Asheville City Council
September 27, 2022
Regular meeting
Other City businessWaterStreets and transitPublic safetyHomelessnessHousing
What it did
- Rezones 650 and 652 Caribou Rd, with conditions, from Residential Multi-Family Medium Density (RM-8) to Residential Expansion - Conditional Zone (RES EXP-CZ).Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
- Approves the Volunteer of America’s request for a $1,500,000 Housing Trust Fund loan to construct 54 new affordable apartments and rehabilitate 50 affordable…Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
- Approves the Water Resources Department’s 10-year Capital Improvement forecast.Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
- Signs a contract with Miller 3 Consulting Inc. for Consulting services to complete the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Disparity Study.Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
- Votes recorded
- 13
- Voted on separately
- 3
- Routine items, one vote
- 10
- Votes that split
- 0
Why it matters
Regular meetings are where Council votes on laws, the budget, contracts and zoning. Routine items pass together in one vote, called the consent agenda.
The recording
Everything on the agenda
From the minutes, in the order the City lists them. Each item's first lines are the minutes' own words.
CONSENT AGENDA
10 routine items, passed together in one vote.
PRESENTATIONS & REPORTS
Buncombe County bond program 9-27-22
“Page 14 Buncombe County Commission Chair Brownie Newman gave City Council a brief update on the County’s Bond Program.”
MANAGER’S REPORT 9-27-22: Page 15 Noise Ordinance Update Interim
“Assistant City Manager Ben Woody introduced the City’s new Noise Ordinance Administrator Todd Justice.”
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into an interlocal agreement with the Asheville City Board of Education for maintenance of donated playground equipment at Jones Park
“City Attorney Branham said that this is the consideration of adoption of a resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into an interlocal agreement with Asheville City Board of Education regarding the maintenance of donated playground equipment at Jones Park.”
Jones School; (2) The playground was removed due to safety and maintenance concerns in 2021; (3) Thereafter, community members offered to make a financial donation to ACS to fully fund the construction of a new playground at this site:…
“9-27-22 Page 26 (4) The Asheville City Board of Education voted unanimously last week to enter into an interlocal agreement with the City of Asheville to construct a new playground and ensure its maintenance for the useful life of the equipment; and (5) City staff, including representatives from…”
NEW BUSINESS
Motion to approve the Water Resource Department’s 10-year Capital Improvement schedule
“Water Resources Director David Melton said that is consideration of a motion to review and approve the Water Resource Department’s 10-year Capital Improvement schedule.”
INFORMAL DISCUSSION AND PUBLIC COMMENT
Public comment
- need for dedicated pickleball courts
- success of Asheville App
- comments regarding judicial elections
Voted on separately
Each of these had its own motion and vote.
Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
More from the minutes
- “Open space is required at a rate of 15% of the site, resulting in 2.2 acres of open space, with at least one 10,500 square foot area that provides park or plaza-type features.”
- “The project is providing 11.8 acres of open space.”
- “A total of 105 parking spaces are proposed for the new and existing dwelling units.”
Approves the Water Resources Department’s 10-year Capital Improvement forecast.
Passed. Everyone present voted yes.
More from the minutes
- “Councilwoman Mosley reiterated the horrific story of Candice Pickens (23 years old) and her 3-year old son Zachaeus who were shot at Jones Park on May 11, 2016.”
Routine items, passed together
The consent agenda: items Council approves in one vote, without separate discussion. A member can ask to pull an item out for its own vote.
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
More from the minutes
- What the minutes say it will do: “The study will determine the utilization of M/WBEs by the City for the appropriate time frame through a review of all or a statistically significant portion of the City’s respective contracts for General Services, Professional Services, Construction and Repair, and procurement of goods.”
- The money, in the minutes' words: “Motion to adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract with Miller 3 Consulting, Inc. for consulting services to complete the City of Asheville’s FY23 Disparity Study in the amount of $287,275.00.”
- “The selection criteria included: Experience and qualifications of the firm and proposed staff, relevant experience & references, proposed project plan, proposed cost, overall proposal & completeness.”
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
More from the minutes
- What the minutes say it will do: “This program is an enterprise fund that is supported by the participation and work generated by partner agencies (Duke Energy, Dominion Energy, City of Asheville Water Resources, and City of Asheville Stormwater Division).”
- The money, in the minutes' words: “Action Requested: Adoption of a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract with Appalachian Paving and Concrete, Inc. in the amount of $266,125.00 plus a 19.5% contingency of $51,894.37, for a project total of $318,019.37, for the Fiscal Year 2023 Utility Cut Concrete Repair contract.”
Changes the budget for the multimodal transportation Planning for the East Patton Corridor.
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
More from the minutes
- What the minutes say it will do: “This project will allow safer crossings and connections for the greenways.”
- The money, in the minutes' words: “Action Requested: Adoption of a budget amendment to appropriate $264,000 in the Special Revenue Fund for the purpose of multimodal transportation planning for the East Patton Corridor.”
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
More from the minutes
- What the minutes say it will do: “This contract provides free Lead Testing for all City of Asheville Water Customers to help expand the Lead Awareness Education Program.”
- The money, in the minutes' words: “Action Requested: Adoption of a resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into a three year contract with Environmental Testing Solutions for $125,000.00 to provide lead analysis.”
- “The testing program will inform water customers about potential lead in their homes.”
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
More from the minutes
- “Quality Affordable Housing”
Approves in principle the issuance by the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville of up…
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
Who it's for: Households earning up to 60% of the area median income: up to $61,440 a year for a family of four, or $43,020 for one person (HUD's 2026 income limits for tax-credit housing in the Asheville area).
More from the minutes
- “The building was originally constructed in the early 1920s as the Battery Park Hotel and underwent an extensive adaptive reuse in the 1980s to allow for affordable housing.”
- “All 122 units at Battery Park are currently, and will continue to be, covered by a long-term Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment project-based subsidy making them affordable to households at and below 60% AMI.”
- “122 units of affordable senior housing will be preserved and renovated.”
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
More from the minutes
- “Ability to maintain security of our source of water at the reservoir which is currently highly restricted.”
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
Lets the City Manager execute an addendum to the Axon Enterprise Inc.
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
More from the minutes
- What the minutes say it will do: “This contract amendment will add these required missing fees for our Fleet vehicle cameras for the last three years of the contract as well the missing fees for our Interview Room platform for the last year of the contract at the price points they would have been originally included at back in 2020.”
Passed with the routine items, in one vote, without discussion.
More from the minutes
- What the minutes say it will do: “The project will also include corrections to ongoing drainage issues.”
- “.189 acres of Right of Way”
- “.037 acres of Temporary Construction Easement”
- “.020 acres of Permanent Drainage Easement”
The plain-language lines are written by fixed rules from each item's official title, which is on each decision's page. Every vote the minutes record is listed; procedural motions, like approving the minutes or adjourning, are left out.