City Council discusses community concerns and passes ordinances

Athens City Council met Monday evening to discuss communications from residents and from the administration and to read various ordinances, including one about bridge inspections in Athens. “Council has received an Ohio Division of Liquor Control request for a C-1 permit request for Silver Serpent LLC,” President Chris Knisely said. “This is located at 55 N Court St., and this is for a liquor license for beer only in the original sealed container.”  Knisely said the request requires a response by the end of October. Michele Papai, D-3rd Ward, noted this new license would be approximately the 20th liquor license within a three-block radius. Papai also brought up the Home Street connector, a potential project meant to relieve some of the traffic on East State Street that received backlash from the community. She said a lot of people expressed concerns via Facebook and email. “I am sure council members have received several emails now…regarding the concerns with that connecting road, and I would say a lot of concerns for library patrons, a lot of concerns with bike trail access points, concerns with taking away green space, concerns with additional neighborhood traffic,” Papai said. Jennifer Cochran, D-At Large, reiterated what Papai said, explaining that she, too, had been approached with concerns about the connector. Residents also expressed concerns about the construction at 16 W Union St. to Patrick McGee, I-At Large. Regarding the plans for construction on the Union Street corridor, Kent Butler, D-1st Ward, said he received positive feedback from the community. Aside from community concerns, Council took time to hear communications from Mayor Steve Patterson pertaining to community events. Patterson, for the sake of reminding the public, brought up three events: OU’s homecoming this week, the Athens Area Stand Down and the Income Tax Forum at the public library. He said the homecoming parade route would cause street closings, specifically noting Washington Street by the garage. The street will be closed from the beginning of the parade until the tail end of the parade passes the garage, so people should plan parking accordingly.. The Stand Down is an event to help raise awareness about area homeless, and it will be held Oct. 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring donations. Lastly, Patterson wanted to remind the public of the Income Tax Forum on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the public library. After hearing communications from council members and the administration, council moved to ordinances for third reading. It passed four ordinances, one of which was about bridge inspections in Athens. The ordinance stated Ohio would agree to bear all the costs of the necessary inspections. Other ordinances were about spending, the depot lift station and electrical contracting licenses. Athens City Council meets every Monday at 7 p.m. on the third floor of the City Building. All are welcome to attend.