New Year’s Day brought about changes in Athens that would make vendors and non-union workers alike feel as if they were opening presents on Christmas morning.
Two new ordinances that went into effect at the onset of 2013 included giving a 3.5 percent raise to non-union workers and providing more space for vendors.
Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl acknowledged that most of the time, ordinances don’t go into effect for 30 days after they’re passed, but the raise for non-union workers was slotted for the new year.
“They hadn’t had one in a while, so we wanted to bump it up,” Wiehl said. “We ended up the year in the black, so we felt like it was a good opportunity to provide this.”
Athens’ budget had been very tight the past few years, preventing the city from providing the raise earlier, Wiehl said.
“Union members had been getting regular raises over the past few years, so we wanted to give an incentive to those workers not in a union,” Wiehl said. “It’s a good move by the city.”
The city also decided to make changes to the vending code, a move Steve Patterson, D-at large, said received unanimous support from vendors.
At the corner of Union and Court, there is now a handicapped space and metered spaces that can be used as loading spaces for vendors, Patterson said.
“Anybody who works in the Uptown area and students are affected,” Patterson said. “Vendors are better utilizing the time they have now, and for a consumer, they could rely on Not Guilty being there every day for breakfast.”
The work doesn’t stop there for local politicians, however. Elahu Gosney, D-at large, said Athens City Council is working on passing new ordinances to improve infrastructure in the near future.
Complaints about the poor quality of local streets are the most frequent council receives from residents, said Kent Butler, D-1st Ward.
Two projects that will be voted on soon include improvements to Richland Avenue and an extension to the bike path.
These two will be introduced next week at the regular council session, and voting will likely begin in February.
The Richland Avenue project will be similar to the project being done on Columbus Road, but not as large scale, Gosney said. The project includes improving the street surfaces and making the road more pedestrian and bicyclist friendly.
Along the lines of improving pedestrian conditions, Butler’s goal is to improve routes in the city to elementary schools very soon.
“We want to help encourage walking to school while making the community more bicycle and pedestrian friendly,” Butler said. “At times, it can sound kind of boring, but it is really important for the city.”
—Ben Mathes and Kate Hiller contributed to this story.
as299810@ohiou.edu
