After most of Ohio University’s students have left for summer, Athens City Council members are still meeting regularly — well, at least for most of the summer.
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.
Over the summer, council members accepted an energy improvement project for city buildings that will cost more than $100,000 to improve lighting in the Athens City Building, both Athens Fire Department buildings Proxy-Connection: keep-alive
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d the Athens Municipal Court.
The ordinance was passed swiftly though council to take advantage of $23,000 in rebates that expire in August.
Taxpayers will foot the remainder of the bill using money from various city funds, said Councilman Elahu Gosney, D-at large.
The Cincinnati-based Perfection Group began to implement both energy and infrastructure updates in city buildings in July 2011. Those improvements — another summer project — are estimated to save the city money in the long run and cost taxpayers about $425,000 to implement.
With an estimated cost savings of $43,206 a year, the city would account for the borrowed amount in seven years, and pay off the total amount in 10 years.
The Athens City Code Enforcement Office, City Building, Athens Parking Garage and the Athens Community Center have all already received cost-cutting enhancements.
Following a massive storm in late June that left most of Athens County without power for more than a week, council discussed ways to prevent the damage in the future.
About 63 percent of Athens County — 17,386 American Electric Power customers — remained without power about mid-way through the outage, but the power was on at the Athens City Building, and the outages across the region dominated a City Council meeting.
“It’s tough,” Assistant Service-Safety Director Ron Lucas said. “From an AEP standpoint, it’s a catastrophic event, and from a citizen standpoint, it’s a catastrophic event. People are hot, and there’s some safety issues there.”
Ohio University’s Baker University Center was open to the public as a cooling center.
Following severe weather that caused Gov. John Kasich to declare a state of emergency for the state of Ohio, city officials also planned for free tree debris removal for residents.
While some city entities such as the Athens Waste Water Treatment Plant and Athens Police stations have backup generators, the city’s water treatment plant does not.
Councilman Jeff Risner, D-2nd Ward, was critical of the city’s lack of preparation for a long-term power outage, though Lucas said the city doesn’t have the funds.
“(Backup generators) are a significant expense,” Lucas said. “We have been trying to figure out a way to fund those generators.”
But Risner said the city should find a way to fund such preparations.
“I know it comes down to money, but if it’s critical — and to me, this is a desperate need — money can be found,” Risner said.
jj360410@ohiou.edu
