• A web site www.darnonline.org is up and running (thanks to Judy Swan and Trina Mullen).
• Three general meetings were held this year dealing with downtown safety, initiatives to clean up downtown Asheville and Prichard Park.
• A Valentines Day Party.
• A fund raiser/social with the Asheville Downtown Association for “Arts 2 People” and the Lexington Gateway Mural Project.
• Participation with Quality Forward and the City for NCDOT’s Fall Litter Sweep in Prichard Park.

• Maintain downtown as the hub of Asheville’s vibrant economy.
• Support amenities and infrastructure that promote downtown living, business investment and infill development.
• Preserve Asheville’s unique sense of place and quality of life throughout downtown.

 

Improving Pritchard Park, ideas developed at DARN May 10, 2007 meeting.

PURPOSE:
Paris of the South – art venue
Green space
Attractive focal point
“Lobby” for downtown
Public space for all
Floral, green, war memorial
Small event venue
Chess

DESIGN:
Green space (not brown)
Divided benches (conversation oriented)
Water
Piped in soft music
Trash cans with ash trays
Paved paths
Consider the maintenance with any design changes
No visible walls
No smoking area (particularly in a children's area)
Create a plaza by closing section of Haywood in front of Wachovia
Structure for coffee, etc.
Kiosk for tourist information with person in attendance
Bulletin board

ACTIVITIES:
Artists’ area for creating/selling work
Art fairs
Classes (Tai Chi, hula hoop, exercise)
Flower shows/plant sales
Congregating (chess, checkers)
Welcome kiosk
Farmers market
Movies
Drum circle
Regularly scheduled events (such as classes, markets, artists, etc)

MAINTENANCE:
Volunteer (adopt-a-park)
Scheduled cleaning (at least as clean as other city parks)
Ambassador program (like Atlanta, Raleigh)
Park monitor (authorized and identified)
Signage to public restrooms

May 10, 2007 DARN general meeting minutes

General meeting of the Downtown Asheville Residential Neighbors (DARN) was held Thursday, May 10, 2007, 6:00pm, at Lord Auditorium. Susan Griffin, DARN Steering Committee Chair opened the meeting.

The minutes of the February 28, 2007 meeting were presented and approved.

Treasurer’s report from Judy Swan. Current account balance is $754.68. Members live in 20 different downtown buildings.

A donation of $100.00 has been made to Homeward Bound to support assisting homeless move into permanent supportive housing.   Judy read a letter from Howard Stone, director of Homeward Bound, sent to Asheville Downtown Association on April 20, 2007.   In this letter, Mr. Stone writes, “I want you to know that although we are the leading provider of services to the homeless in Asheville, we strongly support the proposed ban on organizations serving food to the homeless in Pritchard Park.   We have communicated this to the members of the City Council.”  

Announcements

1. DARN sponsored Arts2People fundraiser raised $1470. This goes toward a matching $10,000 grant pledged by a DARN member.
2. City Forum on Homelessness will be held at the Civic Center at 6:00pm, May 29, 2007.
3. An association for all condo projects in Asheville areas has been formed. Next meeting is May 29, 2007.   If interested, contact Don Streb (strebfisher@charter.net).

Old Business

1. Cleanliness Task Force update following recent downtown focus.   City and Chamber of Commerce working on sustainable ideas.
2.  Noise Committee (Kato Guggenheim, Thomas Wright and Clayton Lundeman) are working on tactics for getting better enforcement of ordinance.

Business meeting was adjourned and meeting was reopened for discussion on Pritchard Park.   Susan provided background, a brief history of the Park, and the formation by the City Council of the Ad Hoc Pritchard Park Committee.   Larry Holt has been appointed by the Council as the downtown resident’s representative.   The purpose of this new committee is to make recommendations to the City Council on improvements to the Park. During a brainstorm session suggestions for the park and for Larry to share with the Ad Hoc Committee.   All suggestions are listed on home page

 

April was Clean UP month:

On Monday, April 2, the City of Asheville, the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and the County of Buncombe launched a month long effort to clean up Asheville and the surrounding area.  This effort is called the Great Asheville-Buncombe Cleanup.  You will see an advertising campaign supporting the effort identified by the slogan “Just Can It”. 

•  Street receptacles are for sidewalk pedestrian traffic only.  Steve told the Downtown Association that the preponderance of illegally dumped trash downtown is generated by local businesses.  City ordinances specify a fine of $50 per incident, after an initial warning.
  
•  Wednesday is city trash collection day in the Central Business District.  Street receptacles are also picked up a second time on Sunday.  Businesses that put trash on the curb on Tuesday nights must clear the sidewalk of any containers by 11:00 AM Wednesday.  Bagged trash must be securely tied.  Also, do not park blocking access for garbage trucks, especially on narrow streets and in alleys.

Let’s all be part of the Solution!  Help keep Asheville clean and JUST CAN IT! 

If you are new to the city, or have any questions about your pick-up (what can be put in the trash, where to place your trash, what kind of receptacles to use, etc.), contact Steve Henderson.  The city's website www.ashevillenc.gov/works/sanit.httm has additional guidelines, but your best source of information is Steve himself.  You can reach him at shenderson@ashevillenc.gov or 828.232.4518.

Highlights of Mayor Bellamy's state of Asheville address April 3, 2007 as noted by DARN steering committee chair, Susan Griffin

First, she sees Asheville as “a city of neighbors.”  She’d like to see each neighborhood 1) develop a neighborhood organization, 2) encourage neighbors to get to know each other, 3) participate in neighborhood walks with a police officer, and 4) consistently report illegal activities to the police.  DARN clearly has the first two items covered, and I have requested a neighborhood walk with our Community Resource Officer, Steve Riddle.   Let me know if you’d like to join us.  As far as #4 – well, that’s up to you!  Our website has a link to Steve Riddle and contact information for police non-emergency issues.   Mayor Bellamy also said she is committed to addressing nuisance issues, e.g., panhandling, littering and graffiti, by hiring community policing officers in each district.   She supports a cross-jurisdictional growth plan which includes conservation efforts, and cited the West Clingman Avenue neighborhood as an area in which residents took the lead in neighborhood redevelopment.  The Mayor challenged all citizens to invest in Asheville’s future by becoming a mentor or tutor to a local student.  Call the Education Coalition 235.1228, Big Brothers/Big Sisters 253.1470, or Youthful Hands 255.0696 to get started. 

Finally, Mayor Bellamy reminded us that “diversity will be the key to our unity and our success,” an especially apropos ideal in our downtown neighborhood.

DARN letter to Asheville City Council March 13, 2007  
DARN is determined to find ways to create a cleaner downtown Asheville, and has signed a resolution to partner with the Asheville Cleanliness Task Force as a sign of that commitment.   We share our neighborhood with thousands of visitors yearly, and want to ensure the environment is one in which we as downtown stakeholders can take pride.

On trips to places such as Raleigh and Greenville, we are noticeably aware of the cleanliness and orderliness of the downtown areas.   We'd like our wonderful city to make that same impression on its visitors and residents alike.

DARN believes the city already has the proper ordinances in place to maintain a safe and clean downtown environment.   However, enforcement of those ordinances has been erratic, leading to the problems we residents see daily:   litter – especially cigarette butts; street receptacles overflowing with illegally dumped trash; pet waste not picked up; and public drunkenness and urination.

We strongly endorse Chief Hogan's recommendations for additional police officers, and urge that a fair share of that increase be allocated for the downtown business and residential area.   We ask for continuous police presence at Pritchard Park during daylight hours, to ensure that city ordinances are enforced so the Park can be a more welcoming place for all residents of Asheville.   We support Council's efforts to move feeding programs to a larger, less congested area downtown, such as the Social Services parking lot on Coxe Avenue, so as not to block access for residents and visitors to one of the very few public park areas downtown.

To this end, DARN is appealing to our state legislators to form a local codes court in Asheville.   We believe this streamlined system for dealing with nuisance violations will allow Asheville's police department to act more efficiently in enforcing all local codes.

We are also committed to work with other organizations such as Quality Forward and the Asheville Downtown Association to support practical solutions to downtown issues, such as ADA's Spare Change for Real Change program and Quality Forward's Downtown Cleanup Days.

As residents, we are the city's eyes and ears downtown, but we can't do this without your help.   Please approve the budget recommendations for increasing the size of Asheville's police force, and support our request for a more visible and active police presence downtown.

Highlights of City Council meeting 3/13/07:

Council agreed to help implement Downtown Assoc.'s Spare Change for Real Change program.  They will spend some effort to educate District Court judges about why they should take panhandling more seriously.  As far as graffiti, I think the bottom line was that they will do a best practices study of other cities.  Much discussion on that, much hesitation to require a 48 hour removal by owners that might prove problematic with some buildings.

 

Discussion on public intoxication - all agreed enforcement was the issue - which brings us to the nuisance court.  They have already passed a resolution, which has been forwarded to the DA.  So, in the works.  I will follow up with the letter of support when I get the info from Bob Oast telling me where to send it.

 

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DARN Meeting February 28, 2007 6:00 p.m., at the BeBe Theater,20 Commerce St. Thirty-five annual members attended. The topic for discussion was “Downtown Cleanliness”. There are now 70 downtown households that are annual (paid) members of DARN.

Susan Griffin, DARN Steering Committee Chair, welcomed those attending and thanked the owners of BeBe Theater for allowing DARN to meet in their facility.  

Invited guests: Laurey Masterton, proprietor of   Laurey's Catering +Gourmet to Go, and Chair of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce; Gary Jackson, City Manager of the City of Asheville; and Ric Zeller, Clean Communities Coordinator for Quality Forward were introduced and asked to provide an update on “What's Being Done Now”.

Laurey Masterton reported that the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce has taken the lead in reinvigorating county-wide cleanliness efforts by bringing together representatives from the Chamber, the City of Asheville, Buncombe County, UNCA, A-B Tech, Warren Wilson College, NCDOT, Quality Forward, Riverlink, downtown businesses, residents, and others to organize an “Asheville-Buncombe Cleanliness Collaboration”.   Resolutions to enter into the partnership and commitments to the ongoing collaboration with partners to provide leadership, resources and direct involvement for the enhancement and continuation of these efforts have been adopted by the Chamber Board, the City Council and County Commissioners.   An April 2 nd press conference has been scheduled to announce the collaboration and officially launch the “2007 Great Asheville Buncombe Cleanup” (GABC).

Gary Jackson provided handouts that included a copy of the City Council Resolution Laurey mentioned earlier and a list of “City of Asheville Efforts To Clean, Beautify, Enforce, and Educate”. He briefly reviewed the partnerships, collection programs, cleaning and maintenance efforts, enforcement and education about litter being an integral part of storm water education materials and presentations. He also introduced Kendra Turner, City of Asheville Neighborhood Coordinator (259-5506) as a resource for problem solving information.

Ric Zeller reported on the “2007 Great Asheville Buncombe Cleanup” to be coordinated by Quality Forward during March, April and May.   A schedule of confirmed cleanup locations, dates and times was available with additional locations and dates that have not been confirmed.   Anyone interested in assisting in a cleanup or serve as a Cleanup Site Leader, especially in a downtown area, should call the Quality Forward Office (254-1776).   The “Adopt A Street Program”, similar to the State “Adopt A Highway Program” but on a smaller scale, was presented as another volunteer opportunity.

Several questions were raised concerning the allocation of the increased property and sales taxes generated by the recent downtown residential and “festive retail” developments. Members felt this increased revenue shoul go toward addressing Downtown litter, homeless and graffiti problems.   Other issues raised were dog litter, food distribution at Prichard Park, cigarette butt disposal, and maintenance of City owned property on Haywood Street.  

Suggestions included a redesign of Prichard Park for better visibility and enforcement of City ordinances, designated smoking areas, high visibility walking “Beat Cops”,   a trash person to “police” the downtown area, tax incentives for businesses/residents that maintain the public property around their businesses/residences.

Responses were provided by the presenters for some of the questions and issues with discussion.  

Gary Jackson suggested a “walk through” with residents and City staff to review specific problem areas; and requested contact information for successful downtown programs dealing with similar issues in other cities be provided to Kendra Turner (259-5506).   He also requested that DARN prioritize its issues and concerns for response by the City.

The meeting was closed at 7:30 with those attending expressing their appreciation to Laurey Masterton, Gary Jackson and Ric Zeller for their information and participation.   The BeBe Theater was again thanked for allowing the use of their theatre space.
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DARN meeting held November 12, 2006 at BeBe Theater