Athens City Council hears Mayor Patterson reflect on trip to Ukraine

During the Athens City Council meeting Monday evening, Mayor Steve Patterson provided City Council with a presentation detailing his recent eight-day trip to Ukraine.

Patterson began his presentation by describing the two days he spent in Lviv, a portion of his trip was set up through the United States Agency for International Development due to the city’s political and cultural significance. Patterson visited the Unbroken Rehabilitation Hospital, a vital location for amputations and prosthetics. According to Patterson, Unbroken Hospital administrators were interested in establishing a connection with Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. 

While in Lviv, Patterson visited the Field of Mars, specifically a portion of the cemetery devoted to “defenders,” or members of the Ukrainian military. According to Patterson, hundreds of defenders were buried in the cemetery, which was one of thousands across Ukraine. One defender had died eight days before Patterson’s visit. 

Athens’ Ukrainian sister city is Ostroh, a city located in Rivne Oblast. There, Patterson engaged with the governor’s cabinet and attended an Ostroh City Council meeting. Additionally, Patterson visited a volunteer center where volunteers made supplies for the defenders like camouflage netting and “trench candles,” which are used to illuminate the trenches at night and to keep warm.

While spending a day at the Ostroh Academy, which Patterson described as Ostroh’s Ohio U counterpart, air raid sirens went off and everyone took shelter in a former crypt. Patterson also visited a grade school and Patterson gifted students a pound of pawpaw seeds during their forestry class. 

Patterson showed City Council pictures of a box of chocolates, a basketball and a stuffed animal that had each been filled with explosives and detonating devices.

“These are what the Russian military is deploying in neighborhoods at nighttime, and then children are coming out and picking these things up and being either severely injured or killed,” Patterson said. “That was tough to swallow for me, to sit there and see those.”

The two-year mark of the Russian invasion was Feb. 24, 2024. On this day, Patterson attended a rally which he described as “a moving event.” He also described visiting many monuments for defenders and citizens who had lost their lives. Patterson was moved by witnessing how the city would pause when funeral processions would pass through. People would pull over and get out of their cars to kneel. 

Patterson closed his presentation by stating that everyone he talked to in every place he visited thanked him for the U.S. funding and resources. He was told that everything the U.S. has sent, whether that be medical equipment or other supplies, has been used “effectively and with great purpose.”

“The continued funding is absolutely necessary,” Patterson said, reiterating a point he had briefly made at the last City Council meeting. “They’re rationing ammunition on the front line.” 

Following his return from Ukraine, Patterson attended the National League of Cities Conference in Washington, D.C., where he was able to pass on this information to Rep. Troy Balderson and Sen. Sherrod Brown. During this conference, Patterson also spent three minutes with President Joe Biden, where he relayed the same information and described the president as receptive and understanding. 

Following his presentation, members of City Council had the opportunity to comment or ask Patterson questions. Councilmember Micah McCarey asked how Patterson’s experience shaped his thoughts on Athens’ engagement with international issues.

“I’m going to speak to Ukraine on that topic, and Ukraine alone,” Patterson said because of the contract between Ostroh and Athens as sister cities. 

He answered that the trip had strengthened his resolve to continue building and maintaining a relationship with Ostroh. Patterson also mentioned working with Ohio U President Lori Stewart Gonzalez to strengthen the university’s collaborative relationship with the Ostroh Academy. 

An additional topic brought forward during the meeting was the issue and impact of ongoing construction on West Union Street.

Councilmember Solveig Spjeldnes mentioned that some businesses along West Union Street had reached out about the impact of the restricted traffic and road closures on their profits. When streets have been closed or made difficult to navigate due to construction, many businesses become entirely inaccessible or inconvenient for consumers to reach. Some West Union Street businesses have been hurt as a result of the ongoing construction. 

Councilmember Alan Swank visited several businesses on West Union Street after hearing similar concerns. According to Swank, Larry’s Dawg House recently had its slowest Weenie Wednesday in 25 years. Swank relayed the feedback he received from the businesses, suggesting that it would be helpful for them to be provided with a weekly schedule of the upcoming traffic patterns so that each business could adjust their staff for each week accordingly. 

Spjeldnes also encouraged a meeting to be set up with the businesses impacted by the construction to help work out additional solutions. Several other members of City Council, including councilmembers Beth Clodfelter and Michael Wood, received similar correspondence and echoed the points made by Spjeldnes and Swank. 

Patterson assured City Council that “immediate corrective action” would be taken on West Union Street. Acknowledging the issues caused by similar construction projects like the work on Dairy Lane, East State Street and Stimson Avenue, Patterson reiterated the necessity for timely and effective solutions.

“I take full responsibility for the mess that is the construction, replacing aged infrastructure underground on West Union.” Patterson said. “You know, for a city that is over 120 years old, that’s not an uncommon occurrence for us, to have to replace aging infrastructure.”