No note made of what may stall arts plan - County vote on rental tax may wait on city support of stadium

Charlotte City Council members received an update Monday on the city's uptown arts and cultural plan, but didn't discuss a top county official's statement that could block it.

Assistant City Manager Ron Kimble told council members that the city is still working on the details of 19 agreements that would allow all the pieces of the arts plan to proceed.

The city wants to transform a chunk of uptown by incorporating a new Wachovia business tower with four new or refurbished museums and a new Afro-American Cultural Center.

Officials this summer won a change to state law that would allow Mecklenburg County commissioners to raise the county's car-rental tax from 11 percent to 16 percent in order to help pay for the $150 million project.

But commissioners chairman Parks Helms said last week that he'd be willing to stall his board's vote on the car-rental tax to push the City Council to get behind another plan for a minor-league baseball stadium uptown. Some council members have expressed doubts about the idea.

But Kimble mentioned only that commissioners' failure to pass at least a 4-percent rental tax increase would render the 19 agreements invalid.

The council is scheduled to sign the agreements at its Sept. 11 meeting. County commissioners are scheduled to vote on the rental tax Sept. 19.

Council members, who also viewed preliminary drawings of the museum buildings, didn't ask any questions about how the lack of action by county commissioners might derail the arts plan.