Also due to my narcissistic desire to see how I’d look with more than four hours of beauty sleep, I failed to appease the cult of Asheville City Council followers with a report on the first business meeting of the new council. Mayor Terry Bellamy was absent, reportedly to attend a Christmas reception at the White House. The reason for her visit is not known to this blogger, but it appears (1) she was officially invited and (2) she had not mismanaged her bank accounts awfully enough to be consulting the president on TARP #3.
Vice Mayor Brownie Newman led the meeting efficiently, wrapping everything up in half the normal time. Part of the speed can be attributed to lack of friction since everybody is now left-of-center. Cecil Bothwell, however, has indicated he wants to get rid of Bill Russell and Jan Davis because they are too moderate.
Some citizens are challenging Bothwell’s installation as a council member because he is an atheist. Bothwell claims he is not an atheist, but a post-theist; which he defines to mean he isn’t denying God, because that would disqualify him from office under the NC constitution. He just thinks there is no need for religion now that science has figured everything out. Either way, council did not vote on which consulting firm they would contract to design the next universe, and whether or not greener technologies were more feasible than the old Big Bang method . . .
Esther Manheimer was up for recusal on two agenda items. She’s an attorney for a huge law firm with untold clients. She assured the audience the potential conflicts would be rare in spite of the rough start.
The votes were harmonious. Only Bill Russell voted against any measure recommended by staff. He thought the city was being extravagant to construct a $2.5 million, 7000 sq. ft. performing arts center for the Livingston Street community.
Many advocates of green transportation showed up to publicly commend the staff of Mission Hospitals for collaborating to close a few roads in a manner that would support the city’s transit master plan, the goals of the Greenway Commission, and other such authorities. Council then approved modifications to the city’s policy for fees in lieu of sidewalks. The object was to alleviate some hardships in the rough economy, such as a person having to pay more for a sidewalk than for the fruit stand that triggered the requirement. Bothwell expressed misgivings that the ordinance only benefited developers, when council should be benefiting all citizens equally. The logic would stand only if it was a given that developers owe the city infrastructure, as many of Asheville’s progressives believe.
