Missive from manager of ‘little town of Woodfin’

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Whether it is Woodfin police chiefs beating up residents and going to jail, Woodfin police chiefs attending diaper parties, Woodfin town aldermen spending millions of taxpayers’ money on pipe dreams like golf courses on landfills, Woodfin town aldermen getting caught for driving drunk or Woodfin mayors trying to put the fix on on speeding tickets, the “little town of Woodin” has always been a barometer of what’s happening in real life.

In fact, we have a little saying: “As Woodfin goes, so goes the nation.” And it’s true.

So we weren’t surprised to see an email in our in-box from Woodfin town manager Jason Young writing to comment on our recent post “about our little town of Woodfin. Just in the interest of fairness I think a couple of points need to be clarified.”

Let us pause there and quote the almighty Scrutiny Hooligans: “Fairness?!? Hah! This is a blog!”

Young wrote us thinking we were somebody else, but whatever. Because yes, unlike some other blogs, we’re willing to entertain opposing opinion:

Here’s Young:

1. The proposed plant wasn’t for additional growth capacity but for current requirements. … So while it may be fun to heap scorn on Reynolds Mountain it just isn’t true that the proposed plant was for them or any other newcomers.

Our reply:
The proposed plant, as we understand it, was to be built to meet the current demand for energy at peak periods. That says to us that Progress Energy is maxed out at peak demand times. Why? Because there’s more people using more energy at those times. That equals newcomers, Mr. Young. And we understand your sensitivity to Reynolds Mountain – they’re pouring millions into your town to build homes and to build you a brand new downtown for heaven’s sake. Defend them, you must.

Mr. Young:

The Board’s rationale for rejecting the plant was based on health and safety issues. They never voted on the matter of property values because it became moot to continue voting the Conditional Use permit conditions after that one. Unofficially, I think that the Board felt that Progress failed to make a case that the health impact on the community was going to be negligible.

Our reply:
All we said was that residents were complaining about property values. We never said that was a board rational to vote against the plant.

The health and safety issue is an interesting one. The logical next step then is that any power plant is unhealthy and every power plant should be denied on those grounds. Then how can Progress Energy even exist?

Quick question, Mr. Young – how much money in terms of property tax revenue did the town of Woodfin turn down by denying the plant? We’re sure the number is in some impact study somewhere. Just curious.

Mr. Young’s third and final point:

There were a lot of people at the meeting that lived in singlewides and other modest homes that were concerned about their property values and health – it wasn’t just the big developers that expressed concern…I know of many people that attended and stayed into the wee hours that live in my own quiet neighborhood – which is hardly Reynolds Mountain, Versant, or Altura…

And our reply:
We’re certain there were blue collar folks in attendance, because what was Woodfin until now but an old prison, a sewage treatment plant, a landfill and JB’s? But we stand by our point that it’s the new money – the new money that has doubled the size of your “little town” in the past decade – that is now running the show. You’re on your way to becoming one of the biggest, most affluent towns in Buncombe County, so please.

Mr. Young, thank you for reading and taking the time to write. We take your digs at us in step and we’ll keep on luvin’ Woodfin. We’ve known and respected Mayor VeHaun for years. Geneva Maney, one of your former board members, was our math teacher, for goodness sakes. We know Woodfin. We know Woodfin people.

But we’re gonna have an opinion, and we’re gonna express it. It’s not journalism. It’s blogging.