Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Ashvegas City Council folks want moratoriums galore. Not sure why. Guess they want to make a statement or something. First it was Robin Cape, suggesting a moratorium on downtown building.
Wednesday, Cape said since the city was paying $170,000 for a master plan it made sense to halt downtown development.
“You wouldn’t fix a car if it was still running,” she said.
Projects affected would be commercial buildings greater than 100,000 square feet, industrial sites greater than 15 acres and residential projects greater than 50 units.
Three council members — Vice Mayor Jan Davis, Carl Mumpower and Bill Russell — came out against the idea Wednesday.
Then it was Carl Mumpower suggesting a moratorium on undocumented workers.
ASHEVILLE – One moratorium request has spurred another from Asheville’s elected officials.
City Councilman Carl Mumpower asked Thursday that the council stop undocumented workers from being hired for downtown construction.
Mumpower called for “a moratorium on illegal aliens working on downtown building projects.”
His request follows a proposal this week by Councilwoman Robin Cape that the city impose a temporary halt on large downtown construction projects.
An excerpt from Mumpower’s 8 a.m. e-mail to City Manager Gary Jackson:
“From direct and indirect sources of confirmation, every major building project in the downtown of Asheville is utilizing a host of non-English speaking workers. This includes the Buncombe County parking garage on College Street. A significant number of these employees are either undocumented illegal aliens or these construction firms have had extraordinary good fortune in hiring legal non-English speaking workers”
The councilman said he wanted the issue back on the city’s agenda, including giving local police power to help start deportation of foreign residents who could not prove they are living in the United States legally.
Wildness!
