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Ask Matt ... about sidewalk dining, HHS parking, French Broad River dock

A floating dock on the French Broad River got the engineering seal of approval from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

Q. How did the outdoor dining on Main Street get started?

The idea was lifted from South Carolina in 2002 but it didn’t get traction until then-Mayor Fred Niehoff and Downtown Hendersonville Director Jim Kastetter were having lunch. “Fred had just returned from Hilton Head and was telling me about a neat restaurant that offered outdoor dining,” said Kastetter. “The conversation sparked the idea that it might work on Main Street, so we got the city manager to look into it.” It was that simple.
My own research showed that about the same time, someone wanted to sell hot dogs from a vending cart on Main Street. Local businesses quashed the sidewalk sales but they were intrigued with the idea of outdoor dining. City staff cranked out an ordinance and Council agreed to give it a try. The Charleston Grill pulled the first permit. Today there are 17 sidewalk dining choices on Main Street but still no hot dog vendors.

Q. If they put extra student parking across US 25 for the new Hendersonville High School, what will that cost?

Let’s make some broad assumptions. The County paid $2.75 million for the 3.1-acre Boyd Automotive tract so one may assume the 1.1 acre former used car lot across the street could be had for $976,000. That property would need to be cleared of all structures so let’s just put the price at an even one million dollars. Using a University of Tennessee design standard, at best you might squeeze 150 parking spaces on site at a cost of $667 per space. Keep in mind that we are not taking into account a pedestrian bridge over U.S. 25 nor are we looking at the nearby scout cabin property owned by the county schools.

Q. What happened to the old “mask museum” on Fifth Avenue West. It’s gone.

The property was recently purchased by the First United Methodist Church. Jim Kane, the church’s facilities manager, said the wooden structure was in very bad shape and could not be relocated or remodeled so it was razed. “You could almost see through the walls,” said Kane. The church has no current plans for the corner lot but may need it for future expansion. “Right now all we are going to do is plant grass,” said Kane. The church owns the adjacent eight apartment units, which will be remodeled and used for a project in line with the church’s mission.

Q. Will the pier on the French Broad River in Horse Shoe tear away during a major flood?

No, not according to Jeff Ferguson, an engineer with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. He contends that the Horse Shoe dock design has been thoroughly tested across the state. The dock is rock solid. It is secured to the bank by a 10-ton concrete abutment with steel post anchors. The dock rises with the river level because the sections are hinged together and the dock floats on foam-filled compartments. “By rising above the flood waters, the dock is subject to less stress that it would otherwise sustain if the free end were tied to the bank,” said Ferguson. “Also the dock is angled downstream to reduce resistance.” There is a similar dock a few miles downstream at Westfeldt Park near Sierra Nevada.

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Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com.