Clean up on Riverside Drive

There will be two of different kinds... Progress Energy has contracted to do the final remediation of the manufactured gas plant across from CURVE studios & garden, so look for the guys in the white hazmat suits.  Tim Silar, project manager says it will take a couple of weeks to remove and replace 500 tons in 30 truck loads of soil.  Then it will be done, the COA will take possession of the land and hopefully sometime in the next several months, take down the chain link fence so we can access the river.
Then there is "Big Sweep"... an opportunity to volunteer to help clean up the river itself and its roadways thru the efforts of Asheville Greenworks & Riverlink which takes place Saturday, October 1, 2011 meeting @ Asheville Outdoor Center @ 9am until 1pm.

WECAN BYLAWS

 

WEST END/CLINGMAN AVENUE NEIGHBORHOOD INC. BY-LAWS

 

I.  These are the duly adopted Bylaws of West End/Clingman Avenue Neighborhood Inc. hereinafter called "the Corporation", a neighborhood association for the West End/Clingman Avenue neighborhood, hereinafter called, "WECAN".

II.  WECAN shall include the geographic area South of I240, East of the French Broad River, North of Lyman St and West of Clingman Ave.

III.  MEMBERS of the Corporation shall be residents of  WECAN who are of the age of 18 or more years.

IV.  MEETING OF THE CORPORATION

    A.  There shall be an Annual Meeting of the Members of the Corporation which shall take place in the Fall of each year.

    B.  The Members of the Corporation will have regular meetings on a semi-annual basis.

    C.  Special meetings of the Members of the Corporation may be called by the Executive Committee or by the Board of Directors.

    D.  Written or electronic notice of regular and special meetings of the Members of the Corporation shall be mailed or delivered at least seven days in advance of the meetings.

    E.  At any meeting of the Members of the Corporation, members present shall constitute a quorum.

    F.  All decision making of the Members of the Corporation shall be by majority of the members present and voting.

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.

        4.  VACANCIES   

            a. For the purposes of filling Resident Director vacancies only, the Board of Directors may elect temporary Directors at any duly called meeting of the Board of Directors.  Resident Directors elected to fill vacancies shall serve only until the next Annual Meeting at which time the membership of the Corporation shall elect Directors as needed to fill the unexpired terms.

            b. Vacancies in the At Large Directors may be filled by the Resident Directors at any duly called meeting of the Board of Directors.  At Large Directors so elected shall serve until the next regular election of At Large Directors.

        5.  Directors may be removed by the unanimous vote of the remaining Directors at any legally called meeting at which removal has been announced as an agenda item.   

        6.  Directors may resign at any time by giving a written notice to the Chair or to the Recorder.  

        7.  Resident Directors who no longer reside in the neighborhood are deemed no longer to be members of the Corporation as defined in Article II of these by-laws.  Any Director so disqualified shall be required to forfeit their positions as Director of the Corporation.   

    C. Meetings of the Board of Directors

        1.  Regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held at least quarterly, at times and places from time to time, determined by the Directors.

        2.  Special meetings may be called by the Chair or any other Director provided that the requirements for notice as provided in Article V, Section C, 5 are fully observed.

        3.  At any meeting of the Directors, a majority of the total number of Resident Directors shall constitute a quorum.

        4.  All decision making of the Board of Directors shall be by majority vote.

        5.  Notices of the meetings of the Board of Directors shall be mailed or delivered at lest seven days in advance of the meetings.

VI.  OFFICERS

    A.  Officers of the Corporation shall be duly elected by the Board of Directors from its number provided that the Chair and the Vice Chair must be Resident Directors.

    B.  the Officers of the Corporation shall be:

        1.  Chair who shall serve as President and whose duties shall be:

            a.  Preparing and distributing the agenda and notices of the meetings.

            b.  Presiding at all regular and special meetings. The chair may designate an alternate to conduct meetings when the chair and vice chair are both unable to preside.

        2.  Vice Chair who shall serve as Vice President and whose duties shall be to substitute for and perform the duties of the Chair in the Chair's absence.

        3.  Recorder who shall serve as Secretary and whose duties shall include:

            a.  Recording actions taken at meetings of the (membership and ) Directors

            b.  Preparing minutes of the meetings and causing them to be kept in a corporate record book.

            c.  Executing legal documents on behalf of the Corporation as directed by the Corporation.

        4.  Treasurer whose duties shall include:

            a.  Managing the financial accounts of the Corporation.

            b.  Keeping timely financial records and reporting regularly to the Corporation and to tax agencies and other government units as required.

            c.  Being a signatory on the Corporate checking and savings accounts.

    C. Officers serve for one year.

    D.  Officers may resign at any time with written notice given to one of the other officers.

    E.  Officers may be removed at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Directors provided that consideration of removal has been announced with the notice of the meeting.

    F.  Vacancies in the offices may be filled by the Directors at any regular or special meeting.  Officers so appointed will serve until the next Annual Meeting of the Corporation.

VII.  COMMITTEES

    A.  There shall be an Executive Committee composed of the Officers and the Chairs of Committees.  The Executive Committee may meet between meetings of the Board of Directors and is empowered to make decisions on behalf of the Directors provided that all such decisions are subject to review and ratification of the Board of Directors at its next regular meeting.

    B.  The Directors may from time to time cause Ad Hoc and Standing Committees to be formed.

VIII.  FUNDS of the Corporation shall be kept in such depositories as directed by the Board of Directors.

IX.  CONTRACTS, deeds and other instruments to which the seal of the Corporation is affixed shall be approved by the Directors and signed by the Recorder and any other persons as shall be designated by the membership.

X.  These By-Laws may be amended, altered or repealed by the membership of the Corporation at any duly called regular or special meeting provided that the membership shall receive proposed alterations with the regular notice of meeting.

Approved September 2011.

Clingman Streetscape Construction

Greg Shuler is happy to say that work is scheduled to commence on the second phase of Clingman Ave. beginning Monday morning. Looks like Monday-Wednesday will be saw/cutting the pavement.  Thursday will be demo of asphalt and concrete starting at the lower end moving up the street involving Jack hammer, flat bed dump truck and mini hoe.  Friday will possibly be spent forming and pouring from Thursday’s demo.  Will depend on how much we get cut and if weather forecast.  Please contact Greg Shuler or  Linda Kaye, our project inspector, at 777-4833 for project specifics.

Downtown Market Continues

The Downtown Market is still going on, thanks to Lance Hardcastle (Jefferons Drive resident) & Susie Watson... please support their efforts to keep a market within walking distance of WECAN and read more here.

WECAN September 2011 Board Meeting Minutes • Draft

WECAN Board Meeting on Thursday September 1, 2011 at Merritt Park Meeting Room

Members present: Byron Ballard, Jeff Carnivale, Joe Fioccola, Bret Frk, AnnaBeth Hardcastle, Yuri Koslen, Luke W. Perry, and Pattiy TornoMembers not present were: Jessie Coleman, Tom Gibson, Mike Kenton, Geraldine Melendez,  Jose Ruiz.

Also present were APD Officer Evan Coward, Marsha Stickford, Tara Irby, Dwayne Burton, Olufemi Lewis and  Torin Kexel.

Pattiy called the meeting to order at 6:30. After introductions the August meeting minutes were approved as distributed. Rah! to APD Officer Evan Coward who finished first in his age group(under 30) in the Police Mountain Bike Association Congress. Officer Leslie Torgow finished second in her age group (30-39)

Hillcrest Walkover Bridge: Marsha reported that an encroachment agreement between the City, Progress Energy and DOT has been signed opening the way for further clearing out of brush and under growth along the steps to the Hillcrest Walkover bridge. and along the fences. Some trees will be removed on recommendation from the city arborist. Patiy suggested all that merely limbing trees up to six feet was very effective at Aston Park. Should be completed by the end of October. Lighting should be sooner. Luke asked about picking up trash there. Marsha suggested talking to Susan Roderick with Asheville Greenworks  to coordinate volunteers and supplies. Marsha can help with Liability waivers and sanitation pick ups. Luke suggested having a cook out afterwards. A date for the cleanup will be set in October. Discussion of how Hillcrest can be more involved in cleaning up the area. Luke wants to push for Hillcrest to be more involved. Olufemi advised they are dealing with issues on their side about the presence of cameras and outreach to new residents. She observed that everyone has their own bubble of what they consider their safety zone –whether an apartment in Hillcrest or a house in WECAN.  The gate appears to be closing between 8 and 9 p.m. She also announced upcoming classes at Hillcrest. An 8 week workshop conducted by ‘Just Economics’ would begin on September 27. Residents of all neighborhoods are welcome to attend.

The City version of National Night Out  called “Night to Unite” will be on Saturday October 1^st at MLK Park from 4-7 p.m. All Community Resource Officers will attend and have tables set up with information about services available, food and fun and games for the kids.

Marsha reported on the Depot Street Parking Plan an outcome of the ‘Between the Bridges” meetings was a need for more parking on Depot St. Two alternate plans have been suggested. Plan A has 28 parking spaces and Plan B has 41 with new sidewalk on the east side and a crosswalk about halfway down. She passed around a copy of the plans which were hard to read. Once the plans are fully fleshed out there will be a community meeting with enlarged drawings.

The D.O.T Contact Committee has not met yet

Marsha is on the Kudzu on Jefferson Dr  growing over a hydrant, street light, no parking sign and guard rail. Bret suggested posting points on GoogleMaps to show DOT or city crews exact locations of homeless camps and overgrown kudzu.   

Block Captain Sub-Committee. Yuri passed around a map and anticipates  about 5 block captains will be needed to cover 15 to 25 addresses each. Still some flexibility in arranging the ‘blocks.’ The goal is improving communications and community watch.  Pattiy will attach maps of the different blocks to the next WECAN News Flash. Yuri will bring markers and maps to the next meeting.

By-Laws Sub Committee- Joe and Anna Beth met to review the WECAN By-Laws and update them to reflect what we actually do. 1) Where ‘written notice’ of meetings was satisfactory in 1997, most neighbors now have email so ‘electronic’ notices should be as good as written. 2) Officers do serve for more than 2 one year terms so if they are willing they should be re-newable each year. 3) Proposed alterations must go out with notice of the meeting to consider their adoption.4) Yuri suggested that the geographic description of the WECAN boundaries be described verbally rather that by reference to the (expired) ‘2010 City Plan.” Also that the chair may designate al alternate to conduct meetings when the chair and vice chair are both unable to preside. AnnaBeth will email final draft to Pattiy by Sept 30 to be published in the WECAN News notice of the General Membership meeting on November 3.

Tara Irby from the Sustainable Communities Initiative explained what that groups goals are. Project Manager is Jeff Stoddinger and the city has received a Federal planning grant of $850,000 to collaborate with DOT, EPA, HUD to promote live-ability and efficiency and find out what the needs of residents and business owners are in areas of affordable housing, transportation choices, building on infrastructure, connectivity, leveraging resources, valuing communities. To build on communities rather than wipe out communities (unlike the results of urban renewal initiatives in the 1960’s and 1970’s) Citizen participation: hearing what is important and needed in communities from Southside, S French Broad, Livingston, Walton to WECAN and Hillcrest.  The ‘Between the Bridges’ meetings of stakeholders were the first steps. It is a federal requirement to make a good faith effort and take it seriously. They are not revisiting ‘Urban Renewal.” Talking about “messaging,”’ interviewing stakeholders and getting “buy in.” The TENTATIVE kick-off was proposed for Thursday October 6  from 4:30-9 p.m. at either the Reid center or Livingston Center.  Lively discussion about this conflicting with our regular Board meeting date ensued. The main point being that since WECAN is reputed to be among the most organized neighborhoods in the city it is insulting, irresponsible and disrespectful to set that date for the kick-off that is supposed to be about community participation. A secondary point was to add to the planning process the skills and talents of community members such as urban planners, designers, architects and artists who actually live in the community. For avoiding conflicts in future it was noted that Kendra Turner in the Office of the City Manager has a comprehensive calendar of all public community meetings.  Tara advised she would take our concerns to her group’s next planning meeting.

Pattiy asked if there were any concerns about the Silver Dollar closing and a new restaurant opening soon that will be open for breakfast lunch and dinner. Except for more expensive food it was generally considered a plus rather than a minus. She will invite the new owners to our next meeting and ask for a menu.

AnnaBeth gave a follow up report on  the Downtown Market that a collective was formed; They have downsized(only the Café and Grocery are still open.) and they had a good write up in the Citizen times. Ready for the next step after some good discussions with the bank. Once there is an agreement there will be a grand opening.  

Clingman Streetscape schedule was published in the meeting notice and is copied at the end of these minutes.:

Pattiy reported that Clingman Lofts requested money to plant a garden. She advised them that our treasury was almost bare. She will ask them to come to a future meeting and make a proposal of where and what they want to plant and what their plan is. They may be able to use our 501©3 status to write a grant.  

Pattiy began discussion of the use of our email lists which was posed on g-mail She volunteered to draft criteria for ethical use of email, face0book, web-pages, Blogs, etc.

Adopt a Highway date set for Tuesday September 19 at 5 p.m meet at the Sign Corner..

Yuri announced  that ‘Get There Asheville’ was having a City Council Candidates’ Transportation Forum at the Clingman Café on Thursday September 22 from 6-7 p.m.

Meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola.

***************************************************************************************

From Mason Sexton, project manager for Moore & Sons : mason@mooreandson.net

Here is the tentative schedule for Clingman Avenue.  This is hard to schedule what gets done when because a lot of this is done simultaneously or immediately following removal.  There is also the unknown of the gas line and the proposed storm drainage.

Saw Cut Asphalt & Concrete                                                       09/19/11                              2 Days

Install Storm Drainage                                                                    09/21/11                              3 Days  

Remove Concrete & Asphalt                                                       09/26/11                              On Going Estimate 4 Weeks

Replace Concrete Curbing, Aprons & Walks                         09/26/11                              On Going Estimate 4 Weeks

Relocate Meters                                                                              09/26/11                              4 Days

Relocate Cleanouts                                                                         09/26/11                              2 Days  

Paving                                                                                                   11/07/11                              2 Days  

Striping                                                                                                 11/10/11                              2 Days  

Landscaping                                                                                       11/14/11                              3 Days

Estimate completion date of November 17, 2011 weather permitting with a September 19, 2011 start.  We were ready to start back on August 8, 2011, but based upon the WECAN meetings and complaints about starting we moved another project up so we wouldn’t have to start and stop on Clingman.  We may be back and ready to start on September 12, 2011 but I am not sure due to the rain events and additional work on the other project.

 Thanks,  

Mason Sexton Project Manager Moore & Son Site Contractors, Inc. 103 McDowell Road Mills River, NC 28759

828-891-8900 Ext. 103 828-891-8011 FAX 828-243-0986 Cell

Silver Dollar to The Asheville Public

The Silver Dollar is closing after 70 years serving food in the neighborhood.  The Asheville Public is slated to come to life in its old location.  This bringing up many issues that may be on interest and concern to WECAN so please know this will be a topic of discussion at our next meeting, September 1, 2011 @ 6:30pm @ 64 Clingman Avenue in MHO's Jessie Nell Coleman Community Room.

WECAN August 2011 Board Meeting Minutes • Draft

WECAN Board Meeting on Thursday August 4, 2011 at Merritt Park Meeting Room

Members present: Byron Ballard, Jeff Carnivale, Joe Fioccola, AnnaBeth Hardcastle, Mike Kenton, Yuri Koslen, Members not present were: Jessie Coleman, Bret Frk, Tom Gibson, Geraldine Melendez, Luke W. Perry, Jose Ruiz and Pattiy Torno.

Also present were:  Lance Hardcastle, Brad Smith, APD Officers Coward, Shelton, Loveless, and Stepp.

Yuri called the meeting to order at 6:36. After introductions the July meeting minutes were approved as distributed.

APD CRO update and questions:

            Homeless on DOT property: regarding the homeless camp between Park Ave and I240  while trash remains the camp is gone. Regarding a campsite behind the Phil mechanic Building it has been cleared and arrests were made.

Pedestrian Bridge:  Jackie reported that City sidewalks at the Hillcrest Walkover are overgrown. DOT will get  that done by November. Jackie relayed from Marsha that there are new LED lights on the Roberts St side and DOT will keep clear a ten foot strip on either side of the stairs leading to Roberts St. Also coming look for new markings for parking and possibly a new stop sign at Roberts and W Haywood by White Duck Taco.

Jackie announced that The City version of National Night Out will be on Saturday October 1^st at MLK Park from 4-7 pm (Rain Date Oct 8.) Hoping for improved attendance which has lately been poor at the “Official” date (First Tuesday in August.) Brad reported that “No Trespassing Signs which are posted on the Tennis Court side of the Ravine on the East of Clingman Ave. are not deterring people entering the area from the Merritt St. side.  Jackie assured us that posting every entrance is not necessary to enforce trespassing violations.

Jeff reported increased traffic on Jefferson Dr and that the dead end is overgrown with Kudzu it is hard to see suspicious activity or people sleeping in the road at the turnaround. Anna reported signs of activity such as condoms and litter and also reported that the fire hydrant at the dead end is completely hidden. The responsibility for maintaining the overgrowth may lie between the city and DOT.  

            The D.O.T Contact Committee has not met yet Anna Beth requested maps and more info of what are the issues and what areas are involved. Yuri suggested a brief brainstorming session to generate issues to start the conversation (such as maintenance of plantings/ground cover weeds; homeless camps, etc.) Mike advised that DOT can’t approve a community garden or any use involving people on their property due to liability issues. 

Garden Club July date was canceled next date set for Sunday August 21 at Owens Bell Park from 8 am to noon.

Clingman Streetscape has been adopted by Asheville Greenworks with support from Sitework Studios, Mail Management & CURVE studios & garden so far, with more RAD business chipping in thru a possible fundraiser in September 2011.

Neighborhood Watch Block Captains: Block Captain Sub-Committee has not met. Yuri passed around a map and requested suggestions for areas and prospective block captains.  Byron noted that West Asheville, a much larger neighborhood, was quickly and efficiently organized on line through face book to respond to their crime wave. He will send a request with a digital map attached before the next meeting.

Clingman Avenue Streetscape: Construction resumes this Monday August 8 on the upper half of Clingman Ave. starting on the lower end. The saw cut lines have already been set. Both lanes will not be closed at the same time. There should be communication between the construction Co and the residents. Brad requested an email schedule of the timeline. (Especially outages such as electric, gas, water and cable.) and residents want their shrubs undisturbed. A flyer of the timeline was suggested with a contact number for the project manager. Lance had heard some questions about the difficulty of cutting concrete and leaving sharp edges and the probability of having to re-pour.

Depot Street Parking Plan: working on a base map with marked parking along the railroad side and sidewalks and crosswalks to the five way.

Zoning Change for vacant lot north of Park Avenue on Club St.  It appears that it was inadvertently left off the latest zoning map. The proposal is to match it with adjacent zoning RM8.  The 0.27 acre parcel was sold by Urvana LLC to District Development LLC on 6/13/2011. It is unknown if there are any immediate plans to develop the site.

Downtown Market: First Bank was the sole bidder for the foreclosed property. They say they will honor existing leases for Amazing Savings and the two restaurants but may only offer 30 day leases.  Lance reported that there is 20,000 sq ft of unused air-conditioned  and heated safe walking distance space. He requested Ideas for potential uses. One idea mentioned was to provide a place for the itinerant food vendors like a food court. Other ideas are local retiree training in practical craft skills such as caning chairs, or making apple pies, or free school (Cabin Fever University) where the rent would be modest to zero. The central part of the building is where the majority of the space and energy are. He suggested a letter of support and ideas for usage showing community ties and support from WECAN, SFBN; DARN, ADA, Downtown Commission, AGCB and TWCA. to persuade the bank to sell. Also to use face book and blogs to promote support and ideas. An idea to get people into the space was an open house event like a cookout. Organizations to contact for small business incubator ideas include Mountain Bizworks, Advantage West, AB Tech, Handmade in America. Lance will send out a one paragraph write up about what is needed.

Flea Market Parking on Lyman St behind Paneling World cars may not park in the bicycle lane. Call in violations. They need to start getting the word out or vehicles will get ticketed and possibly towed. Byron will notify Jody with Short Street Cakes.

By-Laws- Joe and Anna Beth will meet to draft proposed changes to WECAN By-Laws.

Annual Meeting: November 3,2011 with potluck.

Meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m.