Oakley Neighborhood Association Meeting Minutes: June 1, 2021

Oakley Neighborhood Association - meeting minutes

Tuesday June 1, 2021 6-7:15pm / Oakley Pavilion / oakleyneighborhoodassociation@gmail.com

Anna Sexton - Neighborhood Advisory Committee

• 71 registered neighborhoods

• Connect neighborhoods to city council/staff, engage with development plans

• Meet the last Monday of the month (6/28) 5-6:30p

• Goal is to increase neighborhood registration

• Pleased to see our Plan on a Page progress

• Neighborhood festival - spring 2022

• Annual “neighborhood hero”

• Planning July 1 (Anna to send details to Michael)

• Issue forums, future format TBD

• Michael asked about block parties - Anna said she’d investigate

Rich Lee - Google Survey

• Defines neighborhood

• Link to survey on neighborhood facebook page

• Need more respondents

Michael Stratton - Plan on a Page

• City of AVL template

• Current draft developed by early Neighborhood Association meetings, Resilience Garden group, Neighborhood Watch group

• Would like input from folks who haven’t yet done the survey

• Neighborhood origins, history, boundaries

• 6mo-1yr to fully develop

Michael Stratton - Bylaws

• Borrowed template from East West

• Subcommittee to firm up draft

• Add a link to PoP & Bylaws to FB page? Possible web domain, funded by Resilience Garden

Michael Stratton - Resilience Garden

• 400 lbs of food grown so far

• Started as a passive idea, individuals claim plots

• COVID shifted the model to supplement underfed kids

• 56% kids in Buncombe County Schools on free and reduced lunch pre-pandemic

• 461 Fairview Road

• Volunteer days

• Wed 5:30-7

• Sat 10a-12p

Nominations

Unanimous vote to let early leaders serve as interim board, duke out who does what

• Michael Stratton

• Betsy Nesbitt

• Bess McDavid

• Allison Kiehl

• Rich Lee

• Natalie Romanello

Oakley Library - Potential Closure

• Jim Blanton - Buncombe County Library Director

• Ruth O’Donnell - Library Advisory Board chair

• County performed a comprehensive facilities plan

• Library opted for a specialist review

• Consultant from Dallas TX

• Fall 2020

• Consultant reviewed all library facilities

• Zoom input sessions for community members (not well circulated)

• Survey about library facility preferences

• 77 respondents named Oakley their primary branch

• Recommendations from consultant - Main/regional/satellite branch model

• Priority to increase access to population centers and save money on leased properties

• The consultant predicts that the new East branch will decrease Oakley use

• Areas that lose a branch will get “outreach” aka bookmobiles

• Library board has requested listening sessions with County Commission, to hear from community members

• County Commission meeting to discuss the report and public opinion

• June 15, 5pm - TD Bank building - 200 College St

• Open for public comment

Questions/Comments after hearing from Jim and Ruth

• Who owns the building?

• The city; county leases space for library

• Walkability to Oakley branch. Public transit is inadequate - requires a transfer and several hours to bus to East

• Drive time was reported, but no walkability

• Community members should request listening sessions when they contact County Commissioners

• Was there ever an option/would the county ever consider hiring a local consultant?

• Ruth suggested that there are no local consultants suited to this type of work

• Oakley branch serves Shiloh - we must consider that neighborhood for ease of access to other branches

• Oakley is ~7000 households, per Plan on a Page, one of the largest neighborhoods in AVL. The consultant’s report says Oakley branch serves smallest geographic area

• Community members should also email city council to express concern because they own the building and might be moved to collaborate with the county government

• “Home Library” is used in the consultant’s report, when it is a meaningless figure within the library system. It is not changed in patron accounts because it doesn’t reflect any meaningful data.

• WE are the library. We imbue our community with the things we read.

• How do we get the word out? Yard signs? Postcards? Picketing?

Cheryl’s Numbers - 2019

• 21 years as Head Librarian at Oakley branch

• 146 weekly storytimes (3x weekly)

• + Lego programs, Stuffed Animal Sleepovers

• 3,900/month door count

• 300/month computer check out

• 70(?) 1:1 computer instruction session (librarian sits with patron, teaches them computer literacy)

• 72,000 circulation

• 10 Summer Reading programs (all in-house)

• 4th year of hosting county-wide Summer Reading Kick-Off (previously at Pack, moved in 2015 to best outdoor option)

• 700 participants in just a few hours

• $70k on new HVAC, installed 2020

Save the Oakley Library subcommittee

• Guy Burneko

• Elisabeth Wallace

• Rita Sneider-Cotter

• Amy Brown

• Jennifer McCallum

• Emily Bombeck

• Amy Price

• Tara Cary

Neighborhood Events

• Friday 6/4, 8:30pm - Movie night at the Resilience Garden - 461 Fairview Rd - Sandlot

• Saturday 6/5, 4pm - Democratic voter registration meeting at Rich’s - 348 Fairview Rd

Next meeting - Tuesday July 13, 6pm - Oakley Pavillion