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.
“How could things have gotten this bad without intervention? How quickly will this situation of fear and crime be turned around?”
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.
“And they ‘want,’ they ‘like’ the Tourists. So do we, but City Council and the city manager are making a huge mistake paying this unreasonable price to keep them.”
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.
“I am afraid the city of Asheville is not interested in neighborhood input.”
Tom Tesser was one of several commenters from the Asheville Coalition for Public Safety, a recently formed advocacy group that looks to build support for the APD. Five of the nine speakers on budget matters sought larger salaries for police officers and shared their personal experiences of downtown crime and safety issues.
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.
“Council check-ins are a good tool for better understanding in a smaller setting.”
The “aesthetic treatments” approved as part of the package include improved lighting, safety railing, pedestrian and bike surfaces and monument pillars.
Council to vote on switch to public ‘work sessions’ Tuesday, Feb. 14.
‘In my experience, closed sessions like this are important for briefing the elected officials on background research done by staff and having the elected officials identify a need for further information before going public.”
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.
The reparations commission unanimously approved a recommendation for the city of Asheville and Buncombe County to “stop further harm” to the Black community by “ceasing the repetition of institutional processes that lead to racially disparate outcomes.” The audit is meant to ensure that such harms have actually ceased and that local governments are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Asheville’s McCormick Field has been home to a minor league baseball team every season since 1959, but the city has come close to losing baseball several times in that span. As the Tourists seek $30 million in improvements to the antiquated ballpark, the future of the national pastime in Asheville once again is in doubt.
For at least five years, Asheville City Council members have debated and grappled with some of the most pressing issues facing Asheville in regularly scheduled private meetings with city staff — meetings that are outside of public view.
“Is there a particular community that might consider having me relocate there, for the mutual benefit that could be made in the future?”
“We as residents in the city are constantly bombarded by noise, and we need an ordinance that lets us enjoy our residences without this excessive noise intrusion.”
The new nine-member board will include two residential water customers, one commercial customer, one emergency response or disaster relief professional, two communications professionals and three experts on public water systems.
Asheville City Council will consider establishing an “independent review committee to analyze the events and circumstances leading up to, and throughout the duration of, the recent prolonged water outage.” The group would evaluate Asheville’s emergency response, identify infrastructure needs and recommend policy changes to make the city more resilient.
Readers had a lot to say in 2022 about a host of local issues — from our region’s growth and development to the environment, homelessness and more.
