October 16, 2025 • 32 mins
Tune in here to this Thursday's edition of Breaking With Brett Jensen!
Breaking Brett Jensen opens the show by diving into the controversial use of eminent domain along Independence Boulevard. He explains how the NCDOT is seizing portions of private business properties—sometimes just 20 to 40 feet—for public development, raising concerns about whether affected businesses will be fairly compensated. Brett previews an in-depth conversation later in the show with attorneys representing some of those property owners.
Later, Jensen sits down with Congressman Addison McDowell for an exclusive 1-on-1 interview to discuss the ongoing government shutdown, its root causes, and the broader implications for both Washington and District 6. McDowell pulls no punches, blaming Democratic leadership for prolonging the crisis and accusing them of leveraging the shutdown to push partisan spending demands—including Medicaid funds for undocumented immigrants. He emphasizes that the House has already passed a clean, bipartisan funding bill and says there's “nothing left to negotiate.
Listen here for all of this and more on Breaking With Brett Jensen.
To be the first to hear about Breaking Brett Jensen's exclusives and more follow him on X @Brett_Jensen!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Hi oh, let's go hi oh, let's go. Oh, let's
go oh, let's come. News Talk eleven ten and ninety
nine three WBT Brett Jensen here with you on this
Thursday night edition of Breaking with Brett Jensen. As we
go up until seven o'clock tonight, like we do every
(00:43):
single night, telephone numbers to get in on the show
seven oh four, five, seven oh eleven ten, and guys,
make sure you follow me on x at Brett Underscore
Jensen for all the latest and breaking news in and
around the Charlotte area. Of course, our WBT text line
is driven by Liberty, Buick and GMC and real quick, guys.
Before we get started in tonight's show, don't forget our
(01:04):
news and bruise coming up October twenty ninth, just a
couple of short weeks from now, so October twenty ninth,
it will be at the Highst Brewery, not the one
in Knowa, but the other one, the Arts and you know,
the Arts and Barrel one. So just make sure you
go to the bright heighst Bury and there, let's see
you can go to a WBT dot com to get
your tickets there as well and get all the other
(01:26):
information that you will need to get. Okay, So we've
got a lot that we're going to be getting into.
And I'm really excited about the fact that Congressman Addison McDowell,
out of District six, which is like Cabaris County and
things going you know, towards the east northeast, he will
be joining us tonight for two full segments, So I'm
(01:48):
really really looking forward to that. And then coming up
later in the show, we've got this wild thing about
eminent domain. So we know what eminent domain is. That's
when the government comes in and says were seizing your
property because we deem it to be beneficial for us
and humankind. Basically, we deem it better for the community
to seize control of your property in order to do
(02:12):
something with it. And so that's what the state is
doing right now with a lot of the businesses going
down Independence Boulevard, a lot of it, so on both
sides of Independence Boulevard, and so the state is talking about, hey,
we're we're seizing your property under eminent domain. The nc
doot we're seizing your property, but certain portions of it,
(02:34):
like not your entire property, but maybe like twenty feet
of your property or forty feet of your property from
Independence Boulevard into your parking lot, into your whatever. We're
going to seize it, but we will try to pay
you what we the state think is a fair price.
And so coming up later on tonight and the show,
(02:55):
I've got a couple of lawyers that are representing some
of the businesses on Independence Bulevard, and again we're talking
about a whole mass portion of Independence Boulevard that's going
to be impacted by this, again on both sides of
Independence Boulevard, going towards the city and going away from
the city. So we'll talk to a couple of lawyers
to talk about just everything that's going on and how
(03:16):
this is coming about, and is this going to end
in lawsuits? I want to ask them, all right, lawsuits?
Is that what's coming up? Is that what's going to
happen lawsuits? Are they going to try and sue the state?
Because there aren't a lot of people that are usually
successful trying to sue the state or anyone else when
it comes to eminent domain. And the other thing with
Addison McDowell, the congressman out of District six, like I said,
(03:38):
he's going to be joining us just minutes away, just
minutes away from Addison McDowell joining us. You know, there's
a lot going on in the country right now. I mean, clearly,
dub Earth, there's always a lot going on. But in
terms of in terms of the government shut down, like
the it truly feels like and I'm not trying to
(04:00):
be callous, but it truly feels like every time there's
a government shut down, the only people who care are
people that work for the government. Like what I mean
by that is nurses don't care. Teacher unless you work
for the VA hospital. But like teachers don't care, accountants
don't care. Like people just don't care. You know, firefighters
(04:21):
are not impacted by this. Police officers are not impacted
by this. You know, road crews are not impacted by this.
Like this just the only people that seem to care
are the people that are immediately impacted now and people
need to know this. So and again I'm not trying
to be callous. I'm just trying to, you know, give
(04:42):
you straight, straight facts here and here are the facts. Okay, Yes,
you work for let's say you work for the federal
government and you work at the airport, right you know,
and TSA. You work for them or whomever, you're not
getting paid. I get it. But once the government shut
(05:05):
down ends, you get one hundred percent of your back pay.
You get And there are people that are deemed essential
employees like NTSA, and you know a lot of the
people right, like people that you have to you know,
to make sure that you're not carrying weapons onto planes,
and you know all the checks and you know, national
parks whatever. There are actual people that are considered and
(05:28):
I don't know if national parks are, but I just
threw that out there. But there are people that are
considered you know, priorities. They cannot be laid off, traffic
control whatever it is, right, air traffic control whatever, so
you know, security at certain places, you know, police officers whatever,
security at the capitol or whatever like, they're considered essential employees.
(05:49):
So they will continue to work and they will get paid.
And everyone get will get paid, even those who are
not working, not deemed essential. Everyone gets paid back paid
once it ends. Now I understand that it's difficult going
a month or so without a pay. I look, I
get it. I wouldn't be happy either. I totally get
that part. And you know, you know almost all of
(06:11):
America lives paycheck to paycheck. Almost all know maybe what
seventy five percent, eighty percent, some around there, seventy five percent.
Even the people that are making one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars a year are living paycheck to paycheck because
they overextend themselves, or they buy a house too big,
or a cause, or a car that's too nice, or
they're sending their kids to thirty thousand dollars a year
(06:32):
of private school as a fourth grader, like whatever. So
maybe they're overextending themselves and they're actually living paycheck to
paycheck as well. I get all of that, but again,
like I said, it just almost feels like the only
people that really care are the people that are impacted. Yes,
food stamps and stuff like that. Maybe that has an
impact on it, welfare, maybe that will have an impact
(06:53):
on you. Absolutely I get it, but I just don't
I in the last what however many days, it's been
two and a half weeks, three weeks, I haven't heard
anyone talk about it. No one in the political world
is talking about this, at least locally. So I'm going
to talk to Congressman Addison McDowell about the government shutdown
extensively and what it means to him, what it means
(07:16):
to his staff, and what if anything, it actually means
to his district. So I'm looking forward to talk to him,
and this will be my very first interview with the congressman.
And look hopefully we can continue to do this many
more times as we go into the future. All right,
so all that's coming up next. Addison McDowell, the congressman
out of District six, is my guest as soon as
we return. But right now we're going to swing on
(07:36):
over to the WBT Traffic Center. Welcome back to Breaking
with Brad Jensen on this Thursday night. Okay, So Addison McDowell,
(07:58):
the congressman out of which is Cabari's county going forward
like northeast, north and northeast. He is joining us now
on the line because I've been wanting to talk to
him ever since he got you know, sworn in and
you know won the election and everything else like that.
So again I want to bring him onto the line
right now and bring and talk to the Congressman about
(08:20):
the government shutdown. So, first of all, Congressman, thank you
for joining me tonight. And second of all, let's talk
about the shutdown, because that's currently going on right now.
There was talk about it going on. Were you surprised
that it actually did happen? And second of all, are
you surprised that it's lasted as long as it has?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Well? First off, Brett, thanks for having me on. And
I'm not really surprised. I think the Democrats, they have
told us over and over who they are, and this
shutdown is no different. The only surprising thing is that
they've voted for this exact thing thirteen times before, including
as early as March the year Cheff Schumer voted for
(09:01):
this and he brought seven Democrats with him to avoid
a government shut down because he said this would be
one of the most harmful things we could do. And
so I'm not really shocked by that because the Democrats
don't really have a message, they don't have anything to
run on, and so what they've resorted to is picking
a fight with the president and they've been holding the
(09:22):
American people hostage right now until they get what they want.
But the thing that they failed to understand is that
we're not negotiating. There's nothing to negotiate, and this funding
build that the House has already passed. It was bipartisan
first of all, and second of all, there were no
partisan priorities in it. This was a clean funding build
that extended the federal funding until we could get the
(09:44):
appropriations process done. And so I'm not really shocked by it,
but it is disappointing.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Speaking with Congressman Addison McDowell out of District six. So
what's the endgame in all this? Is there really only
one way that this comes to an end, and that's
that the Democrats relent and get and put everyone back
to work. Is that the only way it ends.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I think it has to be because there's nothing for
us to talk about. I mean, we've already done our job.
We've we've done the thing that we are required to
do as members of Congress, and that's vote to keep
the government open. I just can't, for the life of me,
figure out why the Democrats are so invested in giving money.
And you know what they've said they want in order
(10:25):
to open the government back up. They want one and
a half trillion dollars. They want money for Medicaid, dollars
for leegal aliens. They want this laundry list of Democrat
priorities and that's what they're demanding in order to open
the government back up. And it's just not how this
is going to work. Chuck Schumer is not going to
hold a gun to our head and say you're only
(10:47):
we're only opening the government back up if you give
me one and a half trillion dollars.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
That's a joke.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
We're not even on the same planet anymore. And so
the Democrats, this is going to become painful for them,
and that's going to have to get painful enough that
they say, you know what, We're going to do our
job and we're going to vote to open the government
back up.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Congressman Addison mcdowald of District six joining me here on
breaking with Brad Jensen. So let's get a little bit personal.
How has the government shut down impacted you and how
has it impacted your staff?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Well, so, for me personally, I haven't been spending a
lot of time in Washington, d C. I've been working
from the district, which is, you know, it's nice, but
I would much rather be up in Washington doing my
job of getting back to regular order and passing appropriations
bills and funding our government. But right now, my staff
is working diligently. We're working through with a lot of people,
(11:40):
uh the through you know, their questions that they have
about you know, is the VA going to be able
to cover this, or what federal agency? How does this
impact me when when I'm traveling or or things like that.
And so we're we're around the clock, We're working the
phones and making sure people have the information that they need.
So the volume of work hasn't changed. We're still working
(12:04):
very hard and my staff is still working very hard.
The only difference is I'm doing it from the sixth District,
not from Washington, d C. Which I'm not complaining about
because I live in the greatest place on Earth.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I want to talk to you about the crime locally.
I know that you're you know, the closest area that
you have to Mecklimburg County is in Cabars County in
your district. But there are always spillover effects. There's spillover
from Meckliberg County crime into Gaston County, Union County, York
County in South Carolina, and obviously in Cabars County as well.
So just the crime situation going on currently here in Charlotte.
(12:37):
Charlott's been at the national stage for the last those
six weeks or so. So, what are your thoughts about
all the crime that's going on right now locally?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Well, yeah, I mean, I just I don't know what
the number of deaths, what the number of murders, the
number of crime that's going to need to take place
before the governor, the mayor of Charlotte say, you know what,
we need help. We need the help in the federal government.
We need the the National Guard to come in and
help clean up our city. And here's the thing, Brett,
the discussion that we're having right now about crime and
(13:09):
about those sorts of things, We've been having it for
a while. And the Democrats they've campaigned on defunding the police, ice,
Border Patrol, CBP, etc. They like open borders crime, they
like weak national security, and they're doing it again by
you know, doing nothing but protecting criminals here in Charlotte.
(13:30):
And you know, we need to get to a point
where when the Democrats tell us who they are, we
need to believe them.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Speak of a Congressman Addison McDowell. Here, I'm breaking with
Brad Jensen. So I'm just curious. You know, you took
part in the House Judiciary Committee hearing here in uptown
Charlotte at the Federal Building about crime. What was your
takeaway from that? What did What was your takeaway from
the House Judiciary Committee hearing going held at the Federal
Building in Charlotte.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
It was heartbreaking, first of all, to hear the stories
of these loved ones who were there to tell us
about their family members that were brutally murdered and then
they were slapped in the face by a system that
let their murders back out onto the streets. And so
it was heartbreaking from that perspective.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
But what was.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Really something that you know, I just I'm optimistic and
so I hope for the good and things. But I
was really disappointed in my Democrat colleagues for the stances
that they took and the level. To me, it came
off as disrespectful to these families that you know, have
lost loved ones in such a vicious and brutal way.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
You know.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I heard my colleague say to the Republicans that were
in the room that we were there to just talk about,
you know, slogans and one liners and that sort of thing,
but this is real life. And I pointed out that
I took a sense to that, because you know, this
is real life that we're talking about. These are people
that they're reliving very traumatic event that took place in
(15:01):
their life. They're brave enough to come and talk about it.
And you think that we're just there to to practice
one liners and get messages across, and of course not.
We actually care about these people and we want our
streets to be safe. And if Democrats don't, you know,
I'll put the Republican Party's view of we want to
get rid of crime, we want to get rid of
(15:24):
dangerous cities. I'll put our view of that up against
the Democrats view of the opposite any day of the week.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
All right. So we're going to continue our conversation with
Congressman Addison McDowell when we return. Just some fascinating step,
but we're going to get into a few other topics
as well. Welcome back to Breaking with Brett Jenson. Isaac,
(15:55):
Sorry about that everyone, Sorry I thought I had some issues. Sorry,
my apologies. All right, So again we'll go back to
Breaking with Brad Jenson. So Addison McDowell, the congressman, you know,
an extensive interview, and I want to get into you know,
a lot of different topics again with the congressman, you know,
not just what's going on with Congress and the shutdown
(16:16):
in the Senate and all that stuff with Washington. I
want to get into some other things. So let's dive
into some other topics. So I'm continuing my conversation with
Congressman Addison McDowell out of District six. So, Congressmen, you know,
part of the crime that we were just talking about
is the relationship with drugs that it plays a big
part in crime. It does here and Charlotta does all
(16:36):
over the country. You know, Donald Trump seems to be
taking a heads on approach against trying to stop drugs
coming into the country. I mean we've heard, even going
back to the Reagan days, the war on drugs, the
war on drugs and just say no and all of that. Well,
it seems like, you know, Donald Trump is actually doing
a lot about this. Now. He's blowing up all these
cocaine voats and all these other votes coming from Venezuela.
(16:59):
And so from your position, what does all of this
look like to you.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
I don't think we're doing a war on drugs. I
think we're doing a war on an invasion that is
happening in our country.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
I mean, you see.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
These boats speeding in the videos are all over the place. Now,
these boats are going at high speeds coming into our
country with drugs, and they're being sunk by the Trump
administration into the ocean, which is exactly where these criminals belonged.
That they should not be given a passage into our country.
And what, you know, what I've thought about is, for
(17:31):
as long as I can remember, we've done the thing
of let's have the Coastguard go and intercede and capture
these people in this boat, bring them here.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Do that.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
That didn't stop anybody. That they kept coming, and they
kept coming. And now the President is saying, well, these
drug cartels, they are a terrorist organization. We have labeled
them as that because they're trying to kill people with
drugs like Sentinel, and they're trying to invade our country
with this and we're not going to let that happen.
And so it brings me a lot of pleasure as
(18:02):
someone whose family has been directly impacted by the scourge
of fentanyl on our streets, to see these people sunk
to the bottom of the ocean. And you know, as
families that have dealt with the drug crisis in our
country is you know, families like mine, as we have
to deal with this and we see our loved ones dead.
You know, that was a really tough thing to do.
(18:24):
But it gives me a lot of pleasure that these
drug lords and these gang bangers and these criminals, their
families are gonna have to put on scuba gear and
go visit them at the bottom of the sea because
they're dead down there. Because President Trump actually had the
courage to do the right thing.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Speaking a Congressman Addison mcdoalll for just a few more
minutes here on breaking with Bret Jensen. So, Congressmen, I
like to end every interview the exact same way. Is
there anything that you would like to say to the
audience or is there anything that you'd like to talk
about that I did not ask you about.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
One of the things that I'm hearing a lot about
I want to speak directly to the folks here at home,
is concerning the riffs that are taking place with thorough workers,
and that's a reduction in force. And those are notices
that go out from the omb that lay people off
from their jobs. And this is a serious thing, you know.
But Democrats they want to shut our government down, and
(19:19):
they're now crying foul over you know, bureaucrat bloat that's
being cut out. But one thing I want to remind
people is that under Joe Biden, the VA and I
had two VA hospitals in my districts. This is important
to me. But the VA hired eighty five thousand more bureaucrats,
and they increase the vacancy rate for critical jobs like
(19:40):
doctors and nurses, mental health providers, et cetera. They decrease
that from twenty five thousand to forty five thousand vacancies.
And so there's eighty five thousand more bureaucrats in the VA,
and there are forty five thousand less medical professionals to
actually help our veterans. And so if them are going
to shut our government it down, we need to make
(20:01):
sure that they own the fact that. And of course, Brett,
we think all of our federal workers and we'll do
everything we can to support them, but we also need
to make sure that we are appropriately using our resources
to help veterans. And Republicans are always going to be
the people that put veterans first at every opportunity, and
this is data directly from the Secretary of THEDA. And
(20:26):
you know, we've got to do a better job as
a federal government. I wish we didn't have to do
this during a shutdown, but you know, it's what's happening.
And so I think the Democrats need to own up
to the fact that this is not a healthcare fight
like they're trying to make it. This is a government
funding fight, and it shouldn't be a fight at all.
We got to open the government back up, and Chuck
Chumer needs to get out of the way and do
his job.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Congressman Addison McDonald out of District six, this is the
first time I've been able to interview you, and I
really do appreciate you taking the time to do this,
and I look forward to doing this many more times
in the near future. So once again, I appreciate you
joining me tonight.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
You got it, breath?
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Thanks all right, So again, thanks so much to Congressman
Addison McDonald. Look, there's a lot going on, you know,
I've interviewed you know, Congressman Pat Harrigan a lot. Obviously.
Tim Moore has been on the show plenty plenty times,
as well as you know, Mark Erris was just in
studio with me for a full hour, you know, a
week and a half ago. So again it's been you know,
(21:21):
and Addison McDowell is the one that I haven't been
able to interview yet. A lot of that's been on me. Actually,
probably all of that's been on me. But and again
thanks for again him taking the time out of his busy,
busy schedule to you know, again a very long and
extensive interview with him. And so again thanks for him
to allowing that to happen. All right, So when we
(21:41):
come back emminent domain, we always hear about it. Well,
it's not just houses where the government decides to take
over your house and then build something there. It also
happens in industry and in business. And that's what's happening
right now with the NCDOT. They are claiming eminent domain
are down the Independence Boulevard Corridor and i'm businesses on
(22:05):
both sides. So if you're leaving Charlotte or if you're
going towards Charlotte, and really again there's a lot of
things going on concerning this, like what does it mean?
I mean, how can you stop them? Can you sue
the government. Can you do anything to prevent your to
protect your property and to prevent them from actually doing
all this? And the short answer is not a lot.
(22:25):
A lot of lawsuits are not successful and trying to
prevent the government from taking your property, there's just not
a lot that you can do. But that doesn't mean
you should stop fighting or try to get a fair
price for your money or for your your property. Well,
coming up next, I've got a couple of lawyers that
are representing some of the businesses there down the Eye,
(22:46):
down the Independence Corridor, and to talk about they're currently
in negotiations with the state and there might be arbitration
and then there might be lawsuits, and there might be
a jury trial, and there might be a lot of
different things. But this is this is something that none
of us are really knowing about. I haven't seen it
anywhere in the news. And somebody approached it, approach me about,
you know, two three weeks ago, asking me if I'd
(23:07):
be interested, And this is like, really, there's eminent domain
where they're talking about taking property and land away from
the businesses down Independence to make it wider. Okay, yeah,
I'm interested in hearing about that. So you're going to
hear about that as well when we come when we return,
as we speak to a couple of lawyers representing a
lot of the businesses down Independence Boulevard and trying to
prevent or get a fair price for eminent domain. Welcome
(23:43):
back to Breaking with Brett Jensen on this Thursday night
for a few more minutes as we go up until
seven o'clock tonight. Okay, So there's this eminent domain thing.
We all know what that is. The government with the
government can come in and take your land and say
we're seizing your land in the name of eminent domain.
We can take your land. We'll off you fair price,
well what we determined to be fair price, but you
really have no say so in the matter. We're going
(24:05):
to give you money and if you don't like it,
you can try and sue us. Well, that's actually going
on right now down Independence Boulevard as they're wanting to
widen Independence Boulevard for various reasons and which is cutting
into the property of the business owners there. So there's
this big struggle going on right now and some negotiations
and things like that. So I wanted to get a
little bit more into this and so joining me now
(24:27):
our lawyer's Burke Concepts you Own and Kevin Mahoney and
they're part of the North Carolina Emminent Domain law firm.
And so, first of all, Jemnin, thank you for joining
me tonight. And second of all, Bert talk about how
the state is trying to take over this land on
Independence Boulevard from these businesses as.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
You're as you're familiar with, Independence has always been a mess,
and they've gone in there multiple times doing construction and
expanding it and trying to improve it. Just you know,
like that corridor runs into the Monroe Bypass as well,
which took them years to finished. So this is kind
of in the middle of what they had done previously
(25:05):
with Independence Boulevard running up into the Monroe Bypass. So
what they're doing is they're doing an expansion of that road,
which will obviously affect those businesses that run along that
corridor because as you know, there are multiple businesses, car dealerships, restaurants,
every type of business you would want to see on
(25:27):
that section of Independence bull Ofvard. In order to do
the project, NCD is going to have to take property
along that corridor, which will affect everyone along that corridor
and along the interchanges of that corridor and Independence Boulevard,
so they can take it through the eminent domain process.
(25:49):
What will happen is the plans are out, they've had
hearings so that folks can kind of get a general
idea of what the project is. It's going to be
conduct did in multiple phases, which will require multiple years
to complete, and right now they're in the acquisition phase
of the very first section of that project. So what
(26:12):
they're doing is reaching out to those property owners along
the card or saying that we are with the Department
of Transportation, we're going to need to take some of
your property for this project. And what will occur is
they'll contact them, they'll attempt to negotiate with those property
owners to see if they can reach a number that
(26:33):
they believe is the fair market value for the property
in the now. Obviously, their number and what they consider
fair market value may or may not be correct, and
so what the property owners need to understand is they
have certain rights, and one right is obviously they can
negotiate and they can counter that offer, but you need
(26:56):
to make sure that you get the information that you're
under standing exactly what's going on with the project because
a lot of times these plans have multiple overlays and
you really can't tell the minor details of what's going
to occur on that property and how it's going to
affect your property. So it's important that the landowners understand
(27:18):
that they understand the project and they are educated as
to what the effects is and what's going to be
the results of the finished project, because obviously the landowner
may have one perception in their mind and the plans
really show something else and the end product's going to
be something else. So what we try to do is
(27:39):
first off, educate the landowners what the process is, what
the details are that affect their property, so they're on
equal footing with the Department of Transportation and can negotiate
a fair price.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
So when you talk about this being in phases, what
areas are we talking about initially? Are we talking about
it down there by bo Jingle's Colseum, down there by
the car dealerships? Like where are we talking about for
phase one?
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Well, they're gonna be a reconstruction along Sharon Force Drive
in the Harris Boulevard and Village Lake Drive along with
Margaret Wallace Road. That's what they're looking at right now
to acquire. Also, they're going to affect the Sardest Road
north in Samuell Road area, and obviously they got to
(28:31):
deal with the bridges on Sharon Force Drive as well
as one on sam Nuwell Road, so it's going to
be along that corridor. The car dealerships come along later
in the phases. I know where you talk. You're talking
about like Dick Keffer in twenty July twenty twenty seven thereabout.
That's what it looks like. And now I understand this
(28:55):
is all This is the latest information we have. Obviously,
DOT can move their dates back like they've done. They
do that typically on a lot of projects. Sometimes it's
due to funding, sometimes it's due to other issues, just
like the Munro Bypass was put off for approximately ten
(29:16):
years because of environmental issues. But the car dealerships appear
to be according to the information we got, there are
a later date and won't be handled until at least
next year or the year after.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
So what's the endgame at all this? Are there going
to be lawsuits filed against the state or what like?
How does this come to an end?
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Now they're not going to file a lawsuit right off
the bat, they're going to attempt to negotiate and see
if they can come up with a number to resolve it.
And if they can, then the paperwork will be completed
and filed and they'll have the ability to get on
that parcel. Now. And it gets to a point where
(30:02):
they're not willing to pay the number that the property
owner wants or what the property owner will use as
a fair amount, they will let them know that, well,
in that case, we're going to file a lawsuit. And
what they'll do is they'll file the condemnation lawsuit here
in Mecklinburg County if the properties in Mecklinburg County, which
(30:23):
it obviously is, and when they file that lawsuit, they
will deposit with the Clerk of Court the amount they
believe that property is worth that they are taking, and
that property is deposited with the court. The lawsuits filed,
they get notice to the property owner, and then what
happens is they have the right and ability to go
(30:44):
on that property and start the project. That doesn't end
it there, because obviously now you've got a lawsuit that
has to be handled. When it's when it's filed, the
court will give the property owner two court dates, a
mediation court date, and they trial date. The mediation court
date is the deadline for which the two parties need
(31:05):
to have met and tried to resolve it. What will
happen is you'll get a mediator who is obviously disinterested
in any of this, and he will get both or
he or she will get both sides together an attempt
to see if they can come up with a number
or a resolution to this condemnation lawsuit. If they're unable
(31:27):
to do that, then the mediator will file what's called
an impasse with the court, let them know that, hey,
we were unable to resolve it, and then you proceeded
to court date. Obviously, negotiations continue all the way up
into the court trial date, even during trial to see
if it can be resolved. If it cannot be resolved
at mediation and you have to go to trial, then
(31:50):
the jury is going to hear the cases and they're
going to decide what they believe is the fair amount
to resolve this case.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
App mar said, I own a Kevin Mahoney of the
North Kolina Emminent Domain Law Firm. I really do appreciate
you joining me tonight.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Thanks Brett.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
I appreciate it. Thank you, Brett.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
All Right, that's gonna do it for us tonight once again,
thanks to Congressman Addis McDowell, who joined us earlier tonight
for two segments. If you missed any part, go to
WBT dot com to hear the full interview. All Right, everyone,
have a great night, look forward to doing this all
over again tomorrow. My name is Brett Jensen, and you
have been listening to Breaking with Brett Jensen.
Hi oh, let's go hi oh, let's go. Oh, let's
go oh, let's come. News Talk eleven ten and ninety
nine three WBT Brett Jensen here with you on this
Thursday night edition of Breaking with Brett Jensen. As we
go up until seven o'clock tonight, like we do every
(00:43):
single night, telephone numbers to get in on the show
seven oh four, five, seven oh eleven ten, and guys,
make sure you follow me on x at Brett Underscore
Jensen for all the latest and breaking news in and
around the Charlotte area. Of course, our WBT text line
is driven by Liberty, Buick and GMC and real quick, guys.
Before we get started in tonight's show, don't forget our
(01:04):
news and bruise coming up October twenty ninth, just a
couple of short weeks from now, so October twenty ninth,
it will be at the Highst Brewery, not the one
in Knowa, but the other one, the Arts and you know,
the Arts and Barrel one. So just make sure you
go to the bright heighst Bury and there, let's see
you can go to a WBT dot com to get
your tickets there as well and get all the other
(01:26):
information that you will need to get. Okay, So we've
got a lot that we're going to be getting into.
And I'm really excited about the fact that Congressman Addison McDowell,
out of District six, which is like Cabaris County and
things going you know, towards the east northeast, he will
be joining us tonight for two full segments, So I'm
(01:48):
really really looking forward to that. And then coming up
later in the show, we've got this wild thing about
eminent domain. So we know what eminent domain is. That's
when the government comes in and says were seizing your
property because we deem it to be beneficial for us
and humankind. Basically, we deem it better for the community
to seize control of your property in order to do
(02:12):
something with it. And so that's what the state is
doing right now with a lot of the businesses going
down Independence Boulevard, a lot of it, so on both
sides of Independence Boulevard, and so the state is talking about, hey,
we're we're seizing your property under eminent domain. The nc
doot we're seizing your property, but certain portions of it,
(02:34):
like not your entire property, but maybe like twenty feet
of your property or forty feet of your property from
Independence Boulevard into your parking lot, into your whatever. We're
going to seize it, but we will try to pay
you what we the state think is a fair price.
And so coming up later on tonight and the show,
(02:55):
I've got a couple of lawyers that are representing some
of the businesses on Independence Bulevard, and again we're talking
about a whole mass portion of Independence Boulevard that's going
to be impacted by this, again on both sides of
Independence Boulevard, going towards the city and going away from
the city. So we'll talk to a couple of lawyers
to talk about just everything that's going on and how
(03:16):
this is coming about, and is this going to end
in lawsuits? I want to ask them, all right, lawsuits?
Is that what's coming up? Is that what's going to
happen lawsuits? Are they going to try and sue the state?
Because there aren't a lot of people that are usually
successful trying to sue the state or anyone else when
it comes to eminent domain. And the other thing with
Addison McDowell, the congressman out of District six, like I said,
(03:38):
he's going to be joining us just minutes away, just
minutes away from Addison McDowell joining us. You know, there's
a lot going on in the country right now. I mean, clearly,
dub Earth, there's always a lot going on. But in
terms of in terms of the government shut down, like
the it truly feels like and I'm not trying to
(04:00):
be callous, but it truly feels like every time there's
a government shut down, the only people who care are
people that work for the government. Like what I mean
by that is nurses don't care. Teacher unless you work
for the VA hospital. But like teachers don't care, accountants
don't care. Like people just don't care. You know, firefighters
(04:21):
are not impacted by this. Police officers are not impacted
by this. You know, road crews are not impacted by this.
Like this just the only people that seem to care
are the people that are immediately impacted now and people
need to know this. So and again I'm not trying
to be callous. I'm just trying to, you know, give
(04:42):
you straight, straight facts here and here are the facts. Okay, Yes,
you work for let's say you work for the federal
government and you work at the airport, right you know,
and TSA. You work for them or whomever, you're not
getting paid. I get it. But once the government shut
(05:05):
down ends, you get one hundred percent of your back pay.
You get And there are people that are deemed essential
employees like NTSA, and you know a lot of the
people right, like people that you have to you know,
to make sure that you're not carrying weapons onto planes,
and you know all the checks and you know, national
parks whatever. There are actual people that are considered and
(05:28):
I don't know if national parks are, but I just
threw that out there. But there are people that are
considered you know, priorities. They cannot be laid off, traffic
control whatever it is, right, air traffic control whatever, so
you know, security at certain places, you know, police officers whatever,
security at the capitol or whatever like, they're considered essential employees.
(05:49):
So they will continue to work and they will get paid.
And everyone get will get paid, even those who are
not working, not deemed essential. Everyone gets paid back paid
once it ends. Now I understand that it's difficult going
a month or so without a pay. I look, I
get it. I wouldn't be happy either. I totally get
that part. And you know, you know almost all of
(06:11):
America lives paycheck to paycheck. Almost all know maybe what
seventy five percent, eighty percent, some around there, seventy five percent.
Even the people that are making one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars a year are living paycheck to paycheck because
they overextend themselves, or they buy a house too big,
or a cause, or a car that's too nice, or
they're sending their kids to thirty thousand dollars a year
(06:32):
of private school as a fourth grader, like whatever. So
maybe they're overextending themselves and they're actually living paycheck to
paycheck as well. I get all of that, but again,
like I said, it just almost feels like the only
people that really care are the people that are impacted. Yes,
food stamps and stuff like that. Maybe that has an
impact on it, welfare, maybe that will have an impact
(06:53):
on you. Absolutely I get it, but I just don't
I in the last what however many days, it's been
two and a half weeks, three weeks, I haven't heard
anyone talk about it. No one in the political world
is talking about this, at least locally. So I'm going
to talk to Congressman Addison McDowell about the government shutdown
extensively and what it means to him, what it means
(07:16):
to his staff, and what if anything, it actually means
to his district. So I'm looking forward to talk to him,
and this will be my very first interview with the congressman.
And look hopefully we can continue to do this many
more times as we go into the future. All right,
so all that's coming up next. Addison McDowell, the congressman
out of District six, is my guest as soon as
we return. But right now we're going to swing on
(07:36):
over to the WBT Traffic Center. Welcome back to Breaking
with Brad Jensen on this Thursday night. Okay, So Addison McDowell,
(07:58):
the congressman out of which is Cabari's county going forward
like northeast, north and northeast. He is joining us now
on the line because I've been wanting to talk to
him ever since he got you know, sworn in and
you know won the election and everything else like that.
So again I want to bring him onto the line
right now and bring and talk to the Congressman about
(08:20):
the government shutdown. So, first of all, Congressman, thank you
for joining me tonight. And second of all, let's talk
about the shutdown, because that's currently going on right now.
There was talk about it going on. Were you surprised
that it actually did happen? And second of all, are
you surprised that it's lasted as long as it has?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Well? First off, Brett, thanks for having me on. And
I'm not really surprised. I think the Democrats, they have
told us over and over who they are, and this
shutdown is no different. The only surprising thing is that
they've voted for this exact thing thirteen times before, including
as early as March the year Cheff Schumer voted for
(09:01):
this and he brought seven Democrats with him to avoid
a government shut down because he said this would be
one of the most harmful things we could do. And
so I'm not really shocked by that because the Democrats
don't really have a message, they don't have anything to
run on, and so what they've resorted to is picking
a fight with the president and they've been holding the
(09:22):
American people hostage right now until they get what they want.
But the thing that they failed to understand is that
we're not negotiating. There's nothing to negotiate, and this funding
build that the House has already passed. It was bipartisan
first of all, and second of all, there were no
partisan priorities in it. This was a clean funding build
that extended the federal funding until we could get the
(09:44):
appropriations process done. And so I'm not really shocked by it,
but it is disappointing.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Speaking with Congressman Addison McDowell out of District six. So
what's the endgame in all this? Is there really only
one way that this comes to an end, and that's
that the Democrats relent and get and put everyone back
to work. Is that the only way it ends.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I think it has to be because there's nothing for
us to talk about. I mean, we've already done our job.
We've we've done the thing that we are required to
do as members of Congress, and that's vote to keep
the government open. I just can't, for the life of me,
figure out why the Democrats are so invested in giving money.
And you know what they've said they want in order
(10:25):
to open the government back up. They want one and
a half trillion dollars. They want money for Medicaid, dollars
for leegal aliens. They want this laundry list of Democrat
priorities and that's what they're demanding in order to open
the government back up. And it's just not how this
is going to work. Chuck Schumer is not going to
hold a gun to our head and say you're only
(10:47):
we're only opening the government back up if you give
me one and a half trillion dollars.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
That's a joke.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
We're not even on the same planet anymore. And so
the Democrats, this is going to become painful for them,
and that's going to have to get painful enough that
they say, you know what, We're going to do our
job and we're going to vote to open the government
back up.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Congressman Addison mcdowald of District six joining me here on
breaking with Brad Jensen. So let's get a little bit personal.
How has the government shut down impacted you and how
has it impacted your staff?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Well, so, for me personally, I haven't been spending a
lot of time in Washington, d C. I've been working
from the district, which is, you know, it's nice, but
I would much rather be up in Washington doing my
job of getting back to regular order and passing appropriations
bills and funding our government. But right now, my staff
is working diligently. We're working through with a lot of people,
(11:40):
uh the through you know, their questions that they have
about you know, is the VA going to be able
to cover this, or what federal agency? How does this
impact me when when I'm traveling or or things like that.
And so we're we're around the clock, We're working the
phones and making sure people have the information that they need.
So the volume of work hasn't changed. We're still working
(12:04):
very hard and my staff is still working very hard.
The only difference is I'm doing it from the sixth District,
not from Washington, d C. Which I'm not complaining about
because I live in the greatest place on Earth.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I want to talk to you about the crime locally.
I know that you're you know, the closest area that
you have to Mecklimburg County is in Cabars County in
your district. But there are always spillover effects. There's spillover
from Meckliberg County crime into Gaston County, Union County, York
County in South Carolina, and obviously in Cabars County as well.
So just the crime situation going on currently here in Charlotte.
(12:37):
Charlott's been at the national stage for the last those
six weeks or so. So, what are your thoughts about
all the crime that's going on right now locally?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Well, yeah, I mean, I just I don't know what
the number of deaths, what the number of murders, the
number of crime that's going to need to take place
before the governor, the mayor of Charlotte say, you know what,
we need help. We need the help in the federal government.
We need the the National Guard to come in and
help clean up our city. And here's the thing, Brett,
the discussion that we're having right now about crime and
(13:09):
about those sorts of things, We've been having it for
a while. And the Democrats they've campaigned on defunding the police, ice,
Border Patrol, CBP, etc. They like open borders crime, they
like weak national security, and they're doing it again by
you know, doing nothing but protecting criminals here in Charlotte.
(13:30):
And you know, we need to get to a point
where when the Democrats tell us who they are, we
need to believe them.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Speak of a Congressman Addison McDowell. Here, I'm breaking with
Brad Jensen. So I'm just curious. You know, you took
part in the House Judiciary Committee hearing here in uptown
Charlotte at the Federal Building about crime. What was your
takeaway from that? What did What was your takeaway from
the House Judiciary Committee hearing going held at the Federal
Building in Charlotte.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
It was heartbreaking, first of all, to hear the stories
of these loved ones who were there to tell us
about their family members that were brutally murdered and then
they were slapped in the face by a system that
let their murders back out onto the streets. And so
it was heartbreaking from that perspective.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
But what was.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Really something that you know, I just I'm optimistic and
so I hope for the good and things. But I
was really disappointed in my Democrat colleagues for the stances
that they took and the level. To me, it came
off as disrespectful to these families that you know, have
lost loved ones in such a vicious and brutal way.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
You know.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I heard my colleague say to the Republicans that were
in the room that we were there to just talk about,
you know, slogans and one liners and that sort of thing,
but this is real life. And I pointed out that
I took a sense to that, because you know, this
is real life that we're talking about. These are people
that they're reliving very traumatic event that took place in
(15:01):
their life. They're brave enough to come and talk about it.
And you think that we're just there to to practice
one liners and get messages across, and of course not.
We actually care about these people and we want our
streets to be safe. And if Democrats don't, you know,
I'll put the Republican Party's view of we want to
get rid of crime, we want to get rid of
(15:24):
dangerous cities. I'll put our view of that up against
the Democrats view of the opposite any day of the week.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
All right. So we're going to continue our conversation with
Congressman Addison McDowell when we return. Just some fascinating step,
but we're going to get into a few other topics
as well. Welcome back to Breaking with Brett Jenson. Isaac,
(15:55):
Sorry about that everyone, Sorry I thought I had some issues. Sorry,
my apologies. All right, So again we'll go back to
Breaking with Brad Jenson. So Addison McDowell, the congressman, you know,
an extensive interview, and I want to get into you know,
a lot of different topics again with the congressman, you know,
not just what's going on with Congress and the shutdown
(16:16):
in the Senate and all that stuff with Washington. I
want to get into some other things. So let's dive
into some other topics. So I'm continuing my conversation with
Congressman Addison McDowell out of District six. So, Congressmen, you know,
part of the crime that we were just talking about
is the relationship with drugs that it plays a big
part in crime. It does here and Charlotta does all
(16:36):
over the country. You know, Donald Trump seems to be
taking a heads on approach against trying to stop drugs
coming into the country. I mean we've heard, even going
back to the Reagan days, the war on drugs, the
war on drugs and just say no and all of that. Well,
it seems like, you know, Donald Trump is actually doing
a lot about this. Now. He's blowing up all these
cocaine voats and all these other votes coming from Venezuela.
(16:59):
And so from your position, what does all of this
look like to you.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
I don't think we're doing a war on drugs. I
think we're doing a war on an invasion that is
happening in our country.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
I mean, you see.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
These boats speeding in the videos are all over the place. Now,
these boats are going at high speeds coming into our
country with drugs, and they're being sunk by the Trump
administration into the ocean, which is exactly where these criminals belonged.
That they should not be given a passage into our country.
And what, you know, what I've thought about is, for
(17:31):
as long as I can remember, we've done the thing
of let's have the Coastguard go and intercede and capture
these people in this boat, bring them here.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Do that.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
That didn't stop anybody. That they kept coming, and they
kept coming. And now the President is saying, well, these
drug cartels, they are a terrorist organization. We have labeled
them as that because they're trying to kill people with
drugs like Sentinel, and they're trying to invade our country
with this and we're not going to let that happen.
And so it brings me a lot of pleasure as
(18:02):
someone whose family has been directly impacted by the scourge
of fentanyl on our streets, to see these people sunk
to the bottom of the ocean. And you know, as
families that have dealt with the drug crisis in our
country is you know, families like mine, as we have
to deal with this and we see our loved ones dead.
You know, that was a really tough thing to do.
(18:24):
But it gives me a lot of pleasure that these
drug lords and these gang bangers and these criminals, their
families are gonna have to put on scuba gear and
go visit them at the bottom of the sea because
they're dead down there. Because President Trump actually had the
courage to do the right thing.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Speaking a Congressman Addison mcdoalll for just a few more
minutes here on breaking with Bret Jensen. So, Congressmen, I
like to end every interview the exact same way. Is
there anything that you would like to say to the
audience or is there anything that you'd like to talk
about that I did not ask you about.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
One of the things that I'm hearing a lot about
I want to speak directly to the folks here at home,
is concerning the riffs that are taking place with thorough workers,
and that's a reduction in force. And those are notices
that go out from the omb that lay people off
from their jobs. And this is a serious thing, you know.
But Democrats they want to shut our government down, and
(19:19):
they're now crying foul over you know, bureaucrat bloat that's
being cut out. But one thing I want to remind
people is that under Joe Biden, the VA and I
had two VA hospitals in my districts. This is important
to me. But the VA hired eighty five thousand more bureaucrats,
and they increase the vacancy rate for critical jobs like
(19:40):
doctors and nurses, mental health providers, et cetera. They decrease
that from twenty five thousand to forty five thousand vacancies.
And so there's eighty five thousand more bureaucrats in the VA,
and there are forty five thousand less medical professionals to
actually help our veterans. And so if them are going
to shut our government it down, we need to make
(20:01):
sure that they own the fact that. And of course, Brett,
we think all of our federal workers and we'll do
everything we can to support them, but we also need
to make sure that we are appropriately using our resources
to help veterans. And Republicans are always going to be
the people that put veterans first at every opportunity, and
this is data directly from the Secretary of THEDA. And
(20:26):
you know, we've got to do a better job as
a federal government. I wish we didn't have to do
this during a shutdown, but you know, it's what's happening.
And so I think the Democrats need to own up
to the fact that this is not a healthcare fight
like they're trying to make it. This is a government
funding fight, and it shouldn't be a fight at all.
We got to open the government back up, and Chuck
Chumer needs to get out of the way and do
his job.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Congressman Addison McDonald out of District six, this is the
first time I've been able to interview you, and I
really do appreciate you taking the time to do this,
and I look forward to doing this many more times
in the near future. So once again, I appreciate you
joining me tonight.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
You got it, breath?
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Thanks all right, So again, thanks so much to Congressman
Addison McDonald. Look, there's a lot going on, you know,
I've interviewed you know, Congressman Pat Harrigan a lot. Obviously.
Tim Moore has been on the show plenty plenty times,
as well as you know, Mark Erris was just in
studio with me for a full hour, you know, a
week and a half ago. So again it's been you know,
(21:21):
and Addison McDowell is the one that I haven't been
able to interview yet. A lot of that's been on me. Actually,
probably all of that's been on me. But and again
thanks for again him taking the time out of his busy,
busy schedule to you know, again a very long and
extensive interview with him. And so again thanks for him
to allowing that to happen. All right, So when we
(21:41):
come back emminent domain, we always hear about it. Well,
it's not just houses where the government decides to take
over your house and then build something there. It also
happens in industry and in business. And that's what's happening
right now with the NCDOT. They are claiming eminent domain
are down the Independence Boulevard Corridor and i'm businesses on
(22:05):
both sides. So if you're leaving Charlotte or if you're
going towards Charlotte, and really again there's a lot of
things going on concerning this, like what does it mean?
I mean, how can you stop them? Can you sue
the government. Can you do anything to prevent your to
protect your property and to prevent them from actually doing
all this? And the short answer is not a lot.
(22:25):
A lot of lawsuits are not successful and trying to
prevent the government from taking your property, there's just not
a lot that you can do. But that doesn't mean
you should stop fighting or try to get a fair
price for your money or for your your property. Well,
coming up next, I've got a couple of lawyers that
are representing some of the businesses there down the Eye,
(22:46):
down the Independence Corridor, and to talk about they're currently
in negotiations with the state and there might be arbitration
and then there might be lawsuits, and there might be
a jury trial, and there might be a lot of
different things. But this is this is something that none
of us are really knowing about. I haven't seen it
anywhere in the news. And somebody approached it, approach me about,
you know, two three weeks ago, asking me if I'd
(23:07):
be interested, And this is like, really, there's eminent domain
where they're talking about taking property and land away from
the businesses down Independence to make it wider. Okay, yeah,
I'm interested in hearing about that. So you're going to
hear about that as well when we come when we return,
as we speak to a couple of lawyers representing a
lot of the businesses down Independence Boulevard and trying to
prevent or get a fair price for eminent domain. Welcome
(23:43):
back to Breaking with Brett Jensen on this Thursday night
for a few more minutes as we go up until
seven o'clock tonight. Okay, So there's this eminent domain thing.
We all know what that is. The government with the
government can come in and take your land and say
we're seizing your land in the name of eminent domain.
We can take your land. We'll off you fair price,
well what we determined to be fair price, but you
really have no say so in the matter. We're going
(24:05):
to give you money and if you don't like it,
you can try and sue us. Well, that's actually going
on right now down Independence Boulevard as they're wanting to
widen Independence Boulevard for various reasons and which is cutting
into the property of the business owners there. So there's
this big struggle going on right now and some negotiations
and things like that. So I wanted to get a
little bit more into this and so joining me now
(24:27):
our lawyer's Burke Concepts you Own and Kevin Mahoney and
they're part of the North Carolina Emminent Domain law firm.
And so, first of all, Jemnin, thank you for joining
me tonight. And second of all, Bert talk about how
the state is trying to take over this land on
Independence Boulevard from these businesses as.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
You're as you're familiar with, Independence has always been a mess,
and they've gone in there multiple times doing construction and
expanding it and trying to improve it. Just you know,
like that corridor runs into the Monroe Bypass as well,
which took them years to finished. So this is kind
of in the middle of what they had done previously
(25:05):
with Independence Boulevard running up into the Monroe Bypass. So
what they're doing is they're doing an expansion of that road,
which will obviously affect those businesses that run along that
corridor because as you know, there are multiple businesses, car dealerships, restaurants,
every type of business you would want to see on
(25:27):
that section of Independence bull Ofvard. In order to do
the project, NCD is going to have to take property
along that corridor, which will affect everyone along that corridor
and along the interchanges of that corridor and Independence Boulevard,
so they can take it through the eminent domain process.
(25:49):
What will happen is the plans are out, they've had
hearings so that folks can kind of get a general
idea of what the project is. It's going to be
conduct did in multiple phases, which will require multiple years
to complete, and right now they're in the acquisition phase
of the very first section of that project. So what
(26:12):
they're doing is reaching out to those property owners along
the card or saying that we are with the Department
of Transportation, we're going to need to take some of
your property for this project. And what will occur is
they'll contact them, they'll attempt to negotiate with those property
owners to see if they can reach a number that
(26:33):
they believe is the fair market value for the property
in the now. Obviously, their number and what they consider
fair market value may or may not be correct, and
so what the property owners need to understand is they
have certain rights, and one right is obviously they can
negotiate and they can counter that offer, but you need
(26:56):
to make sure that you get the information that you're
under standing exactly what's going on with the project because
a lot of times these plans have multiple overlays and
you really can't tell the minor details of what's going
to occur on that property and how it's going to
affect your property. So it's important that the landowners understand
(27:18):
that they understand the project and they are educated as
to what the effects is and what's going to be
the results of the finished project, because obviously the landowner
may have one perception in their mind and the plans
really show something else and the end product's going to
be something else. So what we try to do is
(27:39):
first off, educate the landowners what the process is, what
the details are that affect their property, so they're on
equal footing with the Department of Transportation and can negotiate
a fair price.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
So when you talk about this being in phases, what
areas are we talking about initially? Are we talking about
it down there by bo Jingle's Colseum, down there by
the car dealerships? Like where are we talking about for
phase one?
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Well, they're gonna be a reconstruction along Sharon Force Drive
in the Harris Boulevard and Village Lake Drive along with
Margaret Wallace Road. That's what they're looking at right now
to acquire. Also, they're going to affect the Sardest Road
north in Samuell Road area, and obviously they got to
(28:31):
deal with the bridges on Sharon Force Drive as well
as one on sam Nuwell Road, so it's going to
be along that corridor. The car dealerships come along later
in the phases. I know where you talk. You're talking
about like Dick Keffer in twenty July twenty twenty seven thereabout.
That's what it looks like. And now I understand this
(28:55):
is all This is the latest information we have. Obviously,
DOT can move their dates back like they've done. They
do that typically on a lot of projects. Sometimes it's
due to funding, sometimes it's due to other issues, just
like the Munro Bypass was put off for approximately ten
(29:16):
years because of environmental issues. But the car dealerships appear
to be according to the information we got, there are
a later date and won't be handled until at least
next year or the year after.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
So what's the endgame at all this? Are there going
to be lawsuits filed against the state or what like?
How does this come to an end?
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Now they're not going to file a lawsuit right off
the bat, they're going to attempt to negotiate and see
if they can come up with a number to resolve it.
And if they can, then the paperwork will be completed
and filed and they'll have the ability to get on
that parcel. Now. And it gets to a point where
(30:02):
they're not willing to pay the number that the property
owner wants or what the property owner will use as
a fair amount, they will let them know that, well,
in that case, we're going to file a lawsuit. And
what they'll do is they'll file the condemnation lawsuit here
in Mecklinburg County if the properties in Mecklinburg County, which
(30:23):
it obviously is, and when they file that lawsuit, they
will deposit with the Clerk of Court the amount they
believe that property is worth that they are taking, and
that property is deposited with the court. The lawsuits filed,
they get notice to the property owner, and then what
happens is they have the right and ability to go
(30:44):
on that property and start the project. That doesn't end
it there, because obviously now you've got a lawsuit that
has to be handled. When it's when it's filed, the
court will give the property owner two court dates, a
mediation court date, and they trial date. The mediation court
date is the deadline for which the two parties need
(31:05):
to have met and tried to resolve it. What will
happen is you'll get a mediator who is obviously disinterested
in any of this, and he will get both or
he or she will get both sides together an attempt
to see if they can come up with a number
or a resolution to this condemnation lawsuit. If they're unable
(31:27):
to do that, then the mediator will file what's called
an impasse with the court, let them know that, hey,
we were unable to resolve it, and then you proceeded
to court date. Obviously, negotiations continue all the way up
into the court trial date, even during trial to see
if it can be resolved. If it cannot be resolved
at mediation and you have to go to trial, then
(31:50):
the jury is going to hear the cases and they're
going to decide what they believe is the fair amount
to resolve this case.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
App mar said, I own a Kevin Mahoney of the
North Kolina Emminent Domain Law Firm. I really do appreciate
you joining me tonight.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Thanks Brett.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
I appreciate it. Thank you, Brett.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
All Right, that's gonna do it for us tonight once again,
thanks to Congressman Addis McDowell, who joined us earlier tonight
for two segments. If you missed any part, go to
WBT dot com to hear the full interview. All Right, everyone,
have a great night, look forward to doing this all
over again tomorrow. My name is Brett Jensen, and you
have been listening to Breaking with Brett Jensen.
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