WECAN Board Meeting Minutes October 4, 2018
Board Members present: Danny Aull, Joe Fioccola, Lynn Hall, and Pattiy
Torno. Members not present Byron Ballard, Jessie Coleman, Jared Fischer,
Rebecca Lance, Rachel Larson, Luke Perry, Floree Lowery, Caroline Mullis.
Also present Gerald Harbinson, Rich Peterson, APD Community Liaison Lt
Chuck Sams, John Steinkraus and CRO Justin Wilson.
INTROS: Lynn called the meeting to order at 6:313 pm with a round of
introductions..
MINUTES: Danny moved and Pattiy seconded a motion to approve the minutes
as emailed. The motion passed.
TREASURERS REPORT: Rebecca reported no activity in September. The balance
is $460.99.
APD CRO UPDATE: Officer Wilson announced that the city has hired a new
Homeless Coordinator. He will invite Brian Huskey to a future WECAN
meeting. A person caught on camera was charged with vandalism to the Jonas
Gerard Studio. A backpack found in the river exploded on a kayak doing a
river cleanup. No one was injured when the portable meth lab detonated. On
September 24 a body was found at a Clingman Avenue job site but it appears
the 53 year old man died of natural causes. An unlocked vehicle was broken
into and the victim also complained about finding syringes in the park.
Pattiy announced that she has a sharps container if ever needles need to
be disposed. There are no conclusions from studies on whether sharps boxes
or needle exchanges are effective or not. There was a question about
reporting vagrancy or loitering. Justin noted that neither are crimes,
however any suspicious activity can be investigated by officers, even
though many times there is an innocent explanation. A witness saw the
shooting on September 7 near Clingman and Hilliard between two vehicles.
Later a gunshot wound was reported on the Jeff Bowen Bridge. The victim
survived but is still hospitalized and was not cooperative about the
incident that began at Lee Walker Heights. A tent was reported in the
ravine behind Merritt Park. There was a question about a gang war.
Apparently there are some gang members in Asheville but no big organized
groups and many conflicts are between individuals who are gang members
rather than between gangs. A question was asked about the crime rate in
Asheville. With no specifics Justin feels the violent crime rate is up and
reminded that on the city website is a community crime map where citizens
can look up different types of reports in geographic areas.
NEIGHBOR/BLOCK JESSIE UPDATES: Ewan Zachary Davis was born to Amanda and
Travis on Jefferson. Another Jefferson resident complained about crazy
drivers. The Curve Studios wwere prepared for hurricane Florence but were
not flooded. Joe noticed a Road Closure sign on Clingman closing Smathers
Lane which apparently runs west from Clingman Avenue .
SAFE STREETS PROPOSAL: Rich and Lyn met with Ken Putnam and the new
traffic Engineer Andrew Cibor about speeding traffic on West Haywood
Street from Hilliard to Roberts. They discussed different ideas about
traffic calming. Step one is to collect data. We are on the tubes
listwhich will tract times of day, speeds and volume. A traffic count
over a thousand takes you to step two: updating the location and
visibility of the speed limit signs. Step three is to use the ‘your speed
is’ signs and consider other options such as speed humps, or recommending
one way traffic. Lynn noted the process is ongoing and will report back
on updates.
PROTOCOL FOR BOARD MEMBERSHIP: Joe noted the by-laws are posted on the
WECAN Website explaining the election of board members to three year terms
in November. They elected board selects the roles of officer at the
January meeting. Board members may served up tp two consecutive three year
terms before having to rotate off the board for a year. Among new duties
to be assigned will be for the Chair to publish meeting agenda and the
Vice Chair to publish the minutes and reminders. Pattiy noted the
Communications Committee was working on a plan for organizing distribution
of records and notices. Three who must rotate off in 2019 ate Byron,
Rachel and Pattiy. Two who may serve are Rich or Lesa and Ben. Pattiy
noted we should strive for diversity of all kinds.
From the ByLaws:
V. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
A. The property, affairs and activities of the Corporation shall be
managed by a Board of Directors.
B. Directors:
1. There may be up to 15 Directors of the Corporation
2. There shall be two classes of Directors:
a. Resident Directors who must be members of the Corporation
and shall be elected by the membership at its Annual Meeting.
This class must constitute at least 60% of the Board of
Directors.
b. At-Large Directors who shall be elected by the Resident
Directors and shall constitute up to, but nor more than 40% of
the total number of Directors. The Resident Directors may
from time to time decide on criteria for selecting At Large
Directors, but must provide for representation of WECAN
non-resident property owners.
3. TERMS
a. Resident Directors shall be elected for three year terms
and shall be organized in annual classes with each class
serving a different three year term. No Resident Director
shall serve more than two consecutive, three year terms. Terms
shall begin on January 1, following the Annual Meeting.
b. At-Large Directors shall be elected to one year terms at
the January meeting of the Board of Directors.
DUKE SUBSTATION: Duke will appear before the Downtoen Commission on Friday
October 12 at 8:30 on the first floor of City Hall. They are set to go to
Planning and Zoning in December and City Council in January.
NCDOT ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT: Joe checked back with Ken Putnam and the
agreement has been received from NCDOT but has not heard of progress from
the city.
KUDZU HILL WORKDAY The last two days set were rained out, but the
GreenWorks crew is set to work on Friday October 5 at 10 am. Also regular
scheduled workdays are 5 pm Sunday October 7 and 21.
WECAN NEWSLETTER: The deadline was set for Friday October 26 which just
happens to be Pattiy’s birthday. The following assignments are expected:
Joe: Adopt A Highway, Tax Exemption and Kudzu Cleanup. Pattiy: Duke
SubStation, RADTIP (and photos of Jessie and Kudzu Hill.) Rebecca:
Community Garden Update and Participation Appeal. Rachel: Memorial for
John Weber. Charlie: Cartoon.
RENAMING STREET ISSUE: The City Street name coordinator affirmed that it
is a good time to rename the section of Park Avenue North behind Grey
Eagle--since no one is currently living there. It is confusing for 911 to
have two discontinuous sections of a street with the same name. He
received a request from a developer to call it RAD VIEW RIDGE. Pattiy is
concerned about the commercialization aspect and that it contributes
nothing to the neighborhood. She suggested remembering some of the first
River Artists Porge and Lewis Buck and was dismissed. Another suggestion
was Thunder Road which at least relates to the history of place. (The
Robert Mitchum movie was filmed there.) The general feeling is that it
should respect and relate to the neighborhood.
144 RIVERSIDE DRIVE: The Planning and Design Review Committee of the
Asheville Area Riverfront Redevelopment Commission will meet in the 5th
floor of City Hall at 11 am, Monday October 8th. The purpose of the
meeting is to perform Design Review on one or more projects in the Wilma
Dykeman RiverWay corridor, including the Jettie Rae's Restaurant proposal
for 144 Riverside Drive.
FESTIVAL OF NEIGHBORHOODS: Joe announced that the Neighborhood Advisory
Committee event will take place at AB Tech on Saturday October 27 from
10-12 to find out about Plan on a Page, Corridor Plans and Small Area
Plans. Flyer attached.
Meeting adjourned at 8:27 pm
Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola, Secretary
Mark your Calendars for upcoming events and meetings
Oct 5 Friday 10 am GreenWorks Kudzu Hill workday
Oct 7 Sunday 5-6 pm Kudzu Hill Work Hour
Oct 12 Friday 8:30 am Downtown Commission Duke meeting
Oct 13/14 Sat/Sun Parade of Homes including 21 Girdwood Street
Oct 13 Saturday RAD Second Saturdays
Oct 11 Thursday 6-7 pm Community Garden Meet Up
Oct 18 Thursday 6-7 pm Community Garden Meet Up
Oct 25 Thursday 6-7 pm Community Garden Meet Up
Oct 20/21 Sat/Sun Parade of Homes including 21 Girdwood Street
Oct 21 Sunday 5-6 pm Kudzu Hill Work Hour
Oct 26 Newsletter copy
deadline
Oct 27 Saturday 10-12 Festival of Neighborhoods AB
Tech
Oct 31 Wednesday 5:30 Halloween Pot Luck at Community
Garden
