May Minutes 2012

Monthly Membership Meeting—May 29, 2012

NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, June 26 at 4:00 p.m. in FLS BOARDROOM (NEW LOCATION) http://www.flsenergy.com/ 

Meeting Items:

Approve Minutes to May Meeting —Tim Schaller moves to accept minutes.  Hedy Fisher seconds.  Approved.

 Treasurer’s Report (Trip Howell)–2 new members Desert Moon Studios and Soapy Dog $3,993 in the account right now

Membership Dues/ Membership Forms–dues are due between July 1 and July 31, 2012 (forms on the website)

UPDATE: JUNE 5 EVENT

Fundraiser at Grey Eagle (Tim Schaller)–at end of Parade and Clingman Circle Celebration

$10 donation to the show

Jay Widenhouse and Adama Djembe, perhaps Blue Dragons will be the bands on the bill for the benefit

Money raised will be split between One Neighborhood and Green the RAD (clean up of Clingman Corridor)

AAAC is acting as non-profit for the fundraiser.  Ginger Huebner with Roots + Wings School of Art is helping to coordinate the opportunities; one-on-one basis work with artists rather than a group setting (different from other opportunities in Arts and Ed in the area)

***INVITE YOUR FRIENDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO THE EVENT–utilitze your networks to get the word out please!!!***

Ribbon Cutting + Parade/Clingman Circle Celebration (Pattiy Torno)

***Last meeting 5 p.m. May 30 at Curve Studio; 6 p.m Painting  Party–everyone welcome!

  • Gather at 5.30 at Hilliard and Clingman.  When 6:05 bus crosses intersection, parade begins.

  • Political dignitaries and organizational leaders will party down the street

  • Streamers and decorations will be flying

  • By 6:30 into FLS Energy Parking lot–Mayor speak, Matt Sprouse RADBA President and Scott Dedman from MHO, Asheville on Bikes as well as a couple of others

  • Chall Gray will recognize each group and participation will dictate who gets $100 donation to the organization

  • Grey Eagle tickets may be sold in FLS Parking Lot, line the sidewalk with painted tubes and sidewalk chalk to the Grey Eagle from the parking lot

  • Media: ACT and MTX are working it through their editors.  Photographer from ACT will be there; low altitude birds eye view of event; WLOS is being contacted; WWNC Radio

  • INTERESTED IN DONATING TO SILENT AUCTION: Contact Brandy Clements with Planet Art http://discoverplanetart.com/

Silent Auction (Tim Schaller)

Get in early on day of event and get silent auction ready to go.  Brandy Clements has details on what’s been donated.

RADA

RAD-A/BA Executive Committee meeting (Matt Sprouse)

  • Great that we are starting to work together

  • Try to meet quarterly and look for ways to collaborate

  • Look for items affecting both groups

  • Discussed New Belgium Brewery and long-range discussions of impact (no conclusions, but need to keep talking)

  • Good conversations with Stephanie Monson with City of Asheville where everyone can air our fears (rents, where will artists go, where is RADA zoning, etc.)

  • Will do follow-up after the Stroll

  • Conversations about the business owners having all the money and artists have no money–aired out that conversation and talked about how businesses are contributing to the area (trolley banner and Green the RAD)

  • Eileen and Wendy Whitson had conversations with Kit Cramer about tax increases–Kit recommended meeting with Riverfront Redevelopment Commission (taxes from the County)–would like to present desires of the community/neighborhood

ARAD Report/Studio Stroll (Eileen)

  • June 8-10 weekend

  • RADBA purchased a Trolley Banner

  • Would like Second Saturday trolley sponsors–bring visitors to outskirts

  • New Director for RADA: Shea Amber–everything’s working out great

  • LARGE RADA Artist meeting: discussion of becoming 501c3; 3rd Tuesday in July at Handmade in America

  • Daniel McClendon will be the liaison between RADA and RADBA

OTHER BUSINESS

Riverlink/ NBB RiverMusic Festival

Music Festival–Dave Russel from RiverLink

RiverMUSIC/aka Down By the River After 5 at 144 Riverside Drive http://www.riverlink.org/

Parking: Park cars at the StockYard, Ice House lot, GeneWeb Park (between Gene Webb and Curve)

Expectations of people: could be 5, could be 500; application went in saying 500 for the application–businesses are fearful of having 5,000 people coming in that may not have investment in the neighborhood

Concerned about RAD becoming Disneyland; if you bring down 5,000 people uninvested in the neighborhood; concerned about trash

Would have been better to have been having this conversation before you announced the event–other businesses read about it in the ACT–was not handled the way neighbors should handle something.

Wedge–everyone gets a wristband at 9 p.m. and if no wristband, then they don’t get in at the Wedge

White Duck–cool with the concert, but very concerned about parking; Karen Cragnolin will have volunteers out–does not want anymore people at White Duck on a Friday night; who is responsible for making sure that people are not parking there?

Go to the businesses affect and asked: what are your concerns and how do we need to address them?

Larger purpose for the event: bring people to the river

Funding to: RiverLink (would like to have a permanent facility out there)

3 acre site—wherever the fence is (wooded fence is city lot)—is there a limit to occupancy?

Even on Depot Street—the HomeBrew Fest sent people all down Depot; drunk people wandering around the neighborhood; if there is no transportation/shuttle set up, people park everywhere

This is not what people want.  Having people come in paddling is wonderful.  Having people come en mass is not what we want.

Karen–it’s disappointing to have a sour response.

Tim–it’s disappointing that you didn’t come to partner with us.  You never talked with us.  That’s not neighborly.

Pattiy–please address people’s concerns.  Do we need to put a meeting together?

Dave–do you want to sit and talk about it?

Pattiy–suggest you go to each business, see our sites and help us coordinate this.

Matt–OTHER CONCERNS?  Contact Karen Cragnolin– karen@riverlink.org ; Thank you for coming in to talk with us about this.

Sunflowers in RAD–tabled for next meeting

Speeding

Wendy and people on Depot Street concerned about speeding; safety for pedestrians, people come around Depot St. corner and then take off

Doing 35-38 MPH–they are not speeding.  If you want to see the speed limit changed, ask for a change.

Matt–to drop to a lower speed limit would be the next hurdle

Kitty–what about traffic calming; crosswalks

Marsha Stickford–have they done traffic studies down here; get Jeff Moore to review the information; there are a limited number of resources we can use; reviewing a traffic calming policy; plan in the works to put sidewalks along Depot and add parking on Depot, stripe the road to narrow it

Matt Sprouse–the plan is from across from Pink Dog to 5 point intersection, the city (in next year’s budget) is putting a sidewalk from RR parking lot all the way to 5 points and on that side of the road, stripe parking spaces (narrow down the runway down Depot Street); may be a mid-street crossing for pedestrians, but not sure (sometime after July 1, they will start looking at that construction); we can not add bulb-outs because there are concerns about parking and greenways connections (in future)

6 foot sidewalk, right next to the curb because of the grade change–has to meet ADA rules

What is the process to get the speedlimit lowered?

Marsha Stickford–traffic engineers are trained to keep traffic moving; review the studies that they’ve done; smartest thing to do is let this project go in and see how it goes; if it doesn’t help, then proceed.

APD–will continue to run radar; in my opinion, the speedlimit is too high for this congested of an area

Matt Sprouse–traffic has slowed down over the last two years due to parking and pedestrian activity; it’s happening more now

Pattiy–can we see if we can work this into the plan now?

Matt–there was immediate push back when we brought it up.  Once they know their schedule, then we should bring them here and let them see and hear from us.

Traffic videos?

Hedy–we purposely park on the street to slow people down

Thanks to Evan and Jackie for your time and keeping the neighborhood safe.

Fencing coming down!

The PSNC building belongs to the City of Asheville.  Steph Monson and Pattiy have been pushing hard to see the fence come down.  City of Woodfin is waiting to hear from the City of Asheville to get it down.  Trying to get it down before the stoll but not sure.

Karen Cragnolin–There is a feeling that NBB initiated this.  Not true.  RiverLink approached them to do this.

Joanna from FLS–there are between 50-60 people working there.  Toastmasters came in and taught about public speaking.  Want to start a Toastmasters group in the RAD.