WECAN Board Meeting August 7, 2014 at 64 Clingman Ave.
Board Members Present were: Byron Ballard, Joe Fioccola and Rachel Larson. Board Members not present were Jeff Carnivale, Jessie Nell Coleman, Tom Gibson, AnnaBeth Hardcastle, Mike Kenton, Yuri Koslen, Luke W. Perry, JoAnn Skinner ,Pattiy Torno and Suzanne Willis. Also present was: Marsha Stickford.
Chair Rachel called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. (Meeting was delayed by "The Law Enforcement Use of Force Public Forum" at the Dr Wesley Grant Center.)
MINUTES: The Draft June minutes were approved as distributed. In addition, the minutes of the non-meeting on June 28 (see attached) were also approved. [There was no meeting in July.]
APD/CRO UPDATE: The new CRO for WECAN will be Sean Davis. A hit and run-property damage was reported on social media. It should be reported to police. The non-emergency number is (828) 252-1110.
NEIGHBOR/BLOCK JESSIE UPDATES: Riverside Drive was closed recently for movie filming. Craven Street will be closed from Waynesville to Haywood Road. Bret has moved to Haw Creek and Chandler and Raphaela Fritz have moved in. Another new neighbor was seen recently making the rounds. His name is Karl Daven. Welcome Karl, from all the other WECAN cool cats!
PARKS AND REC MAINTENANCE FACILITY: Marsha reported that Parks and Rec was in the process of moving to the National Guard Armory on Shelburne Road. The property on Hilliard will be available for development proposals soon.
CITY 123 GRAFFITI FREE ASHEVILLE CAMPAIGN: Marsha noted that businesses have until October 1 to register and pay amounts over $500. Graffiti on public property can be reported any time on the Asheville App or the city website.
MASTER PLANNING: Tabled until committee meets.
CITY PROJECTS: Marsha reported that the bike lane would be marked on Haywood Road from the Riverlink Bridge to Beechum's Curve and will be park of the Craven Street improvements
WEST HAYWOOD STONE WALL REPAIR. Marsha will search for the Granite Curbstone Agreement. She will also continue to research ownership/maintenance responsibility of the 150 feet of stone wall and curb right of way near the new stop sign and the metal fence where Hilliard runs into West Haywood.. She is trying to get with DOT, Public Works and Parks and Rec to see who does what in bump outs and curbside strips city-wide.(Ditto the COMMUNITY GARDEN PROPOSAL).
FIRE HYDRANT PAINTING: Joe offered to volunteer to help the Fire Department paint the 25 or so Hydrants in WECAN if others are willing to pitch in.
GARDEN CLUB WEDNESDAYS: Back from the July hiatus the WECAN Garden Club is back. The projects for the remaining three Wednesdays in August will be: August 13 from 2-5: Owens Bell Park weeding. August 20 from 3-6 Sign Garden weed/trim and August 27 1-4 Hilliard to Rector and beyond.
STORM WATER PROBLEM: Rachel heard from Rafael that the Middle School plans do not contend with storm water runoff towards the greenway. He has written to McCrae Coates in charge of the Storm Water Services Department. Marsha noted that the Technical Review Committee will have to review compliance but suggested he set up a face to face meeting.
SOLID WASTE INITIATIVE: Joe attended a meeting with SACEE (Sustainability Advisory Committee on Energy and Environment.) City Council has set a goal to reduce solid waste going to the landfill by 50% by the year 2035. Two strategies are under consideration one is CART BASED: where the size of the cart determines how much you pay and BAG BASED: where you pay for bags individually. Recycling remains the same and working on a composting component.
APPS 4-U: Marsha reviewed three Apps currently available: The Asheville App: to take pictures of potholes or graffiti and send email to the appropriate department and get one back when completed. There is also a Paring App to pay for parking downtown. Finally there is a U-Haul App: where you can rent a car from the street downtown.
GENTRIFICATION STUDY: Rachel found the complete report. Marsha suggested to send her an email to request follow ups and keep informed on progress.
TRAFFIC STUDY ON CLINGMAN AVENUE: Several people brought up the problem of speeding on Clingman Avenue on social media and at the Block Party. Rachel will send a letter to Anna Henderson at NCDOT requesting a study. This is the first step in requesting a change in the speed limit.
GREENWAY FUNDING: Joe asked about the status of a second TIGER II grant that was proposed for construction of the greenway. Marsha suggested checking the RADBA minutes for updates. They meet the last Tuesday at 4 pm at FLS.
The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
DRAFT Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola.
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UPCOMING EVENTS THIS MONTH:
Wednesdays 2-6 RAD Tailgate market next to 175 Clingman Ave
August 9 Rivermusic 1-7 pm
August 9 Second Saturday in the RAD
August13 Garden Club Wednesdays 2-5 Owens Bell Park.
August 20 Garden Club Wednesdays 3-6 Sign Garden
August 27 Garden Club Wednesdays 1-4 Hillard to Rector+
August 28 FBRMPO: 2012-2020 TIP Amendments [View proposed amendments at fbrmpo.org/tip/ ]
Then comment by email to mpo@landofsky.org or by phone (828) 251-6622 before 5 pm on August 27
or at their board meeting Thursday 12:30 pm
August 29 Rivermusic 1-7 pm
September 1 Labor Day
September 4 WECAN Board Meeting 6:30 at 64 Clingman Avenue
Every Friday Night Classic World Cinema 8 pm upstairs at Phil Mechanic Studios Free!
