The Asheville BID is building community by bringing diverse groups together to whine. I laughed out loud twice tonight at some of the jokes. The City of Asheville had advertised a public forum to discuss the BID. Everybody there was not impressed by the setup. Those in charge did not request input about pros and cons, they more or less asked if the people wanted the BID served up Tuesday or Wednesday. One table hosted a dotocracy asking what functions downtown ambassadors should perform. Late in the meeting, somebody added “None.” That item was the runaway winner, even though somebody attempted to divide the vote by putting three subcategories below. The three also got a lot of votes.
Over a dozen homeless people showed up with homemade sashes that looked like bandages with “Ambassador” written on them. One was barefoot, another shirtless. A very successful businessman said the whole affair was a done deal, and those who came to complain were just monkeys. A homeless preacher said he wasn’t going to provide input because it would have too many expletives. A couple anarchists daydreamed about fun ways they could have tried to turn the meeting around.
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20
2012 At 5:04 pm, timpeck Said:
1. My reading of the legal authority for a BID tells me that the BID is entirely a creature of government and should be subject to open meetings laws, public comment and local government oversight, similar to the now-defunct URTV…
2. What are the key objections to the voluntary association of stakeholders for creating an independent organization with the same mission and purview as the BID?…
http://timpeck.blogspot.com/2012/07/business-improvement-district.html
3. You stated at the forum that the City of Asheville and Buncombe County were going to kick in matching funds. What were those numbers and how did you find out about it?
4. How dare someone write “None” on the board.
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20
2012 At 10:13 pm, Leslee Kulba Said:
1. You mean, as the now-defunct URTV ought to have been run.
2. I have none. I think the main objection is the “free riders,” the guys who would get the streets cleaned anyway without paying their dues.
3. $200,000 apiece. I probably saw the numbers multiple times, but I first became cognizant of the significance when Chris Peterson mentioned it at a city council public hearing. The amounts were listed on outside agency requests and might still be online in the archives of the staff reports.
4. One takes the magic marker into the hand, takes the cap off, and scribbles said word. In the interest of full disclosure, I think the passive voice was the perp.