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From YouTube: City Council Meeting – January 26, 2021
Description
January 26, 2021
Asheville City Council Meeting
Link to meeting materials:
https://www.ashevillenc.gov/government/city-council-meeting-materials/
A
Good
evening
and
welcome
to
the
asheville
city
council,
my
name
is
esther
manheimer
and
I'm
the
mayor
of
asheville
and
I'd
like
to
welcome
you
to
the
january
26
meeting
of
the
asheville
city
council.
All
council,
members
and
staff
are
participating
virtually.
We
appreciate
your
patience
as
we
work
through
holding
these
council
meetings
virtually
to
help
our
audience
follow
along
please
until
our
audience
follow
along.
I
will
see
each
section
of
the
agenda
aloud.
A
A
A
Today
welcome,
we
will
take
a
short
recess
during
tonight's
meeting.
Well,
that's
the
goal
anyway.
Hopefully
we'll
be
able
to
do
that
and
for
public
comment.
We
ask
callers
to
sign
up
in
advance
to
join
the
live
speaker
queue.
We
will
only
be
taking
live
comments
from
those
who
signed
up
prior
to
tonight's
meetings.
Those
callers
have
been
provided
instructions
on
how
to
participate
each
caller.
A
To
speak
for
each
agenda
item,
we
will
hear
live
comments
for
up
to
one
hour
for
each
agenda
item
a
reminder
to
callers.
You
will
first
hear
staff
and
form
council
that
you're
next
to
speak,
then
you'll
hear
an
automated
message,
letting
you
know
you're
unmuted
and
live
in
the
meeting.
You
may
begin
speaking
after
the
automated
message
to
best
ensure
staff
can
support
you
in
case
of
technical
difficulties.
A
We
ask
that
you
join
the
queue
no
later
than
the
beginning
of
the
agenda
item
before
the
agenda
item
on
which
you
have
signed
up
to
speak.
Additionally,
if
you
have
joined
the
speaker
queue
and
need
to
disconnect
before
your
time
to
speak,
please
hit
star
4
before
hanging
up.
You
can
then
call
back
in
using
the
same
directions.
I
just
shared
and
staff
will
enter
you
back
into
the
speaker
queue
of
your
agenda
item.
A
I
would
like
to
ask
all
those
participating
tonight's
public
comment
to
follow
council's
rules
of
decorum.
The
rules
include.
The
following
speakers
are
only
allowed
to
speak
one
time
during
the
public
comment
period
for
each
agenda
item
a
person
may
speak
only
if
they
have
signed
up
to
speak
in
accordance
with
the
city's
procedures.
A
Speaker
substitutions
at
the
meeting
are
not
allowed.
Each
speaker
is
allotted
three
minutes
to
speak
on
an
agenda
item
in
general.
Each
agenda
item
will
have
up
to
a
total
of
one
hour
for
public
comment.
Speaker
may
not
share
or
relinquish
any
remaining
time.
They
have
not
used
to
another
speaker.
Speakers
should
not
expect
council
members
or
city
staff
to
comment
on
or
respond
to
the
speaker's
comments
during
their
three
minutes.
A
B
B
A
E
A
A
A
A
F
G
A
G
C
I
I
I
E
E
I
So
this
position
will
increase
community
outreach
to
understand
community
concerns,
collaborate
with
the
community
to
address
and
solve
problems
and
help
link,
individuals
and
organizations
to
broader
community
resources,
we're
doing
good
in
terms
of
filling
that
position.
As
you
all
know,
those
budget
actions
happen
on
september,
the
22nd
and
we're
now
in
january,
and
I
believe
that
that
position
will
be
filled
by
the
end
of
february.
I
Slide
the
animal
control
positions
are
have
are
being
transferred
or
have
been
transferred
from
a
asheville
police
department
to
development
services
department
and
we're
in
the
process
of
also
looking
at
other
nuisance.
Related
enforcement,
like
the
north
ordnance,
to
also
come
under
this
department
next
slide.
Please,
our
parks
and
recreation
department
received
two
positions.
I
Essentially
one
would
be
the
park
wharton
position,
that's
been
transferred
from
asheville
police
department
to
parks
and
recreation,
and
that
position
will
be
principally
monitoring
pritchett
park,
but
also
some
of
the
other
parks
in
the
in
the
community.
We
also
are
using
one
of
those
positions
to
partner
with
homeward
bound
to
help
us
address
and
deal
with
some
homeless
outreach
initiative,
particularly
in
downtown,
but
also
in
other
areas,
and
that
contract
with
homeward
bound
is
in
the
process
of
being
finalized.
I
Next
slide,
please,
I
think
you
all
have
heard
a
lot
about
our
partnership
with
buncombe
county
and
asheville
housing
authority,
the
actual
city,
schools,
foundation,
asheville
city
schools
and
a
number
of
others
related
to
providing
broadband
access
to
public
housing
community
sites.
You
all
were
actually
the
leader
in
terms
of
starting
this
fund.
When
you
approve
your
work
on
september
22nd
in
terms
of
the
budget
process
with
fifty
thousand
dollars
for
towards
the
installation
of
this
effort,
next
slide.
E
I
And
so
we
have
started
phase
two
particularly
conversations
with
hiring
the
consultants
for
our
next
round
of
engagement.
As
part
of
this
engagement
in
terms
of
the
scope
of
work,
we'll
be
reviewing
what
we
heard
in
round.
One
will
inform
what
is
being
done
or
has
been
done
as
a
result
of
the
input.
And
hopefully
some
of
the
information
that
I
just
went
over
is
some
of
the
things
that
have
been
done.
But
we
certainly
know
that
we
need
to
do
much
much
more,
we'll
be
seeking
community
feedback
on
additional
things.
I
Programs
and
partnerships
as
part
of
the
the
budget
process
and
in
particular,
we'll
be
looking
at
that
scope
in
terms
of
the
lens
reviewing
those
initiatives
through
a
social,
racial,
economic
and
environmental
justice.
Lens
next
slide,
please,
and
so
now,
I'd
like
to
introduce
eric
jackson,
who's,
the
manager
of
our
newly,
I
guess
it's
relatively
new
office
of
data
and
performance
and
with
our
I.t
services
department.
K
K
So
if,
as
deborah
just
mentioned,
one
of
the
outcomes
of
the
reimagining
public
safety
initiative
was
to
reallocate
200
000
from
apd
to
establish
this,
this
new
office
of
data
and
performance,
I
am
very
excited
about
the
opportunity.
I
think
it
gives
us
a
chance
to
take
a
big
step
in
terms
of
really
advancing
the
city's
offers
efforts
to
use
data
to
hold
ourselves
accountable
and
to
improve
our
ability
to
deliver
on
our
commitments.
E
K
Look
through
this
you'll
see
that
there's
an
evolution
starting
from
a
real
focus
on
the
data
itself,
how
we
get
the
data
out,
how
we
manage
it
and
gradually
kind
of
moving
over
to
how
do
we?
How
do
we
really
make
use
of
that
data,
whether
it
be
externally
for
the
community
to
use
tools
like
simplicity
or
internally
figuring
out
ways
for
us
to
really
use
that
to
manage
our
own
performance
and
communication
internally
next
slide
and
the
next
one?
K
So
the
way
we're
looking
at
this
really
is.
Our
role
is
to
empower
others
to
to
use
data,
to
improve,
obviously,
accountability,
to
do
a
better
job
of
tracking
progress
toward
outcomes
and
defining
those
outcomes.
But
you
know
the
more.
I
look
work
with
this.
The
more
convinced
I
become
that
this
is
central
to
how
we
communicate
as
well.
E
E
K
K
K
K
K
Ways
to
integrate
data
and
performance
with
budget
and
equity
and
community
engagement
as
a
as
a
unified
process.
Next
slide,
and
of
course,
the
point
of
this
is
that
we
want
to
be
able
to
understand
the
impact
of
what
we're
doing,
whether
that
be
ongoing
services
or
particular
projects
or
initiatives.
When
we're
trying
to
improve
something.
K
K
So
for
communicating
externally,
we
obviously
want
to
build
on
the
transparency
tools
that
we
already
have.
That
includes
things
like
the
open
data
portal,
our
mapping
tools,
tools,
like
simplicity.
More
recently,
we've
been
experimenting
with
building
dashboards.
The
equity
and
inclusion
department
launched
their
dashboard
at
the
beginning
of
september.
L
K
Also,
helping
us
determine
how
we're
going
to
measure
progress
through
those
schools.
What
we
use
is
a
is
a
framework
called
results-based
accountability
often
referred
to
as
rba
that's
at
the
foundation
of
our
regional
equity
toolkit,
but
also
being
used
generally
within
the
city.
It's
a
structured
process
for
thinking
through
defining
outcomes,
defining
how
we're
going
to
measure
progress
and
having
a
disciplined
way
of
working
through
our
improvement
cycle
as
we
learn
and
go
forward.
K
And
finally,
we
really
want
to
start.
You
know,
as
we
staff
up
to
build
more
direct
relationships
between
the
office
and
the
community,
particularly
community
groups
that
may
be
neighborhood-based
or
more
issue.
Based
at
this
point,
we've
we've
launched
a
news
and
announcements
email
list,
but
as
we
have
staff
we'll
start
showing
up
in
neighborhood
meetings
and
reaching
out
to
other
organizations
next
slide.
E
K
E
K
G
M
K
Advancing
racial
equity
in
actual
initiative
and
building
relationships
in
the
community
so
that
we
can
use
those
relationships
to
continue
to
learn
how
best
to
communicate
outward
and
also
to
receive
information
from
the
community
from
the
community.
Excuse
me
and
I'm
happy
to
answer
any
questions
or
turn
it
back
over
to
the
city
manager.
G
G
Our
organization
is
going
to
have
to
acknowledge
the
harm
that's
been
caused
by
the
city
of
asheville
on
the
journey
to
get
to
where
we
are
now
so
we
can
get
where
we
need
to
go.
Reimagining
isn't
going
to
work.
If
we're
only
going
to
continue
to
imagine
how
our
organization
continues
to
hold
the
most
power
and
resources,
an
authentic
effort
might
look
like
inviting
a
shared
vision
with
meaningful
action
in
a
way
that
welcomes
participation
and
resource
mapping.
G
N
I
D
I
A
G
And
this
is
definitely
something
that
we're
going
to
need
going
into
our
retreat,
because,
just
as
I
was
feeling
it
was,
it
felt
like
in
an
abusive
relationship,
the
person
who
was
writing
how
you
move
forward
in
a
healthy
relationship
with
the
person
who
was
doing
the
abusing
it
didn't
it
didn't
ring
like,
even
though
I
felt
like
that
we
had
potential,
I
don't
hear
the
support
for
it,
so
I
know
we
need
more
conversations,
so
I'll
happily
send
it.
Thank
you.
D
I
Monument
discussion-
I
know
that
reparations
is
an
extremely
important
issue
for
our
community
and
I
know
that
there
are
a
lot
of
people
who
who
are
frustrated,
that
we
haven't
moved
as
fast
as
some
might
think.
But
there
have
been
things
that
have
been
underway
and
it's
been
mostly
at
a
staff
level
with
city
and
county
staff
meeting
and
talking
and
brainstorming
about
the.
E
I
Because,
particularly
for
the
city's
resolution,
it
directed
the
city
manager
to
provide
a
process
for
looking
at
short
and
medium
and
long-term
strategies
to
help
build.
Generational
wealth
are
looking
at
this
issue.
It
also
tasks
the
city
manager,
with
helping
to
create
a
reparations
commission
to
look
further
into
a
an
initiative
or
process
of
forward.
What
we
have
been
doing
essentially
again
is
talking
and
brainstorming
and
actually
reaching
out
to
other
communities
like
we
just
had
a
fairly
lengthy
conversation
with.
I
Evanston
illinois,
who,
in
2019
they
also
passed
their
elected
officials,
passed
a
resolution
around
reparations.
We
were
intently
listening
to
their
lessons,
learned
the
approach
that
they
took
and
progress
that
that
they
have
made
we're
also
looking
to
meet
with
other
technical
experts.
Like
authors,.
B
I
Around
the
subject
matter
of
reparations
meeting
and
discussing
with
professor
william
darady
jr,
I
think
who
is
probably
the
most
renowned
expert,
particularly
in
in
north
carolina
and
in
the
south
around
this
around
this
issue.
So
we
feel
fairly
confident
that
we
can
bring
a
recommendation
back
to
you
in
late
february,
around
a
process
and
potentially
a
recommendation
for
a
structure
of
the
reparations
commission
and
what
that
potential
charge
that
that
commission
would
have
obviously
consistent
with
the
resolution
that
was
adopted
by
elected
officials.
I
So
I'll
go
to
the
advanced
monument.
I
believe
that,
at
the
meeting
that
you
all
had
when
you
received
the
recommendation
from
the
there
were
some
specific
directives
that
you
gave
of
staff
before
you
were
to
finalize
your
decision,
there
was
a
recommendation
to
remove
the
monument
by
the
task
force,
but
you
said
in
order
to
finalize
that
decision.
I
You
asked
us
to
think
about
some
options
for
a
potential
temporary
use,
while
we
are
in
the
process
of
of
developing
a
much
longer
term
permanent
reuse
of
that
site,
and
so
staff
is
in
the
process
of
collecting
all
of
that
information,
we
will
bring
that
information
all
of
it
back
to
you
all
so
that
you
have
a
comprehensive
amount
of
information
to
to
make
embrace
your
decision.
We
hope
that
we
can
get
that
information
back
to
you
by
march
and
then.
I
Lastly,
in
terms
of
the
task
force's
work,
they
will
be
completed
with
their
events,
monument
task
force.
They
will
be
completed
with
their
work
in
february.
They
will
provide
you
all
with
a
document
that
kind
of
summarizes
their
work
and
their
recommendations
in
totality
with
that,
I
will
stop
and
see
if
there
are
any
additional
questions.
I
H
H
H
So
we
need
to
take
on
things
that
we
need
to
take
on,
especially
in
light
of
the
climate
that
we
find
ourselves
in
now.
We
must
be
the
adults
in
the
room
and
take
on
the
responsibilities
for
the
city
that
we
need.
We
know
that
our
things
that
we
need
to
take
on,
I
mean
there's
no
need
to
add
additional
costs
or
expenses
on
our
plate
when
it's
not
necessary.
H
So
I
think
that
I'm
really
happy
to
hear
that
deb
is
going
to
actually
research
replacement
costs
and
things
of
that
nature,
because
that's
something
we
need
to
look
at
this
money.
I'm
quite
sure,
if
you
went
to
the
community
and
said
hey
look,
reparations
is
the
big
issue.
These
are
the
things
that
we're
concerned
about
the
monies
that
you
could
actually
allocate
toward
those
different
things
could
be
used
toward
reparation.
We
wouldn't
be
having
this
conversation.
H
You
know
I
take
offense
with
that.
I
think
that
blacks
in
the
community
we
can
make
our
own
decisions.
You
know
we
can.
We
don't
need
how
to.
How
can
I
say
this,
we
don't
need
efforts
of
people
that
do
not
understand
what
our
plight
is
or
or
what
our
movement
is
or
what
our
needs
are.
So
I'll
just
take
this
opportunity
right
now.
H
You
can
tell
I
get
real
emotional
with
this,
but
I'm
just
going
to
read
an
article
that
I
just
actually
finished
to
sort
of
give
people
an
insight
as
how
and
why
I
feel
the
way
I
do
about
events,
monument
and
there's.
So
many
benefits
that
it
could
have
to
the
community
that
we,
because
we're
not
thinking
about
the
box.
You
know
that
we
can
sort
of
pass
up.
H
It
is
a
symbol
and
concept
of
duality
and
balance.
The
obliques
are
thought
to
represent
good
energy
and
dispel
negative
forces,
these
works
of
art
and
that's
what
they
are
works
of
art,
they're
known
all
over
the
world,
and
we
got
a
chance
to
see
that
during
the
inaugural,
basically
the
washington
monument
and
then
you
have
the
the
washington
monument
in
washington
and
then
you
have
a
needle,
clear,
patcher's
needle,
which
is
what
they
call
it,
which
is
in
central
park
in
new
york.
And
then
you
have
the
monument
in
philadelphia.
H
These
monuments
will
always
have
a
place
in
history,
so
they
will
always
be
there.
Asheville
or
blisk
itself
does
not
represent
a
confederacy.
The
symbol
is
over
13
000
years
old.
The
confederacy
has
only
been
around
about
150
years,
so
many
of
the
confederate
statues
that
we
talked
about
that
were
removed
during
the
george
florida.
You
know
situation
or
whatever
those
were
confederate.
Most
of
them
were
confederate
monuments.
H
H
So
do
we
hide
our
truth?
Do
we
embrace
it
and
use
it
as
a
reference
to
become
stronger,
reclaiming
the
monument?
An
alternative
is
to
reclaim
the
monument
recapturing
its
positive
and
inspirational
meaning
over
150
years
ago,
the
confederacy
attached
itself
to
positive
symbols
because
they
wanted
to
give
their
movement
relevance.
H
Another
symbol
that
they
attached
themselves
to
was
a
cross,
a
symbol
that
is
still
being
used
today
by
white
nationalists
and
supremes
to
intimidate.
For
decades
our
ancestors
had
to
hear
bear
witness
to
the
burning
crosses
left
at
their
properties,
destruction,
public
lynchings
and
murders
of
all
sorts.
So
what
do
we
do
with
the
cross?
H
H
We
need
to
be
mindful
how
we
show
up
the
african-american
community
is
on
the
radar
and
decisions
that
we
make
here
in
this
community
can
affect
other
communities.
So
one
thing
about
asheville.
We
are
very
fortunate
to
have
a
very
liberal
people
here
in
nashville
and
for
that
reason
we
are
able
to
get
a
lot
of
things
done,
and
I
think
that
what
we
really
need
to
do
is
work
with
that,
rather
than
cause
issues
where
there
are
no
issues.
H
H
While
the
shirts,
we
wear,
hide
the
scars
and
the
blood
stains
and,
for
example,
when
blacks
have
to
go
and
get
a
rental
unit
or
a
family
tries
to
get
a
rent,
a
house
from
a
landlord
or
whatever,
and
you
may
not
think
it.
We
know
that
just
certain
actions
that
we
take
will
influence
that,
whether
or
not
they
lease
at
home
to
that
black
family
or
whether
or
not
that
employee
hires,
the
qualified,
well
qualified
employee
or
whether
you're
able
to
just.
H
Are
you
being
overlooked
for
a
job
or
whatever,
but
all
these
things
that
I'm
talking
about
now?
These
are
things
that
submissively
affect
the
black
community
by
actions
we
take,
and
so
let's
also
address
at
this
time
the
well-intentioned
people
who
fervently
support
the
actions
of
removing
the
monument.
H
The
advanced
monument
task
force
was
commissioned
by
the
asheville
city
council
and
the
balkan
county
board
of
commissions
to
consider
removing
the
monument
born
out
of
a
group
call
during
the
george
floyd
protest,
but
african-americans
are
not
a
monolith
just
because
a
group
takes
a
stand
on
an
issue
does
not
mean
it's
a
decision
or
a
consensus
of
the
entire
black
community
and
the
reason
I
say
that
too
is
this.
The
one
thing
I
notice
is
this:
many
in
the
community,
the
black
community
in
doing
real
estate.
H
I've
noticed
that
they
don't
have
they
don't
use
emails.
A
lot
of
them,
don't
use
social
media.
So
why
are
we
allowing
these
things
like
this
to
actually
make
decisions
for
us?
I
think
if
we
really
want
to
get
a
pure
consensus
of
what
the
black
people
really
feel,
we
need
to
take
the
time
to
go
out
and
get
in
the
community
and
speak
to
the
people.
Speak.
H
H
My
father
once
told
me
that
a
lot
of
blacks
died
building
the
monument.
I
don't
have
any
proof
of
that.
That
was
what
he
told
us
as
a
child,
and
so
he
would
not
let
us
visit
the
biltmore,
I'm
sorry
the
biltmore
house.
He
will
not
let
us
visit
the
biltmore
house.
For
that
reason,
and
and
and
the
one
thing
about
that
is
this-
you
can
pretty
much
get.
H
I
mean
pretty
much
make
the
decision
that
if
blacks
were
building
the
biltmore
house
and
and
they,
why
am
I
they
pretty
much
feel
bliss
so
of
the
ole
miss
when
it
was
built?
Basically,
you
think
it
was
built
by
our
people,
okay
and
when
it
was
actually
in
2015
when
they
were
re-repurposing,
I
mean
restructuring
and
resurfacing
it.
H
You
know,
because
of
inclusiveness,
someone
included
included
in
there
or
we
don't
know
it
could
have
just
been
someone
that
was
tasked
to
put
it
there
who
decided
to
go
ahead
and
put
the
newspaper
in
to.
Let
us
know
that
we,
you
know
our
ancestors
were
there,
regardless
of
what
the
reason
is
that
to
me
is
history.
H
E
H
H
The
obelisk
will
provide
a
platform
to
begin
to
have
those
difficult
conversations
that
could
bring
us
together.
Ashford's
a
city
has
acknowledged
our
dark
past
and
chosen
not
to
ignore
it,
those
injustices
and
crimes
against
humanity.
Rather
than
honoring
the
perpetuated,
the
perpetuators
of
those
prizes,
we
could
honor
our
ancestors,
whose
memories
would
otherwise
have
been
lost.
H
It
would
be
a
great
opportunity
to
educate
our
visitors
as
well
as
our
local
community.
We
could
call
it
the
unity
tower
that
is
located
in
freedom
park.
We
could
create
a
legacy
that
will
be
a
centerpiece
for
our
growing
city.
We
can
offer
a
positive
road
map
for
other
cities
all
over
the
country
that
are
dealing
with
similar
issues.
H
He
realized
that
no
man,
woman
or
child
is
truly
free
until
we're
all
free
and
during
the
martin
luther
king
event,
brian
stevens,
who
actually
was
the
writer
for
just
mercy.
He
spoke
at
the
event
and
he
talked
about
the
importance
of
us,
remembering
our
history,
because
if
you
don't
remember
your
history,
you
know
then
guess
what
you're
doomed
to
repeat
it,
and
and
and
that's
one
thing-
I'm
saying
here-
people
say
the
monument
you
know
it
hurts
us.
H
You
know
and
pretty
much
when
I
look
at
all
the
comments
coming
in
from
people
get
rid
of
it.
It's
ugly,
it's
confederate
it's
it's
this
and
that
it's
history
and
it's
our
history,
and
we
have
to
build
on
that,
and
we
have
to
accept
that
because
that
will
make
us
stronger.
That
will
make
us
stronger.
So
that's
pretty
much
all
I'd
like
to
say.
H
I
E
A
So
this
so
I
say
that
to
say
that
this
item
will
come
back
before
us
for
a
vote
and,
of
course,
discussion
and
public
comment,
but
I
I
know
that
councilwoman
kilbourne
made
a
statement
tonight
and
I
appreciate
that,
and
so,
if
anybody
else
you
know
would
like
to
address
this
tonight,
I
don't
want
to
cut
off
anyone
else's
opportunity
to
do
that.
I
just
want
to
make
sure
for
those
listening
how
this
is
how
this
is
supposed
to
work
from
a
just
a
process
standpoint.
A
A
Okay,
all
right
council,
we
had
a
motion
and
a
second
to
approve
the
consent
agenda.
We
had
one
person
signed
up
to
speak
last.
I
heard
that
person
was
still
not
on
the
line
and
staff
had
reached
out
to
them.
Yes,
but
they're,
not
online
okay,
but
they're,
not
on
the
line.
Staff
has
called
them
and
texted
them
and
emailed
them,
and
they
are
not
not
on
the
line.
A
E
A
A
I
am
asked
to
have
an
additional
item
under
presentations
added,
it's
listed
as
asheville
school
board,
member
selection,
legislative
process
and
information,
and
it's
really
more
accurate
to
say
that
this.
The
topic
that
I
intended
here
was
just
to
talk
informally
with
you
all
about
the
process
we
use
for
requesting
legislation
from
the
state.
A
C
A
E
A
A
A
Session,
I
will
tell
you
that,
due
to
political
differences
in
the
last
several
years,
it
has
been
quite
a
rocky
relationship,
as
you
know,
between
us
and
the
legislature,
and
that
dynamic
has
changed
quite
a
bit
from
us
asking
for
legislation
to
us
trying
to
fend
off
terrible
legislation.
So
so
I
think
we're
the
waters
are
a
little
bit
calmer.
A
C
A
A
You
can
get
a
sitting
bill
and
add
something
to
it,
but
in
terms
of
the
timeline
it
is
best
because
the
legislators
have
to
make
the
request
to
the
bill
file
the
bill,
drafting
division
to
draft
the
bills
and
get
them
ready
for
them
so,
and
they
have
deadlines
to
do
that.
So
a
couple
of
things.
One
is
this
question
around
whether
or
not
we
would
like
to
make
a
request
this
year
for
for
an
elected
school
board
bill
there.
A
Some
other
things
that
we've
considered
in
the
past
include
whether
or
not
to
continue
to
request
that
cities
be
authorized
to
have
a
option
for
a
referendum
to
create
a
transit
tax
through
sales
tax.
This
is
something
that's
allowed
in
north
carolina
only
on
a
county-wide
basis
and
not
a
city-wide
basis.
So
a
lot
of
cities
have
talked
about
asking
the
legislature
to
to
create
that
opportunity
for
cities
to
put
on
the
ballot
a
question
about
raising
sales
tax
for
transit
funding.
A
So
these
are
just
a
few
of
the
things
now.
This
is
a
presentation,
we're
not
voting
on
anything.
Now,
I'm
just
a
little
bit
panicked,
because
our
time
is
so
short,
and
so
I
just
want
to
I
just
kind
of
want
to
know.
If
there's
some
interest
in
this
and
and
the
one
burning
one,
I
would
say
that
we
would
need
to
make
a
decision
around
sooner
rather
than
later
would
be
the
the
question
around
the
school
board.
A
This
I
mean,
obviously
a
lot
of
you
just
were
running
for
office.
This
comes
this
came
up.
It
comes
up.
I
know
there
is
some
interest
in
having
a
joint
city
council,
school
board
and
possibly
county
commissioner
meeting
with
all
three
bodies
where
we
would.
You
know
top
of
the
list,
talk
about
this
issue
and
I
don't
know
how
quickly
that
could
get
scheduled,
but
that
could
be
one
way
for
us
to
have
a
community
conversation
around
this
question.
So
just
tell
me,
you
know
any
thoughts
about
this.
O
N
C
P
I'd
also
agree
with
shanika
and
stage
about
the
community
engagement.
I
will
just
go
ahead
and
say:
I've
received
several
calls
from
organized
groups,
individuals
in
the
black
community,
who
are
outraged
that
this
is
under
consideration.
They
many
see
it
as
a
political
power
play
designed
at
limiting
the
black
voice
in
the
public
schools.
C
N
C
Q
P
May
I
add
something
before
you
speak.
I
did
have
the
opportunity
there
to
speak
with
someone
who
was
an
expert
in
the
field,
and
he
emphasized
that
prudence
is
important
and
indicated
that
the
first
thing
we
need
to
consider
or
to
find
out-
and
I
don't
know
if
you
know-
because
asheville
is
unique
in
the
way
we
appoint
in
north
carolina,
but
certainly
not
unique
throughout
the
country,
what
the
stated
purpose
for
doing
it.
P
This
way
was
or
fear
that
changing
it
might
in
fact
perpetuate
unequitable
results
as
it
relates
to
our
children.
More
specifically,
he
said
to
me
that
changing
what
whether
a
school
board
is
appointed
or
elected
would
not
have
bearing
on
the
achievement
gap,
and
he
said
he
had
data
to
prove
it
and
all
that
other
kind
of
stuff.
So
he
said
the
first
thing
we
need
to
ask
ourselves
is
why
we
do
it
this
way
in
the
first.
A
A
A
Very
strange
intertwined
school
system
governance,
where
city
council
is
appointing
the
school
board
members,
but
the
county
commissioners
are
actually
tasked
with
managing
their
capital,
needs
building
schools
in
the
asheville
city
school
system
and
helping
to
maintain
them.
So
it's
a
very
intertwined
relationship
that
will
really
require
all
of
us
to
come
together
and
I
think
that's
a
good.
D
Okay,
esther,
the
the
chair
and
the
superintendent
do
know
that
we
would
like
that
three-way
meeting.
It
was
primarily
around
the
primary
school
discussion,
but
and
but
I
I
don't
think
this
will
surprise
them.
I
will
make
them
aware,
and
then
you
know
the
superintendent
was
certainly
open
to
it.
Okay,.
A
And-
and
we
do
in
the
past,
when
we've
met
with
them,
we
kind
of
flesh
out
an
agenda
that
covers
a
few
things,
so
we
we
know
now
we
want
to
talk
about
the
primary
school.
We
want
to
talk
about
elected
versus
appointed
school
boards,
we'll
see
if
there's
any
other
topics
that
bubble
up.
I
I
do
think
the
county
is
very
interested
in
talking
about
capital
needs.
They
may
want
to
put
that
on
the
agenda
so.
G
I'll
also
add,
this
is
kim
speaking
that
I've
submitted
a
three
and
a
half
page
list
of
questions
to
this
group
which
I'll
submit
to
the
county
as
well
asking
for
that
group
meeting,
because
we
do
have
to
talk
about
our
facilities.
If
we're
going
to
be
talking
about
supporting
early
childhood
education
and
pre-k
services
county-wide,
we
are
in
the
county.
D
A
We're
sort
of
having
these
discussions
in
our
own
little
silos,
so
this
is
a
good
opportunity
to
cross-pollinate
and
hear
a
lot
of
what
they're
working
on
and
vice
versa.
So
that
would
be
good
okay.
So
it's
a
big
lift
and
not
that
much
time
I
can
see
eyes
rolling
in
here,
but
yeah
okay,
we're
hungry,
but
we
we
can.
B
N
O
I'll
get
the
timeline
to
everybody,
but
our
next
meeting
february
9th
we'll
make
the
decision
on
whether
to
do
the
essays
and
the
interviews
that'll
be
yeah
and
then,
after
that,
it
kind
of
depends
on
what
happens
after
our
february
ninth
meeting,
how
the
timeline
goes.
But
I'll
give
you
a
general
idea
of
how
the
timeline
will
go
and
what
our,
what
our
benchmarks
are.
A
There,
and
just
something
to
note
about-
I
am
not
advocating
for
against
an
elected
school
board,
but
just
from
a
logistics
standpoint,
you
would
see
if
you
did
see
legislation,
it
would
not
be
applicable,
and
probably
until
the
next
even
year,
election,
which
would
be
2022
and
also
note
that
the
asheville
city
school
district
is
only
about
40.
Some
thousand
of
the
population
of
the
city
of
asheville
so
and
actual
course
is
well
over
90
000
people.
So
it's
not
even
the
entire
city.
A
D
O
A
A
We
do
not
have
any
public
hearings
tonight,
but
we
have
a
whole
bunch
of
unfinished
business
so
just
to
remind
everyone
how
this
worked
because
of
the
virtual
meeting
format
and
the
special
legislation
that
applies
to
all
cities
during
the
this
period
of
time.
During
the
pandemic,
with
the
virtual
meeting
format,
we
had
the
public
hearing
on
each
of
these
items
at
the
last
meeting
and
then
we
vote
on
them
at
this
meeting.
But
we
don't
take
further
public
comment.
So
council,
if
you'll
begin
with
me,
we're
going
to
run
through
these.
A
A
D
A
Aye
councilwoman
whistler
aye
and
me
I
okay,
next
unfinished
business
item
b
is
about
to
permanently
close
a
portion
of
right
away
at
the
intersection
of
courtland
and
houston.
Can
I
get
a
motion
in
a
second
to
permanently
close
a
portion
of
right-of-way
at
the
intersection
of
portland
and
houston
I'll
move.
A
So
I'm
going
to
take
another
roll
called
the
vice
mayor
smith,
aye
councilwoman,
kilgore,
aye,
councilwoman,
mosley,
aye,
councilwoman,
roney,
aye,
councilwoman
turner,
aye,
councilwoman
whistler.
I
and
myself.
I,
the
next
item,
unfinished
business
item
c.
We
were
to
vote
to
permanently
close
an
unopened
right
of
way
known
as
trade
street.
However,
staff
has
pulled
this
from
consideration
because
of
a
discrepancy
in
the
property
description.
So
it's
not
ready
for
us
to
vote
on
tonight
so
that
one
will
move
us
to
unfinished
business
item
d.
A
So
I'm
asking
you
for
a
motion,
but
would
you
first
like
to
hear
from
staff
about
a
couple
of
the
tweaks
that
happened
to
the
b1
conditions?
Tweaks,
I
say
a
couple
of
additions:
yes
nodding.
Okay,
I
think
shannon
is
on
shannon
tucker's
on
here,
might
be
able
to
oh
okay,
you
can
tell
us
maybe
a
little
bit
about
any
changes
that
occurred
from
the
public
hearing
at
our
last
meeting
to
tonight.
R
Thank
you
mayor.
There's
really
only
been
one
change
and
in
the
updated
list
of
v1
conditions
that
was
shared
with
council,
it's
condition
number
13,
and
that
is
an
addition
regarding
the
applicant's
practice
or
commitment
to
their
practice
of
of
of
expanding
opportunities
to
minority
small
and
women-owned
enterprises
as
part
of
their
their
hiring
practices.
And
so
that's
been
added
to
the
list
of
b1
conditions
that
the
applicant's
request.
A
A
G
A
D
A
A
E
G
Out
of
the
way
now
sure,
so
what
we
need
is
the
opportunity
to
have
accountability
from
the
community.
This
doesn't
get
us
there.
I
am
still
worried
that
we
we
had
community
partners
at
the
table
with
the
naacp,
and
I
think
it
was
the
southern
justice
law
center
in
the
conversation
about
what
we
needed
to
do
next
with
our
civil
service
board,
and
we
don't
have
that
yet
acknowledging
that.
E
G
A
F
R
B
A
I
whoa
a
controversial
vote
there.
Okay,
four
to
three
it
passes
and
I
want
to
thank
staff
for
all
the
work
they
did
on
that
one.
I
know
it
has
been
a
lot
of
work
and
I
do
think
that
our
new
council
really
weighed
in
in
terms
of
the
process
I'd
like
to
see
around
civil
service
board
rule
making,
among
other
things,
and
so
that's
you
know,
that's
helpful
on
a
learning
experience.
J
A
The
unfinished
business
we
have
no
new
business,
we
do
have
several
people
signed
up
to
speak
under
the
informal
discussion
and
public
comment
portion
of
our
agenda,
which
is
the
final
portion
of
our
agenda.
We
do
not
have
a
closed
session
tonight.
Correct
brad.
I
believe
we
do
not
have
a
post
session
tonight
no
closed
session
there,
and
we
have
a
lot
of
folks
that
signed
up
to
speak
concerning,
in
particular,
the
vance
monument.
A
But
unless
you
all,
unless
anyone
has
any
comments-
and
of
course
you
have
an
opportunity
at
the
end,
but
I'm
going
to
begin
the
informal
discussion
open
public
comment
portion
of
the
agenda,
we're
good,
okay,
okay
staff.
We
are
ready
to
move
into
that
portion
of
the
agenda.
I'll
turn
it
over
to
you
all.
N
Thank
you
so
much
for
your
time
and
attention
you're
adorable
good
evening
councilwomen.
My
name
is
carol
whittemore,
I'm
a
native
of
this
area.
I
live
in
swannanoa
and
I'm
a
I
was
born
in
asheville
and
I
work
downtown
full-time
and
I
would
like
to
talk
to
you
just
for
a
few
minutes
about
some
things
that
have
happened.
N
While
I
have
been
downtown-
and
I
appreciate
your
time
and
attention
last
friday,
I
was
going
home
from
where
I
work
as
a
pre-k
teacher
downtown,
and
I
was
two
vehicles
back.
There
was
a
large
white
truck
a
black
tractor
trailer
in
me
and
that
there
were
some
people
demonstrating
at
the
advanced
monument.
It
was
about
5
10,
and
this
truck
was
illegally
geared
with
a
big
steel
pipe
on
the
front
to
let
out
gas
on
the
people
who
were
the
social
democrats
that
were
protesting
there.
N
Well,
it
went
in
my
car
and
by
the
time
I
got
to
240,
I
was
dizzy.
My
head
hurt
and
I
felt
nauseous.
I
called
the
apd
right
away.
Okay
and
since
then
you
know
I've
been
trying
to
find
out.
You
know
who
this
person
is
because,
as
it
turns
out,
a
lot
of
people
have
seen
them
and
there's
been
a
lot
of
this
big
truck
aggression,
business
going
on
downtown
and
I
was
an
unintended
victim.
N
It
was
very
egregious
to
me,
and
anyway
I
wanted
a
chance
to
share
that
with
folks
that
I
knew
that
had
the
power
to
make
something
happen.
And
obviously
you
know
we've
got.
You
know
a
lot
of
energy
going
on
down
there,
a
lot
of
freedom
of
siege,
a
lot
of
freedom
of
freaks,
whatever
there's
a
lot
of
stuff
going
down,
and
anyway
there
was
another
incident
that
happened
to
me
that
I
did
report
to
the
police.
I
ended
up
calling
the
police.
L
N
There
was
this
big
blaring
speaker
going.
Some
people,
you
know
had
don't
tread
on
me.
America
and
you
know,
I'm
very
friendly,
that's
just
who
I
am
so,
whenever
hey
hey,
what
are
y'all
doing
so
before
I
knew
it.
This
woman
was
in
front
of
my
face.
Four
inches
away.
No
mask
was
a
don't
tread
on
me
black.
N
F
N
F
N
Can
hear
you
and
I'm
I'm
being
heard
by
council?
Okay,
my
name
is
nina
cardo.
I
live
in
east
asheville,
I'm
next
to
sonic
on
1001
tunnel
road
highway,
70.,
it's
a
cut
through
to
the
nature
center.
I
send
an
email
out
to
council
with
an
invitation
to
come
and
look
at
our
street
and
mostly
behind
the
sonic
dumpster
and
along
the
small
portion
of
the
sidewalk,
and
note
that
there's
storm
drains
on
either
side
of
the
dumpster
the
sonic
is
trash
is
coming
down
from
the
dumpster
on
private
property.
N
The
issue
is
their
fence
is
code.
It
doesn't
come
down
to
the
ground,
it
doesn't
have
to
all
of
the
other
businesses
in
our
area.
Go
down
to
the
ground,
their
trash
blows
down
and
sanitation
refuses
to
cite
them
or
hasn't
even
given
them
any
fine,
and
I
believe
that
if
they
had
to
spend
money
they
they
might
just
be
willing
to
fix
their
fence,
so
the
trash
doesn't
blow
down.
I
was
asked
by
sanitation
to
add
complaints
about
other
people
on
our
property.
What
on
who
owned
property
in
the
neighborhood?
N
Responsible
to
pick
up
litter
and
trash
on
their
property,
it's
not
my
responsibility
to
organize
a
cleanup.
I
managed
to
clean
my
property.
Even
if
there
was
a
cleanup
I
doubt
sonic
would
participate
and
what
are
the
people
supposed
to
do
come
and
pick
up
the
trash
that
also
blows
from
there
onto
their
property
and
clean
the
hill
for
them.
N
I
bet
it
wouldn't
be
acceptable,
and
so
I
don't
understand
why
brad
hunter
is
telling
me
that
it
is
acceptable,
and
I
wish
that
you
would
come
on
my
street
and
let
me
know-
and
if
I
don't
get
any
response
from
you
I'll,
take
three
minutes-
every
single
council
meeting
as
long
as
I'm
allowed
to
address
this
issue.
Thank
you.
S
So
I
was
I'm
glad
to
hear
that
reparations
are
scheduled
to
be
talked
about
more
in
february.
Don't
worry
we'll
be
here.
We
will
hold
the
city
accountable
to
that,
and
I'm
really
glad
to
hear
that
william
may.
Jerry
jr
is
going
to
be
involved
in
this
he's
a
fantastic
scholar
and
a
brilliant
man
and
has
a
lot
of
insight
to
offer
on
reparations.
S
Let
me
be
clear
that
until
every
black
person
in
nashville
has
received
past
due
reparations
and
every
unhoused
person
in
the
city
is
housed,
the
apd
should
not
be
receiving
a
drop
of
the
30
million
dollars,
as
council
has
chosen
to
fund
their
state
violence
we'll
be
here
in
february,
we'll
be
checking
in
also
in
response
to
hearing
this
city
council
still
wants
more
information
about
the
advanced
monument.
I
will
remind
the
council
that
the
people
of
asheville
have
offered
to
take
down
this
monument
for
free.
S
S
We
acknowledge
that
singular
activists
in
asheville
do
not
speak
for
any
community
as
a
whole.
Neither
does
any
council
person.
We
do
not
pretend
to
have
authority
over
the
people
of
asheville,
but
nor
should
any
council
person
mayor
or
cop.
It
is
the
voice
of
the
people
of
asheville.
That
should
be
heard
as
a
whole
as
part
of
that
collective
voice
is
the
voice
of
jerry
williams
being
heard
here.
F
S
Has
this
council
honored
the
demands
of
his
family,
yet
no
council
person
killed
war
is
correct
that
the
voices
of
the
black
community
are
not
being
equitably
heard
here.
That
is
true
because
of
the
very
nature
of
this
colonizer
government.
It
is
ignoring
the
voices
that
are
trying
to
be
heard
by
this
council.
There
are
organizations
that
exist
to
represent
the
black
community.
Black
actual
demands
the
racial
justice
coalition,
but
not
this
city
council
and
not
real
estate
agents.
S
S
C
Hey
y'all,
this
is
abby.
I've
been
following
city
council
meetings
for
a
while
now
definitely
echo
a
lot
of
green
use
points.
While
your
police
department
hear
dash
children
and
add
water
bottles
and
medicines.
Murder,
jerry
williams
continues
black
to
terrorize
folks,
consistently
see
all
that
hotels
and
restaurants
open
in
a
deadly
pandemic.
C
C
We've
been
in
this
horrific
pandemic
for
almost
a
year
now,
and
you
are
able
to
sit
on
these
zoo
meetings
and
people
cannot
see
their
families
in
this
town.
Asheville
was
able
to
fill
more
hotel
rooms
than
any
other
year.
This
past
fall.
You
all
create
another
task
force
people
are
dying.
You
drag
out
this
process
of.
C
You
say
you
need
to
gather
more
information
when
the
people
like
black
asheville
demand
racial
justice
coalition,
people
taking
it
to
the
streets,
have
called
into
city
council,
and
you
still
say
you
need
more
information
again
yeah.
Let
us
take
it
down
for
free,
save
your
money,
invest
back
into
the
black
community
with
that
money.
Meanwhile,.
N
Civilians,
unarmed
civilians
were
tear
gassed
and
bull
and
shot
at
when
police
continue
to
murder
and
terrorize
black
and
bronzer.
There
is
no
unity.
Asheville
has
the
largest
budget
for
policing
in
the
state
of
north
carolina,
and
this
is
a
small
town.
There
is
no
unity
here,
and
maybe
we
don't
want
to
be
unified
with
that
kind
of
lack
of
morality
that
comes
from
a
city
council
when
we're
in
a
housing
crisis.
When
our.
N
C
N
L
B
C
E
T
Listening
to
thousands
of
people's
comments,
you
know
they
spent
hours
and
hours
and
you
you
all
just
decide.
You
need
even
more
information.
I
mean
the
community
has
already
spoken
and
you
know
to
the
people
who
say:
oh,
we
don't
have
the
budget,
you
know
where
are
we
gonna
get
the
money
from
I'd
the.
T
F
T
T
N
C
N
Us
that
that
is
the
truth
and
thank
you
for
sharing
your
truth.
I
do
disagree
with
the
idea
he
brought
up
that
removing
the
advanced
monument
will
is
an
attempt
to
erase
history.
I
don't
think
that
is
it
all
I
feel
like
it
has
to
do
with
who
we
glorify
and
and
who
we
keep
monuments
dedicated
to.
I
I
know
in
germany,
they've
removed,
you
know,
statues,
monuments,
symbols
of
nazism
and
they
they
definitely
haven't
forgotten
that
history.
N
N
With
the
community
assessing
needs
working
with
groups
like
ones
that
have
been
mentioned,
like
rjc
and
groups
who
have
already
made
those
community
connections,
I
also
am
a
little
bit
worried.
I
I
kind
of
I
missed
a
little
bit
of
the
beginning
of
the
data
committee,
I'm
not
sure
a
committee,
but
that
group
that's
going
to
be
tasked
with
looking
at
outcomes
or
creating
outcomes
and
looking
at
ways
to
reach
those
goals
and
all
that
stuff.
C
C
N
Asheville,
do
you
hear
me?
Yes,
we
can
hear
you
awesome.
Firstly,
thank
you
for
your
time.
I
want
to
call
I'm
calling
just
again
agree
with
a
lot
of
what
the
past
three
speakers
have
said,
and
it's
just
out
of
concern
for
the
fact
that
maybe
y'all
think
that
we
don't
really
care
and
we're
not
paying
attention,
and
so
just
wanted
to
call
and
check
in
and
remind
you
all
that
we
do
care
and
we
are
paying
attention
I'm
strongly
in
support
of
the
events,
monuments,
removal.
N
Like
that's
a
false
binary
that
has
been
created
and
thrust
upon
us,
and
I
just
think
it's
false,
like
there's
plenty
of
money
in
the
police
budget
like
let's
take
it
from
there,
there's
plenty
of
money
going
to
advertise
for
tourism
to
draw
all
of
these
people
to
bring
food
to
our
town.
How
about
we
get
some
money
from
there
and
so
just
really
questioning
that
choice.
That
feels
like
a
false
choice.
N
I
also
kind
of
on
the
topic
of
reparations
wanted
to
just
weigh
in
again,
so
that
is
important
and
mention
to
navy
council,
but
maybe
to
other
people
in
our
community
listening.
You
may
know
already
that.
There's
a
reparations
now
tool
kit
from
the
movement
for
black
lives
that
I
found
really
helpful
to
kind
of
lay
out
some
definitions
and
the
first
one.
So
the
un
actually
defines
reparations
as
five
things,
but
the
first
one
is
cessation,
assurances
and
guarantees
of
non-repetition.
N
And
so
I
think
that's
what
I
heard.
One
of
the
earlier
callers
just
experts
say
in
when
he
started
out
by
saying,
like
abolition
is
the
first
thing
and
so
cessation
of
the
harm
that
the
city
of
asheville
is
perpetrating
on
its
residents
is
the
first
step
and
then
assurances
on
repetition
and
then
continuing
on
to
those
other
steps.
So
just
encourage
council
members,
if
you
haven't
seen
that
or
others
listening
to
check
that
out
as
maybe
a
place
to
start
as
we
dig
deeper
with
where
we're
going.
N
N
We
have
used
all
avenues
provided
to
communicate
with
you
on
how
to
use
your
positions
of
power
to
serve,
and
then
you
voted
six
to
one
on
accepting
the
recommendation
to
take
it
down,
and
yet
you
not
only
continue
to
delay
tangible
reparations
but
deborah
campbell
pandered
to
right-wing
businesses
and
told
them
on
record
that
vance
might
not
be
removed.
When
the
mayor
is
asked
about
what
the
city
council
vote
even.
N
Commissions,
30,
60,
90,
day
plans,
task
forces
and
arguably
city
staff
positions,
even
mean
if
our
participation
means
nothing
to
you.
You
don't
need
more
data
to
learn
what
the
community
needs.
You
just
need
to
listen,
sweeping
the
needs
and
demands
of
our
bipart
and
working
class
community
under
the
rug.
Isn't
just
disrespectful.
N
Only
five
percent
of
the
population
here
so
keep
in
mind.
The
decisions
you
make
are
also
personal.
It
would
be
wise
of
you
to
reimpose
the
indoor
dining
restrictions
that
you
just
lifted,
especially
now
that
we
know
the
newer
more
infectious
strain
of
covet
has
reached
charlotte,
which
means
it's
likely
already
here.
N
Removing
dance
monument
is
an
easy
job
and
the
long
long
list
of
things
we
need
to
do
to
make
this
a
more
equitable
town.
It's
been
high
on
the
list
of
black
asheville
demands,
which
centers
our
black
community.
They
are
not
just
quotes
on
the
radar,
as
sandra
said
earlier,
and
if
anyone
on
city
council
actually
sat
through
all
of
the
task
force
input
meetings,
you
would
have
heard
the
logical
process
on
how
they
arrived
at
removal.
It
was
erected
in
the
name
of
white
supremacy,
stop
wasting
our
time.
N
Baltimore
was
able
to
take
down
a
confederate
statue
for
less
than
20
grand
we've
already
spent
eight
grand
more
than
this
just
to
keep
a
broken
shroud
around
it
and
I'll
echo.
What
we've
been
saying
for
nine
months
now,
defunding
apd
is
where
we
start.
When
it
comes
to
funding
reparations,
hold
up,
defunding
apd
is
reparation.
N
E
N
E
N
Information
that
you
guys
need,
I
think
the
information
is
clear.
Black
asheville
has
made
it
clear.
Rjc
has
made
it
clear.
The
people
of
the
city
have
made
it
clear.
All
the
signs
and
demonstrations
for
the
past
year
have
made
it
clear.
I
think
it's
obvious
that
it
needs
to
go
and
we
don't
care
about
the
cost,
like
somebody
else
said,
we'll
take
it
down
for
you,
we've
seen.
N
Also,
we
don't
care
about
the
cost
of
what
you
want
to
replace
it
with.
We
don't
care
if
there's
nothing
there
for
a
good
year
or
two.
We
don't
care.
If
we
raise
the
funds
ourselves
to
get
an
artist
to
replace
it,
we
don't
care
literally
just
get
rid
of
it,
and
on
top
of
that,
that
leads
right
into
reparations.
N
I'm
glad
that
you
guys
will
be
continuing
the
conversation
on
reparations,
but
again,
just
like
everything
else
that
I
have
listened
to
tonight
and
every
other
city
council
meeting
since
june.
I'm
just
hearing
this
over
and
over
and
over
again
with
the
same
words
and
no
action.
I
just
hear
all
this
bull
crap
and
I
just
would
like.
E
N
N
N
Hi,
my
name
is
neddy.
I
live
in
west
asheville.
I'm
calling
to
echo
again
a
lot
of
the
sentiments
around
this
frustration
with
the
advanced
removal
process,
though
the
black
experience
is
not
a
monolith
and
I'm
not
a
person
of
color.
I
do
want
to
reflect
some
of
the
sentiments
of
people
that
I've
talked
to
that
have
said
that
the
repercussion
you've
talked
about
of
leaving
up
the
monument
is
that
we
are
continuing
to
perpetuate
and
uphold
a
symbol
of
impression
of
oppression.
N
H
N
N
The
process,
and
now
here
we
are
and
we're
still
having
to
call
and
and
say
the
same
things
over
and
over
again,
this
dysfunction
is
systemic
racism.
We're
experiencing
it
firsthand
our
city
government
as
an
institution,
is
unintentionally
perpetuating
these
harms
through
this
confusing
and
misleading
process.
N
N
U
Yes,
good
evening,
this
is
paul.
Shulman
from
west
asheville,
advanced
monument
task
force
was
created
and
citizens
were
encouraged
to
apply,
so
they
could
represent
the
community
and
have
their
voices
heard
essentially
being
as
generous
as
I
can
be.
In
my
perspective
of
it,
a
model
of
what
democracy
should
look
like
from.
U
U
Amount
of
work
presented
their
findings
to
you
with
a
very
generous
reception
and
acknowledgement
of
the
hard
work
done
and
now
in
what
is
to
me
an
exercise
in
gas
lighting.
Their
suggestions
are
being
sidelined
because
of
costs
undermining
any
semblance
of
true
democracy.
There's
a
mystifying
obsession
with
the
budget
right
now.
Over
the
past
several
months,
the
community
offered
up
a
great
opportunity
for
the
city
to
recruit
a
significant
amount
of
money
by
lowering
the
police
budget.
U
U
U
U
The
message
that
I'm
hearing
loud
and
clear
from
this
series
of
events
is
that
asheville
residents
shouldn't
waste
their
time,
accepting
invitations
by
city
council
to
do
hours
upon
hours
of
research
to
present
a
comprehensive
project
publicly,
because
they'll
just
be
ignored
by
our
elected
council
people.
Fortunately,
that
won't
stop
me
from
calling
into
every
meeting,
and
I
truly
hope
it
doesn't
stop
others
either
and
for
those
listening
in
on
this
council
meeting.
We
need
to
support
each
other
because
the
city's
not
supporting
those
in
need.
If.
E
U
M
E
M
It
ended
up
being
a
task
force
composed
of
mostly
black
asheville
residents,
who
actually
were
interested
in
what
the
public
thought
about
the
monument
and
so
having
attended
a
couple
of
the
meetings.
I
saw
a
huge
amount
of
research
go
in
and
a
lot
of
public
input
not
as
much
as
I
would
have
liked,
but
there
really
never
is.
U
E
K
M
Like
all
of
the
other
callers,
I'm
not
really
sure
what
more
information
you
need.
I
I'm
feel
for
you,
councilwoman
kilgore.
I
wish
you
would
have
been
on
that
committee
so
that
you
could
have
given
that
killer
speech
to
them,
but
but
you
weren't,
and
you
can't
just
overturn
everything
that
happened
now-
that
you're
a
council
person,
as
you
said,
the
black
voice
is
not
a
monolith
and.
C
M
M
That's
something
that
we
haven't
yet
had
a
task
force
ask
the
black
residents
of
asheville
about
so
I
would
commend
you
to
get
to
do
that
as
soon
as
possible,
so
that
we
can
find
out
how
much
money
we're
saving
for
these
reparations
right
because
saying
that
we
need
to
choose
between
reparations
and
taking
that
advanced
monument.
It's
kind
of
weird,
because
taking
down
the
advanced
monument
is
reparations
right.
Just
like
abolition
of
the
police's
reparations
abolition
of
the
prison
industrial
complex
is
reparations.
M
Abolition
of
the
military
industrial
complex
is
reparation,
so
I
would
love
to
see
that
happening.
I
think
that
it's
important
to
note
that
racial
justice
coalition,
the
group
that
was
integral
in
the
reparations
resolution,
has
publicly
stated
that
defunding
asheville
police
is
reparations.
Removing
the
vance
monument
is
reparation,
and
I'm
also
concerned
that.
Oh
that's.
N
N
N
School
and
excellent
actual
preschool
program
without
any
clear
transition
plan
to
support
these
exceptional
classrooms,
the
teachers
and
the
students.
These
are
short-sighted
decisions.
They've
been
made
quickly,
opaquely
during
the
global
pandemic
and
without
meaningful
input
of
staff,
families
or
community
stakeholders.
L
L
N
N
N
L
L
Q
Q
Q
So
I
would
like
that
you
would
change
the
wording
from
minority
in
the
resolution
to
american
descendants
of
slavery
and
the
other
point
of
it
was.
Let
me
think
it
was
so
many
callers
and
thank
you
callers
if
you're
still
on
the
line,
because
you
guys
are
just
on
fire
for
reparations
for
american
descendants
of
slavery.
I
appreciate
that
and
you've
basically
taken
some
of
the
points
that
I
was
going
to
talk
about,
but
the
one
thing
that
I
want
to
stress
I'm
62
years
old
and
I
am
a
student
of
these
segregated
schools.
Q
I
was
in
a
desegregated
school
from
66
to
71
1966
to
71.
Most
black
immigrants
didn't
come
to
the
country
until
1963.,
but
I've
noticed
anywhere
you
find
online
talking
about
reparations
is
authored
by
a
black
immigrant
from
some
other
country
who
wasn't
on
this
ground.
They
wasn't
in
on
the
soil
in
1963.,
so
I
have
a
problem
with
that.
But
that's
not
your
concern
and
the
other
thing
about
the
vance
monument.
Q
N
I
appreciate
the
opportunity
to
discuss
the
asheville
city
school
board
and
nashville
primary
school.
I
represent
the
stakeholders
from
asheville
primary
who
have
all
voiced
similar
concerns,
but
are
pleased
have
thus
far
fallen
on
deaf
ears.
We
have
2500
signatures
on
a
change.org
petition
and
we
deserve
to
be
heard.
Asheville
primary
is
the
only
five-star
public
preschool
and
the
only
public
montessori
program
in
the
region.
N
It
must
continue.
We've
already
spent
the
money
on
montessori
materials
and
education.
A
hundred
years
of
montessori
education
worldwide
proves
that
it
works
and
there's
over
500
public
montessori's
in
the
us
alone.
If
asheville
wants
to
be
a
leader,
we
need
to
look
at
what
makes
us
different.
What
makes
us
special
asheville
primary
is
definitely
one
of
those
things,
diverse,
inclusive,
accessible
and
teaching
anti-racism
and
love
and
respect
for
all
separating
the
preschool
classes
into
various
elementary
schools,
as
is
planned,
is
absurd.
N
The
teachers
benefit
from
their
collective
experience
working
together.
In
effect,
closing
these
two
highly
regarded
programs
you're
going
to
demonstrate
that
the
city
doesn't
care
about
lower
income
families
that
currently
have
access
to
these
amazing
resources
and
they
will
cease
to
exist
in
the
next
school
year.
That's
shameful!
N
The
meeting
this
meeting
has
been
discussing
millions
of
dollars
being
spent,
spend
it
where
it
matters,
spend
it
on
the
kids
that
are
going
to
change
the
world.
The
parents,
teachers
and
staff
of
asheville
primary
are
shocked,
frustrated
and
furious
that
the
school
is
closing.
We
regularly
hear
the
term
blindsided
when
we
ask
people
how
they
feel
this
is
not
the
way
a
board
that
represents
the
community
operates,
asheville
takes
education
seriously
and
our
kids
deserve
the
best.
The
lack
of
communication
and
transparency
from
the
school
board
is
not
acceptable.
N
U
N
E
E
J
J
E
J
J
F
E
N
Hi
good
evening,
everyone
I'm
gonna,
follow
up
on
what
galen
was
talking
about
regarding
the
proposed
development
in
the
richmond
hill
community.
I
know
it's
kind
of
come
to
the
forefront
of
discussion
a
lot
recently
and
I
know
it's
a
sort
of
tricky
situation
for
the
richmond
hill
community
and
and
for
for
you
all
as
well,
because
of
the
location
being.
J
N
It
is
next
to
richmond
hill
park
oj
sent
through
the
richmond
hill
community,
which
is
asheville
and
then
the
first
broad
river,
and
it's
not
being
contiguous
with
town
of
woodson.
So
the
big
discussion
is
where
did
asheville
stand
in
relation
to
the
community
members
that
oppose
this
development
so
strongly
and
the
the
the
impact
that
it
will
have
and
the
significant
burden
that
will
be
placed
upon
this
community
and
this
neighborhood
park
and
infrastructure.
N
That
is
already
in
disrepair
to
a
certain
extent,
especially
the
road
leading
up
from
pearson
bridge
to
richmond
hill
park.
It
is
heavily
traveled
the
greater
influx
already
in
relation
to
the
bike
park
that
has
just
gone
in
the
hiking
trails,
the
disc
golf
everything
is
a
well-loved
park
and
the
traffic
is
significant.
N
But
in
addition
to
that,
the
the
environmental
impact
of
this
development
and
what
that
means
for
the
city
of
asheville
and
the
community
at
large,
as
as
a
town
that
it
prides
itself
on
sustainability
and
lessening
our
carbon
footprint,
allowing
these
kinds
of
developments
to
come
in
sort
of
unchecked
as
it
were.
Regardless
of
the
jurisdiction
in
which
the
proposal
is
being
placed,
there
needs
to
be
some
sort
of,
I
guess
reciprocity
in
relation
to
the
jurisdictions
and
how
these
developments
will
impact
each.
U
N
You
know
we
have
the
county,
we've
got
the
city,
we've
got
woodson,
and
here
we
are
over
here
richmond
hill,
where
all
three
of
these
worlds
are
kind
of
colliding
on
this
proposal,
and
it's
like
what
what
is
going
to
be
done
to
make
sure
that
the
greater
good
of
our
community
is
going
to
be
cared
for.
This
is
not
something
that
should
be
taken
lightly
or
passively
yeah,
especially
as
we're
in
a
time
of
climate
change
and
crisis.
N
Developments
like
this
can
be
implemented
and
we're
just
asking
that
you,
you
really
hear
our
voices
and
you
you
get
involved
in
this
discussion
and
what
influence
that
can
have
on
ensuring
that
the
health
and
well-being
of
the
community
at
large
is
is
being
cared
for.
I
know
we
need
housing
and
things
of
that
nature,
but
there
are
smart
ways
to
do
it,
and
I
hope
this
really
considered
your
role
in
this.
Thank
you.
F
N
N
N
My
20
year
old
daughter
works
downtown
in
a
restaurant
and
she
one
of
her
host
responsibilities
was
to
stop
the
homeless
from
entering
the
restaurant,
engaging
with
patrons
a
job
she's
not
really
trained
for
at
20..
She
also
had
a
parking
distance
from
the
restaurant
and
walk
at
night
to
her
car.
A
couple
of
times
was
harassed
by
a
homeless
man.
Needless
to
say,
she
no
longer
works
at
the
restaurant
and
I'm
sure
the
restaurant
owner
will
continue
to
struggle
to
hire
and
employ
employees.
N
During
this
time,
I
find
myself
having
in
downtown
going
to
restaurants.
You
know
taking
takeout
and
being
asked
for
leftovers
or
ask
for
money
while
I'm
downtown
it's
just
not
it's
not
as
safe
as
it
used
to
be,
and
it's
sad.
Just
recently,
a
man
was
stabbed
in
the
leg
by
a
homeless
person.
When
he's
trying
to
get
assistance.
Also,
my
neighborhood
has
been
several
cars,
broken
into
they've,
stolen
pocket,
knives
and
money
without
even
taking
electronics.
N
E
N
E
N
E
E
N
F
C
N
N
This
undoubtedly
has
raised
the
infection
rates
here
and
forced
businesses
to
put
their
employees
lives
at
risk
to
serve
out-of-towners
brunch.
How
important
this
paints
the
picture
that
this
council
and
our
city
government
cares
more
about
tourist
dollars
than
they
do
about
the
people
that
make
the
city
great.
N
N
N
N
N
Our
police
budget
is
extremely
high
for
how
small
of
a
city
asheville
is
the
highest
in
the
state.
Why
are
we
spending
30
million
dollars
to
supply
our
police
force
with
what
war
war-grade
weapons
which
were
used
on
our
public
on
our
constituents
on
the
people
of
asheville,
who
were
just
peacefully
protesting
racial
injustice?
N
B
N
N
I
am
a
proponent
of
smart
development
and
helped
watch
grow,
live
bundles
to
empower
citizens
and
hopefully
direct
our
elected
officials
in
woodland,
london,
county
and
asheville
towards
sustainable
practices.
Understanding
that
city
council
can't
vote
on
the
approval
or
denial
of
the
bluffs
on
riverbend.
You
are
able
to
authorize
the
city
attorney
to
seek
to
seek
standing
to
oppose
the
bluffs
development.
N
There
is
no
question
that
the
development
will
adversely
impact
the
city's
infrastructure,
thereby
increasing
asheville's
residents,
property
taxes,
increasing
vehicle
traffic
to
approximately
6
000
more
cars
a
day
is
not
only
extremely
dangerous
on
these
country
roads,
but
we
will
be
paying
for
its
upkeep,
not
woodson.
Joining
richmond
hill
and
river
rescue.
L
C
N
N
N
High-End
apartments
with
no
affordable
housing-
and
I
certainly
don't
want
to
see
the
future
river
amenities
flooded
by
an
sediment
and
ruined
by
it.
At
what
cost
is
that
to
us?
We
can't
keep
building
bridges
over
our
river,
resulting
in
runoff
pollutants.
We
can't
look
at
its
steep
slopes
as
locations
for
future
medium-sized
towns
to
sprawl
across
once
water
and
sewer
reach
the
bluffs
from
the
future
bridge.
N
There
is
no
legal
way
to
prevent
contiguous
landowners
northwards
marshall
to
tap
into
it,
and
once
that
happens,
the
future
energy
burden,
runoff
and
flooding
will
surely
increase
asheville's
property
taxes.
Again,
it's
concerning
to
all
residents
that
the
legal
criterion
has
historically
allowed
the
withholding
of
notification
to.
N
Typically,
until
just
days
before,
with
only
one
public
hearing
granted
for
citizen
comment
on
large-scale
proposals,
this
process
is
offensive
to
us
and
disempowering.
All
we
ask
is
that
you
include
us
at
the
get-go
and
incorporate
a
legal
transparency
requirement
in
the
city
ordinances.
We
want
to
feel
heard
and.
G
Crises
of
the
covenant
19
pandemic,
economic
instability,
systemic
racism
in
the
city
of
asheville's
own
state
of
climate
emergency,
with
the
exception
of
item
g
on
the
consent
agenda
regarding
the
fema
funding
for
our
homeless
neighbors,
I
just
have
to
first
acknowledge
that
business
as
usual
meeting
like
this
one,
it's
going
to
sting
so.
Additionally,
I
want
to
let
our
neighbors
know
that
I
hear
my
students
and
friends
and
neighbors
calling
urgently
for
a
request
for
lgbtq,
inclusive
non-discrimination,
ordinances
for
protection
of
human
and
civil
rights.
We
are
working
on
this.