STEELE CREEK NEWS

Schools, Roads, and Branding were Topics at 2018 Residents Association Annual Meeting

(March 3, 2018) Over 200 Steele Creek residents and 50 representatives of government agencies, schools, and non-profit organizations attended the 2018 Steele Creek Residents Association Annual Meeting on February 22 at Kennedy Middle School.

Dr. Clayton Wilcox, Superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and a Steele Creek resident, provided updates on plans for two new schools. Last November, over 75% of Steele Creek voters supported the bonds that will be used to build the schools. (See Vote Yes for School Bonds! Vote Yes for Steele Creek Children!) He said CMS has 80 acres next to Palisades Park Elementary School for a new high school that is expected to open in 2022. Dr. Wilcox also said that an announcement on a new elementary school location is expected in about a week. The new school location is expected to be on Sandy Porter Road near Food Lion, at a site whose purchase the School Board authorized in September. (See CMS to Purchase Elementary School Site on Sandy Porter Road.) Additionally, bond money will be used to improve Career and Technical Education facilities at Olympic.

Dr. Wilcox said that student safety will be a priority at all schools. The new schools' designs will incorporate new safety features, and they will add safety upgrades to existing schools. He said he does not support arming school teachers. He said that next fall the five small schools at Olympic will be consolidated under one principal, but he is committed to the specialized, focused classes of the academies. He wants to make sure they strengthen what is already a strong model at Olympic.

Stuart Basham, Division 10 Planning Engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), give updates on the status of the planned improvements to the Highway 160/Hamilton Road intersection this year and the widening of Highway 160 from I-485 to the South Carolina state line beginning in 2021. (See Residents Learn about Highway Plans at Annual Meeting.)

William Hodges of New Forum, Inc. discussed efforts to brand Steele Creek and promote it's identity, which includes adopting a logo and erecting welcome signs along roadways. A special insert on Development in Steele Creek was published in the Charlotte Business Journal in September. (See Branding Effort Aims to Dispel Misconceptions about Steele Creek.)

Attendees got to talk to representatives of 15 state and local government agencies, 12 non-profit organizations, and principals of most of the area schools during the Meet and Mingle part of the meeting. This was a great opportunity to interact with many of the people who affect the quality of life in Steele Creek

The Meet and Mingle participants were:

Alignment Southwest Charlotte
Arrowood Business Association
Berewick Recreation Center
Winget Recreation Site
Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS)
Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT)
Charlotte Douglas Airport
Charlotte Engineering and Property Management
Charlotte Housing and Neighborhood Services
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department:
  Steele Creek Division
  Animal Care and Control
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO)
Christ the King Lutheran Church
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary,
Lake Wylie Covekeepers/Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation,
McDowell Nature Center
Mecklenburg County Tax Assessor's Office
North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT),
Olympic High School Athletic Booster Club
Olympic High School Foundation
Palisades Episcopal School
Steele Creek Library
Steele Creek Masonic Lodge #737
Steele Creek Volunteer Fire Department
Steele Creek YMCA
TreesCharlotte

View the Meet and Mingle Presentation Loop HERE.

The Residents Association would like to thank Kennedy Principal Kevin Sudimak for offering the use of the school's gym for our meeting, for providing the tables, podium, sound system, projector, and screen, and for getting everything set up. We hope the community found the meeting informative and useful.

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