Some projects outlined in the plan include a gateway to reconnect McCormick Field and Memorial Stadium with downtown, public art installations and commemoration of the neighborhood’s African American history. The plan does not include specific funding commitments for capital projects or investments.
The Asheville Tourists are rounding third on a funding deal to stay in town after the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners agreed March 21 to pitch in up to $5 million over 20 years for upgrades to city-owned McCormick Field.
Dozens of teachers, parents, school staff and supporters gathered in Pack Square Park on Monday, March 20, to demand higher pay for Asheville City and Buncombe County schools employees and deliver a petition to elected officials.
Now that the city of Asheville has agreed to play ball, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will consider joining the financial team for improvements to the home of the Asheville Tourists. The board meets Tuesday, March 21, to consider pitching in $250,000 annually over a 20-year period — a total commitment of $5 million […]
Attendees at baseball games may pick up part of the tab for the McCormick Field improvements through a new 50-cent “facility fee” to be added to each ticket.
Today, Asheville Watchdog continues its series Down Town, with an examination of the impact of a diminished police force especially downtown, where — as The Watchdog reported in Part 1 — merchants and residents have complained of increased break-ins and shoplifting, of human waste and needles in doorways, and of aggressive panhandlers.
McCormick Field has been home to a minor league baseball team for each of the past 64 years. The current Tourists franchise brings in roughly $9.8 million in local spending annually for Buncombe County.
Violent and disturbing incidents downtown are leaving workers frustrated and frightened. One business owner at an Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce listening session asked the assembled crowd, “How many people have to get assaulted?”
In addition to providing public comment during the meeting, members of the public can also participate through the city’s budget priorities survey which is available until Friday, March 3.
Wanda Greene was pulling down $250,000 a year and had just retired in July 2017, about to collect $15,000 a month in pension payouts for the rest of her life. And then it all came crashing down.
Nearly 480 affordable housing units could be built on property owned by Buncombe County, according to a new analysis shared with the county Board of Commissioners.
One potential way to close the child care gap, according to a recent report commissioned by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, would be to boost the number of home-based care providers. In Buncombe County, those facilities have decreased from 48 in 2006 to only 11 in 2022.
The county has not received any applications for cryptocurrency mines, according to a staff presentation provided ahead of a briefing scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 21. But commissioners are expected to weigh in on whether county zoning should be updated in anticipation of future development requests.
The “aesthetic treatments” approved as part of the package include improved lighting, safety railing, pedestrian and bike surfaces and monument pillars.
The microgrid includes 2 megawatts of solar panel capacity and 4.4 MW of battery storage. Those resources are enough to power the entire town for an extended period if its connection to the main grid is disrupted.
This new funding, to be voted on by City Council during the regular meeting of Tuesday, Feb. 14, would come on top of more than $1.4 million the city has already budgeted for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure along the I-26 corridor.