The majority of the June 2 CIBO meeting focused on plans for the Sweeten Creek Mental Health and Wellness Center, a 120-bed hospital that will provide behavioral health services.
Tag: Council of Independent Business Owners
Showing 1-21 of 32 results
Zack, Kilgore talk police recruitment at CIBO
Asheville Police Department Chief David Zack and Vice Mayor Sandra Kilgore filled in the Asheville-based trade group Jan. 6 about the city’s recent efforts to address dozens of vacancies among the APD’s patrol staff.
Buncombe County Commission candidates talk policy, vision at CIBO forum
The forum, hosted by the Council of Independent Business Owners, gave the candidates the opportunity to stake out their positions on a range of issues central to Buncombe County residents.
CIBO gets update on Montreat cybersecurity program
During a Feb. 4 meeting of the Council of Independent Business Owners, Paul Maurer, president of Montreat College, told attendees that the private, Christian liberal arts school has rapidly become one of North Carolina’s foremost cybersecurity institutions.
Zack and Edwards offer contrasting views of crime, policing
Asheville Police Chief David Zack suggested that crime rates were beginning to stabilize as APD learns to cope with its staffing deficiencies. Republican Sen. Chuck Edwards, however, said Asheville’s crime and policing issues were more extensive and distressing than the chief had described.
Asheville floats zoning changes to boost dense development
The city’s urban centers initiative, as well as updates to open-space requirements for new projects, are meant to encourage denser development patterns, supporting less car-dependent communities and increasing the city’s tax base.
Edwards flips on Buncombe occupancy tax reform
At a June 10 meeting of the Council of Independent Business Owners, Republican Sen. Chuck Edwards said he had “come around to the way of thinking of the folks in the county” who want less of the tax to go toward tourism marketing.
HCA executive cites nursing shortage as biggest concern
2020 was the year of the nurse, proclaimed Greg Lowe, the president of HCA Healthcare’s North Carolina division. But Mission’s eight hospitals are now gearing up for a major nursing shortage, he told members of Asheville’s Council of Independent Business Owners.
Edwards nixes TDA reform in local legislative update
“This is not the time to talk about redistribution in any manner,” Republican Sen. Edwards told the Council of Independent Business owners regarding changes to the allocation of Buncombe County’s occupancy tax revenue. “The tourism industry has just been destroyed.”
Cawthorn talks business recovery, COVID-19 relief
At a Jan. 29 meeting of the Council of Independent Business Owners, Cawthorn told attendees that his goal is to divert as much federal spending to the region as possible to get residents back to work.
Campbell discusses next steps on Asheville street renaming, police budget
As Asheville takes steps to reckon with its long history of systemic racism and economic inequity, local business owners are wondering what impacts the city’s ambitious initiatives will have on them.
Property revaluation key to 2021-22 Buncombe budget
If the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners were to maintain the property tax rate at 52.9 cents per $100 of assessed value for fiscal year 2021-22, noted Buncombe budget analyst Rusty Mau, the county would see about $237 million in property tax revenue, up nearly 12% from the $212 million budgeted for 2020-21.
Edwards discusses retaliation against Asheville for police funding shifts
Addressing the Council of Independent Business Owners, Republican Sen. Chuck Edwards argued that Asheville was “bowing to the radicals that are asking for police departments to be defunded.” To ensure law and order, Edwards continued, he is developing legislation that would strip state funds from cities that cut law enforcement.
West Asheville group proposes changes to state needle exchange legislation
A group of West Asheville residents proposed changes to House Bill 972, the law that legalized needle exchanges throughout the state, that would greatly restrict where and the programs operate.
Campbell lays out Asheville to-dos at her first CIBO breakfast
Since leaving her previous role as Charlotte’s assistant city manager to take the Asheville job in December, Campbell said, she has focused on meeting as many community stakeholders as possible. Those discussions, she explained, have led to a slate of priorities with the common theme of making the city “the best partner that we can be.”
Van Duyn details priorities for upcoming legislative session
After Democrats broke the Republican supermajority in the N.C. House of Representatives and Senate in the 2018 election, State Sen. Terry Van Duyn believes her party colleagues in the General Assembly will have more political clout during the upcoming session.
No easy fix for affordable housing at CIBO breakfast
“Unless you are using the city and county tools and financing from either the city’s housing trust fund, the county’s affordable housing fund or some kind of funds from a taxpayer project,” real estate developer Kirk Booth told around 40 people at the Council of Independent Business Owners’ Dec. 6 breakfast meeting, “it’s not going to happen.”
McHenry, Brown debate Trump economic policies, immigration
The Council of Independent Business Owners hosted a debate at Highland Brewing Company between two candidates for the District 10 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives: Incumbent Patrick McHenry, a Republican, and challenger David Wilson Brown, a Democrat.
Commission candidates debate alleged corruption, school safety
During a debate organized by the Council of Independent Business Owners on Oct. 5, candidates vying for seats on the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners talked school safety, affordable housing and how the county should respond to the fallout from the Wanda Greene investigation.
Pitfalls and potholes
ASHEVILLE, NC
Solving Asheville’s affordable housing crunch: The Gospel According to Jerry
“When local workers can’t find housing they can afford and our less fortunate population — including families with children — is one rent check away from living on the street, this predicament has reached critical mass.”