During Monday’s City Council meeting, Athens City Mayor Steve Patterson announced an end to the Athens City Police Department’s use of Flock surveillance cameras.
“The city of Athens has chosen to discontinue its Flock system agreement following community discussions and ongoing public concerns regarding the use of the system,” Patterson said.
Patterson said while the technology aided the APD in solving crimes and it has been extremely cautious in its sharing of information, Nick Magruder, APD chief of police, and the rest of the department decided Flock surveillance’s law enforcement value, “was limited in relation to its potential detriment.”
APD’s current contract with Flock expires February 2027, according to a previous report by The Post. The decision will not impact the Athens County Sheriff’s Office use of Flock cameras, as it operates on a county level and has a separate contract.
Another issue discussed at the City Council meeting included flooding and sewer system concerns, brought up by both the administration and residents.
Patterson addressed the city’s work following the three flash floods in Athens this year.
Patterson added that the city is currently in the process of purchasing Garrison Flood Barriers, which would be effective in diverting some water away from the property where they are placed. Those barriers will eventually be checked out to individuals who have experienced flooding issues.
Patterson also said the city will draw $8,000 per month from the cannabis dispensary funds into a new fund considered a mid-range and long-range flood mitigation plan fund.
The issue continued during the last portion of the meeting, when four citizen speakers from Mount Zion Black Cultural Center spoke about issues their center has had with flooding due to sewers.
Susan Righi, a board director at Mount Zion, said the center's numerous attempts to receive help from the city have been ignored.
“I have not gotten any calls back from the Department of Public Works, from the Service-Safety Director, his assistant,” Righi said. “We have reached out to the city. We have come here to the council, I’ve written emails, I’ve made phone calls, I've sent texts and it's been pretty darn frustrating.”
She continued to say they repaired a number of pipes and other infrastructure at their own expense.
Ada Woodson Adams, the president of Mount Zion Black Cultural Center, also spoke about issues with clay pipes at the center. She said the center is being asked by the city to fix the sewage issues, and she just learned from the discussion of ordinance 0-93-26 that the center is allowed to seek reimbursement from the city.
Another citizen brought up concerns with flooding at his residence and other city locations. Kevin Cline, a resident of Athens who lives on Warren Road, said his street is in bad shape and is “hardly passable in some areas.”
He said the road was already in bad condition, but the recent storms made matters worse. Cline also said the flooding has caused damage at the Richland Avenue Park and volunteered to help clean it up.
Cline also said, similar to the representatives of Mount Zion, he and his neighbors' numerous calls to the city were not answered.
Ordinance 0-93-26, introduced by Councilmember Jessica Thomas, became a point of contention during the meeting. It is a then-and-now certificate for payment of $22,000 to Prokos Rentals for Stimson Avenue sewer repairs.
Thomas said during repairs on the street a few years prior, Prokos Rentals discovered their sewer was not attached to the city’s sewage system properly and repaired it. She requested a vote on the ordinance so the reimbursement can be paid in a timely manner.
According to Ohio Revised Code, reimbursements must be paid within 30 days of receipt of the bill.
Councilmember Alan Swank called the ordinance a “tough one from an optics standpoint,” and voted against adopting the ordinance at the meeting, feeling it is important the ordinance go through the proper channels. Due to Swank’s vote, the ordinance did not pass and will be reevaluated at another council meeting.
Patterson mentioned failure to reimburse Prokos on time will result in an audit finding from the Ohio Auditor of State, which he said will negatively impact the city’s financial obligations.
After the meeting adjourned, Swank discussed his reasoning behind the vote, mentioning the representatives at Mount Zion feeling ignored and not being aware they could submit a then-and-now certificate.
“These people are in a desperate situation right now, very desperate,” Swank said. “And if we were, in the same meeting, going to pay a bill from several years ago to a situation that is not there, to me, that's not the message we want to send.”
The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. The next city council meeting will be Oct. 19.
