COUNCIL RESPONSIBILITY (continuation of my August 1 and September 2, 2013, emails, included below)‏

Tyler

Date: Tue, 1 Oct 2013 07:08:45 -0400 

To: councilgroup, gjackson@ashevillenc.gov, rsimmons@ashevillenc.gov

Dear Mayor Bellamy and Council Members:

I appreciate your making yourselves available to citizens.  The proposed Dog Park at 284 Beaverdam Road remains a concern for some of us, so I participated in your July 18 public meeting and wrote to you on August 1, September 2 and, again, today.   Thank you.

Mayor Bellamy, I think highly of your leadership, to delay the rush to a decision on this dog park, which seems to have jumped up to the top of the City's priority list, for some reason.  Your keen eye detects the Bait & Switch, that is being aided by Chris Pelly.  The Bait was Magic Disappearing Money™ and the Switch was "Oh, I guess the city can pay for maintenance after all."  MDM™ of course, is the unenforceable commitment of the Friends to fund future maintenance.  As Marc Hunt has written: “…relying on such efforts for baseline stewardship is often a mistake.”

All of you are hearing from a few "Friends of North Asheville Dog Park."  Please realize that a significant number of voters may become very upset if (when) Beaver Lake turns green.  Both Dr. Hauser and another 233-page professional report, made in 2012, warn that Beaver Lake may be fragile: “Whether the lake is just about to have a problem or not cannot be predicted.”

To date, my multiple questions have not been answered, except marginally in Marc Hunt's email of September 4, that was also received by other concerned neighbors (voters).  Below are several other points, for which I do not expect a reply.  However, I am keenly interested in your actions. 

+ You have received the report by Dr. Edward J.P. Hauser, Wetlands Ecologist and Environmental Biologist, that recommends a formal environmental assessment before [further] planning occurs, i.e., immediately.

+ You continue to meet with Staff and instruct them to cooperate with FNADP, in spite of the ongoing location controversy.

+ No one on City Staff is qualified to do a formal environmental assessment.   

+ Azalea Lake became polluted, while it was being maintained by the City of Asheville.

+ One on Council suggests using the property as “a neighborhood amenity and not an entertainment destination.”

+ Other issues can wait on an environmental assessment, e.g., Hunt's notion that "Dog Parks are proving very popular..."  

     

+ I request that Council notify these downstream neighbors, by October 31, 2013:    

  Ø · Country Club of Asheville 

  Ø · Lakeview Park homeowners (485 votes)

  Ø · Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society (From whom you have a letter about this dog park proposal)

  Ø · Other Beaverdam Valley property owners.

I appeal for no further City action on a dog park on Beaverdam Creek, until a formal environmental assessment is done by a disinterested corporate entity.  

It is the responsibility of the entire Council to determine what Asheville is to become, or rather, what Asheville is becoming, under your leadership.

All the best....

Tyler

Below are links to earlier emails referenced above:

COUNCIL RESPONSIBILITY (continuation of August 1, 2013, email below)‏

http://rasheville.blogspot.com/2013/09/council-responsibility-continuation-of.html 

Beaver Lake Threatened

http://rasheville.blogspot.com/2013/09/beaver-lake-threatened.html