ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW)
A pile of bricks and debris is all that is left of the 75-foot Vance Monument that once was a focal point of downtown Asheville.
Once the legal drama is over, memories and photos will likely be all that are left.
“There is a plan to address the remaining materials that once comprised the monument. In the public interest, we are not disclosing specifics of the plan, but we can share that the contractor is required to take the necessary steps to ensure that the monument can never be reassembled,” city communication specialist Kim Miller said.
The last of the monument was dismantled this week even as a judge heard arguments from the Society of Historical Preservation of the 26th North Carolina Troops to stop the work.
While the latest courtroom clash was happening, the base of the monument — the top was removed in May 2021 — was being dismantled and the pieces hauled away.
All materials removed from the monument are being stored at an undisclosed location until all legal issues are fully resolved, Miller said, while acknowledging there are no guarantees that additional legal filings won’t be made.
“The contractor has been storing the material since the beginning of the demolition project in the spring of 2021. The city has compensated them for safely storing the material during this time. No storage charges are being assessed while the project is actively underway,” Miller said.
Political and legal wrangling over the monument began in the summer of 2020 when it became a focal point for Black Lives Matter protests because of former Gov. Zebulon Vance’s connections to slavery.
ASHEVILLE RE-STARTS VANCE MONUMENT REMOVAL DESPITE LAWSUIT
In 2020, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners and Asheville City Council passed a joint resolution to remove Confederate monuments at the courthouse and Pack Square Park.
The resolution included establishing a task force to recommend action regarding the removal or repurposing of Vance Monument, county communications manager Kassi Day said. The task force voted to recommend removal of the obelisk. The city council decided to remove the monument and transform the area with a reimagined plaza.
The county is not helping with the cost of dismantling the monument, Day said.
“Since Vance Monument is located on city property, the county has no legal standing in the matter. However, commissioners voted to unanimously accept the task force’s findings and direct staff to coordinate with the city of Asheville on future actions,” Day said.
In 2021, commissioners approved spending up to $35,000 to assist the city in a plan for the site.
The Society of Historical Preservation of the 26th North Carolina Troops sued to stop the work, claiming a breach of contract over a $138,447.38 payment it made to repair the monument.
After the top part of the monument was removed, the group won a reprieve that halted the removal of the monument’s base.
JUDGE DENIES RESTRAINING ORDER, DISMISSES LAWSUIT IN VANCE MONUMENT CASE
But in March, North Carolina’s Supreme Court issued a complicated decision that upheld the dismissal of the society’s claims for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction blocking the removal, although it also reversed a Court of Appeals determination that the society’s breach of contract claim should be dismissed for lack of standing.
So, the society filed another lawsuit earlier this month seeking to block the removal of the monument.
A Buncombe County Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied the group’s motion for a restraining order, the preservation group’s attorney, Henry Phillips said.
The court also granted the city’s motion to dismiss the group’s latest lawsuit, reaffirming previous legal rulings that allowed work to dismantle the base to continue.
