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Tuesday, 19 December 2006 17:16 |
By DAVID FORBES
In a marathon year-end session, Asheville City Council voted on Dec. 12 to purchase a public housing complex for $2.3 million, approved $3.3 million to repair the Civic Center over the next six years and banned sex offenders from Ashevilleës public parks.
The purchase of McCormick Heights, a 100-unit, low-income housing apartment complex that the city plans to demolish and turn into a mixed-income development, passed 6-1, with many council members asserting that the step is needed to preserve the cityës affordable housing supply.
Meanwhile,
the funding for the Civic Center improvements also passed 6-1, with the
majority of council members stating a desire to take a definite step
toward needed improvements before the end of the year, overriding
concerns about the entire proposal not being vetted by the cityës Civic
Center Commission first.
The new
ordinance banning registered sex offenders from Ashevilleës parks
passed unanimously, with council members citing a need to protect
children.
Earlier, the
purchase of McCormick Heights from a subsidiary of Progress Energy was
touted by its proponents as a necessary step that will result in a
better development in the area while still keeping housing affordable.
The complex is currently for sale, due to vacancy problems ÇƒÓ only 41 of the 100 units are occupied.
"This is land
that can be turned from a neighborhood gone bad to a neighborhood where
new life and new beginnings are taking place," Councilwoman Robin Cape
said. "If we donët do this, thatës land going to be redeveloped ÇƒÓ and
itës doubtful theyëd put in affordable or workforce housing."
However,
Councilman Carl Mumpower, who cast the dissenting vote on the matter,
said that the city lost the area to crime ÇƒÓ and has a spotty record as
a developer.
"Weëve
essentially surrendered a public housing development to the bad guys ǃÓ
the drug dealers, the criminals and others who have destroyed the
safety in this development," Mumpower said. "This used to be as nice a
place as you could find in the city and crime has destroyed it. We have
not done the job we should do in protecting people. We should not be
satisfied with that. Weëre doing the same thing before we fix the real
problem. To just throw more fairy-dust, fantasy and plans at it until
we fix that problem is short-sighted.
"Furthermore, we
just donët do a good job as a developer ÇƒÓ we end up wasting a lot of
time and other peopleës money and weëre about to do the same thing
again."
Mayor Terry Bellamy took issue with Mumpowerës remarks.
"This is another
way to deal with the issue, communities are what matter here ÇƒÓ more
police donët solve everything," Bellamy said. "We have to work towards
changing the mindset in these developments."
Striking a
similar note, Vice Mayor Holly Jones noted her belief that council
"will not make the same mistakes" as it did with some previous
development.
The city is
providing $85,000 in relocation assistance for the families displaced
by the move, including relocation counseling and paying their moving
expenses as well as the deposits on a new residence.
Earlier,
Mumpower also voiced initial objections to considering the possibility
of funding needed repairs for the Civic Center until the cityës Civic
Center Commission had time to fully review them. However, his motion to
table the matter failed to get a second and many members of council
expressed a desire to see some resolution on the center this year.
"These are the realities weëre facing and we need to address the current maintenance of the civic center," Bellamy noted.
But Mumpower
continued to assert that the city was not going through the proper
channels ÇƒÓ eventually voting against the measure.
"This is another
example of this council disregarding the rules," Mumpower said. "Weëre
about to spend taxpayer money without running it through the group we
have set up for this very purpose."
The passage of
the motion marks councilës intent to fix the Civic Center as it is,
instead of concentrate on building a seperate Performing Arts Center
and arena.
"Even if we do
decide to eventually build another arena or the performing arts center,
thatës going to take years," Councilman Bryan Freeborn said. "We need
to start repairing what we have now."
However, council did indicate that they wanted city staff to continue exploring the option of such a center south of city hall.
Furthermore, the
resolution also included council asking staff to analyze the
possibility of a room tax to pay for the improvements and other
upgrades that staff say the city needs to invest in.
If the city passed such a tax, it could fund an estimated $15 million in improvements to the center.
Meanwhile,
council had no disagreement amongst themselves on the passage of an
ordinance banning registered sex offenders from any of Ashevilleës
public parks.
The town of Woodfin passed a similar ordinance last year, as did Black Mountain and Fletcher.
Woodfinës
ordinance was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union, which
asserted that it was an unconstitutional restriction on freedom of
travel, vague and unfairly punishes those who have already served time
for their crimes.
Woodfinës
ordinance was upheld in superior court and is now on appeal. City
Attorney Bob Oast noted that the city is, in his opinion, on firm legal
ground.
The ordinance also has symbolic import, Jones said.
"I donët know much we can really enforce this, but I think it sends a very strong message about our city," Jones said.
But before the
vote was taken, Rev. Christopher Cabaranke warned council during a
public comment period that they should be wary of putting such
restrictions in place.
"Iëm reminded of
a saying I heard in government class: ǃÚthey came for the Jews and I
said nothing and they came for the blacks and I said nothingë and it
goes on and on, then ǃÚwhen they came for me, there was no one left to
say anything,ë" Cabaranke said. "This is being challenged. It would be
putting the cart before the horse to pass this. I would suggest you
might want to hold off on this. So far youëve banned anyone who was
drinking in the park. I was banned because I had a couple of joints in
my pocket. You want to revoke the rights of an individual, invoke
ǃÚpublic health and safety.ë"
In reply,
Mumpower, making the motion, noted that "Iëm all in support of the
Constitution, but too often it is used as a weapon to paralyze us from
taking steps against lawlessness. Iëm grateful the city is taking this
step."
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