Weaverville – A few weeks ago, I wrote a commentary about the decision that the Weaverville town council had to make this month about whether to supply water for a 168-unit low-income development (read article page 6).
Explaining the situation was whether to show compassion to the less fortunate by providing low-income housing or to listen to their constituents’ concerns about the impact of such a development and vote not to provide water. I said, “Here, you have a decision a wise man like Soloman might have trouble resolving.” Of course, Soloman didn’t have to worry about getting re-elected by the voters.
For those unfamiliar with the story, which elevated Soloman to the status of the wisest man in the world, it was his decision to split a baby in half when two women came before him, both claiming to be the child’s mother. Soloman asked for a sword to divide the baby in half and give each part of the child, knowing the real mother would rather see the child live with someone else than allow her child to be killed.
When the vote came at the meeting, no one made a motion; therefore, it was up to Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons, who made the motion with the council members who voted to approve the water request—they opted to split the baby, so to speak. See, they will only give the water if the property is annexed into the town, and while the project will provide no tax benefit to the community, it will give the town more control over what and how it is built.
Now, how much of the town lets the developer have his original plan is to be seen. It is known that the town has allowed R-16, or 16 units per acre, to be built inside the town limits already. It remains to be seen if they allow the developer to keep his original plan, but I imagine they will to keep county commissioners happy.
What’s more interesting is some of the comments made by dissenters against the project, which should be of interest to any of the town’s residents who want to see Weaverville keep its autonomy from county influence. I believe it was Councilman Andrew Nagle who said this project was handled underhandedly.
How so? There was no notice to the neighbors that the project was coming; no laws were broken in doing so, as the developer wanted to see if they could get water first before pulling permits, which would have required signs to go up and notices to go out by the county.
That is a concern for the people who will live next to the property, and to them, it seems underhanded. To my understanding, the developer has already spent a significant amount of money on the project. The number I heard was $100,000.
Of course, the real people in the know and whom citizens ought to hold accountable are the county commissioners, who have already obligated the county residents to provide a $1.5 million low-interest loan for the project. The county representative, Amanda Edwards, could have held a public meeting notifying the residents about what the county was backing for their neighborhood. She didn’t.
What’s also troubling is Councilwoman Catherine Cordell’s comment, “If your Buncombe County Commissioners are the ones who are pushing this and giving $1.5 million to this company who wants to come in here and build the affordable homes, then think really hard about who you are voting for when you vote for commissioners because I’m telling you, Weaverville may not be the main deciding factor here.” Adding,”And maybe I get fired tomorrow.”
Of course, Cordell will not get fired, but it could mean she loses her backing from her political party and will be primaried out next time she is up for election.
It might mean local elections and elected officials are being unduly influenced by others and are not actually representing the people of the town and the town’s best interests. that some on the council are more interested in pleasing the county commissioners and their plans for Weaverville than representing the citizens of the town. I’ve definitely seen a move by the board in the last couple of years to be more in line with and have closer ties to the county government.
Maybe Fitzsimmons is angling for a seat on the board of county commissioners as he already ran once and didn’t make it. Maybe he figures if he balls for a seat on the board of county commissioners as he already ran once and didn’t make it. Maybe he figures if he balls more in the county, the party will help him get a seat and let him into the clubhouse. If that’s true, residents should think long and hard about who they will vote for in the next election.