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Tuesday, 24 October 2006 17:37 |
By DAVID FORBES
WOODFIN ÇƒÓ For $2 million, the Woodfin Board of Aldermen on Oct. 17 unanimously approved the sale of an 156-acre site that is a former municipal golf course to upscale developer Reynolds Mountain.
The motion, made by Alderman Jim Angel, passed without comment from any member of the board.
This is not the townës first attempt to sell the property. A previous deal in 2003 fell through ÇƒÓ and led to a suit by the potential buyers.
The town is still resolving that suit, Town Attorney Joseph Ferikes said, but the developers do not see it as an issue. Town Administrator Jason Young also noted that the developers have agreed to accept the property in its current condition.
In
a public hearing prior to the vote, several residents voiced pleas to
the board to avoid development that would go against Woodfinës
character.
"Iëve felt for a
long time that Woodfin needs a center, that it needs an identity,"
Resident James Latimore said. "But I do hope that we donët rush
headlong into creating a duplication of Biltmore Forest in Woodfin. The
historical character of the town is very unique in North Carolina."
Moreover,
Latimore warned that large, high-priced development could drive out
Woodfinës working-class residents by increasing property taxes.
"I had a battle
with the county this year to keep my tax rate down to an affordable
level ÇƒÓ they wanted to increase it 70 percent," Latimore said. "I donët
want to see you, me and all the people here pushed out because money is
rushing in."
"I would urge
you to have a little caution and a little consideration about whatës
happening to Woodfin. Some of these things may look very nice, but
whatës the cost going to be?"
Later, Keith
Shatrau, who mentioned that he moved to Woodfin six weeks ago from
Syracuse, N.Y., said the town should be careful about at what pace at
which it develops.
"It seems that
itës now Woodfinës time," Shatrau said. "What that means to me is that
we should be driving the bus. Take our time. Do it right. Thereës no
rush. Woodfin will be here as it has been. Thereës no need to step up
and make really big decisions. We can either do it right or do it
wrong."
Meanwhile, Katherina Schaeler said that Woodfin must strive to retain "its unique flavor" when dealing with development.
"Weëve seen so
much development go on where every place looks like every other place,"
Schaeler said. "Thereës a real need to hear out the Woodfin story ¨?ǃÓ
and the heart of Woodfin should be in whatever youëre doing. You should
make it a point and keep the personality of Woodfin in mind any time
youëre dealing with development. Donët lose Woodfin, please."
In other action,
the board voted 4-2 to reject an attempt to revise the town charter to
give the mayor a four-year term, instead of the current two-year term.
Opponents of the measure felt that it might leave the town stuck with a bad mayor in the future.
"We have had instances where mayors have done a lot of damage," Alderman Virgil Hollifield said.
While noting
that "if it was in my power, Iëd have (Mayor) Jerry (VeHaun) in for as
long as he wanted," Alderman Geneva Maney echoed Hollifieldës concerns.
"Iëd just be worried about that," she said.
But Alderman Deborah Giezentanner said that a mayor needs the longer term to be able to carry out essential planning.
"I think that
particularly with all the growth thatës going on right now, the
continuity of our leaders is very important," Giezentanner said. "Two
years goes very fast ÇƒÓ there arenët that many meetings. A four-year
term makes more sense."
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