Asheville City Councilman Dr. Carl Mumpower can be relied upon to request a separate vote on consent agenda items accepting grants from the national debt or the state deficit. Tonight, council was asked to approve application for a $60,000 grant to designate a “distressed†neighborhood as a Fit Community. The grant would pay for playground equipment and wellness programming.
Mumpower gave his standard speech for wishing to decline the funds, saying the state was running a deficit and being negligent in its responsibilities to maintain an adequate criminal justice system. Mayor Terry Bellamy wanted to make it clear that the grant was not coming from state or federal funds. It was coming from the Golden Leaf Foundation. Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Director Roderick Simmons explained that the Golden Leaf Foundation is funded from a settlement the tobacco industry pays to the state. The mayor continued as if government had actually earned these funds, and providing playground equipment was an acceptable function of state government.
