Mayor says joint city-county letter to NCDOT on I-26 connector is signed; council members ask for full council review

Mayor Esther Manheimer told the Asheville City Council on May 22 that a joint city-county letter to the North Carolina Department of Transportation regarding design changes to the I-26 connector has been signed by the mayor and the chair of the county commission.

Councilwoman Kim Roney described community design activity over the prior weekend and said participants included neighborhood residents, design professionals and state officials. She asked whether the city would produce a letter similar to the county's and whether council would see the letter. "I did get a draft letter sent by, council member Omen, but it it's become clear to me that we might be in a position of not everyone having access to that information," Roney said.

Manheimer said timing prevented adding the letter to the city's agenda in time for the county's action and that the joint letter is intentionally high level and signed only by her and the county commission chair because it had not been vetted by the full city council. "It is signed by me and the chair of the county commission," Manheimer said, and said the letter requests a working relationship between DOT, community members and local governments to provide ongoing project updates through the MPO and a community-involved committee.

Councilwoman Antoinette Mosley said she had first learned of the letter from a county commissioner and asked that city information be circulated to the full council in advance of other bodies. Manheimer said the letter could be attached to the May 27 agenda under presentations so council members could review and discuss it.

What happens next: the mayor asked the clerk to attach the draft joint letter to the May 27 agenda for presentation and further council discussion; no formal council vote was recorded at the briefing.