] But they should have made that highway four lanes all the way around back in 1997, 96, when they worked on it.

[00:25:51] Do you remember what it was when they first opened that leg through Ballantyne?

[00:25:56] When it was?

[00:25:58] No.

[00:25:59] No.

[00:25:59] All right.

[00:25:59] So were you here when they first opened the very first leg of 485 in the southeast part of the county?

[00:26:07] Yes.

[00:26:08] Yeah.

[00:26:08] Do you remember how many lanes it was?

[00:26:11] It was two.

[00:26:13] Yeah.

[00:26:13] It was two.

[00:26:14] Yeah.

[00:26:14] It was two because I helped work on it.

[00:26:16] Okay.

[00:26:17] I worked for a construction company.

[00:26:18] We surveyed it.

[00:26:19] I spent weeks between Matthews and Pineville.

[00:26:26] Right.

[00:26:26] So for the same reason.

[00:26:28] Right.

[00:26:28] So for the same reason.

[00:26:29] Right.

[00:26:30] Being lack of money.

[00:26:31] Right.

[00:26:31] Those are all the same.

[00:26:32] They're all the same reasons why everything gets delayed or projects get built and you're like, what the hell were they thinking?

[00:26:38] Right.

[00:26:39] Say it's the same thing over and over and over again.

[00:26:41] And so when they built the two lanes and remember the big fight that occurred, this would have been about 20 years ago over the funding, whether to build and to try to close the loop up on the northeast side.

[00:26:52] Yeah.

[00:26:53] Or to widen the southeast leg.

[00:26:57] And this was Pat McCrory's famous line where he's like, everybody's going through the buffet.

[00:27:01] And somebody came up there and was complaining because they were having to decide which to do.

[00:27:06] And they're like, oh, you guys already got your part of it.

[00:27:08] And you already went through the buffet line and we haven't even eaten yet.

[00:27:12] And McCrory responded.

[00:27:13] Well, it's yes, they went through the line, but they didn't get the full buffet.

[00:27:17] They got this.

[00:27:17] They only got the salad bar.

[00:27:19] Right.

[00:27:20] And because the southeast part only got two lanes and it should have been three.

[00:27:24] And now, of course, we say, well, it should have been four.

[00:27:27] And that's just, you know, that's the nature of road projects.

[00:27:30] Like by the time you start going through the planning process, getting it approved, getting the money, getting the work done, by the time you build it, it's already obsolete.

[00:27:40] That's the case everywhere, especially with the interstate projects.

[00:27:44] So I don't know if that helps or not.

[00:27:46] I don't have the answer for you.

[00:27:47] I don't know specifically why it's behind.

[00:27:50] If it's on, I don't even know the deadline.

[00:27:51] I don't know if it is behind or not.

[00:27:53] So not me personally.

[00:27:55] I'll take your word for it.

[00:27:56] But I don't have any information about that project.

[00:27:59] So, but I appreciate it.

[00:28:01] And I will see you on the, at the bike drive, which by the way, that's coming up on December 6th.

[00:28:09] Friday, December 6th.

[00:28:10] I do actually have an opportunity to do it tonight.

[00:28:12] All right, that'll do it for this episode.

[00:28:14] Thank you so much for listening.

[00:28:15] I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast.

[00:28:20] So if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here.

[00:28:23] You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to vpcalendarshow.com.

[00:28:29] Again, thank you so much for listening.

[00:28:30] And don't break anything while I'm gone.

[00:28:32] Tom, what's up?

[00:28:34] Tom.

[00:28:36] You, Tom.

[00:28:39] But you're on hold.

[00:28:39] See if you come back.

[00:28:40] Fred.

[00:28:41] Hello, Fred.

[00:28:42] Welcome to the show.

[00:28:44] Hello, Pete.

[00:28:44] Enjoy your show.

[00:28:45] It's good.

[00:28:46] Thank you.

[00:28:46] Timely topic.

[00:28:48] I mean, do you ever notice how many traffic problems are on 85 between the Catawba River

[00:28:56] Bridge and going through Gaston County at the work at busy time?

[00:29:02] Yes.

[00:29:03] I often.

[00:29:04] A lot of accidents.

[00:29:05] Yes.

[00:29:06] I am often caught in that mess.

[00:29:08] And from what I understand, it's about to get way worse, too, with a bunch of construction

[00:29:12] coming.

[00:29:14] It is.

[00:29:15] Well, the problem is, in this side of the county, there's only two ways across.

[00:29:21] 85 and then Wilkinson-Franklin.

[00:29:25] And the other one is down Fustavoy Bridge.

[00:29:28] Well, about 20 years ago, there was a good plan to have a toll road that ran from West

[00:29:34] Boulevard on 485 across the southern part of Gaston County.

[00:29:39] Mm-hmm.

[00:29:41] About the state committed to about 40 years of funding to pay for that road, but people

[00:29:49] were somewhat mad about it because it was a toll road.

[00:29:53] Mm-hmm.

[00:29:53] And we had two people running for office.

[00:29:57] They were newcomers.

[00:29:59] And I believe it was 02.

[00:30:01] And a senator got elected and a House of Representatives got elected.

[00:30:08] And they pretty much killed that.

[00:30:11] Gaston County, the cities, Belmont, everyone was for that except these two people that got

[00:30:18] elected who represent the people along South New Hope Road.

[00:30:24] And it really needs to be looked at as to how dangerous that road is during most of the

[00:30:33] time and how to resurrect some kind of a plan going across southern Gaston County.

[00:30:40] So as part of the, if my memory serves correct, through the, so are you aware of the

[00:30:48] River District project that was approved by the Charlotte City Council?

[00:30:53] It's over.

[00:30:53] Yeah.

[00:30:54] Yeah, it's west of the airport there at Dixie River Road area.

[00:30:58] Part of all of that includes the West Boulevard extension.

[00:31:07] And that's, the idea there is that that's for the future going to connect over the river.

[00:31:14] I believe that's where that they're, and again, like, where does the money come from?

[00:31:19] I mean, bridges are not cheap to build, especially the length that would be required, right, to

[00:31:24] go over the Catawba again.

[00:31:27] So you'd have to build that.

[00:31:29] And I mean, heck, they can't even widen, although I think that's one of the plans is for them

[00:31:32] to widen that Wilkinson Boulevard bridge into Belmont.

[00:31:37] And at the same time, I think, is they're also going to be doing work on 85 and the interchange

[00:31:44] and Sam Wilson.

[00:31:45] That whole area is just about to get just really backed up.

[00:31:49] But my understanding is that there should be some future plan to get West Boulevard to go

[00:31:55] over the Catawba.

[00:31:56] Well, you're right, and there is.

[00:31:59] But ironically, there's two main roads for it to dump out on.

[00:32:04] One is South Point Road, which is completely full.

[00:32:08] The other is New Hope Road, which is getting fuller every day.

[00:32:13] And there's a thousand houses going up along through there.

[00:32:16] But the people that really voted against that was along those two corridors.

[00:32:24] And now it's going to be full again.

[00:32:27] It's going to be a lot of years whenever they get it built.

[00:32:30] But it's just how an election with two people could stop so much in Gaston and Mecklenburg

[00:32:38] County.

[00:32:39] Yeah.

[00:32:39] And unfortunately, they were in the party that I'm a member of, which it really galls

[00:32:46] me to.

[00:32:46] But again, love your show.

[00:32:49] If you ever can put any focus on the needs of that area, I think it's a good topic.

[00:32:56] Yeah.

[00:32:56] No, I got you, Fred.

[00:32:57] I appreciate it.

[00:32:58] I live over near there.

[00:33:00] And yeah, it's just it's part of the problem with, you know, crossing a river and having a,

[00:33:07] you know, government run agency that builds the roads.

[00:33:12] And you're, you're going to be at the whims of the power brokers.

[00:33:16] That's and that's the problem.

[00:33:17] And that's always been the problem with NCDOT and all DOTs.

[00:33:23] All right.

[00:33:23] That'll do it for this episode.

[00:33:25] Thank you so much for listening.

[00:33:26] I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise

[00:33:30] on the podcast.

[00:33:31] So if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here.

[00:33:35] You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to the Pete calendar show dot com.

[00:33:40] Again, thank you so much for listening and don't break anything while I'm gone.