WECAN December 2017 Board Meeting Minutes • Draft

WECAN General Membership Meeting Minutes December 7, 2017  

Board Members present: Katie (for Danny) Aull, Rebecca Lance, Rachel Larson, Luke Perry and Pattiy Torno. 

Members not present Byron Ballard, Jared Fischer, Lynn Hall, Tom Gibson, Mike Kenton, Caroline Mullis, JoAnn Skinner and Suzanne Willis.

At Large Members not present: Floree Lowery and Rafael Rettig.

Also Present: Matt Bacoate, Joe Fioccola, Lee Lance, Charlie Lance, Denise LeJean, Bill McCurdy, Brenda Mills, and APD Officer Justin Wilson.

INTROS: Rachel called the meeting to order at 6:38 pm with a round of introductions and food.  

MINUTES/ TREASURER”S REPORT: Joe noted that corrections to the minutes were sent with the meeting reminder notice. Rachel moved and Pattiy seconded a motion to approve the corrected draft WECAN minutes from November 2. The motion passed. The Treasurer reported no activity in November. Pattiy reported the pass through donation from New Belgium would be about $1300 with $130 going to WECAN for kudzu removal, $260 going to RADBA to offset costs of maintenance of Clingman planting and the balance to RADA for printing the studio stroll guide.

APD/CRO Update: Justin noted a complaint at the dead end of Jefferson Drive about prostitution, loitering and suspicious vehicles. He invited suggestions of creative ideas for dealing with this ongoing problem. He has requested additional lighting and encourages anyone to call if you see suspicious activity. A motion sensor solar light was suggested. Other activity: a car was broken into on Jefferson, a house was either attempted to be broken into or was vandalized on Trade Street. 83 Clingman Ave was broken into again. Trash was rifled through at the end of West Haywood and 67 Clingman was Broken into and the mental person having an episode was caught. Regarding the NEXTDOOR request for help removing camping detritus on land behind Trade Street, Justin recommended not clearing it due to the danger of drug needles there. He advised her to contact DOT to clear it up.

ELECTION TO WECAN BOARD: Rachel noted the current board members:

     Class of 2017:  Mike Kenton, Rebecca Lance, JoAnne Skinner and Suzanne Willis.

     Class of 2018: Byron Ballard, Rachel Larson, Pattiy Torno.

     Class of 2019: Danny Aull, Lynn Hall, Luke W. Perry, Jared Fischer/Caroline Mullis*.

     At Large: Floree Lowery and Rafael Rettig.

Eligible for another term from the Class of 2017 is only Rebecca (since the three others have served two complete consecutive 3-year terms and must rotate off the board for a year per the WECAN by-laws.)

Also since Jared/Caroline are no longer residents they can’t serve as resident board members but may be at-large members leaving an unfilled term in the class of 2019.

Pattiy moved and Rachel seconded a motion to appoint Jessie Coleman, Joe Fioccola and Rebecca Lance to the Class of 2020. The motion passed. There is room for 4 At-Large members to be appointed by the Board in January. Pattiy suggested nominations to consider: Jared Fischer, Floree Lowery, Caroline Mullis, Bill McCurdy and Rafael Rettig.

WECAN 2017 ACTIVITY REPORT:  Joe reported the following events and activity in 2017: Ongoing and over several months: Duke Substation location in WECAN and committed to the smaller Gas Insulated Substation, RAD Form Based Code passed, River Arts District Transportation Improvement Project (RADTIP) begun, Clingman Forest renamed to Bacoate Branch and Greenway renamed, Adopt A Highway 20^th Year, Kudzu Hill/ Clingman Avenue Trees replanted, Asheville Comp Plan/ Plan on a Page.     Social Events: Jan: Jessie May’s Birthday, Feb: Kudzu Hill + Luke’s Birthday workday, Mar: Community Garden Network workday Apr: French Broad River Greenway Ribbon cutting + DeeDee Birthday, May: Jessie Nell’s Birthday, July: 14 Riverside Drive Grand Opening + July 4 Party, Aug: Clingman Triangle workday, Oct: Pattiy’s Birthday + Halloween Party, Nov: Newsletter folding party.     Guests at Board meetings: Brian Combs, Lucy Crown, Payne Kissinger, Marsha Stickford, Officer Justin Wilson, and residents: Carolyn Addison, Matt Bacoate, Chris, Susan Haynes, Amanda Paffrath, Travis Smith, Janet Webber. Also Deaths: Pat Crisp’s nephew Billy, Jessie May Jones, Marjorie Vestal’s son Samuel Hartshorn.

BLOCK JESSIE: Luke reported a tree down at the end of Clingman Place. He was referred to mark Foster, city arborist to remove it.

DUKE-ENERGY SUBSTATION:  The last meeting was canceled and process is on hold due to lack of progress on the residential properties.

WECANEWS: Rachel thanked Joe and Byron for writing and Pattiy for getting it printed and Rebecca for organizing distribution

OTHER ISSUES:

----Bill McCurdy is a builder who since 2008 has built several homes on West Haywood Street and wants to subdivide 3 lots there into 5 building sites each with about 30-35 feet of street frontage and off street parking. He will apply for conditional zoning permits.

---- Pattiy is a business owner in the RAD and she is concerned about the communication plan for RAD TIP.  The Business Kit created so far has not been useful except for the RAD Business owners to know who to call @ the city if there is a problem. The larger issue is how is RAD TIP going to handle the disruptions going forward.

the Gateway signs are pretty but subtle.. not exactly what is called for from a roadway sign.  There is $25,000 earmarked for Pole Banner Signs as well as other items… the city has suggested that one of those items should be bringing in speakers from other cities who have gone thru a large infrastructure project.  Pattiy feels that funding would be best spent on digital communication strategies but the COA & the CVB to let everyone (neighbors, visitors & business owners) know, in real time, how to navigate the construction.  Brenda will follow up on this and check about the WAZE app… a possible tool.

----Mr. Bacoate presented a calligraphy card that said: “Yes…! We Can! You all did work hard with a vision to renew and move the West End Clingman Avenue area forward and with inclusiveness! Congratulations on this 20^th Anniversary.—Matt-the Bacoates. He explained the importance of the WECAN Board over the years in getting things done.  He was humbled by the naming of the Stream and greenway and noted there are very few historical Negro identity site in this community. WECAN has a broader way of thinking: inclusiveness. He thanked everyone.

----Brenda explained the role and importance of public engagement. They are constantly trying to do better and optimize the best ways to reach people. If there have been delays during the transition she recommended keeping positive with people.

Meeting adjourned at 8:25 pm

Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola, Secretary Emeritus

Important Upcoming Dates:

Dec 15                              NH leaders Roundtable 8:30 @ Riverlink

Jan 4                                Next WECAN Board Meeting Thursday 6:30 pm

WECANNewsletter 2017

WECAN November 2017 Board Meeting Minutes• Draft

WECAN Board Meeting Minutes November 2, 2017  

Board Members present: Danny Aull, Jared Fischer, Lynn Hall, Rebecca Lance, Rachel Larson, Caroline Mullis, Luke Perry and Pattiy Torno.  Members not present Byron Ballard, Tom Gibson, Mike Kenton, JoAnn Skinner and Suzanne Willis.

At Large Members not present: Floree Lowery and Rafael Rettig.

Also Present: Joe Fioccola and APD Officer Justin Wilson, Rev Brian Combs.

INTROS: Rachel called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm.  

MINUTES/ TREASURER”S REPORT: Rachel moved and Pattiy seconded a motion to approve the draft WECAN minutes from October 5 as emailed. The motion passed. The Treasurer reported a balance of $695.31. Pattiy reported on the pass thru proposal for New Belgium tips to RADA for the Fall Studio Stroll. She suggested 70% go to RADA for printing the Studio Guide and 20% go toward the maintenance of the Clingman Streetscape and 10% go to the WECAN Garden Club for Kudzu removal, public gardening and beautification. The size of the donation is unknown. The board approved the suggestion.

APD/CRO Update: Justin responded to the graffiti at Hunter Volvo that Duke was taking care of cleaning it. Also that he found who did it and charged them with 30 counts since July. There was a theft of a stroller from a porch which suggests to not leave valuables on open porches. There was a robbery of a cell phone after an altercation at Clingman and Hilliard that appeared to not be random. Doors were left open at 95 Roberts S and graffiti found inside and they need to better secure the building. More tents have been seen in the usual areas. Also Jared’s renter’s stolen motorcycle was found in a homeless camp at the top of Club St a block north of where it was stolen.

BLOCK JESSIES:  JoAnne’s birthday is on Friday.  About 70 people enjoyed the potluck at the Halloween Party. Great job Rebecca!  Jared’s box elder bugs have returned again this year. Pattiy remarked on the construction near the old 12Bones where they are creating a new waterway to divert the creek during the installation of a new culvert. She hopes it will have a good affect on the creek that sometimes floods.  Unfortunately AT&T broke a water line there but the Water Department was on it and got it restored as predicted.  She reported that Duke is still waiting on word from NCDOT for permission to use the city’s encroachment agreement for the tree replanting on Clingman. Pattiy will ask JoAnne about getting Jessie Mae plants for the Owens Bell/Jessie Mae Garden.

DUKE-ENERGY SUBSTATION Update:  The last meeting was set for November 1 but was canceled due to lack of progress on the residential properties.

HAYWOOD STREET CONGREGATION: Rev Brian Combs was invited to speak to WECAN because we seek greater understanding of homelessness and how we might support people getting “off the streets”.jasked what brings people to homelessness and how to engage better since the city policy doesn’t seem to be working. He explained that the congregation tries to help people suffering from poverty, addiction and mental illness. Their theology is to engage and listen to people’s needs and to that end they have set three programs: WELCOME TABLE: Every Wednesday they serve fresh home-made meals in four 45 minute sittings beginning at 10:30 am. They have also added Sunday night dinners. RESPITE: provide healthcare for chronic ailments with 8 beds to return to a baseline of health. Also free acupuncture, haircuts, yoga, dog food and needle exchange. WORSHIP SERVICE: Their strategy is to serve first then worship and not qualify or justify services. Chronic Homelessness remains a challenge. It is characterized by a dual diagnosis of addiction, PTSD and generational poverty and personalities that can’t abide the many shelter restrictions. Camping also has risks besides the weather such as theft of precious possessions (and identification needed for services), disease, violence, etc. Pattiy observed that in Japan there is a different reality with homelessness and recalled that John Payne had complained years ago that some campers under bridges are just not good neighbors defecating and littering. There are competing strategies to address needs: ‘Housing Last’ is one. It calls for being worthy first by getting off drugs, getting education, getting jobs first and then being rewarded with housing. ‘Housing First’ is the opposite strategy to provide housing security first and then provide the stabilizing services. Brian favors the second and has been trying for years to get a hard-to-house complex built because economically it makes sense. One study showed the cost in services to keep people homeless is $40,000 per person per year.  It is also hard to assess the size of the problem because even though there is an annual point-of-time count there are seasonal surges drawing people from all over the country. One estimate is about 100 chronically homeless and maybe 1000 occasional. Brian volunteered drug use is not uncommon among homelessness and he has experienced and is dealing with use and distribution in his church, but chooses tactics to curb it without involving the police. When asked about safety, he said it was not his mission’s first priority. Brian’s faith informs his trying creative approaches, getting people involved and giving with no expectation of any kind but it is very difficult to measure effectiveness. Brian does not coordinate with other nonprofits and the city to obtain services for people he serves. His mission is to provide condition-free and judgment-free comfort to the homeless by feeding them. After Brian left the conversation continued. Gentrification changes the physical landscape and reduces the spaces where homeless camp. Gentrification will make it more difficult for homeless. It is here now and homeless will be displaced. Joe observed that with Haywood Street Congregation, Western Carolina Rescue Mission, Salvation Army’s Red Shield Lodge, Homeward Bound and AHope day shelter within a few blocks of each other and of WECAN that the homeless and indigent will be with us for a long time. Rachel offered trash and sharps receptacles near campsites but we can’t give permission to camp on rights of way. When he sees campers Luke struggles with the options of calling the police and burdening the ineffective system or calling Brian. Pattiy framed the question how can WECAN be inclusive of everyone in our neighborhood. 

RAD FORM BASED CODE Is now set to go before City Council on November 14 with the issue of lodging in the RAD.  Pattiy explained the history and politics of the issue and the implications for the RAD and the city at large and the pressure from short term rentals and their effect of residential neighborhoods.

WECANEWS: Joe showed a draft of the Newsletter. Dave Campbell has offered to print 300 copies for free. In a discussion of delivery methods hand delivery of a paper copy for every address is preferred since we don’t have a good clean email/snail mail list and postage costs so much. Rebecca is considering hosting a folding party again. Joe will insert an appeal for email addresses and reassure that it will be used infrequently.

COMMUNITY GARDEN Rebecca will do a general email invite for a work date later this month to clean and tidy and prepare for spring planting.

ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY: Joe has set Thursday November 9 at 10am.

OTHER ISSUES: Rebecca reported that Asheville Redefines Transit has changed companies again. There was a problem with busses idling behind their house and Lee met with the new management. They are kind, nice and approachable. Lynn has asked NCDOT to undertake a study of Hilliard /Clingman intersection to determine if they can implement left-hand turn arrows for East and West bound traffic. As well as address rudh hour grid lock and pedestrian safety.

Meeting adjourned at 9:03 pm

Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola, Secretary Emeritus

Important Upcoming Dates:

Nov 3                              JoAnne’s Birthday

Nov 7                              Election Day           

Nov 9                    Adopt A Highway 10 am

Nov 11                              Community Garden Workday?

Nov 11                              Cotton Mill Studios Grand Opening

Nov 11-12                  Studio Stroll

Nov 13                      C.A.N. Meeting 7 p.m. Oakley Community Center

Nov 17                              NH leaders Roundtable 8:30 @ Riverlink

Nov 16-17                  Folding Party?Distribution Date for WECAN NEWS

Dec 7                                Next WECAN Board Meeting/Potluck Thursday 6:30 pm

WECANNEWS 2017

 

WECAN October 2017 Board Meeting Minutes • Draft

WECAN Board Meeting Minutes October 5, 2017

Board Members present: Danny Aull, Byron Ballard, Rebecca Lance, Rachel

Larson, and Pattiy Torno.  Members not present: Jared Fischer, Tom Gibson,

Lynn Hall, Mike Kenton, Caroline Mullis, Luke Perry JoAnn Skinner and

Suzanne Willis.

At Large Members not present: Floree Lowery and Rafael Rettig.

Also Present: Jessie Coleman, Joe Fioccola and APD Officers Justin Wilson,

William Wood and Michelle?

INTROS: Rachel called the meeting to order at 6:34 pm after a round of

introductions.

MINUTES/ TREASURER”S REPORT: Byron moved and Rebecca seconded a motion to

approve the draft WECAN minutes from September 7 as emailed. The motion

passed. The Treasurer reported no activity but received a request to serve

as a pass thru for 501c3 for New Belgium to RADA for the Fall Studio

Stroll..

APD/CRO Update: Justin reported that in the last month there were no

’reported’ vehicles break-ins. The Glass Center at 140 Roberts Street was

broken into a second time through an unlocked window. A suspicious

vehicle, a dually truck, was seen at 2 am casing the neighborhood on

Girdwood Street. Rebecca noticed a suspicious person going to several

residences on Jefferson Dr. A DWI was arrested on Roberts Street near

Carolina Glass. There was a fatal heroin overdose on Park Avenue. Justin

contacted the property owners at the Grey Eagle about campers next to

their business and one person does have permission to stay there. Two

others were moved along. Joe noticed a white tent on the DOT State owned

property north of Park Avenue. Rachel will ask Christiana and Laura Kirby

and the Pastor of Haywood Street Congregation to a future meeting to talk

about homelessness. Joe noted a red foam mat behind the bushes at the

WECAN sign garden has been there a few months. Justin explained that some

sleeping items were routinely passes out at some of the shelters and if it

appears to be abandoned then it can be removed. There has been some

graffiti at 140 Roberts St and also at the old Hunter Volvo site.

BLOCK JESSIES: There was no official action taken on Byron and Joe’s

suggestion to remember the late beloved Jessie Mae Jones by renaming the

‘Sunny Cultural Garden’ at Owens Bell Park after her and replanting it

with some things from her garden. Marjorie feels supported about the loss

of her son. Joe, Stephanie and Lynn attended the memorial service. Jo

Gibbs tragic loss of her teenage son was remembered.  And Chris Weaver, a

teacher at Isaac Dickson and lately of Evergreen took his life. There

isn’t a lot to be done about illegal parking on Roberts Street and a dead

groundhog was seen on Short Hilliard. The two large knotweed

lots--recently cleared, across from the Crisps are zoned neighborhood

business which allows multifamily residential. Rebecca observed that there

are two new renters across Jefferson at Jenny’s house and Yuri and Mara

have moved out but have not been as successful in renting as have the

Davens.

DUKE-ENERGY SUBSTATION Update:  The last meeting was on September 28. Duke

is optimistic that their correct real estate person was finally located

and made contact with both residential property owners on Knoxville Place.

The details are transactional but it could take 30-40 days to get either

or both under contract and if that happens they may be able to close by

the end of the year. Because of this it was not felt productive to

continue meeting until there was some certainty about whether all or only

part of the real estate was complete. The four basic principles of the

working group remain: activate Patton and Clingman corner, protect

adjacent neighbors, allow for community benefit and be invisible. General

agreements include using new technology of GIS, location somewhere on the

site, underground distribution lines and invisibility of equipment. There

are still issues to work out such as size of retaining walls, preserving

mature trees, minimizing cost, what it will look like from Knoxville

Place. The previously scheduled public meeting on October 11 was cancelled

until early January and the next working group meeting was pushed to

November 1.

CLINGMAN STREETSCAPE TREES: Pattiy explained a lot of confusion about who

to contact to make it happen. Duke needs an encroachment agreement from

DOT unless the city’s original encroachment agreement will suffice. The

fall is the best time to plant but no lead on how long the agreement will

take.

RAD FORM BASED CODE: Set to go before City Council on October 24 as

originally presented by Planning and Zoning.  There was discussion about

the confusion between ‘lodging by right’ in the River District and short

term rentals in city council candidate questionnaires.

RADTIP Update: In preparation for the construction of two miles of new

(east bank) section of the French Broad River Greenway as part of the

RADTIP project, the City’s contractors will be installing silt fence and

removing trees in a section of the River Arts District starting 9/27/2017

and ending 10/17/2017. The City has a permit to remove approximately

twelve small trees in the path of the greenway construction on property on

the west side of Riverside Drive between the Smith (Craven Street) Bridge

and Lyman Street. Construction on the Town Branch, Bacoate Branch,

Riverside West Greenways remains on hold.

MSD- Rachel will check back for a schedule for the sewer work.

HALLOWEEN PARTY: on October 31 potluck party will begin at 5:30 and 6:30-7

trick-or-treating will commence. Rebecca suggested a neighborhood map at

the party identifying suggested routes of participating neighbors.

COMMUNITY GARDEN Update: It was suggested that we start again in February

organizing and deciding how to assign a bed—by coming to a meeting.

OTHER ISSUES: Pattiy received a letter from a WECAN Resident who is also a

tennis player and had a long list of concerns with the ‘Aston Tennis

Center.’ Also of concern were the problems some neighbors had with using

the bathrooms there.

IDEAS FOR WECANEWS: Newsletter will be published next month some ideas for

articles include 20 years of buildings lost, Duke Substation, Community

garden, Mr. Bacoate, Jessie Mae, Sam Hartshorn,

MISC: Pete Bassett let Jessie know that her mother cooked food for his

mother when she was sick and Hattie never told Jessie about it. Also that

it was dangerous for them to walk down the West End. Some people threw

rocks.

Meeting adjourned at 8:20 pm

Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola, Secretary Emeritus

Important Upcoming Dates:

Oct 6                             NH leaders Roundtable 8:30 @ 14 Riverside

Oct 9                                C.A.N. Meeting 7 p.m. Oakley Community Center

Oct 10                             City Council Primary Voting

Oct 26                             Pattiy’s Birthday

Nov 1                              Duke Substation working group 4-6 pm

Nov 2                               Next WECAN Board Meeting Thursday 6:30 pm

Nov 7                             Election Day

Nov 11                             Cotton Mill Studios Grand Opening

Nov 21                             Publication Date for WECAN NEWS

January 2018?        TBA  Duke Substation Public Meeting

WECAN September 2017 Board Meeting Minutes • Draft

WECAN Board Meeting Minutes September 7, 2017  

Board Members present: Danny Aull, Byron Ballard, Lynn Hall, Rachel Larson, Caroline Mullis, Luke Perry and Pattiy Torno. 

Members not present: Jared Fischer, Tom Gibson, Mike Kenton, Rebecca Lance, JoAnn Skinner and Suzanne Willis.

At Large Members not present: Floree Lowery and Rafael Rettig.

Also Present: Janet Webber, Carolyn Addison, Chris, Susan Haynes, Travis Smith, Amanda Paffrath, Jessie Coleman, Joe Fioccola and APD Officer Justin Wilson.

INTROS: Rachel called the meeting to order at 6:33 pm after a round of introductions.

MINUTES/ TREASURER”S REPORT: Lynn moved and Byron seconded a motion to approve the draft WECAN minutes from August 3 as emailed. The motion passed. There was no treasurer’s report.

APD/CRO Update: Justin reported that city-wide there have been 85 car break ins in the last 30 days most of which were unlocked vehicles. He strongly advised people to LOCK YOUR VEHICLES and DON’T KEEP VALUABLES IN VEHICLES. He also advised to report suspicious activity and talk to your neighbors about who should be on your property and encourage them to report suspicious activity. His proposal for more officer discretion regarding homeless camps is in prepared and in queue. Another camping brought up was next to All Souls Pizza. Justin also reported three businesses in WECAN were broken into, White Duck Taco had a lock cut, a house on West Haywood was broken into from an unsecured window and firearms stolen, a motorcycle was taken off a porch and a lawnmower taken. All of these have no suspect information nor any leads. Justin attended the last CPAC (Citizens Police Advisory Committee) meeting yesterday and recommended reporting police and safety issues at their monthly meetings.  Rachel reported a video camera going up at a house on Park Square. The city does not monitor any surveillance cameras but private cameras have been used to identify suspicious activity. Lynn asked about traffic enforcement for speeding vehicles. There is a traffic enforcement unit that works on reducing crashes in high accident areas. Pattiy suggested contacting Jeff Moore for study tubes and ‘your speed is’ signs.

 BLOCK JESSIES: Duke has repoured the cement sidewalks on West Haywood where the new power poles will go. Pattiy explained that Duke may need to remove more trees and needs to do more community outreach before the poles go in March. Byron and Joe suggested remembering the late beloved Jessie Mae Jones by renaming the ‘Sunny Cultural Garden’ at Owens Bell Park after her and replanting it perhaps with things from her garden or a marker with her picture, or an engraved stone.

RADTIP Update: Pattiy reported that a fence is up around the old12Bones and that demo is set for Monday. The old Days Warehouse has been removed and part of the Rail side Studios. Construction is set to begin next Wednesday with rolling lane closures but not sure where they are beginning. Last week City Council did approve funding for the entire roadway.

DUKE-ENERGY SUBSTATION Update:  Pattiy noted that Duke is still in conversation with Jessie. She explained that Duke had control of the Meeker site and the Mathews Ford site on Biltmore and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to sell the Mathews site to the city for the Lee Walker Heights/ South Slope redevelopment. In order for the Housing Authority (owners of Lee Walker) to complete that there needs to be a Utility Substation Buffering Ordinance acceptable to Duke but since the Meeker working group is close to agreement and may have different buffering needs . The draft ordinance was pulled from the Planning and Zoning meeting yesterday because there was pushback that an ordinance was being put forth without community input. The city attorney suggested that a new draft could be written which would not encumber either site. So a new draft will be taken to P&Z’s next meeting on October 4. Susan suggested that emailing members of Council has more affect than waiting for public comment on the day of the meeting. WECAN can also write a letter of support for inclusion in the council’s packets when the issue comes before them. That must be submitted at least 7 days prior to their meeting. Pattiy suggested waiting for the new draft to be posted rather than discussing previous draft ordinances. Luke described the working group’s process so far. Pattiy recalled the four basic principles of the working group: activate Patton and Clingman corner, protect adjacent neighbors, allow for community benefit and be invisible. We have to work together for a win-win-win-win. (The community benefit would be an easement to allow another lane on Clingman between Patton and Hilliard and Council will include it in the Capital Improvement Plan with more community outreach.) Luke continued explaining the issue of zoning (most of the block is Central Business District but some is Residential) and there may be restrictions for building heights and step back requirements for upper stories that need a closer look to see how zoning can protect the neighborhood facing corner at Clingman and Hilliard. Travis thanked the volunteers serving on the working groups. Pattiy gave big credit to Mike Wasmer, Helen Hyatt and Lou Popovich from the South French Broad Neighborhood who have done a lot of work over the last two years. They helped us in the huge challenge for WECAN and for Jessie. Jessie originally wanted to fight and Pattiy still hopes that something good will come out of it. The issue of noise was brought up and Luke explained that the transformers make noise is and in the case of a Gas insulated substation it will be behind a 20 foot wall with a 50 foot buffer and on a high elevation which should reduce the impact on the neighborhood. Pattiy shared some research on decibel levels and affirmed that she was proud of the WECAN organization in trying to make room for everyone. The next Duke Working group meeting is next Wednesday September 13 and a public meeting will be scheduled in the first week in October at the Boy Scouts Building.

CLINGMAN STREETSCAPE TREES: Pattiy explained that last year Duke cut down the mature sycamore trees between All Souls Pizza and the traffic circle and they have agreed to replant with native Hawthorns which should go in this winter. They have also hired a landscape crew to clear 18 feet back from the sidewalk before they plant. WECAN will maintain the 18 feet and RADBA will help pay for the planting maybe by the end of the year. Some shrubs may be saved for use in other parts of the neighborhood such as Owens Bell Park or short Hilliard.

MSD- has not done the line work near the traffic circle yet but will be working on a sewer line on Bartlett Street down to Depot Street that may have been leaking into a stream.

RAD FORM BASED CODE: The draft plan was sent back to P&Z from City Council asking to remove build-by-right for lodging and removing the area between the railroad and the river. Any lodging over 20 rooms will come before council as conditional zoning but anything smaller is by right.  Council has said there should be ‘no lodging-by-right’ at all and said this without consulting the community. P&Z went through an extensive community process and had decided to send the draft back to council as originally presented. Susan suggested writing to city council to keep the FBC as originally presented.

Rachel explained the issue on Lyman Hollow. She worked to keep the Neighborhood Transition area to 3 stories but the residents of Vernell Street also wanted three stories at 65 ft rather than 85 ft. Since the situations are so markedly different they decided not to change. COMMUNITY GARDEN Update: Byron reported the garden was resting for the season but would be planted this weekend with over-winter crops. She had fun working with kids and checking carrots each week. Janet would like to join in.

TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: Tuesday October 31 was set for a Halloween Party/ pot luck.

MISC:

 Lynn noticed foam on the French Broad River. It was recommended to notify the French Broad Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson  hartwellcarson@wnca.org or Eric Bradford at GreenWorks.

Travis asked about the possibility of painting the bases of the new Duke power distribution lines.

Meeting adjourned at 8:27 pm

Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola, Secretary Emeritus

Important Upcoming Dates:

Sep 11                              C.A.N. Meeting 7 p.m. Oakley Community Center                

Sep 13                   Duke Working Group Meetings           

Sep 15                   NH leaders Roundtable 8:30 @ Riverlink

Sep16                              Burton St Agricultural Fair

Sep 16                              Community Garden Network Fundraiser

Sep 20                              Greenworks Craven Street Bridge Cleanup 10-12

Sep 21                              Candidates Forum at the Wedge 6 pm                       

Oct 5                               Next WECAN Board Meeting Thursday 6:30 pm