At last week’s meeting, council members acknowledged the public’s disapproval for a proposed fee that would be issued on single-use bags and made plans to find other means to move Athens city towards being more environmentally friendly.
“I was surprised that it was met with so much of a blow back, it was very disappointing," Councilwoman Chris Fahl, D-4th Ward, said at last week's meeting. "Anyhow, there are other things we can do to move forward.”
Councilwoman Jennifer Cochran, D-At Large, introduced the idea of charging an extra 10 cents per single-use bag over the summer. Some citizens spoke out against it, saying it infringed on personal liberties.
Cochran is now working on a voluntary system that would reward citizens for using reusable bags.
“Right now it’s about finding a middle ground so people are encouraged to recycle and divert waste from landfills,” Cochran said.
She will announce her plans in detail during Monday’s meeting.
Council will authorize the city service-safety director to enter into a contract for the design engineering of the Water Treatment Plant improvements. The city will soon start accepting bids for the project, which will include electrical upgrades, general plant improvements, and improvements to instrumentation and controls.
In addition to making improvements to the Water Treatment plant, the city is also working on the Water Line Replacement Project.
The project will replace the main water lines and water services by updating meters and installing a new fire hydrants on Grand Park Boulevard and Dalton Avenue. Grand Park Boulevard will receive an asphalt overlay once the waterline installation is completed, according to a previous Post article.
The bid went to York Paving, a paving and construction company based in Athens.
Earlier in the month, the city requested $60,000 dollars from the water maintenance fund for design engineering.
During Monday’s meeting, council will authorize the design engineering for the project.
