City Council - Special Meeting

Waiting on Councilman Anderson here. So get here. All All right. Good afternoon everyone. Today's a great day and there being a quorum of counsel. Today is March 31st, 2026. I hereby call our meeting to order. I would like to welcome our special guest, Congressman Mark Harris. Thank you for being here, sir. Thank you. He's a fine voice for our area in Washington DC and I'm proud to call him my friend. I'm thankful for him to be here. Everyone who put this together. I'd like to introduce our city council, Mayor Pro Tim Saluda Anthony, Councilman David Dodson, Councilman James Carr, Councilman Franco McGee, Councilman Gary Anderson. We also have our city manager and our city attorney, Mark Watson and Richard Long. We also have a couple other staff here too as well. Um, we have our members of our airport commission too. Your congressman, if you would stand when I call your name, please. Uh, Commissioner

uh, Chairman Gary Wolf, Brooks Durham, Christopher Cooper, Robert Falton second or third said that's my daddy's name.

There you go. And John Stevens. Thank you all for being here, too. It's a very important day to go over uh, all the great things happening here. We also have our economic development advisory board with us. Stand when I call your name, William Chad Griffin or Mr. Chad. Okay. We have our um senior vice president of plastics here in the Charlotte Pipe Foundry. So that's his he's going to have a great presentation for you here too. Congressman Randy Adcock from American Bank and Trust CEO. Is he here? Okay. Uh Jeff Duke, our process innovation manager at ASA Ablo right over here. Thank you, sir. Jonathan Edwards from Tyson's Food, our complex manager. Here's over here. Drew Lawrence of Lawrence and Associates. And Clint Lawrence of Lawrence and Associates. So, at this time, Congressman, I'd like to welcome here our city manager, Mark Watson. Thank you, Mayor and Congressman. It is a pleasure to have you here visiting with us in Monroe. And for those of you who u may be wondering, uh the reason for this visit, number one is the congressman has never been to the airport for an official tour and greeting like this. And number two is uh the congressman was the first uh of our federal uh representatives who uh issued to us a letter of support uh for our grant uh that we were seeking funding for the uh new aircraft control

tower. And that's special. and we just want to thank you for your quick response and engagement in that process. So, thank you. A few quick things uh about the the airport. Um uh we have 14 hangers here, three which are privately owned, the rest are are owned by the city. There are 80,000 operations here annually and this airport uh ranks in North Carolina as the second busiest general aviation airport in the state. Johnston County edges us out just a little bit, but I have a feeling that that's not their their reign uh number one is not going to last that much longer. uh corporate air traffic travel uh is is really uh the area where we're growing and expanding most in right now. We've seen a 30% increase uh over the past uh really 24 months uh in the amount of corporate air traffic coming into Monroe. And uh as uh we think about how we market this asset uh really what we have to sell here is convenience. We are 33 minutes via the Monroe Expressway from downtown Charlotte. Uh I would challenge you to get from Charlotte Douglas International Airport during traffic to downtown Charlotte in 33 minutes. Uh but we have flights that originate and come in here from 48 states and we have flights that come in here internationally from Europe from England, Germany and the Caribbean on a regular basis. Uh and as you met these folks out here with the

port uh the port uh uh director for US customs and uh border security. Um, this is the only general aviation airport in the state of North Carolina that has a customs and border security patrol uh facility. So, it is a a tremendous asset. Um, want to tell you a little bit about this aircraft air traffic control tower project. So these gentlemen over here are very familiar with the project because they they have lived it, talked about it, debated it uh for for now years uh and it's coming to fruition and it was a lengthy process. Uh we are participants in the federal contract tower program which means that the airport or local funds build the tower uh furnish the tower uh and the federal government operates the tower. So they supply the the manpower to actually uh operate the tower. Uh the way that works in this region is uh the individuals that work air traffic control tower in Charlotte uh will be assigned to come down here. They go over to to Concord and so they they f they flex back and forth uh like that. Uh so it's a it's a tremendous program. Uh the state of North Carolina uh general assembly was gracious enough to provide us with $6 million seed money to get this project started. Um and uh I think it was spent about 12 months ago. We learned about uh a special grant opportunity uh while we were in

Washington visiting with you and and and uh the folks up there. uh special grant opportunity specifically for these federal contract towers. Uh and because of the shutdowns and then and those delays, we didn't know exactly when we were going to be able to apply. So, we we I told the staff, the many staff that are here that supported this effort, we're going to fill out our application. We're going to get all the information we think's going to that that they're going to require on that application. and the day it is released, we're going to fill it out and the next day it's going to be submitted. So, uh that's the way it worked. We were one of the first submitts in uh our application has received favorable favorable feedback. Um uh to the degree that the the FAA has asked us to be bid ready uh in September. So Talbert and Bright as our engineers over here, uh they've done the initial design work and cost estimates and those types of things. They are working on the bid package right now. Uh we are on track on time and we are ready to deliver and uh we're we're seeking 11.5 million and that will complete the project. You saw from the air where it was going to be. you saw the the the great view at at the same uh height that the tower is going to be uh you know up and down the the airfield. So uh it's it's going to be tremendous. Um, one of the things that has prohibited um, aircraft from using this facility to its fullest extent, especially corporate aircraft air traffic aircraft,

is the fact that corporate risk managers don't like their planes flying into an uncontrolled airspace uh, airport. So, uh, we we've we've worked to eliminate a lot of those concerns, but this tower will be the the final, you know, hopefully, uh, stamp that that brings everything together. That's just one project that we have here. And I was just looking, we have some some photos here. And as you can see, the these are you you you you uh the these should be very familiar to you. We're here. The air traffic control tower will be here. Um the the we have several other projects to improve our our airport. Uh this being the next most immediate uh project will be the total replacement of this apron right here. The funding is coming uh partly through federal government and through the state of North Carolina. But uh this apron will be uh the asphalt will be taken up. The base will be taken up. New base put down. New asphalt put down. And at the end of the day uh this asphalt will be strong enough to hold uh I think the Nope. There it is out there. The the big I believe that's a 550 or 650.

Z500. Z500. So right now you can't park a G500 out here because it will sink up into the fall,

especially on a hot day, but when it's strengthened, we'll be able to park the larger planes out there. Um uh in addition to to the smaller planes. So that's step one. The ultimate goal will be to strengthen that runway. So right now the runway is it only can handle 65,000 PSI. We need to get it to 95,000 PSI so that when the larger jets, the G500s come in, they can come in or take off full of fuel and full of passengers. Right now, they have to moderate how much fuel they have on, how many people they have on board to keep it under a weight limit. that's restrictive to uh folks that want to fly in here and do business.

Because if I tell staff and I tell city council, every time one of these bad boys lands out here, the cash register goes cha-ching.

It's money. Money. Money is coming into this community. People are coming here to do business. People are bringing jobs here. They're bringing investment here and we need to do everything we can to make sure that they have a good experience and that we can meet their needs when they come into here. So it these projects kind of run in reverse. You you have to have a plane a place to park the plane. They the next is the taxi way which you saw look like a little bit like a snake.

It's got some curves in it and it's got some nare places in it and things like that. So this is project number two and that will get strengthened to the 95,000 lbs so that when a plane lands here on a on a 95,000 lb runway, you know, it doesn't sink up into the asphalt on a a 65,000 lb per square inch uh taxi way. So you do this first and then the last uh piece of that uh improvements will be to strengthen uh the runway that that is six to eight years into the future.

Uh we are working on funding for that right now just to kind of plant that seed.

Plant that seed. The last project we have, of course, is the wildlife uh fence that you saw and then I I spoke to you about. Uh I also spoke to you about our new business model for developing hangers where we we take instead of issuing public debt to build those facilities and and really if it's a public building, if it's a publicly owned building, there is no advorum tax being paid on that. So you're trading that public debt for four income streams. The land lease, the advalorum tax on the building, the business personal property tax on aircraft, and of course all the fuel sales that you that that the person wants to buy. Uh lastly, I'll mention to you uh our engagement of Chris Schwecker, deputy director of the FBI to come out and do a security assessment here uh of the airport. This is not your sleepy little, you know, airport anymore. You know, there's a lot of of big business going on here and a lot of investment sitting on this this uh uh airport. So, there'll be a new security fence that runs down through here where and and new entry points uh here onto the airfield. So that that in a nutshell uh is really the Reader's Digest version of what we've got going on here. But all of this all of this really is to support our local industry and the investment, the jobs that they bring here. So Chad Griffin, uh would you come and just talk for a few minutes about the importance of this facility and what it means to uh Charlotte Pip and Foundry, Charlotte Plastics, uh and

your ability to actually do business here, uh in this area. So Chad Griff,

thank you Mark. Thank you for the opportunity to be here this afternoon. and I really appreciate the opportunity to discuss the importance of the Charlotte Monroe Executive Airport with such a influential group. My name is Chad Griffin. I do serve in the role of senior vice president of plastics for Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company. I'm also a lifetime resident of Monroe and Union County. Having that perspective, I've seen so much growth and improvement in our area over my years living here. Um, and today we're talking about one of the most important areas of our community that has had great advancement and improvement. So, why is this airport so important to Charlotte Pipe? Uh, it extends all the way back to when we decided to get into plastics. our third generation owners. We're now a fifth generationowned company, but our third generation owners realized back in 1967 that we needed to move beyond our traditional soil, pipe, and fittings and get into plastics. So, we started looking around for a place to do that. This area provided a great workforce, good road infrastructure, a community that we as a company could become a part of. But another major benefit and what became a principal deciding factor was the site selection this close to this airport. Now, as y'all all know, a lot's changed in the 59 years since 1967. U when we built that first little building along Old Charlotte Highway, we've now grown into that facility that you saw across the street or from the air earlier. Um we've grown into quite a sizable operation employing over 500 local people uh many of which are our friends and neighbors. Our footprint has also grown in plant operations around the country. We are now in Texas,

Pennsylvania, Florida, Alabama, Utah, and just built an operation outside of Witchah, Kansas in a little community called Maize. So, while our company has grown and changed, one thing is not, and that's the importance of this airport to our business. Well, in reality, that's probably not completely true. It's even more important now. So, access to this airport's even important, more important now than it ever has been before. When you think about Charlotte Pipe, you may know us as all the big blue buildings. You don't see us advertising on billboards. You don't see us doing TV commercials to get our products out there. Our best way of marketing is relationships. And one of the best best ways to do that is to bring customers to see our facilities. And that's what we do with this airport beyond the essential expectations of a quality product when they need it. We have to have that good relationship. And we get that when they meet our people in our facility. And this has created great opportunity for utilization of the airport. In 2024 and 2025, our plane recorded 58 total operations in each of those years. And we look to see that grow in the future. Now, as Mark alluded to, for us to take full advantage of exposing customers to our plant, we need to get the maximum benefit by filling up that plane. And as our company has grown, our plane has grown as well. Our our current aircraft, we mentioned it before, is a Gulfream G500 that has the capacity to carry 15 passengers and crews. It's actually sitting right out here today. So, we set that up for you, Mark, so we'd have the plane perfectly here. Actually, we got lucky. Um, we have a group in from Texas today who is touring our facility. So, we're making use of the airport today. Fully loaded. our maximum ramp weight and takeoff

weight exceed the airport's runway, taxi way, and apron limitations. So, it makes some trips really tough to do or as Mark said, we have to get creative to make it happen. We're excited to see the plans to upgrade the apron taxway runway runway connections to a dual wheel weight bearing capacity of 95,000 pounds. Then we can have a fully utilized plane. So while marketing our customers the primary way we take advantage of this airport, at times we use planes other than ours, we bring net jets in here to utilize the airport. I remember a recent occurrence where we had a problem at one of our satellite plants and we needed to get a crew out there fast to make the repairs. So we hired NetJets. They came in, they picked up our crew. It was great because they're close to our associates. We got them in, we got them to the plant, and we got them back out quickly. So, this location works out well for that as well. Now, regardless of the size of the plane, safety and efficiency are essential. Uh, and speaking with our pilots, a couple of them are in the lounge as we speak, unless they're over there behind the curtain listening. They're excited to see this tower on the horizon. for them bringing that plane in with its size and speed mixing in with much smaller and slower and all different sizes of planes. They're excited to have a tower that can help make their operation much safer and much simpler. Um, you know, my route to work takes me all around this airport. So, I live on the other side of town, so I come all around it. It's been exciting to see all the work that's been happening around the airport, cleaning up and the fencing. Now, I figured that was to keep some bad actors out. I wasn't thinking about four-legged bad actors, but the pilots tell me it's great to have that protection to keep the deer off the runway, which creates a real real safety issue. Safety is always first for Charlotte Pipes. So, we

applaud any and all efforts to make safety a greater influence over here at the airport. So, we very much appreciate the culture of exemplary service demonstrated by the management and staff of this airport. They do an amazing job. Malcolm and his team are wonderful. We appreciate that. And with the completion of these improvement projects, the Mun Airport will be positioned to meet Charlotte Pipes aviation needs for years to come. So, thank you very much. Thank you, CHAD.

CHAD, we really we really appreciate uh you uh coming over and articulating those needs and how you use the airport. There's, you know, I I could never do that as and and as effectively as you just did and but it is important and Chad and Charlotte Plastics story is repeated time and time and time and time again for folks that want to come in and use the airport. Now, I'm going to I'm going to share some numbers with you, okay? City Council, y'all have not heard these numbers before, okay? So, so get ready. When we talk about the economic impact of this facility, okay, what does that look like? And that's the reason I really wanted you to get the bird's eye view. Now, we're going to talk about what that looks like in numbers. So the total acreage in and adjacent to the Monunroe Corporate Center and as I explained this Monroe Corporate Center was developed by the city of Monroe, the vision of the Monroe city council and the investment of uh Monroe Electric and Energy. Okay. 1,232 acres right now. 872 acres are occupied with 360 acres unoccupied. The majority of that about 200 acres uh belongs to Union County and is along Gold Mine Road down here. There's 47 different what I would call uh commercial industrial residents or tenants in in this immediate area surrounding this this airport. The total value of the acreage,

$89 million. The building improvements alone, not counting the machinery inside the plants, just the building improvements alone increase the value. Uh, in addition to the 89, million, $374 million in buildings. buildings alone, 4,900,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Wrap your mind around that. 4,900,000 square feet of manufacturing space in this corporate area right here. new projects. Uh the the city of Monroe uh and Union County have been working cooperatively on on economic development for some time. uh the city the city and the county have taken a little bit different focus and that focus is more related to you know the things that uh are are really the priorities for the city of Monroe and then the county has its priorities but we work very cooperatively together. In the last 16 months, the city of Monroe has worked with seven new projects. And we we get contacted several times a week by major projects that are just putting out feelers. You know, I'm not talking this is I'm not talking about these seven projects are just, you know, gathering information and a lot of talk. These folks, these seven projects have bought land.

They have they are either in the engineering design phase or they are in the construction phase right now. the total additional square footage to in addition to the 49 million four 4,900,000 square feet another 1,100,000 square feet of manufacturing space is on like a the immediate horizon. That is a 23% increase in the total square footage of manufacturing space and all that has been created in the last 16 months. The new building value is another 86 another $86 million in building value and $86 million bringing the grand total of property and facilities to $524 million in investment. That is a half a billion dollars in investment just within arms reach of this room. Literally, this area is hot. This hot it's hot. Um those numbers are are not projections. They're not pie in the sky. That that's what's actually happening here right now. more the more reason we need the kind of investments in this facility. Uh again, every every plane that comes in, they're here to do business. They are here to do business. Um we have a wonderful staff that has uh orchestrated this today and I I'd be

remiss if I didn't say thank you uh to them. Um, and um, do you have any questions for us? Because we appreciate your interest uh, and everything that you've done for us thus far.

Well, I don't have any questions, but I just want to say thank you to to all of you for what you are doing. Um, you know, I'll be excited to report back to the White House that uh when the president says that America is the hottest country now, that he needs to come see the Monroe airport because this is the hottest area uh that seems to be developing at a very rapid pace. And uh certainly are grateful for these incredible numbers that Mark has been able to to share with us here this afternoon. Um, I am committed to making sure uh all throughout this district, I'm convinced that if we are going to help and if we as a federal government are going to put funds in, it needs to be in development in ways just like this with your airport and with the transportation. When you stop and think about what can happen with uh Concord and Monroe and Charlotte uh together, the impact can be incredible. and this is an important place for that. So, I want to thank you, Mark, for for what you have shared today and the information for all of you that are serving and for the vision that that you've had for this area. And uh we want to keep being that voice. We want to keep being a voice that will stand for for this community and get the support that that is needed. And so, couldn't happen without the the hardworking people Union County that continue to uh step in and step up. So, thank you. Absolutely. Absolutely. You're welcome. Mayor, any any council?

All right. Thank you. Um, as I've mentioned before, we do have a federal facility on this airport. Yes.

And they are very interested in meeting you and having you tour that facility. Now, I will tell you that there are people in this room that have worked for the city for more than 20 years that have never been allowed in that building. So, we're going to go tour the building real quick with a walk through. Uh, and and it'll be the first time that a lot of folks get to see inside, but if you've never seen inside the uh the customs uh house here, uh please feel free to join us uh on on a brief tour. Um it that that is a vital part of of bringing uh folks in um internationally to do business and we have as I explained there's 16 different countries represented just in this immediate area that from that have uh international connections. So Mr. Mayor,

Congressman, once again, thank you on behalf of the city council. We appreciate you taking the time out of your very busy schedule. We know that you've worked really hard for us up there in Washington. You're a great voice for us. Appreciate that. Specifically our area. And so, city council, we're very grateful for you to be here. The rest of city Monroe, you know, on behalf of them, thank you as well. You know, I mean, like this is, as Mark said, the hottest area I believe in all of North Carolina. We have good people here. Um, we have a lot of opportunity and we just want to keep that going. To the rest of y'all for coming today, thank you so much. Very proud of each and every one of you, all of our staff, all the people and our committees, the hard work and the the uh advice that you give to us and to our city council as well. You know, I know that you it doesn't go without saying that y'all are very important process of this, you know. So, thank you guys. Sean, I'm give you all a round of applause. Thank you. Our airport commission does a fantastic job. And then once again, I do want to applaud our see our finance because that's big, Miss Strickland. Yes. But then our also our airport facility staff and our economic development as well, you know, because all of this together is really making Monroe, I believe, the greatest city in North Carolina. So, thank you. So with that said, any other closure or any remarks from any of you guys? Okay, at this time do I hear a motion to adjurnn?

Motion to second that. I have a motion second. All those in favor? Thank you all. God bless you. We'll just go right out this door. Right back over to the