Fixing Halloween and Jeff Hill are some things mayoral candidate and Councilman Paul Wiehl, D-1st Ward, would do if elected, he said in a presentation to Student Senate last night.
Halloween costs the city of Athens between $50,000 to $70,000 every year, Wiehl said, adding that a lack of revenue has prevented potential solutions from being implemented.
We have (Halloween) dropped in (the city's) face and we don't seem able to handle it
he said. Everyone's always trying to have something to bring in tourist dollars. The trouble is that as a city we don't have the resources to do it.
Safety is also a factor for Wiehl, who is in support of the celebration but remains concerned about the safety of Halloween participants.
I've been on safety teams where people hang out of windows drunk and there's nothing you can do about it except shine your flashlight in their eyes and that doesn't seem to be a good strategy. Wiehl said. There are cities that will kill for (the Halloween celebration). Someday someone's going to die for it and that's the quandary.
Previous solutions such as fencing in the street party and creating a beer garden have fallen through, but Wiehl said he is open to trying new ideas.
We need to start the dialogue help the festival grow up
he said. Every year we explore something
we try to do something. Let's talk about it and see how we can make it happen.
Wiehl said he is also concerned about the safety of pedestrians on Jeff Hill. The hill, currently owned and maintained by the city, requires $30,000 to be restored. Wiehl said he wants to have the road opened to motorists.
We have to fix the road
he said. As much as I'd like to keep it as pedestrian-friendly as possible in the city
I just don't want to shut (the hill) down.
According to Wiehl, Ohio University agreed to renovate the hill if its ownership was transferred to the university.Wiehl said he would not give ownership of the property to the university, but would assess the university for the $30,000 needed to repair the hill.
What I'd like to see is (Athens) assessing the deepest pockets in the city
the university
he said. I don't want to give (Jeff Hill) to them because I don't think (the city) should be giving up land easily.
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