April 14 Asheville City Council meeting to follow social distancing measures

Press release from the City of Asheville:

On April 14, Asheville City Council will hold a 3 p.m. budget work session and its regular 5 p.m. meeting. The agenda is posted at this link as of April 10.

As the City of Asheville continues to work through the COVID-19 public health emergency, we want to make our residents aware of our modified operations, especially regarding how they can participate in their City government. 

Taking into consideration CDC, N.C. Department of Health and Human Service and Buncombe County Health and Human Services recommendations on physical distancing and measures taken across the nation to include travel bans, school closures, quarantines, and event cancellations, the City is taking the following measures until further notice. 

• Due to the locally declared State of Emergency and Stay Safe, Stay Home order, there will be no public attendance at City Council meetings.

• Everyone is encouraged to watch the City Council meeting via live stream at this link.

Public comment will be taken on all items prior to the meeting through a City Council Public Comment phone line.  All public comment must be received by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting by calling 828-259-5900 and following these instructions:  

• Press 1 to comment on an item on the agenda — before commenting, please state your name, City of residence and the item you are commenting on; or 
• Press 2 to speak under the open comment portion of the meeting – before commenting, please state your name and city of residence.  
• No public comment is taken during Council work sessions.

In response to community feedback and to more closely reflect a typical Council meeting, calls will be played during the Council meeting in the order received for up to an hour for each agenda item. Each call will be limited to 3 minutes per person per item. Additionally, all comments must conform to City Council rules of decorum. Those comments that do not may be excluded.   

This is a temporary measure for the health and safety of everyone, as we collectively work through social distancing techniques to prevent the spread of COVID-19, taking into consideration guidance from the CDC, N.C. Department of Health and Human Service and Buncombe County Health and Human Sources.

Please be aware that this guidance could change, as this is a rapidly evolving national and local health emergency.

 

Councilmembers Keith Young, Sheneika Smith and Brian Haynes will participate in the work session and Council meeting via video conferencing.

 

As a reminder, all Council Committee meetings are cancelled until further notice.  Boards, Commissions and Advisory Committees are also cancelled until further notice with the potential exception of quasi-judicial boards such as Planning and Zoning, Board of Adjustment and Historic Resources which may be scheduled on an as needed basis.

The top priority is to slow the spread of COVID-19 and avoid overwhelming our healthcare network.

Toward that end, City Hall and other municipal buildings were closed to the public as of March 17. Employees who are able to complete their work offsite during this COVID-19 public health emergency are working remotely in a telecommuting mode. Staff have remote access to hold meetings, respond to phone calls and emails.

All essential services continue with some services, such as permitting, sanitation and transit, being modified. 

We continue to coordinate City response with Buncombe County and State officials. These actions are all designed with public health in mind, as we pull together to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.