The Asheville City Council meets tonight at 5:00 pm.
The agenda includes a public hearing on a rezoning at Givens Estate Friendship Park on Sweeten Creek Road. If approved, it would allow for construction of 81 residential units in three multifamily buildings.
Council will also look to approve a $530,000 loan to Homeward Bound to purchase and rehab a permanent supportive housing project on Short Michigan Avenue. The money would come from the City's Housing Trust Fund.
Meanwhile, another affordable housing project - Beaucatcher Commons on Simpson Street - went way over budget, as the developer had to install a more-expensive sprinkler system in order to meet code. So, the Council will decide whether to double the Housing Trust Fund loan - totaling $1.3 million - to see the project through to completion.
In addition, a third affordable housing project is asking for a loan from the Housing Trust Fund. The Candler project had already secured a $600,000 loan, but the developer says bids came in very high for the construction costs, and now the loan needs to be double - to $1.2 million.
The Council will also decide whether to accept a renegotiated contract with the Asheville Buncombe Youth Soccer Association (ABYSA) for maintenance of the John B. Lewis Soccer Fields. The fields were damaged by floods in recent years, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Pete's Prep: Tuesday, July 23, 2019
- Roger McCredie explores the question: "How did Buncombe County manage to spend $577,000 on an event 45 miles away … and not even realize it?"
- The Republican leader of the NC Senate has taken to Twitter to try and negotiate with the Democratic Governor over his budget veto.
- Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib - member of 'The Squad' of leftist first-term Congresswomen - says the federal minimum wage should not be $15 an hour... but rather $20 an hour.
- Americans are not visiting our historical sites any more. Martin Cothran takes a look.