Candidates for the three Athens City Council at-large positions expressed their ideas and opinions on local issues last night at the Athens Parks and Recreation Community Center candidate's forum.
One issue that sparked interest in all candidates was fire protection.
Incumbent Councilman Dale Tampke, D-at-large, said the city should rely more on local volunteers, create a volunteer or auxiliary department or start a new fire department to support the existing one.
Edward Baum, current councilman and R-at-large, suggested Athens follow the lead of other cities and create an all safety force that would not distinguish between police and firefighters. Both departments would be trained to act in either position.
And a goal of Republican candidate Michael Bir's platform is to make fire protection a top priority for council. Studies have shown the Athens Fire Department is understaffed and council must look at the budget and make sure the most basic services are addressed first.
But candidate Sarah Sexton, Democrat, said extra money in the city budget could only employ five firemen for a year.
She said a better angle would be to focus on improving the code enforcement office, which could raise safety without requiring the city to raise additional funds.
One possible way to improve code enforcement would be to decrease its workload.
Council is discussing the idea of a new building department that would ensure new building and renovation projects follow city code, freeing up the code enforcement office to deal with existing properties. Incumbent Jim Sands, D-at-large, said the building department is a worthwhile idea.
Code enforcement already is responsible for visiting building sites and inspecting rentals. But he said dividing these responsibilities between a building department and code enforcement would better assure the safety of Athens residents.
On the other hand, Republican candidate Thomas Taggart said he is skeptical about the idea of a building department. Athens needs more code enforcement that will be aimed towards construction, not a new department.
Another topic discussed was economic development in Athens.
Bir said current ordinances do not support local businesses, but rather restrict their abilities to advertise.
Council should make sure every avenue is available to these small, local businesses, he said.
Sands said during his time on council, members have encouraged local business by investing in the Court Street rehabilitation. Renovations have been aimed towards making the city more appealing to residents and shoppers.
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Liz Amrhein and Erica Bush
