Register for:
M2005.12.1 - J. Alfred Miller Collection
 

The undersigned hereby certifies that:

1. He is the duly appointed, qualified and acting Executive Director of the Redevelopment Commission of the City of Asheville (herein called the "Local Public Agency"), and as such officer serves as Assistant Secretary-Treasurer of said Commission and is the keeper of the records thereof, including the minutes of its proceedings;

2. That the annexed copy of extracts from the minutes of the meeting of the Local Public Agency, held on the 8th of October. 1968, is a true, correct and compared copy of the whole of the original minutes of said meeting on file and of record insofar as the same relate to the Chairman's Report referred to in said extracts and to the other matters referred to therein;

3. Said meeting was duly convened in conformity with all applicable requirements; a proper quorum was present throughout said meeting„

4. .He is duly authorized to execute this Certificate; and

5. That the annexed portions of the minutes hereby entitled "Report of Chairman" is a true, correct and compared copy of said report referred to in said extracts as was presented at said meeting, which report is on file and of record,

WITNESS my hand and the seal of the Local Public Agency

this 16th day of October, 1968,

(SEAL)

The Board of Commissioners of the Redevelopment Commission of the City of Asheville met in regular session in the Board Room of the office of the Redevelopment Commission at 299 South French Broad Avenue in the City of Asheville, North Carolina at 4:00 P.M. on the 8th day of October, 1968, the place, hour and date being duly established for the holding of such meeting.

The Chairman called the meeting to order, and on roll call the following answered present:

J. Alfred Miller
D. Bieman McKenzie
Dr. David Hall, Jr.
Luther Thigpen

The following were absent:

None

Also present were:

W. Neal Hanks, Executive Director
Anthony Redmond, Attorney for the Commission
Miss Joan Lynch, a student of the University of North Carolina

The Chairman declared a quorum present.

REPORT OF CHAIRMAN

Mr. Miller stated that the City Council of the City of Asheville had taken action October 3, 1968 concerning that three-acre tract of land located north of the east-west expressway. Mr. Miller stated that in his opinion it was necessary and appropriate for the Redevelopment Commission to make a statement concerning said action in order that the position of the Commissioners of the Redevelopment Commission would be of record. Chairman Miller then presented the following statements

"In light of actions taken by the City Council of the City of Asheville at a meeting on Thursday, October 3, 1968, this is to clarify and state the position of myself as Chairman of the Redevelopment Commission of the City of Asheville as well as the Board of Commissioners concerning the previous recommendations made by the Board.

Regarding that three-acre tract of the Civic Redevelopment Project NC R-13, located north of the east-west expressway, it is and has been for some time a question in the mind of the Redevelopment Commission as to the

feasibility of this tract of land being a part of the Civic Redevelopment Project. It is further our understanding that the role of the Board of Commissioners of the Redevelopment Commission is to set policies for carrying out Urban Renewal Projects and that one of our primary responsibilities is to advise the city fathers of the City- of Asheville in matters relating to Urban Renewal Projects. It was with this responsibility in mind that the Redevelopment Commission recommended on two different occasions that the above-mentioned three-acre tract be deleted from the Civic Redevelopment Project. Listed below are the reasons considered by the Board of Commissioners in arriving at said recommendation:

1. This portion of the project has virtually nothing in common with the objectives of the Civic Redevelopment Project. It seems more appropriate, due to the conditions of the surrounding properties, to consider this portion of the project as part of an area of renewal treatment extending from the expressway northward.

2. As of this date none of the property in question has been acquired and deletion would be a simple matter at this time from a planning standpoint.

3. The cost to the city and federal government of this three-acre tract would be $128,423 which includes fair market values on the parcels as well as site improvements for the tract. It does not include administrative cost nor does it take into consideration the fact that from all indications most of the property owners will go to court to ask for more money, nor does it include the attorneys' fees for both the Redevelopment Commission as well as the property owners' attorney. It is, therefore, impossible to determine at this time what the total cost of these three acres would be.

4. .Due to the site's smallness and irregular shape it is not clear at this point what the re-use of said property could be. The re-use appraisals establish a disposition price of 50C per square foot, giving a total disposition price of less than $23,000, which in our mind did not justify the enormous expenditure required to purchase and develop the tract.

Based upon the above reasons, it was the feeling of the Redevelopment Commission that the recommendation of deletion be made to the City Council which was, in fact, done both on October 15, 19S7 and October 3, 1968.

We are now, and will continue to be, ever conscious of the cost, not only to the City of Asheville but to the federal government, as far as the Civic Redevelopment Project is concerned. It should be noted that the total gross project cost of the Civic Redevelopment Project, as approved in 1963, was $3,865,344. Due to a number of amendments that caused sizeable increases in the budget the new total gross project cost, as approved in August of 1968, is $4,151,024, or an increase of approximately $300,000. Of this $300,000 two-thirds is being paid by the federal government, the remaining one-third is at the cost of the city. However, due to the availability of certain Non-Cash Credits claimed on the proposed Civic Art Center and the new Asheville City Center, it has not been necessary to increase the city's share in cash dollars. Nevertheless these credits used represent dollars spent by the city and could have been applied toward a new urban renewal project in the city.

This statement is presented only as a clarification of actions taken on the part of the Redevelopment Commission regarding the recommendation to delete the three-acre tract, and we wish it to be understood that since the City Council has made its decision regarding the three-acre tract we will abide by said decision and carry this project to completion to the best of our ability within the approved budget."

There being no further business coming before the Commission motion was made by Dr. Hall, seconded by Mr. Thigpen, that the meeting be adjourned.

Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 5:10 P.M.

• "Asheville, North Carolina: Springboard to New Markets" ;  Industrial Development, April 1965
   
• "A prospectus for a regional health facility for Western North Carolina, Asheville, North Carolina" ; Buncombe County Board of Health, August 3, 1965
   
• "Where Asheville is going" ; Jan M. Wiegman, May 1966