The joint City-County Vance Monument Taskforce has begun its work of exploring options for removing, repurposing, or making alterations to the Vance Monument, as charged in a joint resolution by the City of Asheville and Buncombe County.
With six members appointed by the City of Asheville and six members appointed by Buncombe County, the task force began weekly meetings Aug. 20, and those meetings continue at 4:30 p.m. each Thursday.
People can keep up with their meetings at this link: https://publicinput.com/VanceMonumentTaskForce. There you can watch the meetings live as well as watch past meetings to get a feel for the progress so far.
The meetings can also be viewed on the City of Asheville YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/cityofasheville. You can also tune in by phone: 855-925-2801, meeting code: 9722.
Meeting agendas and timeline information are also posted on the task force webpage at https://publicinput.com/VanceMonumentTaskForce.
Everyone is encouraged to tune in to the meetings and keep up with the progress of this initiative.
We want our residents to be included in this process. In October, the task force expects to conduct inclusive community engagement focusing on those most harmed or negatively impacted by the Vance Monument and how to honor their local history. Details will be announced soon. See a timeline and posters at the bottom of this post.
In the meantime, if you would like to provide feedback or a comment on the removal or re-purposing of Vance Monument email your comments to VanceMonumentTaskForce@PublicInput.com. Emails will be shared with the task force members.
The task force is expected to make its recommendations to the City and County in late November.
