Press release from the city of Asheville:
The City of Asheville has now opened a survey to gather input from residents on how our public safety services can better promote racial equity and economic inclusion.
Following a clear call from our community, City Council voted to remove or repurpose the Vance Monument, passed a resolution supporting community reparations, and passed a budget that only funded departments for three months so that City staff could work with the community to reimagine public safety.
The City then contracted with community facilitators Shemekka Ebony and Amplify Community Consulting to hear your ideas for how public safety in Asheville could be improved before any future budgetary decisions are made.See below for virtual community meeting dates, in-person drop-in sessions.All community members are invited to the following meetings:
Listening Session #1TIME/DATE: 12:30-2 p.m. Sept. 8LOCATION: Virtual – Join by phone or online
Listening Session #2TIME/DATE: 12:30-2 p.m. Sept. 9LOCATION: Virtual – Join by phone or online
Listening Session #3 plus Civics 101In addition to the listening session, participants will also learn about City operations, who’s responsible for what, and how you can get more involved in the community.TIME/DATE: 6-7:30 p.m. Sept. 9LOCATION: Virtual – Join by phone or online
Listening Session #4TIME/DATE: 6-7:30 p.m. Sept. 10LOCATION: Virtual – Join by phone or online
Listening Session #5TIME/DATE: 11 a.m.-noon Sept. 11LOCATION: Virtual – Join by phone or online
Listening Session #6 — In-person drop-in eventThis event will be conducted in 30-minute intervals to provide adequate safety for all attendees. Use the registration link to let us know what time you plan to attend! We will provide interactive experiences to learn about current public safety measures and imagine what our future public safety could look like. All attendees are asked to wear a mask. If you do not have one, we will have masks and other protective equipment available.DATE: Sept. 11TIMES:2 – 2:30 p.m.2:40 – 3:10 p.m.3:20 – 3:50 p.m.4 – 4:30 p.m.LOCATION: In-person location to be determinedConnecting with communityIntentional efforts will be made to connect with people who are most impacted. Being out in the community with paper copies and survey links will be an important part of gathering input. We are always learning. If you see we have missed a group, please email us at Re-imaginingPublicSafety@PublicInput.com with the subject line, “Missing in the discussion.”
Please know that we realize this is only the beginning. We are committed to the ongoing work that will be needed by all of us in the coming months and years to reimagine public safety in Asheville.
Keep up with our progress, including a timeline for reporting back to Council and the community, at this link on the City of Asheville website.
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.