Special Meeting: Neighborhood Advisory Committee (In-Person) (Sep 22, 2025)

Neighborhood Advisory Committee Special Meeting Recap – September 22, 2025

On September 22, 2025, the Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC) convened for a special in-person meeting on the sixth floor of City Hall, following flooding in the first-floor conference room. All nine committee members were present, along with City Council Liaison Kim Roney and key city staff including Dawa Hitch (Communication and Public Engagement Director), Elise Marder, and Christina Israel. The meeting, held in a hybrid format with public input available via voicemail and email through PublicInput.com, centered on Asheville’s ongoing recovery from Hurricane Helene and the evolving structure of the Temporary Helene Recovery Boards. The gathering served as both a reflection on the past year’s challenges and a strategic planning session for the next two years of recovery efforts.

The meeting opened with reflections on Hurricane Helene’s profound impact, particularly the 17-day loss of potable water and the breakdown in official communication channels. Members shared powerful anecdotes about community resilience—neighbors distributing bottled water, using trash cans for sanitation, and checking in on vulnerable residents. The role of local organizations like World Central Kitchen and Haywood Regional Hospital was acknowledged, as well as the “Heroes of Helene” event hosted by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce—an upcoming commemoration slated for October 17 at Highland Brewing. These stories underscored a central theme: while infrastructure failed, human connections became the most vital lifeline. The NAC affirmed its role not just as an advisory body, but as a guardian of these grassroots relationships in shaping long-term recovery.

A major focus was the formalized structure and operational framework of the four Temporary Helene Recovery Boards—Housing, People & Environment, Infrastructure, and Economy—established by City Council in June 2024 and scheduled to operate through June 30, 2027. Each board includes up to seven members appointed from existing advisory boards (including NAC) and four to five community appointees. The committee approved the appointment of Vice-Chair Elizabeth Likis to the People & Environment Recovery Board and member Moira Balangue to the Housing Recovery Board, with alternates encouraged for continuity. The boards operate on an “on-demand” model—meeting only when directed by Council or departments—to ensure focused, task-based outcomes. Staff emphasized that all meetings are public, streamed online, and supported by AI-assisted summaries to improve transparency and reduce administrative burden.

To strengthen the feedback loop between neighborhoods and city leadership, NAC members discussed improved communication protocols. Options included regular summaries from Recovery Board meetings, direct liaison roles with city staff, and a proposed standardized email template for residents to share neighborhood insights. The committee also reviewed the new governance model for all 13 advisory boards, which now operate only when formally assigned tasks by Council or departments—a shift from routine meetings to targeted action. Vacancies remain on NAC (four seats total: two At-Large, one each for Districts 28804 and 28805), with recruitment ongoing. Public applications for Recovery Board seats closed on September 28, and NAC members were encouraged to apply or recommend others.

Looking ahead, the committee agreed there would be no formal agenda for its next meeting. The next regular session is tentatively scheduled for November 17, 2025, with a focus on developing NAC’s 2026 work plan aligned with Recovery Board priorities. Staff also proposed expanding the “Festival of Neighborhoods” into an annual “Neighborhood Resilience Festival,” integrating community-building with disaster preparedness education. Resources for all recovery efforts—including applications, meeting recordings, and policy updates—are centralized on the Asheville Recovers website (ashevillerecovers.org) and the NAC webpage. The meeting closed with a unanimous motion to adjourn, as members affirmed that Helene’s legacy is not just in rebuilding infrastructure, but in deepening the city’s commitment to equity, community voice, and enduring neighborly connection.