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Black Mtn. OKs complete revamp of swim complex |
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Tuesday, 13 March 2007 |
By JIM GENARO
BLACK MOUNTAIN — The Town of Black Mountain is one step closer to having new public swimming facilities, as its Board of Aldermen on Monday night voted unanimously to pursue a plan that would completely renovate the existing pool while building a new bathhouse.
Last year, the board charged the town staff with researching various options, including repairing the town’s aging swimming pool and building an entirely new facility at a different location.
The
board met last Thursday to review the various options presented by the
town staff. During that meeting, the aldermen had learned that the
costs of renovating the existing pool would be far lower than building
a new pool, but the expected time before it would need significant
repairs would be about the same — about 25 years, according to Town
Manager Tony Caudle.
On Monday night, Alderman Joan Brown expressed a desire that the new facility be more handicap-accessible than the current pool.
“The architects will be very cognizant of that,” Caudle assured her.
Furthermore, the
planned construction will not deter the pool from opening this summer,
Brown noted. “I think we all know that the pool will be open,” she said.
The next steps
will be for the town staff to work with architects and planners to
develop a more concrete proposal, to which the board will have to give
its final approval.
In other action, the board:
• Heard a presentation from Brown about the annual Strive Not To Drive Week.
“This was a week
that was set aside to encourage our citizens, at least for a week, to
try to find other ways to get around,” Brown said.
One of the
events scheduled is a bus trip from Black Mountain to downtown
Asheville, in which Brown and other town officials will participate,
she noted.
Brown, who has
long been an active organizer of the event, joked that “somewhere along
the line it got called ‘Ride With Joan Day.’”
Previous trips
have visited the Grove Arcade, Pack Place and the Asheville Mall, Brown
said. This year, the bus trip will go back to the Grove Arcade.
Another event,
the Commuter Challenge, will invite residents “to take yourself down to
the depot, get your bike hitched to the bus and drive down to
Asheville,” Brown said.
“So there’s a lot of neat things that our area is trying to take part in.”
At that point,
Mayor Carl Bartlett quipped, “We do have a commitment from you and
(Assistant Town Manager) Bo (Ferguson) that neither of you will drive
the bus, don’t we?” prompting laughter from many in the room.
• Heard a
presentation from Elizabeth Teague of the town’s Planning Board on
efforts by her committee to develop new flood-plain regulations as part
of its efforts to update Black Mountain’s zoning ordinances.
However, this prompted Alderman C. Michael Sobol to ask why this particular set of guidelines was being given priority.
He noted that
other aspects of the town’s zoning, such as restrictions of where
homeowners can build patios, seemed more urgent. “Why is this one being
moved up in front of those issues?” he asked.
“With
development pressure, we wanted to be sure we had a chance to update at
least to state standards ... our flood-plain regulations,” Teague
answered.
Sobol asked if
the planning board wanted a vote on the proposed ordinance immediately
following the scheduled public hearing about it next month.
Teague affirmed this, saying, “This is one that’s ready. We wanted to knock this one out.”
She added that a
new storm water-runoff ordinance is also a priority, as the town must
meet a state mandate to develop a new plan by June.
• Approved authorizing town staff to sell two retired police cars on a public auction Web site.
• Approved the sale of a town-owned lawnmower to the Owen Little League for use at its baseball fields.
• Approved a request to rezone property at 1046 Old U.S. 70 from Office Institutional to General Commercial zoning.
• Heard a presentation from Police Chief Kevin Pressley about the state of recent police activity.
Sobol asked
Pressley if the town has experienced more drug-related activity as
Asheville has begun a more vigorous crackdown on drug dealers.
“The Asheville police are doing an excellent job,” Pressley answered.
However, he added, “The reality is, they are going to displace that (activity).”
He noted that last weekend, Black Mountain police arrested an individual with 28 grams of cocaine, who had come from Asheville.
• Heard a report
from Golf Pro David Ballard about his efforts to find a new owner for
the concession stand at the town’s golf course, as well as his
marketing campaign to attract new golfers.
Ballard said that several people have expressed interest in the concession stand, in response to ads he had placed.
He also told the
board that the golf course has implemented new twilight rates and has
placed promotional flyers in hotels and inns throughout Buncombe County.
Alderman Chuck
McKeown told Ballard that he thought it would help for the golf course
to offer payment plans for its annual memberships, to which Ballard
replied that he is looking into options for a quarterly membership.
“I think that will make an enormous amount of difference,” McKeown told him.
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