LIVE: Twitter coverage of April 10 Asheville City Council meeting

Live Twitter coverage of tonight’s City Council meeting and this afternoon’s work session. To appear in our feed, use the hashtag #avlgov.

Here are the live dispatches via Twitter by Xpress reporter Caitlin Byrd from the April 10 meeting:

10:28 AM Asheville City Council preview: Amendment One http://t.co/SOOdRCvj

11:50 AM DavidForbes As I’m out on vacation, awesome Xpresser @ will be covering tonight’s Asheville Council meeting

2:35 PM Reminder: City Council will have a working session in about an hour followed by a meeting at 5 p.m. http://t.co/SNqe1MrL

2:48 PM During today’s work session, council will get budget briefing/policy direction about enterprise funds and capital improvement plan

3:19 PM Just made it to city hall for the work session. Starts at 3:30

3:24 PM For context: These work sessions are all about the nuts and bolts of budget before public hearings etc.

3:41 PM This is the 2nd work session thus far about 2012-13 budget

3:42 PM Currently summarizing last work session re: general funds

3:51 PM Gordon Smith saying he wants hard number about revenue opportunities for housing trust fund allocation

3:55 PM Moving onto enterprise funds

3:58 PM Water fund: Lauren Bradley says “this is a positive story.” Projects water capital increase by 1.3 million without higher rates

4:03 PM Moving onto capital improvement portion. Tweeting as fast as I can.

4:08 PM Multi-modal expenditures for next year: $3.14 million. Includes street resurfacing,Charlotte st. Corridor, sidewalks etc

4:10 PM Remember, these meetings are about details that will be worked out before June 12 budget adoption

4:38 PM And that’s the end of the work session. Sorry about the tweet lag on my behalf. PS council meeting starts in about 20 minutes

4:54 PM We’ve got about 5 minutes until tonight’s City Council meeting begins.

4:58 PM Hunt, Bothwell, Manheimer, Davis, Smith, and Pelly in attendence tonight. Bellamy unable to attend.

5:00 PM And we’ve got a meeting underway

5:02 PM Innvocation being done by Manheimer with reading of a poem, “diving into the wreck”

5:04 PM Moving onto procolomations: April 2012 as Child Abuse Awareness Month

5:08 PM Bill maguire speaking, giving thanks for awareness by city

5:09 PM Notes that there were laws to protect animals before there were laws to protect children.

5:11 PM Next recognition, proclomation of April as Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month

5:14 PM Event planned in April for Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month at Carolina Cinemas theatre 7 p.m.-8 p.m. on April 23

5:18 PM Next proclamation for April 15-21 as national volunteer week

5:19 PM Now recognition of Governor’s Award for Volunteer Service

5:24 PM Now recognition of Volunteers in Service to America Program

5:34 PM Gary Jackson just recognized Jay Bettencourt as wnc firefighter of the year, standing ovation for him

5:38 PM Steve Shope recognized, standing ovation

5:39 PM And w/ no presentations or public hearing, the room thins out significantly. Less than 15 here not including council members

5:41 PM Resolution passes

5:41 PM Moving onto unfinished business for public hearing to approve resolution re: public hearing by avl water customers

5:43 PM New business: Resolution in support of equality and opposition of Amendment One

5:44 PM Smith to gay, lesbian couples: Come may 9, no matter what happens, know that we will continue to care for you

5:46 PM Bothwell: “Even conservatives ought to be concerned about this.”

5:48 PM Man speaks on behalf on resolution from Coalition to Protect All NC Families, commends Council for resolution

5:49 PM Only one speaks on resolution, Smith comments that this response, “shows where our City stands on this issue”

5:50 PM Hunt says he hopes that this resolution will be proof of the work they are doing, compares it to efforts made in women’s suffrage

5:51 PM Unanimous vote 6-0 in favor of equality, against Amendment One

5:51 PM Pelly says he did not plan to speak, but pleased and proud to be part of majority on council to oppose this ammendment.

5:52 PM Now moving onto talking about sending liason to General Assembly and federal gov.

5:53 PM Manheimer: on state side, we have a more immediate and identifiable need (Asheville water system)

5:53 PM Manheimer requests city have federal liason to secure funding that is provided by federal government like transportation

5:54 PM Manheimer: It’s very important we have someone there to follow that issue as well as any other issues

5:56 PM Hunt notes that this would not require budget ammendment, to have legislative liason to state gov.

5:57 PM Hunt says presence and persistence on the ground in Raleigh is vital

5:59 PM Davis says he has been resistent to idea of having liason to Raleigh, but that he’s been persuaded

6:02 PM Bothwell says “not deeply opposed” to liason, but also says when we look for reps to be more informative with community,local gov

6:04 PM State and federal liason passes unanimously

6:06 PM Brother Chris speaking during public comment, “you talk about equality as long as equality is money.” Wearing Anonymous mask

6:34 PM Tonight’s Council meeting only lasted a little more than an hour.

7:12 PM DavidForbes RT @: Unanimous vote 6-0 in favor of equality, against Amendment One

7:13 PM DavidForbes At Avl City Council RT @: Unanimous vote 6-0 in favor of equality, against Amendment One

7:31 PM Asheville City Council unanimously passes resolution opposing Amendment One http://t.co/iaE3MNdU

7:40 PM mxnews RT @: Asheville City Council unanimously passes resolution opposing Amendment One http://t.co/fZeL09xB