After a two week delay, Moogfest funding will be up for a vote at the Buncombe County Commissioner’s March 4 meeting. The music and innovation festival is requesting $90,000 from the county to help produce the event, which will run April 23-27 at venues across Asheville.
The proposal follows a $90,000 incentive package approved by the city of Asheville last month. Officials with Moog Music are touting the festival as an economic development boon, projecting it will have a $30 million impact on the area. However, the city’s deal drew criticism from Council member Gwen Wisler and others who said it wasn’t right to provide public funding for a private event.
Tickets for Moogfest range from $199 to $499, though some discounted tickets were offered to locals and an allotment of free tickets were distributed as “scholarships” to local educational institutions. Some associated events, such as a technology job fair, will be open to the public free of charge.
The Buncombe County money seems poised for passage, as the proposal is listed on the commissioners’ March 4 “consent agenda.” That portion of their meeting agendas is usually reserved for issues that are approved without discussion or opportunities for public comment.
In other business, commissioners will consider a rezoning request to allow commercial development on 42.6 acres of land owned by Biltmore Farms in Bent Creek. The parcel is located along the French Broad River just north of Brevard Road’s intersection with the Blue Ridge Parkway. The property is adjacent to Bent Creek Baptist Church.
The Buncombe County Planning Department recommends approval, noting in its report that changing the zoning from Residential District to Commercial Service District “would not be detrimental to the owner, adjacent neighbors, and the surrounding community as it is consistent with the surrounding properties and supported by the Buncombe County Land Use Plan.”
The board will meet at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 4, in the commissioner’s chambers, located at 200 College Street, suite 326. A short pre-meeting review of the agenda will begin at 4:15 p.m.
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