City Council Agenda Briefing – October 22, 2026

The City of Asheville’s October 22, 2026 agenda briefing reviewed items anticipated for upcoming City Council meetings; the briefing was for discussion only, with no formal actions or votes. Procurement and funding items previewed for the October 27 agenda included a contract amendment with Harper General Contractors setting a guaranteed maximum price for the Malvern Hills pool replacement, delivered through a construction-manager-at-risk arrangement. The city expects the pool to reopen for summer 2028 and said the construction contract includes liquidated damages for late completion. Other items included $359,822 for the statewide law-enforcement bonus program, a $74,683.10 FEMA grant for wildland firefighting protective equipment, and a Buncombe County match of $100,000 for Code Purple emergency shelter. The agenda also includes homelessness-prevention funding agreements, renewal of the homelessness-management information system grant, and an application for emergency watershed-protection funding.

Council discussed a city-property conveyance to NCDOT for the I-26 connector project; the city expects $243,375 for the property, with additional conveyances and proposed city-funded project betterments to come before Council. The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project agreement supporting the Asheville City Market is to be renewed; staff cited an approximate value of $46,000 per year over a three-year period, largely for in-kind support. A downtown cleaning contract is expected on a later agenda. Discussion of Weaver Park highlighted state and local procurement requirements, project timelines, community input, accessibility, and the possibility of community donations or a Friends of the Park System; Council also expressed interest in reviewing related policies. No procurement decisions were made at this briefing.