2026-10-08 - Council Agenda Briefing Worksession

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00:29Council and staff, when I call your

00:31name, please say hello. Council member

00:35Maggie Olman,

00:36>> good morning everybody.

00:39>> Council member Kim Rooney,

00:41>> good morning.

00:43>> Council member Bo Hess.

00:46>> Hey everyone.

00:47>> Council member Sage Turner.

00:50>> Good morning.

00:52>> Council member Shenica Smith.

00:54>> Hello.

00:56Assistant City Manager Ben Woody.

01:00>> Morning.

01:02>> Assistant City Manager Jay Dundis.

01:05>> Good morning, everyone.

01:07>> City Attorney Brad Brandom.

01:09>> Good morning.

01:11>> City Clerk Maggie Berles.

01:13>> Good morning.

01:15>> All right. So, I will go ahead and pass

01:17it over to Assistant City Manager Ben

01:19Woody, who will be facilitating the call

01:22today.

01:24Thank you, manager Wesley, and good

01:26morning, council. Uh, I'm going to do a

01:29lot of talking today because I also have

01:31to present the other issues item. So,

01:34um, as always, please let me know if you

01:36have any questions. Just raise your hand

01:38and stop me. And I will start with our

01:41agenda for the October 13th meeting.

01:46So, diving right into that, you have two

01:48proclamations scheduled. We have uh

01:51domestic violence prevention and

01:53awareness month and we have National

01:55Diabetes Awareness Month.

01:59Moving on to the consent agenda. We

02:01actually have a pretty short consent

02:02agenda for this meeting. Um item B is a

02:05budget amendment for our downtown

02:08improvement district and I'm going to

02:09talk about that more during the other

02:11issues section of this agenda.

02:14Uh moving on to items D and E. These are

02:18renewal of contracts. So, we uh bid out

02:21maintenance services for our

02:24uh French Broad Riverfront parks and we

02:26also bid out maintenance service for

02:28some of our downtown parks as well. So,

02:30these are just the renewal of those two

02:32contracts. Uh the contractor's rivertop

02:35contracting and these are one-year

02:36contracts with the option for one-year

02:39renewal for a period of four years.

02:44Moving on to item F. uh council, you'd

02:47seen this a few times in the past and

02:49you're probably familiar with why this

02:52occurs, but whenever the housing

02:53authority of the city of Asheville, uh

02:56when they issue bonds,

02:59uh the city council by statute is

03:01required to approve the issuance of

03:03those bonds. Uh to be clear, all we're

03:07doing is approving the issuance. HKA or

03:09the housing authority, city of

03:10Asheville. They are responsible

03:12uh for the debt service and the

03:14oversight of those bond issuances. Uh

03:17this particular bond issuance is in

03:19support of 319 Builtmore. This is a

03:21city-owned parcel of land uh that is

03:24tagged for affordable housing

03:25development. It's got a number of

03:27sources of funding. Uh and this bond

03:30issuance is just part of the capital

03:31stack the developers utilizing. And I

03:34will stop there, Council Member Hess,

03:35and we'll take your question.

03:41Yes. Thanks, Ben. Uh, I want to actually

03:44go back to the

03:47contracts

03:50for lawn care and landscaping. Do you

03:53want to do that now or after this?

03:55>> No, let's go ahead. Let's go ahead and

03:57do that. And I may need some help from

03:58Jade on that, but we hopefully can

04:00answer your questions.

04:01>> Yeah. So, I'm just one how what how

04:04what's the staff like? How many people

04:06do we have staff-wise in parks and

04:08recreation?

04:12>> Anyone know that?

04:13>> Uh, not off the top of my head, but we

04:16can certainly get that information for

04:17you. Um, we do I would point out that

04:20we're we're broken into two major

04:21divisions. One would be asset ma

04:23maintenance, which would take care of um

04:26uh this type of work. Um, obviously

04:28we're not staffed enough to to we we

04:31require some supplemental uh work. So

04:33this is that to supplement the other

04:35group is recreation programming. So um

04:39so that so those are like I said asset

04:41maintenance was park maintenance and

04:42then recreational programs.

04:45>> Okay. So yeah I would like to know how

04:48much staff we have at parks and wreck

04:49and how many staff we already have to

04:51landscaping and lawnmowing and things

04:54like that. This was actually a big thing

04:56that came up when I was at Weaver Park

04:58from the taxpayers there. They felt

05:00like, why are we spending and spending

05:03these contracts on more landscaping when

05:06we have one of the largest departments

05:08in parks and wreck and we have a whole

05:10dedicated crew there. Um, that money

05:12could actually be used to repair and

05:15make that park uh what that community

05:17and neighborhood wants. So, um, yeah,

05:20I'm a little interested at those two

05:21contracts and I would like to look at

05:23those a little closer.

05:26>> We will get we'll follow up with that

05:28information.

05:32Thank you, Council Member He. And yeah,

05:33we can include some additional

05:34information in the follow-up document.

05:37Um, and of course, more information is

05:39included with the staff reports in the

05:41agenda package. Okay. Any other

05:44questions on the consent?

05:47I said it's a pretty short one for us.

05:49So, I'm going to move on through the

05:51agenda. Uh, we do have one presentation

05:54as part of our manager report. We're

05:56going to have Shannon Thimpson from our

05:58public works department. She's going to

06:00give an update on storm water asset

06:03inventory and assessment project. I know

06:06that sounds fairly bureaucratic, but

06:07it's actually really interesting work

06:09that our public works department is

06:11doing to try to kind of get ahead of

06:13some of our storm water infrastructure

06:14challenges. So, I think council, you'll

06:16really appreciate some of the work

06:19associated with that project.

06:23I'm going to move over to public

06:24hearings next. Uh I'm going to hit these

06:27real briefly. I do have planning staff

06:28on the call if we want to get into any

06:31kind of deeper conversation, but we have

06:33two public hearings. The first is a

06:35conditional reasoning for property owned

06:38Tri Street. Uh this is actually owned by

06:41Habitat for Humanity. They've planned to

06:43develop this project for several years

06:46now. Uh they were able to acquire an

06:48adjacent piece. So the reason we're

06:50reszoning this is because the the

06:53property now has a bigger footprint. So

06:55we're incorporating more land into the

06:56request and they also because of that

06:59have a new site layout. So typically

07:02when you have a conditional zoning and

07:04if there's substantive changes it

07:06usually requires it to come back through

07:08city council and that's what this is

07:10doing. So again uh just kind of a a

07:13reboot of a Habitat project or Habitat

07:16on Land off of Tribe Street and West

07:18Chapel Roads.

07:20And then public hearing item B is

07:23Costco, which I know has been a big uh

07:26topic for council in the community. My

07:28understanding is this went to planning

07:30and zoning last night and received a

07:31unanimous recommendation for approval.

07:34Uh this will come to city council at

07:35your October 13th meeting. Um it has

07:40several technical modifications that

07:42council will consider which is pretty

07:43typical for a conditional zoning

07:45process. And I'll pause there to see if

07:47we have any questions on either of these

07:50two public hearing items.

07:57Councilwoman Turner.

07:59>> Thank you, Ben. The Costco item. Um I

08:02haven't seen the PZ documents yet and

08:04I'll be sure to review and listen to the

08:06meeting, but is there a side by side of

08:09like the first round and what's changed?

08:12Will we see any indication of, you know,

08:15I don't like marked up versions of this

08:18round and what's different from when it

08:19came to us? Like it didn't really come

08:21to council, but what's changed since the

08:22staff review and what made the pull out?

08:24I just want to make sure we're hammering

08:26in on the details that ensure we can get

08:28it across the finish line.

08:31>> Yeah, I you know I surprisingly I don't

08:34know that a whole lot has changed in in

08:36some ways. I think Chris I think Chris

08:38has popped up. So Chris, I'll let you

08:39kind of take that question and

08:41um yeah, just let it and maybe it's

08:44something if you can't answer on the

08:45spot, Chris, we could perhaps have that

08:47ready by the public hearing, but I'll

08:49turn it over to you, Chris, and then we

08:50can go to Council Member Ron's question

08:52after that.

08:55>> Yes, absolutely. So, we have not

08:56presented that thus far with the case.

08:59Um, but we can be prepared to answer

09:01questions and possibly have some

09:02information presenting what those

09:04changes are um that are primarily

09:06centered around how roads and access are

09:10built.

09:12>> I recall there were things around

09:14greenways and parking and trees and so

09:16on. I just love like a kind of a where

09:19we were and what the risk factor was

09:23that you know made them ultimately walk

09:25versus where we are now to ensure I'm

09:27not voting on something that will

09:29subject them to possibly withdrawing.

09:32You know what I mean? So I just kind of

09:33want to side by side. Any data you can

09:35present would be great on paper outside

09:38of conversation better.

09:41>> Yes. Got it. Thank you.

09:51Uh, Councilwoman Ronnie,

09:54>> thank you. So, um, my understanding is

09:56there were significant issues with MSD

10:00and sewage and we had applied for some

10:02grant funding, but we didn't get it and

10:04that that sewage need was for the whole

10:06neighborhood, but the burden was falling

10:08on the Costco side. Um, so I just wanted

10:10to make sure that we have our sewage

10:12worked out, that MSD has its problems

10:14worked out. I know there were storm

10:15water issues, and also, um, we're

10:18working on the roads. So, from the MO

10:22side, um, I've asked the NO to be ready

10:25if we need a letter of support to change

10:28the regional documents for planning so

10:30that the roads can be resolved. Um, it

10:33sounds to me that we're moving in the

10:35right direction, but if there are any

10:37barriers for the MSD or um the state

10:40maintain roads, then that would be

10:41helpful to know that in that sideby-side

10:43comparison.

10:46>> No, we will uh provide information on

10:48that. Thank you.

10:50>> Yeah, thank you, Kim. Great point.

10:52>> Could I I don't understand what you're

10:54talking about with a letter of support

10:56from

10:58the NO.

11:00what what specifically would they be in

11:02support of

11:04>> when you might remember when the um the

11:07decision was made to put fun into I26

11:09instead of San Hill Sardis and the other

11:11local corridors that San Hill Sardis

11:13project would have supported the Costco

11:15and then it was defunded for 30 years.

11:18Um, so in order for roads like that and

11:21the the corridor to be back in the

11:24planning documents, it could require um

11:27a supportive letter or a change in the

11:29regional planning documents. So I've let

11:31the staff know at the NO side as well um

11:35as the chair and copied um the mayor and

11:39Sage on that um information. and that

11:42was like two months ago. Um, asking us

11:44to be ready to make any changes that

11:45were needed.

11:46>> Would the letter of support be to Costco

11:49because it wouldn't change the long

11:51range step by having a developer come? I

11:54just don't understand what I don't

11:56understand what you're saying the action

11:57would do.

12:00Okay. Um, in order to change the

12:03document so that we can receive funding

12:05at the state and federal level for us to

12:07do the road improvements, um, we may

12:10have to make changes to our planning

12:12documents. Um, so I'm happy to forward

12:16information, but once again, I copied it

12:18on the for the NO members that are

12:20representatives of council at this time.

12:23Um, and so we'll be ready to move

12:25forward if we need to.

12:30Maggie, for me, um, uh, I when I was

12:35initially informed that Costco wasn't

12:37going to move forward, I was I kind of

12:39dug in on the wise and ended up talking

12:42with nearby

12:44uh, I guess developments or property

12:46owners. I'm not sure what they

12:47represented necessarily, but there were

12:48nearby projects that had additional

12:51issues with the roads that also led to

12:54Costco. So I kind of understood that

12:56there was a greater ask of potentially

12:58NC DOT to work with those that area on

13:02an improvement. So that's kind of what I

13:03was leaning into. If there is something

13:05that we as NO members of council could

13:07do to support that, that's that's where

13:10I was coming from. If that helps at all.

13:21Okay, Kim, do you have another or

13:23Council Moni, I'm sorry. Do you have

13:25another question?

13:26>> No, thank you.

13:27>> Okay.

13:29Anybody else on the two public hearing

13:31items?

13:34>> Yeah, I think planning staff will heard

13:37that and we'll try to get together kind

13:38of a comparison.

13:40Um, I'll note that of course, you know,

13:42some of the items that came up are are

13:44some are cityreated, but a lot are

13:46related to DOT and other agencies, but

13:48we've worked closely with them. So,

13:50we'll kind of do our best to put that

13:51together

13:53and make sure council has access to

13:55that.

13:56>> Thank you, Ben. It's exciting.

13:58>> Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Good questions.

14:00Okay. So, for unfinished business, we

14:02have one item. This is uh an amendment

14:06to our home art allocation plans.

14:10And we discussed this previously and you

14:12actually had a public hearing on this at

14:14your last meeting and as we discussed

14:17then uh the process requires a public

14:20hearing followed by a vote that's

14:23scheduled separately. So this will be

14:25your vote on that substantial amendment

14:29um to the whole AARP allocation. uh in

14:31your agenda package you'll see uh kind

14:34of a summary or you'll see an attachment

14:36of public comments that we received as

14:38part of the public comment period. So

14:41again this is the same item you had a

14:43presentation from uh HD last meeting and

14:48this will be your uh time to vote on

14:50that allocations or that amendment on

14:52the allocation.

14:56Okay, I'm going to move to our last

14:57item, new business. Uh this is a pretty

15:01exciting item actually. This is our uh

15:04we are accepting funding from the

15:06destination home

15:08uh which is kind of the right at home

15:10initiative. This is kind of a private

15:12sector sponsored initiative. Uh these

15:15are funding that are being awarded to

15:17the COC and what this does it tries to

15:19look for strategies or ways uh to combat

15:22or prevent homelessness upstream. So,

15:25this is the idea that you try to um you

15:29try to try to connect or intervene with

15:31a person before they're actually

15:32homeless. So, you're trying to really be

15:34upstream from a lot of the challenges we

15:36see. So, really excited about this. Uh I

15:38know the COC is excited about this and

15:41Emily Ball of course will be uh at your

15:43meeting on the 13th to provide a little

15:45more detail in a presentation.

15:50Any other questions on your agenda

15:53for the 13th?

15:58Okay.

16:00All right. Seeing none, I'm going to

16:02move to your 8week agenda.

16:05And you've got pretty pretty big pretty

16:07big agendas on the 27th and in November.

16:09So, just want to highlight a couple of

16:11things. I'll start with October 27th.

16:14Uh item four tenatively on the consent

16:17is a Malver Hills uh construction

16:20amendment and that is just an amendment

16:23to that particular project for the pool

16:26and the park is going to be a design

16:28bill project. So this is just amendment

16:30to that construction process and Jade

16:32can certainly explain that more if you

16:34have any questions that this is just

16:36kind of moving through the contractual

16:38process for that project.

16:41Uh item six on the October 27th is one

16:46we haven't talked about in a while but a

16:48really important one. This is uh the

16:50resolution for the agreement for

16:53sections A and C betterments for the I26

16:56project. Council remembers, we had an

16:59aesthetic committee that worked many

17:00years on this. And one of the things

17:02that the city of Ashel based on their

17:05recommendations committed to was really

17:08aesthetic and and I think functionality

17:11uh betterment along the 26 project to

17:15make sure that we have particularly

17:16along like Patton where it connects into

17:18um downtown and West. So this is just a

17:21continuation of that work.

17:26Uh moving on, I'm going to jump down to

17:28the November 10th meeting next. Uh one

17:31thing I'm excited about is item two on

17:34that tenative consent agenda. That is

17:36our agreement with Riverlink. As council

17:38remembers, we did a RFP to try to

17:41activate 91 Riverside. That's the parcel

17:43of land the city owns that has the old

17:46smoke stack on it. We we've had that

17:47down there for many years.

17:49The original thought was to use that for

17:51multifamily, but not sure that's a good

17:54idea anymore because it's in a flood

17:56zone. Um, we've been able to put out an

17:59RSP. Uh, Riverlink was the highest rated

18:03responder and we're moving forward with

18:05a lease agreement with them uh to really

18:07activate that property as a short-term

18:10use. So, really excited about that

18:11partnership.

18:14The last thing I'll cover on the 8week

18:16is when we get to December 8th, your

18:18first December meeting, we're going to

18:20be talking about uh the fiscal year 2026

18:24audit. I know everybody loves that

18:26presentation. And also, you'll be

18:29adopting your budget calendar for FY20

18:3228. So, if you can believe it, we're

18:33going to start you on the budget process

18:35in December.

18:38Any questions on the 8week?

18:42test them to keep moving. Um, council

18:45committees, we have

18:48tentatively we had a hold for HCD and

18:52peed for the October meeting, but

18:54because of a lack

18:57of actional agenda items for both of

19:00those committees, we do anticipate

19:01cancing those committee meetings for

19:04October. So, nothing to cover on those

19:06today.

19:09And I think that leaves us with other

19:10issues.

19:13Um,

19:15manager Wesley, do you want to introduce

19:17anything on other issues or do you need

19:19to keep

19:20moving through?

19:22>> Yeah, only that um you all recall during

19:25our um budget process. We had quite a

19:29bit of discussion around uh our MSD for

19:32downtown and we have uh Ben and I and

19:36Dana Dana from housing economic

19:38development have continued to work with

19:41our AD leadership having conversations

19:43around uh the different pieces of that

19:45puzzle. So, this presentation is to give

19:48you kind of an update on where we are on

19:51that, but also to bring forward um some

19:54recommendations for utilization of that

19:56fund, that sales tax funding during this

19:58fiscal year, a portion of it. So, Ben is

20:01going to get into those details, but um

20:04just wanted to before he he spoke share

20:07that we've had some pretty productive

20:08conversations with ADA leadership on the

20:10last couple months.

20:14Go ahead, Ben. I think there's a couple

20:17hands up.

20:18>> Yeah. Before we go into that, can I

20:20didn't get my hand up about the um

20:22council committees, but can I ask a

20:24question?

20:25>> Sure.

20:26>> Yes.

20:27>> Um what I'm hearing is we are having

20:29tenative committee meetings um but since

20:32peed got

20:34cancelled last month and we're waiting

20:37on peed to do the mobile fair app

20:40conversation for the bus. Um this is

20:43getting ready to be our busy leave

20:45season. It was it was really hopeful to

20:48me that we could expedite some um

20:50solutions around people being able to

20:52pay to get on the bus so we don't leave

20:53them behind um especially when you know

20:56our visitors can't necessarily go all

20:58the way downtown and and buy a ticket um

21:01if they're at the airport and they're

21:02getting turned away. So if we're not

21:03going to have peed, can we just please

21:05bring mobile apps somehow to council or

21:08get an update on what the holdup is?

21:10>> Yeah. No, I appreciate you asking that

21:12question. We Jade may be on, but we are

21:15going to send some information for it to

21:17council specifically around the mobile

21:20fair. Jay, do you want to talk a little

21:21bit about that?

21:23>> Yes, we we have a we put together a memo

21:26um and uh it it will be attached to the

21:29follow-up document that was the intent

21:30to be able to staff has done some

21:32research and reg reached out to various

21:35vendors uh and have accumulated

21:38information. So, we're going to pack put

21:39that all in amendment. provided as far

21:41as this followup.

21:42>> Okay. And then I know that we got an

21:45update um at the council level around

21:47our emergency response planning. I'm not

21:50sure if um there's going to be some sort

21:52of update at the committee level. Um but

21:56you know with the hurricane in the news

21:59um it would just you know be helpful if

22:02we're if we're going to if we're going

22:04to cancel peed because we don't have

22:05items um that we have another way for

22:08the community to understand that we are

22:10moving forward with our emergency

22:12planning and the mobile fair app. Thank

22:14you

22:15>> council member Rooney. I just want to

22:17speak to that. Um, yes, I have asked for

22:19that to come back to public safety and

22:22provide an update on where we are on

22:24that emergency response. Thank you so

22:26much for bringing that up. I also want

22:28to uh chime my support for the mobile um

22:32app. I think um these initiatives are

22:35are great for the city and moving us

22:37forward.

22:41>> That was all I was going to say. Yeah, I

22:42was going to chime in and just echo

22:43support. If we can't get it to PED, I'm

22:45fine with bringing it to all of council.

22:47I love that staff have preemptively

22:48prepared information for us. Thank you,

22:50Jade. I look forward to reading it. It

22:52seems like a outdated service, so if we

22:54can afford to make it happen, I'm sure

22:56we would. Um, the only other payment

22:59complaint I have heard in recent years

23:01is actually an odd one, but I've heard

23:04it several times. Apparently, our meters

23:06and mobile app for other revenues like

23:09um parking decks and stuff do not accept

23:12all cards. So, we may need to review

23:14that at some point, but many people are

23:16being turned away because they carry a

23:18certain Mastercard or an American

23:20Express. I don't know. Just something

23:21I've heard. Maybe worth looking into.

23:23>> Happens to me every time. I always have

23:26to do it through the app. I can't use my

23:27credit card.

23:28>> That is so strange and not something we

23:31should be doing. You know, it's Yeah,

23:33I'm sure there's reasons behind it and

23:36I've had to deal with merchant vendors

23:37before, but it's also something we could

23:39probably resolve. So, might be worth

23:41looking at. Yeah, I'll definitely

23:43include that as a followup as well.

23:44Thank you for the question.

23:48>> All right, Ben.

23:50>> Okay, so Talia, if you can um pull up

23:53the presentation, please. And on the

23:56council committees, just to touch back

23:57on that, it's not, you know, we just

23:59don't have items that are ready to go in

24:01October. We certainly have a lot of work

24:03for our committees, you know, in the in

24:05the coming months. So again, just want

24:07to be on clear with that. We typically

24:09try to bring items when they're ready

24:12uh for action or whatever the next step

24:14may be. Okay.

24:17So, we're going to talk about uh

24:19utilization of the municipal service

24:22district. So, not the sewage. This is

24:24the MSD in terms of a service district.

24:27And this is for downtown special vessel

24:29projects which when we when council

24:31formed the uh downtown service district.

24:34Uh it was created to do a number of

24:36things and it is doing those things but

24:38one thing it was also created to do was

24:40new special projects. Special projects

24:42can be capital based. They could be

24:44programmatic just things that support

24:46the downtown.

24:48Talia if we go to the next slide.

24:52Little bit of reminder. I know council

24:54is pretty familiar with this, but we

24:55established our MSC in 2024

24:59and that was done through an ordinance

25:01and a resolution. Uh soon after that, of

25:04course, the MSD is primarily funded by

25:07property tax revenue from downtown. Um

25:10but what we discovered is based on the

25:13sales tax distribution formula used by

25:16Bunkham County a portion of the sales

25:19tax revenue collected in the county is

25:22uh goes back to the service district. So

25:25there's a a smaller

25:27that's based on sales tax revenue.

25:30Uh to date uh prior to July 21, 2026,

25:35the city had received $487,000

25:38of sales tax and we estimate

25:41approximately 400,000

25:43to be collected in FY 2027. And of

25:46course, these funds must be used uh in

25:49the downtown area. So, I'll go to the

25:52next slide.

25:55And just a little bit of overview before

25:57I get into the budget amendment and the

25:58request from Adid uh as part of your FY

26:02seven budget that council voted and

26:03approved. And of course, this is the

26:05budget we're in now. You did a couple of

26:07things with sales tax that we had in

26:09place. Uh one was you've are funding an

26:12event support grant program. Those are

26:15grants that go to non

26:18public property. Those events are free

26:20and open to the public and arts AVL is

26:23our contractor that administers those

26:24grants. But again, it has to occur in

26:27downtown

26:28um to be funded. Another thing the city

26:31does is we fund or we support holiday

26:34events. There are six federally uh

26:37declared holiday commemorations that

26:39over the years we have uh sanctioned and

26:42supported as the city of Asheville. Uh

26:44that's about $97,000.

26:46But again, for that event to receive

26:48that funding, it must occur in downtown.

26:52And then finally, this year in the

26:53budget, we uh council allocated

26:55additional funds to APD to supplement

26:57their downtown coverage. These funds are

27:00being used to purchase ebikes, which I'm

27:02really excited about that to see some of

27:03our officers downtown on ebikes, and

27:06they'll be used to enhance uh downtown

27:08bike control.

27:11And of course what we're going to talk

27:12about today is we have a balance in the

27:16sales tax funds for the bid and those

27:18can be used for different types of

27:19projects and that's what we're going to

27:21talk about is the budget amendment to

27:23support those.

27:25Next slide please.

27:29So what you're looking at and again this

27:30will be on your consent Tuesday night is

27:34two budget amendments. One is for

27:36$175,000

27:38and that and I'm going to have a slide

27:39for each of these to show more detail

27:41that'll be used to support we have three

27:43significant construction projects that

27:45are happening downtown. Uh North

27:47Lexington sidewalk maintenance, Cox

27:50Avenue streetscape and Eagle Market

27:52Street uh kind of streetscape

27:55enhancements. All three of those are

27:57significant. They'll have significant

27:59impact on businesses. And so this is

28:02intended to support those businesses

28:04during that construction period and a

28:06bid would manage the programs.

28:09The other and really excited about this

28:11is holiday decoration. So uh ADA and has

28:14done a great job the past few years of

28:16installing holiday lights in uh

28:20Pritchard Park, Pack Square Park, and

28:21now Triangle Park. Fantastic. Lots of

28:24great feedback. And what this does, uh,

28:26our, sadly, our Christmas reefs that we

28:30have are about 20 years old and they're

28:33really, really, uh, not in good

28:35condition. So, Aid is going to take the

28:37proactive step to purchase new reefs and

28:40ornaments and bows. And what's really

28:42great about this, uh, decor is it solar

28:46powered, so we don't have to worry about

28:47being on poles where there's an outlet

28:50or anything like that. So, I think this

28:51is a great use of those funds. uh

28:54there's some funding set aside to of

28:57course do the installation. So again,

28:59excited to see those enhancements to our

29:02holiday

29:03uh streetscape in downtown.

29:06So that's a total of $265,000

29:09and that will leave us a balance of

29:11$223,000

29:12in that sales tax uh downtown service

29:16district fund. Next slide.

29:19Go ahead, Councilman Turner.

29:21>> I'll actually wait until your slides are

29:23done.

29:29I've only got two more so you won't have

29:31to wait long. Uh two or three. So just a

29:35little bit uh business support during

29:37construction just to make sure people

29:38understand what that looks like. Of

29:40course you know is a lot of times when

29:41the city does streetscape or sidewalk

29:44construction, it causes disruptions. It

29:46limits access,

29:48has really real impacts in terms of

29:50reducing foot traffic and creates some

29:52some real challenges for businesses. And

29:55as you know, council, you know, uh

29:57construction can last a pretty

29:59significant period of time. And so, you

30:02know, our job as a city is to retain

30:03responsibility for the construction

30:05management, including safety, logistics,

30:07those types of things. But where we can

30:09utilize that relationship and

30:10partnership with Aid is they have the

30:13ability to work with those business

30:15owners uh coordinate with them uh create

30:19ways to uh wayind or do placemaking

30:23projects to try to get uh customers or

30:26tourists wherever it is to to know that

30:28places are open and they're available

30:30and you can go there and interact. So

30:32next slide.

30:35What aid can do really well that we're

30:38probably not that great at doing as a

30:40city and they're very nimble in this is

30:42they can go in and brand areas. Uh they

30:46can come up with strategies or

30:47enhancements and what they're trying to

30:49do is just trying to make an area that's

30:51under construction

30:53as much as possible look less like a

30:55construction zone and more like a place

30:57that you can go and frequent. Um, some

31:00really good examples of this across the

31:01country. In particular, uh, Hayden

31:03Slendon, she sees the director of ADA.

31:06Uh, when she worked in Denver, they had

31:08a really successful, uh, business

31:11support program there. So, a lot to

31:13learn from and build on. Next slide.

31:18Holiday decorations. We talked about

31:19this. Uh, again, really excited about

31:21this. And this is just kind of building

31:22on the work that ADA started a few years

31:25ago uh, with their lighting displays.

31:27And again, what you'll see is just a

31:30more welcoming and hopefully festive

31:31environment in downtown.

31:35Next slide.

31:37And that's it. So, any questions? I have

31:39a couple of folks. I think Dana Frank

31:40was on the call and a couple other folks

31:42and we'll try to answer any questions

31:43you have.

31:46>> Thank you, Ben. Um, first up, I want to

31:49say I am so glad to hear about holiday

31:51decorations.

31:53I I know just for council's sake, you

31:55know, I worked with the downtown

31:57association for a long time. I think

31:58that there's been an attempt to raise

32:00funds or replace those decorations for

32:01over a decade. Um so I'm glad to see

32:04it's moving up the list. That said, um

32:08generally speaking, I wish that council

32:11heard from the business community more.

32:14It's great that we have this bid and

32:15that funnels some input to us, but it

32:18doesn't represent

32:19everyone. And I'm kind of curious if

32:22there's other options. Like I app

32:28I'm worried about public safety in

32:29general. But I'm wondering if we did

32:31reach out to more of the business

32:33community if

32:35that there are other needs that rise

32:37above this. And maybe a third like the

32:40thought is spread out a little. I'd love

32:42to do the signage. It looks great. It's

32:44a helpful thing. I'd love to see holiday

32:46lights, but I'm I'm also concerned about

32:48safety, mental health, and other things

32:50that I hear the businesses contacting me

32:53about on a very regular basis right now.

32:55So, how could we do better to make sure

32:59that we're representing those businesses

33:00and hearing from them?

33:09>> Um,

33:11good question. I mean the the A did and

33:15ADA they're they're a contractor through

33:17the bid. So um I do I do think that they

33:21are generally representative of downtown

33:23and downtown businesses. They have some

33:25pretty specific requirements

33:27for the composition of their board and

33:29of course the Aid board did vote to

33:30support this. Um

33:34but I but I hear you. We can we can

33:35always as the city of Asheville look for

33:37other ways to

33:40include perspectives different

33:42>> voices.

33:43>> Yeah.

33:43>> Yeah. Public safety in general. I mean

33:45it is the first thing that any business

33:47I'm talking with right now is bringing

33:49up an agent may have that experience or

33:51not but it's not on the list right now.

33:53So that is flagging as there may be

33:56something there that needs additional

33:58funding too.

34:01>> Uh council member Turner. Yeah, we we do

34:03hear from of course ADA and AD are

34:07specifically the ones as well as explore

34:09Asheville that contacts us directly, but

34:12you're right, we do hear from other

34:13business owners around those concerns.

34:16The public safety concern is being

34:18brought forward by AD's leadership as

34:20well as ADA and Explore Asheville and we

34:22have been in continual conversations

34:26uh with our partners around what we can

34:28do. That is one of the reasons why we

34:30think this, you know, the electric bikes

34:32and the bike patrols are so important to

34:35start having more APD downtown. And so

34:38you may have already seen some of that

34:40happening and Chief Steph is continuing

34:43to have those conversations and execute

34:45on that piece of it. Jade may have uh

34:48some additional things that to uh add

34:51but absolutely that is front of mind uh

34:54on the top of our list and we are having

34:56those conversations to figure out what

34:57we can do because sometimes it's the

34:59small small things that can make a big

35:02impact. Jade, I don't know if you want

35:03to share a little bit more.

35:04>> Yeah.

35:05>> Around that.

35:06>> Yeah, thank you. Um, I I just echo

35:09everything that was just said, but I

35:11would also say that we've we've been in

35:13meetings with the the

35:15representatives to the downtown

35:17association,

35:19um, Explore Asheville and the chamber

35:22recently and talked about uh, SEPTAD

35:25evaluations of our parks and and things

35:28that have been going on down there.

35:31at Chief Steppp is a an advocate

35:33advocate um and an expert in

35:36subtalation. So we met recently in uh

35:40Pritchard Park to look at that and then

35:42also just collaborate with with the ADA

35:46about those things. As a matter of fact,

35:47collaboration goes to the point where we

35:50have trained um their ambassadors to

35:53actually not not only recognize

35:56situations in which you know they do a

35:58little bit of intervention but they're

35:59also the recognized situations where we

36:01they need to call law enforcement but

36:03also um just like basic you know septed

36:07type anal you know the the ideas of

36:09cutting branches if they're if they're

36:11too low or something like this. So

36:13recognizing street lights out. So those

36:15are things that we've worked with them

36:16to to report. I'd also say that um on

36:19Friday um or days are blending together.

36:24Recently, Chief Stepp uh was in the

36:27policy on tap. I think it was Monday

36:29now. Um and um and went through uh sat

36:33in front of probably 50 or more business

36:35representatives and talked about the

36:37efforts um and heard feedback. It was it

36:40was an interesting uh meeting where they

36:42had a men menty poll and they were uh

36:45providing commentary and opinions on on

36:47various safety issues downtown um and

36:50allowing um Chief Steppp and and

36:52Commissioner Mark Moore to actually

36:54respond to those and that was I think a

36:57really positive situation and event for

37:00downtown businesses. So, I it's it's

37:03about the having the conversations and

37:05and being present. And I think that

37:06that's where we're headed with with our

37:08downtown safety initiatives.

37:10>> Thank you, Jade, and thank you, DK. I

37:12will echo that. Um, I am hearing from

37:14businesses, it has been amazing to see

37:16an officer more often. It was nice to

37:18see one on foot. I think I agree the

37:20bike and ped bringing that back. I think

37:22we haven't had it since 2019 or so, will

37:25be so helpful. Um, I do think there's

37:28also more. So maybe I guess what we

37:30could do is kind of summarize that it's

37:33not just an ask for these two things for

37:35downtown. There's other things happening

37:36in downtown. But I also want to flag

37:39that when we talk about downtown

37:40business input if we're limiting it to

37:43Aid ADA and Explore Asheville, we may we

37:47may not have real full representation.

37:50There's a Brewers Alliance, you know,

37:52there's a arts alliance, there's a

37:54restaurant association. And that it's

37:56really important that we don't just

37:57always when we formed the bid I was

37:59sensitive to let's not make them the

38:01only voice for downtown. They are one

38:03collaborative voice and they're amazing

38:06but we can't just lean on only them. I

38:09hope and Dana I think is on the call and

38:11does a wonderful job of this. So she

38:12probably has a lot to share and is

38:13probably talking to all of these people.

38:15But I just really want to highlight it

38:16as I'm really concerned about town

38:19downtown. In my opinion, every downturn

38:22and uprising in the city of Asheville

38:23over the last hundred years has really

38:26been bu bolstered by the business

38:28community. So the more that we can help

38:30them do like you're saying, Jade, where

38:31we have these great meetings and mentees

38:33and the chief is there, the better it

38:34will be. And I would like to see more of

38:36it whenever possible.

38:40>> Thank you, Council Member Hess, I think,

38:42and then Council Member Omen. Hopefully

38:45I'm calling y'all in order when you

38:47raise your hand. Council member Omen,

38:49you go ahead.

38:51>> Okay. Um, I recall hearing or seeing

38:55data that um, well, I guess I appreciate

38:59all the things you were saying about

39:00public safety downtown Sage. Um, I'm

39:04glad to see us um,

39:08bringing the bike unit back. That's a

39:10huge advancement to have real focus in

39:12downtown and I think that's going to be

39:14great. Uh, and I'm excited for that. I

39:16think that's a really effective way that

39:18staff heard council when we spoke about

39:21this

39:23several months ago before the budget was

39:24passed of threading a needle of what we

39:26wanted to see. So I think the proposal

39:28you're bringing us does that well. Um

39:31what I my question is I recall seeing

39:34that the lighting program that the ADA

39:37has done in the past was directly

39:39correlated to crime reduction in those

39:42parks. And people keep saying that, but

39:45I I haven't seen that information

39:46myself. So, in the staff report or in

39:49the slide deck or whatever, could could

39:50we um bring that into the conversation

39:53on Tuesday as well because I just I

39:55haven't seen those numbers. I believe it

39:57for sure and I'm excited for it, but I

39:59just um I don't have the specifics of it

40:02and would appreciate that.

40:07>> Yes, we will. Council member Harris.

40:13Yes, thank you. I um am really excited

40:15about all of the decorations. I'm

40:18excited to have new things out um and

40:22about, you know, for the city to um

40:26really have uh make it more beautiful.

40:29And uh speaking of I think every way

40:32into downtown through the patent

40:34corridor when you're coming off of 240

40:38uh the Builtmore Avenue um you know the

40:40two ways going in should really be

40:44beautiful should be lit up. But I want

40:46us to pay particular con um uh concern

40:50along that Patton Avenue corridor with

40:52the Hayward congregation

40:54um and the Avery and that I think that

40:57really really needs some help. Um I

41:03actually heard from two outreach social

41:06workers who were out there who actually

41:09felt very unsafe in that area

41:11themselves. And these are people who

41:12deal with uh psych patients all the

41:14time. Apparently, there was a horrendous

41:17fight uh that just went out into the

41:19open. Um and so, you know, I'm really

41:24asking staff, especially as we move into

41:26the leaf season, especially as we move

41:28in to the wintertime to

41:33uh maybe partner with the county, like

41:36let's get a part a city county

41:38partnership now that we have a chief

41:40that's permanent. Um let's let's get

41:42that going. Let's get sanitation and

41:45restroom stations uh downtown so people

41:48can use the restroom in dignity. Uh

41:51let's get police officers. If we don't

41:53have enough of our police officers,

41:55let's bring in reinforcements from other

41:57agencies and let's go ahead and make

42:00sure that we're delivering the kind of

42:02public service and safety that our um

42:05folks are asked for. um dedicated mental

42:08health and case management teams up and

42:10down that corridor to make contact with

42:12each one of these folks um to connect

42:15them directly with treatment, directly

42:17with housing, directly with resources

42:21and follow through when those

42:22connections don't happen.

42:25Um, I

42:29also think we still need a full

42:31accounting of where our tax dollars are

42:33going to the nonprofits and how they're

42:35spending these monies and making sure

42:37that the folks on the ground, the most

42:38vulnerable people are getting the

42:40resources that they need because this is

42:42a a crescendo level and as council

42:45member Turner said of folks, all folks,

42:48workers, women, family, business owners,

42:52tourists saying, "I don't really feel

42:56safe walking downtown. There's open air

42:59drug use. There's fighting. There's

43:00yelling, and I don't really see a lot of

43:03robust city response." Um, things like

43:06this really do help. Um, they keep crime

43:08down. They activate spaces. And so, the

43:11more that we can do this, the better.

43:13And if we could just get all eyes on

43:15public safety, um, that would be

43:17wonderful. And I hope my colleagues will

43:20also support me in calling for that.

43:25Thank you, Council Member Hes. Any more

43:29questions, comments, feedback for being

43:31you all will uh get this item on the

43:34consent agenda on Tuesday, but we'll try

43:37to get you this information that you're

43:39at requesting specific information in

43:41advance of that.

43:42>> And just to put summarize it, I just I

43:45think we need to move past

43:46conversations. As you said, DK, we have

43:48been having conversations for like, you

43:50know, a long time. We need, the city

43:53needs action and um even if we don't

43:57have it perfect, the city wants us to

43:59act. They want us to act with urgency,

44:02especially on these public safety

44:03initiatives. And I think that we have

44:06the capacity and the willpower to do

44:08that.

44:09>> Councilman H, I want to echo some of

44:11this and manager Wesley, I mean, I

44:14really do I know people are weary of

44:16talking about it. I'd love to I know the

44:19chief is doing a lot. I know staff are

44:20doing a lot. Maybe we just need

44:25I don't know action steps that the

44:27community could feel are happening are

44:29queued up something they can hold faith

44:31to. I'm hearing a lot of outcry as well

44:33and I want to be more responsive and I

44:36can say to this group we should do more

44:38but I really am looking for actionable

44:40items. So maybe Councilwoman Hess maybe

44:42we can get together and talk about

44:44things. today we can have a joint

44:45meeting with you manager Wesley if

44:47others want to participate just

44:51>> okay

44:54>> all right anything else for Ben on that

44:57>> um concerning this topic um I would love

45:00to understand as well what's going on um

45:05what actions have been taken from the

45:06city and other supporters but I think

45:09it's also great for this group to hear

45:12um the community's response response to

45:15our interventions because everybody does

45:18not is not able to comply for whatever

45:20reason and if they're not able to comply

45:24then what is the result or what is our

45:26after step um I think the um public

45:31safety

45:32um case workers and community

45:34organizations have been doing a lot and

45:37I think at some point they've um come to

45:40blocks in the road I think we need to

45:42understand what's been happening ing the

45:44result and where do we go from here when

45:47the community might not be responsive to

45:49our actions.

45:52>> All right. Thank you, Council Member

45:54Smith.

45:56All right.

45:59Um if nothing else, I think that's all

46:01we have for you all today. Uh we'll try

46:04to get the follow followup out to you as

46:06soon as possible and have a great

46:09weekend.

46:11Thank y'all.

46:11>> Thank you everyone.