The county has not received any applications for cryptocurrency mines, according to a staff presentation provided ahead of a briefing scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 21. But commissioners are expected to weigh in on whether county zoning should be updated in anticipation of future development requests.
Just 11% of Black students in grades 3-8 at Asheville City Schools scored as proficient in math, with 13% proficient in reading. Rates were somewhat better in the county system, with 21% of Black pupils proficient in both subjects, but still fell well below those of white, Hispanic and Asian students.
On Tuesday, Feb. 7 — the same night the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will issue its proclamation for Black Legacy Month — its members will vote on approving a racial equity audit of Asheville and Buncombe government requested by the Community Reparations Commission.
Buncombe first hired Ward and Smith last May, agreeing to pay the firm $72,000 annually to advocate for the county’s interests at the state legislature. A Jan. 30 gathering at the DoubleTree hotel in Biltmore Village marked the first extended public discussion of the lobbyists’ work since that contract was inked.
The proposed audit, presented to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 17, would look at whether the city and county are complying with “federal and state laws, regulatory bodies, codes of conduct, court orders and consent degrees,” with a focus on damage caused to the Black community by noncompliance.
The annual report and accompanying presentation were created by Buncombe’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team, which was formed in 2018 to prevent domestic violence deaths in the county.
“Time to put a hiatus on new buildings and structures and talk to experts on what the infrastructure can handle.”
During the Jan. 3 meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer fielded questions about the chain of events that left tens of thousands without water over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Waste Pro, Buncombe’s waste management contractor, will bump the rate it charges customers for trash pickup by $1.62 per month at the start of the year. On Tuesday, Jan. 3, the company will also ask the county Board of Commissioners to authorize an additional rate hike of 39 cents per month in light of higher recyclable processing costs.
A new era in Buncombe County leadership begins Monday, Dec. 5. That’s the day newly elected District 2 Commissioner Martin Moore will take his oath of office and replace incumbent Republican Robert Pressley, making the county Board of Commissioners an entirely Democratic body.
An action plan county staffers presented to the Board of Commissioners Oct. 18 includes steps to help owners of cheaper homes seek reductions if they think the county has valued their homes too highly, to get property owners to report when they upgrade their homes and to refine some aspects of how Buncombe’s appraisers do their jobs.
As presented to the county Board of Commissioners Nov. 15 by Jennifer Teague, Buncombe’s aging and adult services program manager, the Asheville-Buncombe County Homeless Coalition called the first Code Purple of 2022 on Oct. 15 — the first day this year’s program went into effect. After evaluating the results of that first night, the coalition decided to extend entry times for Code Purple shelters.
The structure, previously known as the Haynes Building, is over 50 years old and has been vacant since 2015. The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will vote on a memorandum of understanding with A-B Tech regarding the demolition at its regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 15.
After the Buncombe County Planning Board voted not to recommend a plan for mountaintop development on 176 acres in Pinners Cove, developer KLP Pinners EAT, LLC resubmitted an application for the same site using county rules that provide no avenue for public input.
Complete Democratic control of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, a better-than-expected performance by Jasmine Beach-Ferrara and $70 million in new spending for county initiatives all emerged from this year’s midterm election results.
“I have met few people in my long life who have the wonderful combination of qualifications to lead as she has.”
Jackson’s selection had been announced in September, but his oath of office Nov. 3 marked the official start of his tenure as superintendent. Jackson follows former Superintendent Tony Baldwin, who retired Nov. 1 after serving over 13 years in the position and almost 40 years as an educator in North Carolina.
The initiative will make 150 spaces in the county’s Coxe Avenue garage available to low-income downtown employees at $40 per month — less than half the current $85 monthly rate — by the end of the year.
“Our community faces two mounting crises that we must address in concert — housing affordability and climate change. We can do this by providing a wider range of housing options in and around Asheville and our other municipalities, while not contributing to sprawling development patterns that clear forested land, feed gridlock and increase auto emissions.”
“By structuring most of the affordable apartments to leverage housing tax credits, our community investment of $40 million will likely leverage around $80 million in additional funds for Buncombe County.”
Security, technology and a better place to play tennis: All are included among nearly $31.2 million in capital spending for local schools recommended by Buncombe County’s School Capital Fund Commission. The county Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on accepting those recommendations during its regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 1.
