UNC Asheville announced Tuesday the members of its Millennial Campus Development Advisory Committee.
The announcement comes months after the university halted negotiations of its controversial proposal to develop portions of its Millennial Campus properties, which include 45 acres of urban forest that some community members are seeking to protect.
The 14-member group is tasked with making recommendations for future development. Notable members of the group include Explore Asheville CEO, Vic Isley; Land of Sky Regional Council Executive Director, Nathan Ramsey; former Asheville mayor, Lou Bissette; and former North Carolina state, Rep. Chuck McGrady.
According to a university press release, members were selected for their knowledge of the campus, the city of Asheville, environmental issues, as well as planning and development.
“The purpose of the Committee is to evaluate options and develop recommendations,” a university spokesperson said in an email to BPR. “All Millennial Campus properties are being considered, and no development decisions have been made about selling or developing any specific property. The Committee’s role is to evaluate options and make recommendations. Any future actions would follow the University’s review and approval processes.”
The committee will be co-chaired by the vice chair of the UNCA Board of Trustees, Peter Heckman, as well as Adam Walters, associate director of the Pappas Real Estate Development Program at NC State University.
Chris Cotteta, president of the Five Points Neighborhood Association and an organizer for Save the Woods, said the decision not to include members of the advocacy group was not surprising, but still disappointing.
“ I think it's really difficult for the community to view the committee's work as legitimate being that it's conducted in, essentially, in secret,” Cotteta told BPR. “The committee -— we don't personally know all the people, but we've started looking into them and their backgrounds — it just appears to be staffed with a whole lot of university insiders, either current or former trustees of the university, or people who have strong connections to the university.”
Cotteta added Save the Woods wants its perspectives to be genuinely considered as part of the process, not just “thrown in the trash.”
Working with consulting firm HR&A Advisors, the committee is also tasked with identifying the physical needs and priorities of the university as well as gathering input from the community, businesses, and stakeholders across the region.
Its work will be conducted through the UNCA Endowment Fund Board to ensure its recommendations are made without influence from university officials, according to the release.
The committee is expected to meet monthly through May. Meetings will not be open to the public because the work will include reviewing confidential materials and discussing sensitive financial, legal and planning information.
“That said, the Committee will provide summaries of its meetings to the public, and the University is committed to gathering feedback through other ways,” the university spokesperson added.
Following its final meeting, HR&A Advisors will use the boards’ recommendations to produce an action plan for university officials to review and consider.
