One big item on Asheville City Council’s agenda last night was modification of the city’s agricultural policies. Concerns about sprawl don’t apply if one compartmentalizes one’s thinking. The other big item was what the city should do to perpetuate a signature festival.
Government leaders want Bele Chere, they are just trying to break away from the past. The issue last night was whether the city should start with requests for information or requests for proposals. Money was the excuse for making this year’s Bele Chere the last, even though the city could have cut other things and government seed funding for the festival’s successor was not out of the question. Mayor Terry Bellamy thought the RFI process would allow wealthier and more organized parties to steal ideas. Councilman Cecil Bothwell thought it would encourage creativity, saying somebody might want to host zipining from city hall while it is still covered in scaffolding, or flood Patton Avenue for rafting. I like both ideas. With a little thought, grant writers could find something about them worthy of a federal study.
