Thursday, October 6, 2016

WECAN October 2016 Board Meeting Minutes • Draft


WECAN Board Meeting Minutes October 6, 2016

Board Members present: Joe Fioccola and Rebecca Lance.
Members not present: Byron Ballard, Jessie Nell Coleman Tom Gibson, Mike Kenton, Rachel Larson, Floree Lowery, Luke Perry, JoAnn Skinner, Pattiy Torno and Suzanne Willis.
Also Present: APD Officer Sean Davis and Marsha Stickford.
Secretary Joe Fioccola called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm.

MINUTES: Joe moved and Rebecca seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the September meeting as distributed and one correction to the August minutes (that the date said July). The motion passed. There was no treasurer’s report just that Rebecca is working with the bank to get control of the account but she was able to make a deposit.
APD/CRO UPDATE: Officer Sean Davis worked with the PACT Team about someone sleeping outside the Clingman Lofts was complicated by a resident supposedly giving permission. He noted several break and entering throughout the city especially of vehicles. A vehicle on Jefferson was one and the suspect was caught. A vehicle on Rector had a GPS and MP3 taken and no leads. A homeless camp off Knoxville Place was cleared and ongoing vigilance on the hill behind the Boy Scouts Building. Marsha emphasized that the Asheville App should not be used for several police responses since it is only monitored during business hours. If there is a need for more urgent police response you should use the non emergency number 252-1110 or if it is an emergency use 911. Joe noted that Chief Hooper is on the cover of the Mountain Xpress this week which published a good interview.
BLOCK JESSIES:  Luke reported a new light was placed on Hilliard across from Rector Street. Rebecca reported meeting a new neighbor Danny with four dogs. She also is hosting four hens and will go to animal control for permits.  
WECAN NEWS: Joe has drafted about a half dozen articles for the annual newsletter: Plan on a Page, Clingman Triangle, Queen Carson Garden, New Neighbors, 20th anniversary year, Owens Bell Park. There is room for more but the deadline will be the next Board Meeting on November 3 for distribution before Thanksgiving.
MEMBERSHIP DRIVE/EMAIL LIST: Joe noted that with all the comings and goings in the neighborhood there is a need to update the email list and maybe do a door-to-door membership drive. Rebecca asked about a door-to-door distribution of the newsletter to curb postage costs but mailboxes can’t be used. This should happen in November.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE: There is a need to identify potential board members for the class of 2019. As noted in last month’s minutes both Joe and Jessie must rotate off the board next year and both AnnaBeth and Jeff have moved out of WECAN. This committee can met separately to make a list or we can take time from the November meeting to brainstorm names.
OWENS-BELL PARK TENTH ANNIVERSARY REPORT: Joe reported that 5 people came out to note the tenth anniversary. Four hardy mums were planted at the park sign. (and a neighbor offered to keep watering them.) The original program was on view. And some memories of the area that became the park from Floree and Joe. He did speak to Gloria Howard Free she didn’t know where the original banner was nor the original photos but said she would talk to Parks and Rec about it. He also observed the stream that was flowing albeit not very strong. Also that the “w” was missing from the kiosk was reported to Pattiy.
GARDEN CLUB: On Sept 7 the sign garden hedge was trimmed and the garden weeded and some volunteer hedges moved. The regular workday was changed from Wednesday to Mondays for the rest of the year.
MELK LOT: New ‘No Trespassing’ signs have been posted by NCDOT. However their assertion of ownership does not excuse their irresponsible neglect of maintenance of the invasive kudzu flowing into the street.
COMMUNITY GARDEN REPORT: On October 4 the invasion of the micro ‘maters and macro cucuzzi monsters was substantially repelled. Strawberries were also planted –thanks to the Sand Hill Community Garden. Marsha noted that Food Policy was moving to Sustainability and our contract with the pollinator/blueberry amendment would need to be renewed and revised. The final report on the pilot program should be submitted when the season is done. She also encouraged us to invite Amber Weaver to a future meeting. She also had been in touch with Transit about mowing the pollinators and they told her it looked like grass to them which indicates that there need to be boundaries such as large rocks set to let them know where the grass ends.
CLINGMAN TRIANGLE PLANTING: Joe asked about the trees that have been cut between the circle and All Souls Pizza. Marsha explained that it was not NCDOT nor the city but Duke who did the work in relation to their power lines. She will contact the new NCDOT people about the planting.
GRAIL MOVIE HOUSE: Luke found the cost to use the facility and the need to have permission for public performance and decision whether to charge a nominal admission or ask for donations.
MEEHAN FACILITY REPORT: Joe noted the city approved Tribute as developer of the facility at 338 Hilliard Ave. into affordable housing. Marsha advised that Parks and Rec had until March 2017 to vacate the property. Joe asked about seeing the designs before then. She suggested emailing Jeff Staudinger and/or Heather Dillingham for that. Joe asked about Clingman Forest Greenway construction and Marsha answered that we should invite Lucy Crown to a future meeting to talk about the greenway plans.
OPEN CITY HALL: Joe noted that it was open for comments on the Haywood Street/Page Avenue Planning, and Transit planning and for the Comp Plan Update even though the survey deadline has passed.
ASHEVILLE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PUBLIC WORKSHOP: Rescheduled for Monday October 10th from 6-8 pm at the Collider at 1 Haywood Street( in the Wells Fargo Building.) There will be a compilation of all the survey results.
BOND ISSUE PUBLIC MEETING: Central Asheville - 7 p.m. Wednesday Oct 12 at the City of Asheville Public Works Building, 161 S. Charlotte St. In August, Asheville City Council approved a general obligation bond referendum that would generate $74 million for public improvements financed by the bonds. The public improvements are divided into three categories: Housing Affordability, $25 million, Parks & Recreation, $17 million , Streets, Sidewalks and Bike Lanes, $32 million. Voters will vote separately on each category. For those unable to attend the Bond Expos, the City has educational material online. The City launched a bond referendum information Webpage <http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Departments/CommunityRelations/Asheville2016BondReferendumInformation.aspx> that provides detailed information how bonds work, what the impact could be on taxes and other information. The webpage features an interactive Proposed 2016 Bond Referendum Story Map <https://avl.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=069bbb5b4bdb4a10a6b4a723f8a92cdd>
guides voters through some examples of projects included in the proposed bond package.
HALLOWEEN SOCIAL: Monday October 31 with potluck at 5:30 and trick or treating between 6 and 6:30 or until dark. Rebecca will repeat the notifications she used last year. Joe agreed to build another kiddy maze.
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT:  There needs to be some planning if there is to be an event and time is running short to do something to mark either anniversary date: October 27 or November 5.
FESTIVAL OF NEIGHBORHOODS WORKSHOPS: Joe reported that the Neighborhood Advisory Committee was putting on four workshops on Sunday November 13 from 2-5 pm. They are Social Media, Visioning/Neighborhood Engagement, Circle Forward Dynamic Governance and Crime Prevention/Neighborhood Watch/Safety.  Marsha noted that a request for neighborhood registration has been sent out and the map on the neighborhood services page was up and the info would pull in from the registrations.
Meeting adjourned at 7:37 pm
Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola

Mark Your Calendars for upcoming WECAN dates:

Oct 10                        6-8 pm Asheville Comprehensive Plan Update Workshop at the Collider
Oct 14                        New Belgium Sustainability Tour
Nov 3               6:30 WECAN Board
Nov 8                        Election Day ( Not a WECAN Event)
Nov 13                        Festival of Neighborhoods workshops 2-430 AB Tech
Nov 19                        Saturday at the Grant Center Placement of Historic Markers


WECAN Board Meeting Minutes 4January 2024