Questioning a Four Million Dollar Parking Deck
When the City Council put nearly four million dollars toward a downtown parking deck, Kyle Houston stood at the podium for the neighborhoods he believed were being left behind.
In October 2019, the Statesville City Council voted 5 to 3 to approve nearly four million dollars for a parking deck behind the Vance Hotel downtown, funded through a mix of city accounts and a loan. The mayor and the city manager themselves had raised concerns that the financing could squeeze other projects.
Kyle Houston went to the public comment podium and made the case against it. His argument was about priorities: the city kept pouring resources into downtown while neighborhoods on the Southside and east side waited their turn.
He did not just speak. He dug into county and state property records to understand the project and the interests around it, and he brought what he found to the public. Whatever one made of his conclusions, the homework reflected a habit he had shown since his first campaign: do the research, then take it to the people.
In his words
Once again, the council is considering pet projects downtown instead of considering projects that would make a difference in the lives of residents living in other areas of Statesville such as the Southside and the east side.
Kyle Houston, to the Statesville City Council, Oct. 2019
The official result
On October 22, 2019, the Statesville City Council voted 5 to 3 to approve funding for a nearly four million dollar parking deck behind the Vance Hotel, drawing on the occupancy tax fund, the civic center fund, and a loan from the electric fund. Council members John Staford, Steven Johnson, and Jap Johnson voted against the funding.
Coverage referenced
Funding for parking deck behind Vance Hotel approvedStatesville Record & Landmark · Oct 23, 2019