UPDATE: To see the full body of tweets by David Forbes covering the meeting visit Council coverage here.
Follow live Twitter coverage of the Nov. 22 Asheville City Council meeting, including a vote on the controversial proposal to rename the Asheville Civic Center the U.S. Cellular Center.
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Interesting how they’ve re-written a whole stack of renovation contracts for the Civic Center to include a first payment from US Cellular, and it’s simply the next item on the agenda as if approval of the naming rights is a foregone conclusion.
Thank you Cecil for being the one voice of sanity on Council on this issue.
The City taxpayers, the County taxpayers, the Tourism Development Authority, even the ABC Board rolled up their sleeves, made the investment totaling $5 million on top of the millions of dollars previously spent, to renovate and make the Civic Center the best it can be… And after all of that is in the works, after Asheville gets the SoCon contract back again, US Cellular comes along with a miniscule $150,000 a year, and they get to take credit for all of it.
They get to jump out in front of the parade that is Asheville, and demand that they get recognition, even though they didn’t lift a finger until the Civic Center started to turn a profit (for the first time in 20 years). Thanks for nothing, US Cellular. You’ve earned all the negative publicity you’re going to get for this.
I’m still hung up and fuming on the ABC issue. Amazing that Council Members are not aware that a board is in place to provide oversight and checks and balances. It appears Mr. Bothwell is the only Council Member who is aware of that fact. The Mayor even ask about that of Bothwell.
The ABC Board is well paid $300. each member per meeting….ostensibly to provide oversight, but this was not done.
We need to hire some tin-man real estate guru who specializes in teaching people how to get top dollar for piece-of-crap properties and have him/her teach a seminar to Council and staff forever and ever.
True love and belief in what Asheville is should guide decisions like naming rights, etc. Love the town enough not to sell off stuff for less than it’s worth. Believe in the town enough to come up with local solutions rather than out-of-the-can, banal fundraising strategies like naming rights.
There’s just no commitment or imagination in a decision like this.