City Council renews contract with Washington County Jail, rejects bids for municipal refuse, recycling and composting

Athens City Council approved two ordinances and amended three others at its Monday night meeting. The approved ordinances included one that would allow Athens to enter into a contract with the Washington County Jail and another that rejected the bids for the municipal waste disposal program.

Athens has renewed their contract with the Washington County Jail three times previously. The contract allows prisoners arrested by the Athens Police Department (APD) in the jail if necessary. The cost to incarcerate prisoners in the Washington County Jail would be $100 per person per day, at the expense of the city of Athens. Councilmember Micah McCarey emphasized the importance of such a resource despite the few times the partnership has been utilized by Athens.

The renewed contract will expire on March 31, 2024.

City council also approved an ordinance that rejected all bids for municipal refuse, recycling and composting. Only two bids were initially examined by council and both were deemed incomplete based on the Athens City Law Director Lisa Eliason’s advice. Currently, Athens has a contract with Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers, that submitted a bid during this cycle. Rumpke Trash Pickup and Recycling Services also placed a bid, however it failed to fully articulate its plans to work with Athens’ businesses, according to City Council President Chris Knisley.

Knisley explained that working with Rumpke would be appealing due to its establishment nationally, but it would have to follow new bid guidelines to be more viable. The council will start anew its search for a waste disposal program, with the “lowest and best bid pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 735.05” chosen, according to the ordinance.

City council also amended an ordinance that would ban single-use plastic bags, a heated topic at recent council meetings. The ordinance previously stated that any store or vendor in violation of the ordinance would receive a minor misdemeanor citation and would be able to appeal the citation in court. Councilmember Alan Swank explained that culpable parties would only receive a citation if they failed to pay a $150 administrative fee within 30 days.

The ordinance was also amended so that if passed, the ban would take full effect on Jan. 1, 2024, instead of the summer of 2023, which was originally discussed.

In other council news, an ordinance that would authorize municipal parking facility improvements was amended to include the appropriation of $500,000 from the Parking Garage Fund. The approved appropriation would cover the cost of the improvements. An ordinance authorizing Athens’ participation in the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Cooperative Purchasing Program was also amended to change the date that participation could be rescinded to April 30, 2023. Council also voted to reappoint Ed Newman and Aimee Delach to the Environment and Sustainability Commission. Councilmember Sam Crowl announced that there is also an opening for a non-city resident in the commission.