If something’s going down in Athens, it probably started out as a stack of paper in front of Athens City Council members, and they probably OK’d it.
Construction projects, applying for and receiving grant money, and city purchases all start as ordinances in the chambers of the City Building on East Washington Street.
Athens City Council meets once a week to discuss possible means of improvement for the city. Council meets every Monday and holds regular sessions on the first and third Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m., and holds individual committee meetings on the second and fourth Monday of the month at 7 p.m.
Council members discuss possible ordinance ideas at committee meetings, but no formal documents are created for the purposes of passing an ordinance at that time.
Several of the larger projects Council implemented this past year include a nearly $1 million project replacing 8,000 lineal feet of piping around Athens, a large-scale infrastructure improvement project to city buildings and collecting a new tax from delinquent citizens.
During regular session, the seven council members read proposed ordinances that, if passed after three readings, will become legislation once the mayor adopts them into law.
Council’s president, Jim Sands, oversees the council and keeps meetings running smoothly.
Of the seven council members, four represent different wards within the city:
Kent Butler represents the 1st ward; Jeff Risner, the second; Michele Papai, the third; and Chris Fahl, the fourth.
The three remaining members, Steve Patterson, Chris Knisely and Elahu Gosney, represent the city at large.
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