At their June 11 meeting, City Council passed a resolution to name Asheville Police Headquarters in memory of former APD Lt. Walter Robertson. During his 28-year tenure at the Asheville Police Department, “Walt” Robertson became the first African American to reach the rank of Lieutenant. An Asheville native, he graduated from Lee Edwards High School and [...]
On April 25, 2019, Walter Evan Robertson Sr. passed away. Walt was a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War and dedicated 30 years of service to law enforcement. During his 28-year tenure at the Asheville Police Department, he became the first African American to reach the rank of Lieutenant. In addition to his dedication to [...]
Asheville City Council voted 6 to 1 May 28 to accept an offer for a 5- to 10-year naming rights agreement with Harrah’s Cherokee for the Asheville Civic Center in downtown Asheville. The new agreement will replace the existing contract with U.S. Cellular that expires December 31, 2019. The vote concludes a year-long effort to explore [...]
Asheville residents who live or own property in flood zones have access to a federally subsidized flood insurance program through the City’s participation in a FEMA Community Rating System. The Community Rating System (CRS) program, a part of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), provides discounts off of flood insurance premiums to communities [...]
Recent improvements to Asheville’s largest convention and entertainment venue, the U.S. Cellular Center, have included addition of flexible theater seating in the arena, a new sound and lighting setup and conversion of a storage room into a press / meeting room. Now the facility’s aging HVAC system will come into the modern age. It was last [...]
At a glance On April 9, Asheville City Council adopted its Fees & Charges for FY 2019-2020. Fee increases are aimed at cost recovery to lessen the burden on property tax payers. There will be a modest increase to water and stormwater fees. Impact per the average household will be 70 cents a month or $8.40 for [...]
East Asheville will get a new library — in its same location — following action by Asheville City Council to authorize a land lease to Buncombe County for the library. During their April 9 meeting, Council voted to authorize a 99-year lease of 1.8 acres of property at 902-904 Tunnel Road for $1 per year. Buncombe [...]
At their March 26 meeting, Asheville City Council unanimously reappointed current Asheville City Board of Education Chair Shaunda Sandford and Vice Chair Martha Geitner. Each of them will serve additional four-year terms to expire in 2023. The Council also voted to appoint James Carter to complete the current term of James E. Lee III, who was [...]
Contributed image Work began about two weeks ago at John B. Lewis Soccer Complex to repair damages caused by multiple flooding events in 2018. And a resolution adopted by Asheville City Council during its March 26 meeting puts in place an agreement for shared financial responsibility for future maintenance at the facility. The City’s new lease agreement [...]
Funding approved by City Council will help the City invest in maintaining our streets and sidewalks. At their March 12 meeting, Council approved $691,194.40 in Capital Improvement funds for street repair projects and $317,687.50 in sidewalk rehabilitation work, including a pavement preservation contract that is designed to lengthen the life of streets before they need repaving. [...]
Asheville City Council cleared the way for a new Duke Energy substation with a vote to rezone portions of 252 Patton Ave. and 28 Knoxville Place, during Council’s Jan. 22 meeting. Duke has proposed the construction of a gas-insulated, high-voltage switchgear (or GIS) substation on the parcel that formerly served as a car dealership on [...]
Controlling costs is not only smart for your budget, it’s also a fiscally responsible practice when it comes to managing taxpayer dollars. A new agreement between Asheville and Buncombe County authorized by Asheville City Council during its Jan. 8 meeting reorders a property tax collection agreement. This change will help the City better plan for the [...]