Today, I visited JLF headquarters. I would like to thank everybody there for their incredible hospitality. Kory Swanson and Chad Adams set me up at computers before and between meetings so I could plow through the 470-some pages of staff reports for tomorrow’s Asheville City Council meeting.

It was sad, as I had to meet some of the charming John Lockers with my eyes bulging out. According to Asheville’s 159-page Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Master Plan, all survey respondents were able to say if Asheville spent too much or too little on its Parks and Recreation programs, yet 25% listed as their top priority gaining an awareness of programs. The statisticians concluded that 43% of citizens would support a tax increase so the city could float bonds to pay for park improvements with interest. The “ballot initiative” would require an “education campaign.”

Worst of all was the suggestion that new development, which should already have to pay 10-15% of proceeds for affordable housing, is targeted for donating an additional 1% of proceeds to public art.