The Athens City Council met Monday for a regular session meeting. The meeting began with a call to order and the establishment of a quorum.
The agenda for the Sept. 21 meeting was approved, as well as the previous regular and special session meeting minutes.
City Council President Micah McCarey assumed Mayor Steve Patterson’s position, with Council member Jessica Thomas, D-At Large, filling in as president pro tempore.
Following the approval of the minutes was the communications portion of the meeting, wherein Council member Michael Wood, D-3rd Ward, brought up recent flooding that has been impacting Athens.
Wood said the flooding has been especially prevalent on Richland Avenue, East State Street, Congress Street and Highland Avenue. According to Wood, the floods were affecting the roads because the storm drains were clogged.
“I wish the administration was here to speak to this,” Wood said. “I think it’s an all hands on deck situation. We need a comprehensive plan.”
Council member Beth Clodfelter, D-At Large, and the city Council member on the city’s Environment and Sustainability Commission, also contributed to the communications session of the meeting,
Council member Clodfelter said she agreed with Council member Wood, mentioning that Dr. Natalie Kruse Daniels, professor of environmental studies at Ohio University, will appear before the Transportation Committee next week to discuss a plan she has to help decrease the toll flooding has on Richland Avenue.
After Council members Wood and Clodfelter spoke about the Athens flooding, Council President McCarey spoke on behalf of Mayor Patterson, sharing his proclamation recognizing October as LGBTQIA+ History Month. That message was shared, and communications ended, with the meeting then going into the ordinance readings.
There were two ordinances for third reading, one ordinance for second reading and three ordinances for first reading.
The first ordinance for third reading was 0-82-26, which would amend the Athens City Code traffic chapter. The ordinance will allow people 14 days to pay their parking violation tickets instead of the previous five days. The ordinance was introduced by all members of council and was passed unanimously with no discussion.
The second ordinance for third reading was 0-85-26. The ordinance was introduced by Council member Thomas and pertains to the medical fund.
“This ordinance is amending the 2026 appropriation ordinance 0-120-25, and authorizing interfund transfers to the medical fund as part of the insurance funding costs associated with ordinance 0-12-26, the city’s 2026 employee retirement incentive program,” Council member Thomas said.
Ordinance 0-85-26 also passed unanimously with little discussion. Council member Alan Swank, D-4th Ward, had a question regarding the frequency of a similar ordinance in the future, but Athens City Auditor Josh Thomas said the city does not anticipate needing another buyout program anytime soon.
The only ordinance for second reading was 0-84-26. The ordinance would appropriate $30,000 to the sewer plant fund for a digital oxygen sensor, amending the 2026 appropriation ordinance 0-120-25. There were no updates with the ordinance, so it will return to the agenda to be read for the third time at the next regular session meeting.
Ordinances 0-87-26 and 0-88-26 were then read for the first time.
Ordinance 0-87-26 deals with the sale of the former fire station on Columbus Road. The city has no use for it anymore and could not find someone to lease it. They now wish for someone else to buy the property and use the space. There was no discussion for the ordinance as it was being read for the first time.
0-88-26, related to ordinance 0-87-26, introduced the idea of conveying the former fire station to the Athens Community Improvement Corporation, the same organization that owns the Athens Armory.
The fire station has been vacant for over a year, according to Council member Swank. This ordinance would not automatically ensure that the fire station property would go to the ACIC. The ACIC would only take over the property if the other bids fell through.
The ACIC would do all of the negotiations for the property, not the city.
The final ordinance for first reading was 0-89-26, proposed by Council member Paul Isherwood, D-At Large. The ordinance would amend Title 29 of the Housing Regulations and would give the code enforcement office the power to issue violations and fines for failure to properly dispose of solid waste.
For the announcements and other business portion of the meeting, various appointments to committees were approved by the council.
There were four separate motions to approve appointments. The first was a motion to confirm Mayor Patterson’s appointment of Stacy Strauss to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
There were three appointments made to the Environment & Sustainability Commission. Fiona Davis, with Rural Action’s Zero Waste program was appointed alongside Brittany Multer Hopkins, who specialized in building storm-water management systems. Lastly, the OU student representative, Aoife McLaughlin, was appointed.
There was also a motion to approve the appointments to the Comprehensive Plan Review Advisory Commission, all of which passed.
With regard to other business during the meeting, Council member Swank again brought up the significant rainfall and subsequent flooding that the city has been dealing with currently and for most of the summer.
Council member Swank displayed videos he took of water running out of the ground, down hills and onto Richland Avenue. Swank also said that the roads were starting to flood more due to storm drains not working properly.
Swank also called for the people of Athens to buy outdoor seating chairs for the Purple Chopstix, located at 371 Richland Ave, as their patio chairs were taken away due to the flooding and are now in the Hocking River.
Council member Thomas disagreed with Council member Swank, claiming the flooding issue needs to begin with the administration and then go to the council, saying the Council members “have to stay in our individual lanes.”
She did add, however, that the city has gotten about 50 inches of rain so far this year, which is over a foot more than usual.
City Auditor Thomas made a point to mention that the Engineering and Public Works department has been digging and dredging, but their efforts have been delayed by the rain.
Following the motions to approve appointments and discuss other business, the floor was opened to community members to talk about events or issues that were not on the meeting agenda or already addressed.
Connor Gaugler, a sophomore at OU and member of the OU Undergraduate Student Senate, spoke during this time, commenting on the dangerous intersection near Bentley Annex. He said the crossing area is too unsafe, which was determined after he and Council member Swank conducted an informal traffic study, and that he wants the city to make it safer.
Following the study, Council member Swank sent an email to the chair of the Transportation Committee, Council member Clodfelter, July 31. According to Gaugler, they have yet to receive a response.
Gaugler was the only individual to speak during that portion of the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m. The next regular session meeting will be held on Monday, Oct. 5.
