Urgent Request from Brad Brock and the Beaverdam Valley‏

   8:40 PM

To: councilgroup, mayorbellamy@avlcouncil.com

Madame Mayor(s);

As you may have noticed as your email inboxes has been inundated with mail from Beaverdam Valley residents over the last month or so, the proposed North Asheville Dog Park has become a very contentious issue in our community. While I'm sure you've received both messages of support and opposition, I can tell you that as more Beaverdam residents find out about the plans of FNADP, more inertia builds against this idea. And, with real opposition rising up within the Valley, emotions have become increasingly heated on all sides.

I will not once again share my many bullet points of reasonable opposition to the proposed site and to any dog park being created along Beaverdam Creek, as I have written a couple of letters to Council and staff already. I am requesting your assistance, however.

Councilman Chris Pelly has made a mistake. Without first canvassing the Beaverdam community to find out if the Valley wanted any park along our creek, much less six acres devoted to dogs, as I'm sure his experience in community organizing would have directed him to do, he has become entrenched in what feels increasingly like a scandal. When the Friends of North Asheville Dog Park began to realize that opposition to their largely-unknown dog park location was building at a feverish pace, Pelly backtracked to try and save any political clout he has remaining in Beaverdam. After a discussion (at the Neighborhoods Festival) with several community members who are adamantly opposed to the park, he wrote an email stating that what Beaverdam needed was Organizing! And he was going to be the one to do it... He proposed a meeting an invitation-only meeting of 9 people, 3 of whom would be dog park advocates. This is a disproportionate  sample of Beaverdam residents ( or is it? They never canvassed the Valley to vet their ideas).

Pelly was met with myriad emails stating that the Beaverdam Valley is fully capable of initiating a self-directed organization process along with City staff, and that his meeting was felt to be a smokescreen to distract from the real issue at hand, which is the dog park. Also, folks felt a 48-hour notice to meet was unrealistic.

After meeting with Gary Jackson and City staff, who were largely unaware of Pelly's activities, he acquiesced and rescheduled the meeting for November 13th. He plans to serve as moderator and he will he assisted by the 28804 NAC representative.

This brings me to the point of my letter. The 28804 NAC representative, Council-appointed, is Robert Roepnak. He is also the President of Friends of North Asheville Dog Park and the moderator of the Beaverdam area's NextDoor.com bulletin board, in which he is only allowing dog park-supporting posts. Mr. Roepnak, as I'm sure you know, is the chief architect behind the dog park idea and it's current proposed site. Impartiality on his part is impossible. He's worked too hard on this.

Ladies, I respectfully request that the following happen IMMEDIATELY:

1) Chris Pelly, proving that he cannot be objective in this matter and chiefly concerned with his political career amongst North Asheville residents, must recuse himself completely from any current and future Beaverdam Valley organizational efforts. Also, he should send out a notice effecting the cancellation of his November 13th meeting, as it has not been advertised and was not requested by the Beaverdam Valley community. We can, and will, request Staff to assist us in setting up such a meeting.

2) Robert Roepnak, in the light of his massive conflict of interests and having proven already that he cannot impartially work with ALL 28804 residents, must immediately step down as the 28804 NAC representative and the City must advertise a new opening to find a candidate who is truly objective on the dog park issue.

3) Mr. Roepnak must also relinquish his position as moderator of the Beaverdam nextdoor.com board and an impartial successor should be found. If this is not possible immediately, then the Beaverdam bulletin board should be deleted and restarted.

I am turning to you for reason, for objectivity, and to exercise the power you have as Mayor(s) to put an end to this blatantly transparent dismissal of best practices and the democratic process as a whole.

Please help us. Call Pelly now....

Sincerely,


Beaverdam Valley

Sent from my iPhone