Asheville voters will decide on an $80 million bond package on Election Day, which would raise local taxes.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Asheville City Council held a public hearing and unanimously voted to put the bond proposal on the ballot for voters in the November general election.
If passed, the General Obligation (GO) Bond program would help pay for infrastructure projects and local government programs that support affordable housing, transportation, parks and recreation, and public safety. It would also add an estimated 2.6-cent property tax increase to Asheville property owners, with the average homeowner paying around $110 more annually.
In the November referendum, voters will decide separately on each proposed $20 million bond issue for affordable housing, transportation, parks and recreation and public safety.
In the last decade, North Carolina voters have rarely rejected bond proposals, according to data from the UNC School of Government.
Sally Grau was one of several community members to speak in support of the bond during the public hearing. Grau, one of the organizers behind the Rebuild Malvern Hills Pool campaign, said she is hopeful that bond money will help repair the community pool.
“Our community fabric is woven by the spaces we share: public schools, parks, libraries, and in the hot days of summer, swimming pools. These public spaces mean so much,” she said. “The rebuild team will make every effort to promote public awareness of the GO Bond and ensure that it passes this November.”
“Our community fabric is woven by the spaces we share: public schools, parks, libraries, and in the hot days of summer, swimming pools. These public spaces mean so much,” she said. “The rebuild team will make every effort to promote public awareness of the GO Bond and ensure that it passes this November.”
How would the money be spent?
In a presentation, the city included the Malvern Hills Pool as one of its prioritized Parks & Recreation projects. Other “priority investments” that would use bond money included:
$20 million for Parks & Recreation
- $9 million in major investment projects at Shiloh Community Center and Montford Community Center
- $11 million for upgrades and repairs at Walton Street Park, Murray Hill Park, Azalea Parks and Recreation Park Pool. This could also fund the creation of dedicated pickleball courts.
$20 million for Affordable Housing
- Support for the Housing Trust Fund
- Home repair grants and/or down payment assistance programs
- An affordable housing acquisition fund
- Funds for smaller or emerging affordable housing developers
- Public-private partnership housing projects
$20 million for Transportation
- $10 million in street resurfacing
- $10 million in new sidewalks and pedestrian improvements including on Patton Avenue, Airport Road and for the creation of new greenways/multi-use paths
$20 million for Public Safety
- $5 million for maintenance at existing facilities, including the Municipal Building and Haywood Road Police Substation
- $15 million for land acquisition and new facilities, including a new Oakley Civic Complex and land acquisition for two additional fire stations
If passed by voters, Asheville City Council members would approve borrowing and vote on how to allocate the bond money.
The bond proposal comes on the heels of Asheville City Council raising the tax rate by 63 cents; Buncombe County raising taxes by nearly two cents; and the creation of a new tax district in downtown Asheville.
City Attorney Brad Branham said that the 2.6-cent tax increase is only an estimate and that because “bonds are sold in the open financial markets, the final tax impact may actually be less than described depending on prevailing interest rates at the time.”
Other tidbits
- Council approved conditional zoning for an 84-unit housing project in the Haw Creek neighborhood. The project aims to bring 49 single-family residences and 35 townhome units to the 27-acre site.
- The F.W. Woolworth Building in downtown Asheville has become the city’s 51st Historic Landmark. The Art Deco-style building was a significant site for civil rights and activism in the 1960s, hosting sit-ins inspired by the famous Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-In.
- Council approved the use of $2 million in federal funds for housing and community projects, including $600,000 in regional HOME funds to support Apple Ridge, a 60-unit affordable housing development in Hendersonville.
- Council approved a 23-item consent agenda. Highlights included a budget amendment to accept $1.9 million from the state to replace lead service lines in the local water system and a resolution that approves up to $2 million in change orders for improvements underway at McCormick Field.
Every second and fourth Tuesday, Asheville City Council meets at the Council Chamber on the 2nd Floor of City Hall, 70 Court Plaza beginning at 5:00 p.m. See the full recording of the July 23 meeting and the agenda.
