Minutes: 1-31-08 Enka Village Community Meeting

Enka Park Commission
Homeowners Meeting
Enka Baptist Church, 7 p.m.
January 31, 2008

Board Members Present:
Glenn Satterfield, President
Jo McGill, Treasurer
Amber and Brian Cook, Beautification
Anthony Devore, Streets & Lights

Guest Speaker, Abby Moore, Emergency Address Coordinator for the City of Asheville:
Abby spoke about needed adjustments to be made to Enka Village street names as part of a move to eliminate duplicate street names in Asheville, Enka, and Candler. Because we are pursuing postal service, the timing was good for this adjustment, which will facilitate mail delivery and 911 service. Abby circulated a list of street names throughout the Asheville area, noting that there are 13 Oaks, 12 Orchards, 9 Pines, and 6 Crescents in the area. Because of the confusion that this could (and has) caused, her department needs to distinguish our street names from the others around us. At the previous meeting and through other input from Enka Village neighbors, it was decided that the most agreeable solution was to place the word “Enka” in front of each street name. The mailing address, and the name that will appear on our street signs, will be Enka Oak, Enka Crescent, Enka Pine, or Enka Orchard. Several Hillcrest residents requested to be part of this change as well, and Abby will contact her colleague in the county to facilitate this request. Glenn asked if anyone had other alternatives or objected to the street name adjustment, and with no objections, he asked Abby to move forward with this process. Abby will provide residents with further information and assistance with incorporating this change in areas like mortgage statements and driver’s licenses. Abby left her card with her contact information for anyone with questions. Her phone number is 828-251-4004 and e-mail is amoore2@ashevillenc.gov

Home Postal Delivery;
Once the street signs have been replaced to reflect the addition of “Enka” to our names, we will be able to proceed with pursuing postal delivery to our homes. The delivering post office will be Candler, which is the closest post office that offers delivery. Amber Cook will be compiling information from the post office for those who are interested in pursuing this service. (Those choosing to keep their post office boxes may do so; a home mailbox is an option rather than a requirement.) This information will include placement of the boxes, height, and other options. Daryl Hawkins has a contact with Lowe’s who is willing to provide a discount on mailboxes if we have a bulk order, so we will be distributing information about those as well. The intention is to have boxes that match each other as much as possible, but we will try to offer at least one low-cost option and one option for a mailbox with a lock. Anthony Devore will be heading up a group of volunteers who can assist those who need help digging a hole for the post for their mailbox. Several residents expressed concern about placement of the boxes in coordination with neighbors (since the boxes can only be placed on one side of the street). Neighbors will be encouraged to work with each other to find the best spot for each mailbox. One homeowner also suggested that we check with Bellsouth to find out any restrictions about placement of mailboxes in relation to telephone poles, and Amber will look into that as well.

Biltmore Lake Sewer line: Glenn gave an update on the construction being done behind the Orchard Street alley. Biltmore Lake is installing a sewer line 20 feet underground, and has recently cleared a wide patch of land so that they can their equipment can access the area for the installation. Glenn called with a concern about the number of trees that had been knocked down, and they have committed to helping with some replanting once the project is complete.

Spring Clean-Up: On May 3, we will have a neighborhood yard sale again, and on the following weekend (May 10), we will be ordering two dumpsters for neighborhood use. These dumpsters will both be placed on the Enka Park side of the neighborhood, but Glenn and others have volunteered to assist any Hillcrest or Lake residents who would like to move items to the dumpsters.

Tree planting: The trees slated for planting on Orchard Street are on hold due to the drought. When planting conditions improve, volunteers from Quality Forward will be coming to assist with this planting.

Sand Hill Road Expansion: This project is on hold indefinitely; the bids that came in to DOT were way over budget, so the construction to expand Sand Hill near the park will not be happening in the near future.

Hillcrest School Bus Bench: Glenn researched the idea of a bench for the end of Hillcrest (to be used as a bus stop for children on the street), but the DOT has not approved the plan. Because it needs to sit in the city right of way rather than on someone’s property, the city had to approve the placement of any object in that area. Glenn is still in contact with the folks from DOT in hopes that an exception can be made, but without their approval, we won’t be able to take on the project without risking liability.

Assessments: The 2008 assessments will be sent out within the next two weeks. Anyone who’d like to help with assembling the mailing (placing stamps, etc.) can meet at Jo McGill’s house (2 Hillcrest) this Sunday, February 3, at 2:00.

Main Street at Enka Village Community Meeting: A representative from the FIRC Group stopped by our meeting with an announcement about a community meeting on Wednesday, February 6. The FIRC Group is the developer for Main Street at Enka Village, which is the shopping/office/residential complex that will be built at the corner of Sand Hill Road and Smoky Park Highway (across from A-B Tech). At the meeting, the developers will be sharing information about their plans and looking for input from the community. The meeting will be held at A-B Tech's Enka Campus in the Haynes Building, Room 200 at 7:00 p.m, on February 6.