Asheville City Council met with the Henderson County Commissioners to discuss water issues. The meeting was typical of intergovernmental powwows in that niceties were exchanged, and nothing was resolved. In the end, it was decided to form a committee to research and deliberate the issues shared.
In short, members of Asheville City Council found out that the Hendersonville Commissioners had issues with an old agreement when a reporter called the day before the scheduled meeting. Commissioner Chuck McGrady explained the things promised Hendersonville in the agreement evaporated. They were promised a seat at the table of a board that was dissolved. They were given a tract of land they cannot use. They were also concerned that the language in the agreement was not tight enough to guarantee them the amount of water the city seemed to be promising on the surface.
To remedy the situation, they proposed purchasing the expensive ozonation Mills River Water Treatment Plant from the city, giving the tract of useless land back to the city, and creating a regional board to oversee water issues. Councilman Dr. Carl Mumpower accused the commissioners of experiencing buyers’ remorse. He said when people ask the city to partner, they were saying to the city, “You give, and I’ll take.†Vice Mayor Jan Davis explained that the city had to dissolve the water authority because the infrastructure was crumbling helplessly while the board remained too ungainly to make necessary decisions. Councilman Brownie Newman said he went hiking on the tract to check it out, found it pleasant, wouldn’t mind having the city acquire it so people could enjoy it, and was grateful the commissioners did not have him arrested for trespassing.
Here’s the official coverage, some of which conflicts with my perspective of what was said.
