Holding the line

Asheville City Council May 24, 2011 meeting City to extend Clingman bike lane Brevard Road Ingles gets sign variance Despite disputes over fee increases and rainy-day funds, Asheville City Council members approved a $132.5 million budget for the next fiscal year at their May 24 meeting. Passed by a 6-1 margin, the budget includes no […]

Asheville City Council report: Budget passed 6-1

At its meeting on May 24, Asheville City Council passed $132.5 million dollar budget for fiscal year 2012 in a 6-1 vote. Mayor Terry Bellamy voted against the proposed budget citing concerns over the water-rate increase on commercial and industrial customers, the increase in the household recycling fee, the lack of a cost-of-living increase for city employees, and the city’s inability to meet their stated goal of keeping the reserve fund balance at 15 percent of the total budget. The budget contains no property or sales tax increases.

Too little, too late?

Ben Teague of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce sees a light at the end of the tunnel for unemployed Buncombe County residents. Teague, who’s executive director of the Chamber’s Economic Development Coalition, says his agency has roughly $257 million in “active projects”: local companies may expand, or other companies could locate here. All that […]

County budget dodges tax increase

Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting May 17, 2011 • Sheriff’s Office seeks $1.4 million increase • Nursing homes “dumping” problem residents Financial concerns dominated the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners’ May 17 meeting, as County Manager Wanda Greene presented the roughly $303 million budget proposed for the fiscal year that begins July 1. That […]

Access or egress?

Buncombe County Board of Commissioners April 5, 2011 meeting Buncombe ranked N.C.’s 17th healthiest county Commissioners OK public-safety towers A standing-room-only crowd turned out for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners’ April 5 meeting; many were there to urge increased funding for URTV. The public-access channel can be seen on Charter Communications’ Channel 20 in […]

Turning the tables

Local physicians will get a chance to become patients Thursday, March 31, as part of the local observance of National Doctors Day. From 6 to 10 a.m. in Mission Hospital’s lobby, doctors can receive a free medical exam, including a blood-pressure check, a tuberculin test and, for male physicians, a prostate exam. The holiday was […]

Taking the LEED

Asheville City Council March 8, 2011, meeting $1.2 million revenue shortfall projected Early voting sites on chopping block? In the latest effort to encourage construction of high-density, environmentally sustainable, affordable rental housing, the Asheville City Council approved a new “transformation development” incentives policy March 8 on a 6-1 vote. The policy implements a points system: […]

Closing the loop(hole)

Asheville City Council Feb. 8, 2011 meeting Council to consider raising industrial/commercial water rates Pack Park visitor center scaled back A sharply divided Asheville City Council approved two amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance during their Feb. 8 session on matching 4-3 votes . One would triple the minimum distance between developments for them to […]

Two trains runnin’

Well there’s two, there’s two trains runnin’ but they ain’t never, no, goin’ my way; now the one runs at midnight, and the other one runs just ’fore day. — Muddy Waters, “Still a Fool” When the last passenger train pulled into the Southern Railway station on Depot Street more than 60 years ago, the […]

Cost-sharing hiccup

In a 6-5 vote Dec. 15, the Metropolitan Sewerage District board tabled plans to implement a new cost-sharing policy for sewer-line extensions in new developments and annexed areas until January. Despite getting the go-ahead from the MSD Planning Committee on Dec. 2 (in what was also a close vote), the board heeded a request from […]

Stealthy green

From the outside, it’s not obvious what’s so special about 372 Depot, a new mixed-use development in Asheville’s River Arts District. Sited on a former brownfield, the 90,000-square-foot brick structure seems like just another new building with street-level retail space and apartments above. In fact, this innovative project represents a number of significant firsts for […]