After two weeks off, Athens City Council will meet Monday night, beginning with committee meetings at 7:15 p.m. and a formal session at 7:30 p.m.
The planning and development committee will discuss the prospective annexation of a property on East State Street that formerly housed the Athens branch of Columbia Gas Company.
In the proceeding formal session of city council, an ordinance to approve this annexation will be introduced for first reading.
The land, totaling about 15 acres in size, is sandwiched between property already governed by the city.
This proximity makes the property prime for retail development, said Athens City Planner Paul Logue in a previous Post article. This would likely be the final city annexation made on East State Street, Logue said.
An ordinance that will be introduced for third reading would create a health care policy for domestic partners of city employees.
Forty-eight of the city’s 161 employees qualify for the proposed plan, said Councilwoman Chris Knisely, D-at large at an Oct. 1 city council meeting.
Extension of healthcare benefits to domestic partners is a progressive policy for the city, said Councilman Elahu Gosney, D-at large, at the Oct. 1 meeting.
“This is bringing us to the forefront of where we need to be in terms of our caring for our employees,” Gosney said.
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