Buncombe Commissioners preview: Budget and Energy Loop edition

In a special meeting Tuesday, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will vote on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year and push forward with a new location for the Energy Loop sculpture.

The county will vote on the $327.9 million budget, down from $339.3 million last year. The proposed budget includes $5.9 million in cuts to the county’s general fund — including 86 job positions — and keeps the county’s property tax rate at 52.5 cents per $100 of value.

Dirck Cruser‘s Energy Loop sculpture was Asheville’s first public art piece, installed between City/County plaza and Pack Place in 1983, but uprooted two years ago to make way for the Pack Square Park. The county has offered to place the sculpture in a spot next to its new parking deck at the Health Department property on 35 Woodfin Place. In May, Asheville’s Public Art Board endorsed the move.

The motion on the commissioners’ agenda would approve the move, pushing it over to county staff to negotiate the details and oversee the final details.

The board will meet at 4:30 p.m., June 22 at their chambers at 30 Valley St. A short pre-meeting will begin at 4:15 p.m.

—David Forbes, staff writer

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

10 thoughts on “Buncombe Commissioners preview: Budget and Energy Loop edition

  1. Sitting on the Public Art Board – better to get this piece back out into the public eye & stop paying tax payer funds to store it.

  2. Mysterylogger

    As a tax paying citizen.

    Its better to trash this piece and make something worthwhile out of it. In the time of a recession we are quick to waste as much money as we can, just be cool and hip.

  3. Mysterylogger –

    Your logic is flawed, the city will not destroy it under any circumstances due to a few individual outcries of bad taste. There are an equal if not higher percentage of folks who consider it a piece of aesthetically pleasing public art. A few opinions on either side is not going to change the ownership of the piece. Some might say a major point of public art is to bring community and conversations together, although I can’t see this as being the best example of such displays.

    This piece is over 20 years old, I can’t say that it really has anything at all to do with being cool or hip. To destroy the piece would be equivalent to throwing thousands of dollars and months of restoration down the drain. The money is already invested in this piece, the sooner we get it displayed the sooner it STOPS costing the city money. While it sits in storage it costs us daily to keep it there.

  4. asheville dweller

    the sooner the a abomination is put up the tax money too keep the piece of joke art up. it was a joke twenty years ago as it is today, just like all the down town rust art tax wastes

  5. Mysterylogger

    Few individuals? Oh No there are more then a few, quite more actually that don’t speak up. No my logic isn’t flawed nice try on trying to sound superior, No one is superior to another not matter how much smoke someone blows about someone. There are alot of NATIVES to Asheville that hate whats going on with our city, thats why things are changing. The local natives are tired of seeing their loved town be a giant joke in WNC.

    As for a piece of art its a piece of something that is and it looks like it too. It was such a joke at the unveiling and still is, I remember it well, quite well. But hey if your willing to waste tax money on garbage then I suggest you start a pool of privately owned dollars and stop spending tax money to keep up these wretched peices of garbage that litter our streets.

    To keep it would be the same as pouring more money down the Asheville fad toliet. Once it goes up tax money takes over to take care of it, all of the homeless that use the restroom on it and damage it in other ways, great use of recession money, But hey its about keeping this place freaky right?

    Thats all that matter forget city hall a TRUE piece of art needs money to be repaired, we have to focus on trends and fads. It would cost nothing to deposit it next to its relatives down at Biltmore Iron and metal.

  6. Piffy!

    “the sooner the a abomination is put up the tax money too keep the piece of joke art up. it was a joke twenty years ago as it is today, just like all the down town rust art tax wastes ”

    yeah, you’re representing yourself quite well here.

  7. hauntedheadnc

    Not to change the subject, Jenny, but do you as a member of the Public Art Board know when the Urban Trail stations in Pack Square will be replaced?

  8. Haunted:

    The baby piglet was stolen, and has since been recast. The momma pig was sawed off at the feet and dropped due to weight in the middle of the road by the folks who also stole the piglet. I believe the momma has since been repaired, but to my knowledge they are trying to figure out a better means of securing the sculptures. They should be going up soon – as in before the Fall or as soon as the Pack Park is finished… whichever comes first.

    BTW: The APD never caught the vandals/thieves.

  9. hauntedheadnc

    I know, and that sucks that they were never caught. I didn’t know they’d actually cut her apart though… I thought they just managed to dislodge her from her bolts.

    As I recall “Marketplace” was hacked from its bench and stolen too, and it was very nice to see it replaced not long ago. “Art Deco Masterpiece” is back up too. I can’t wait for “Past and Promise” and “Monument Corner,” plus all the others in the green to go back up. I miss them.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.