Asheville City Council

Coming this summer: a more locally oriented Bele Chere. After hearing a presentation based on data from a Jan. 30 public forum (see “Bele Chere’s a ‘Keeper’: How Do You Want It?” Feb. 2 Xpress), the Asheville City Council voted unanimously to focus the mammoth festival more on local music, art and businesses.

Jam locally: This year’s Bele Chere street festival will focus more attention on local artists, such as local funk band Strut, shown here during a performance at the 2006 festival. photo by Jonathan Welch

The recommendations presented by the Bele Chere board of directors addressed both this year’s event (slated for late July) and the long-term face of the annual summerfest. The No. 1 priority: feature more local and regional acts and fewer national ones.

“The top request we heard, loud and clear, is to bring more local flavor back,” reported board Chair Debi Smith. That includes giving local artists more weight in the competition for booth space and a pilot program allowing a local brewer to sell beer on the street. If it works, other local breweries may be added in 2008. In the past, Anheuser-Busch, a major festival sponsor, has had a monopoly on beer sales not connected with local bars and restaurants.

The application deadline for vendors, artists and performers has already passed, but Council’s decision will change the way the lineups are structured. In addition, Lexington Avenue will get a stage to highlight businesses there.

Another suggestion from the January forum—changing the festival’s dates—did not win the board’s endorsement, though it may be considered further down the road. The feasibility study such a change would require is too big an undertaking to rush, said Smith. Logistics for the mega-event cost as much as the entire entertainment budget (about one-third of total Bele Chere expenses), noted Festival Coordinator Melissa Porter of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

Mayor Terry Bellamy agreed with that assessment. “If it is not done properly, with care, the festival could die,” she warned.

And though the Bele Chere board recommended bringing in an outside consultant to consider ways to reduce the cost to taxpayers—such as increased corporate sponsorship—Council unanimously balked at the study’s $20,000 price tag. This despite the fact that the projected cost of the 2007 festival (about $746,000) is down 20 percent from last year.

Launched in 1979 to bring people to Asheville’s then-mostly-comatose downtown, Bele Chere has become the Southeast’s biggest free outdoor festival, drawing more than 300,000 people each year. Community sentiment about the event varies wildly, and while some downtown businesses thrive throughout the three hectic days, others say the reduced access hurts their bottom line—and some choose to shut down altogether.

Dwight Butner, president of the Asheville Downtown Association board, brought some other ideas to the meeting, asking the city to change the festival layout so that no downtown businesses are blocked.

“Today, Bele Chere has evolved to the point that the way we are throwing the party is compromising the original purpose,” said Butner, a local restaurateur.

But given the scale and momentum achieved over the years, the question remains: Can you put the Bele Chere genie back in the bottle?

Council member Brownie Newman thinks so. “A lot of times, the way we judge this is, is it bigger than last year? Is it the biggest ever?” he noted, adding, “We can be smaller and still bring in revenues.”

Council member Jan Davis opposed the idea of increased outside sponsorship, saying he longs for the smaller event of the past. “I’m not enthusiastic about us having another Bonnaroo,” he said, referring to the Manchester, Tenn., event staged by AC Entertainment.

It’s up to Bele Chere organizers and the Parks & Rec Department to find ways to trim the city’s costs. In 2005, the festival ran $120,000 over budget, due mainly to the cost of national acts, according to then Parks and Recreation Director Irby Brinson.

Vice Mayor Holly Jones, citing her familiarity with budgets in her role as executive director of Asheville’s YWCA, offered her services to help spot ways the festival could tighten its belt.

Still more changes may be on the horizon for 2008 and beyond—such as moving the event to a different time of year and restructuring its hours.

Airport Authority stretches its wings

Fresh off a plane from Washington, D.C., where he met with Beltway bigwigs and representatives of major U.S. airports, Airport Authority Chair Bryan Freeborn told his Council colleagues about planned aesthetic and service improvements to match the increased traffic and at the region’s principal airport. The Authority, he said, is planning to expand the terminals and is looking at other uses for surrounding property it owns.

Other planned enhancements include building up what Freeborn called “concierge services,” such as skycaps and an upgraded business center and ground transportation. Also in the works are retractable corridors, so passengers can board and exit planes without having to go outdoors. In addition, he talked about reducing the facility’s environmental impact and establishing a gallery for local art. Meanwhile, the airport is continuing its efforts to add more direct flights and boost customer traffic.

But Freeborn also emphasized the facility’s current value, noting that it brings in $44 million per year to the city and has an additional $156 million economic impact on the region. “Without our airport, we would not be able to enjoy the solid economy we enjoy today,” he declared.

A continuing problem, said Freeborn, is fares that are higher than those offered by airports competing with Asheville for customers. “If the price differential between [Asheville and] Greenville/Spartanburg is $50, they will go to Spartanburg,” he noted. “If the differential is $100, they will go to Charlotte.”

Freeborn also said he’s met with state Rep. Bruce Goforth, who has introduced legislation to create an independent Airport Authority for Asheville. (At Council’s request, city staff has been looking into the pros and cons of the idea for about a year but has not yet reported back.) Goforth’s bill goes to committee in May, Freeborn told Xpress, and if it passes, it would empower the airport to determine its own future and exert more control over its property and development. As an autonomous entity, the Airport Authority would be able to issue bonds to finance infrastructure improvements.

Left hanging

With Freeborn not yet arrived from Washington, Council members split evenly over whether to sell airspace over city sidewalks to two new developments wanting to build balconies.

According to staff reports, the market value for such space is 20 percent of the square-foot cost of the land beneath it. That works out to $11,665 for The Bohemian Hotel and $3,350 for the Capital Center. The hotel is planned for 11 Boston Way in Biltmore Village (a former Exxon station near the entrance to Biltmore Estate), and the Capital Center would occupy a renovated First Union Building (82 Patton Ave. downtown).  But some on Council questioned those prices, noting that both areas are prime real estate.

“I personally would like to see us look at this one more time,” said Bellamy, recalling that the city got an earful from residents concerned about 21 Battery Park, a balcony-rich downtown condo development.

The vote came down to a 3-3 tie, with Council members Robin Cape, Carl Mumpower and Newman in favor and Jones, Davis and Bellamy opposed.

Real Estate Manager Ed Vess noted that both developers are ready to start construction but said he would look at comparable markets in other cities and report back to Council on April 10.

Toward a sustainable economy

The city is accepting applications for the Sustainable Economic Development Advisory Committee. The application deadline is Thursday, April 12. For details, call 259-5601.