RIVERARTS NEWS

Hot Spot Comes To Talk

Dan Durbin, the president of Jordan Oil Company, the owner of record of the Hot Spot, came  to speak with a group of around 30 WECAN & South French Broad neighbors in the Community Room at Aston Park on Thursday, October 18, 2007.  While he admitted that some of the company policies are not being followed at this store, he focused on Jordon Oil's desire to tear down and rebuild this location.  Most of the South French Broad neighbors felt that this would be a good option.  Those of us from WECAN who met with Mr. Durbin last year were less than impressed.
There is another meeting scheduled at the Aston Park Community Room on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 6pm to hear more from the neighbors about their concerns.  Please join us. 
Also, i need to give tremendous credit to our new APD Community Resource Officer, Louis Tomasetti and our sister neighborhood organization for making this meeting happen.  They have also set up a yahoo group so please contact profamahoney@yahoo.com to join the "ashevilleneighborhoodassociation" group.
"This group will talk during the week - post pictures, post bulletins, even take polls! Hopefully this will further aid our goal of getting to know one another and ridding our neighborhood of crime!!" says Ann Kadar.

WECAN Master Plan Up For Adoption

The WECAN Master Plan produced around 2000 is up for adoption by the City of Asheville.  Terry Bellamy was very involved in the creation of this master plan when she worked for MHO.  Now that she is only the Mayor, she is free to ask that our plan be adopted without a conflict of interest.  She expressed to me her desire that WECAN be a community leader on this issue.  Our Mayor would like to see master plans for all of our neighborhoods, guiding documents that would help to shape our city to the wishes of its residents.
Alan Glines, a planner for the City of Asheville will be attending our next board meeting to give us his overview November 1, 2007 at 6:30pm.  As Bret Frk suggested at our last board meeting, WECAN will then create a cover letter speaking to our 2007 concerns about this plan to be included in the adoption process for our Master Plan.
We will review that letter at our December Meeting (10 year anniversary party!) and then would probably be scheduled to go in front of the Planning & Zoning Commission in January 2008.
There is a copy of the plan at the Front Desk of MHO for those of you who would like to re-read it.  We are also working on getting the entire plan set up to be able to be downloaded off the City of Asheville website... i will keep you posted.

WECAN Sunny Cultural Garden Gets Started

The WECAN Sunny Cultural Garden in Owens-Bell Park is being established as a home for some of our historic plants.  We are reusing some of the granite curbstones that were taken off of Park Avenue as the border for the garden and you can see the first four stones having been laid by Pattiy Torno is morning.  Thanks go to Al Kopf for overseeing our garden plans, Nicole LaChance of Birds Eye View Professional Garden Design for drawing the plans, our historian Byron Ballard for compiling the list of plants from all the neighbors' gardens, Robert West, labor coordinator for COA's street division for bring us back our granite and all of those who will be joining Pattiy Torno to celebrate her 50th Birthday on Saturday, October 27th, from 10 to 2pm by helping to plant the plants in the WECAN SCG. and don't forget coffee this saturday, October 20th, at the cafe at 9am.

Progress for Progress Park

The Progress Energy Property on Riverside Drive is getting a beauty treatment from the Department of Parks & Rec.  Thanks go to Lauren Bradley for her tenacity in pursuing this remedy, City Attorney, Bob Oast for making this grooming by the City Crews legal and for the Parks and Rec Crews doing the heavy lifting. What a difference a day makes. From all of us who live and work down in the River Arts District of Asheville we say a huge "THANKS".... and the crews are already back this morning at 7:30am! Wow!

Habitat House Up & Almost Running

There is a new Habitat for Humanity house being built on the corner of Girdwood Drive and Park Avenue.  Just thought it was worth a photo.  WECAN looks forward to welcoming our new neighbors.

WECAN Woodland Trail gets a Makeover

If you wander down either Park Avenue or Jefferson Drive, you will find a short woodland trail that connects both streets.  On Saturday, March 31st, 2007, 15 or so WECAN neighbors got their dig on and made pretty with the mulch.  Please stop by and check it out next time you are walking in the neighborhood... and be sure to thank Luella and David Heetderks, the next time you see them, for hosting this community builder.

ARE YOU READY?

On March 19th, 2007, the Aston Park Tennis Center Community Room and Gloria Howard Free will host a "LIFE PREPAREDNESS" WORKSHOP from 10am to 1pm.  Connie Pegg, lead RSVP coordinator for the Land Of Sky Council will share information on what you might need to know in the event of any number of disaster scenarios.  There must be a minimum of 10 participants so please let Gloria know if you are planning to attend by calling her at 828-274-7539 by March 12th, 2007.  Lunch will not be provided.

Asheville’s Big Dig

    Where once stood Miss Patsy’s Boarding House and the Clingman Avenue Apartments, minority owned Carolina Cornerstone Construction has begun work on the infrastructure for the next set of affordable housing units in the West End/Clingman Avenue Neighborhood.  Mike Vance from MHO has said that there will be 10 to 15 new town homes on Clingman Avenue, just up from the Silver Dollar.

General Membership Meeting and Movable Feast

    Owens-Bell Park will be home to the next WECAN GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING & MOVEABLE FEAST POTLUCK to be held on Saturday, July 8, 2006 from 3 to 7pm.  The General Membership Meeting will happen first, between 3 and 4pm.  Topics to be discussed are the Clingman Avenue Streetscape Plan, Aston Park Plan, Owens-Bell Park furniture update and goals for WECAN’s future.  At 4PM, the festivities begin with a swinging Pot Luck Dinner provided by all of us WECAN neighbors.  There have been rumors of Gene Hampton entertaining us as Grill Master.  We hope they are not greatly exaggerated.  Please bring yourself, some food and a fun loving heart and join in!!

RENNIE HARRIS & PUREMOVEMENT

PUREMOVEMENT is described as  “the raw energy of hip-hop to a higher power” and will be performing at the  Diana Wortham Theatre on  November 11th, 2005 at 8pm.  The neighborhood will go on mass if all goes well with at least some of our young people joining in.  Please contact Gloria Howard Free if you are interested.  $$ is yet to be determined.