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Residents urge transparency on greenways funding; local attendee flags road widths and fire access
Summary
During public comment at the Sept. 15 Woodfin Town Council meeting, resident Wilson Sims asked detailed questions about greenways funding and timelines. Another resident, Elmer Floyd, raised fire‑safety concerns about road widths, driveway access and conditional‑use enforcement.
Two residents used the Woodfin Town Council’s public comment period on Sept. 15 to press for more transparency and safety safeguards.
Wilson Sims, who gave his address as 303 Ava Lane, asked the council for more information about the town’s greenways projects and bond funds. “What happened to the 2016 bond referendum money in the accounting to voters? How much to Woodfin Wave, to the parks, and to the greenways?” he asked, and listed nine questions he said he provided to council in advance, including whether a new agreement with Buncombe County should define deliverables and whether updated Greenway guidelines and costs have been incorporated into the schedule.
Sims said he has been “active encouraging the Greenways, since 02/2010” and asked the council whether budgets for the Beaver Dam and French Broad greenways exist in full and whether the town had considered an audit to improve transparency. He also asked whether yearly objectives for the greenways have been stated and whether citizen advisory structures similar to those used for other projects could be created.
Later in the public comment period, Elmer Floyd gave the council a written page about fire safety and warned that development with limited ingress and egress would create hazards. Floyd described a recent fire on Wind Whisper where emergency crews could not reach a backyard because of driveway access constraints, and urged the council to enforce conditional‑use rules and preserve standards for road widths, slopes and other development requirements. “We need to really examine those,” Floyd said, referring to rules the town’s Planning and Zoning board previously applied.
Why this matters
Sims’ requests seek accounting and timelines for long‑running, bond‑funded greenway projects that cross municipal and county lines; Floyd’s comments highlight safety risks tied to road design and conditional‑use approvals. Council members acknowledged the comments and later discussed relevant recovery and planning work in staff presentations and agenda items.
