Athens City Council will discuss The Athens Cannabis Ordinance, or TACO, at its Monday night meeting. Following the passage of TACO, council members will discuss adding the code to the cannabis laws and penalties, Athens City Council President Chris Knisely said.
TACO passed by 77 percent Nov. 7, according to a previous Post report. The ordinance reduces the fine and penalties for having up to 200 grams of cannabis.
“Law enforcement is a business just like any other one,” Caleb Brown, one of the petition leaders, said in a previous Post report. “With no fines or court costs to be paid from local citations, the justice system will quickly recognize that enforcing misdemeanor marijuana offenses in town is not a profitable venture.”
Although the ordinance counts for the Athens Police Department, the ordinance does not apply to on-campus citations given by the Ohio University Police Department. OUPD writes citations based on the Ohio Revised Code, according to the previous Post report.
City council members will also discuss amendments to traffic code pertaining to the use of wheeled vehicles, such as bicycles or skateboards.
If that ordinance passes, use of bicycles, skateboards and other wheeled vehicles would be restricted on roads adjacent to Union, Washington, State and Mill streets between Congress and College streets, Knisely said. The amendment to the code also includes a $30 fine for offenders.
Council members will also discuss repairs to the water treatment plant. An ordinance passed by Athens City Council members in September authorized construction on the project. According to the ordinance, the project, which will update the city’s aging water treatment plant, will cost $5,064,460, according to a previous Post report.
Council members will discuss spending $325,000 to pay for part of the design engineering for the project, according to the Athens City Council agenda.
Councilman Kent Butler, D-1st Ward, said at a previous council meeting that improvements to the plant will help improve efficiency.
“Because of the old electrical system in there, it takes more energy,” Butler said. “The new system would help soften that.”
