With the passing of another election season, citizens of Athens are facing the future leaders of the city. With the buzz of the campaigns finally dying down, the time has come for them to assess the concerns at hand once again.
MAYOR: As Athens' mayor-elect, Paul Wiehl has many items to bear in mind while preparing to take office in January. First and foremost, it is important for Wiehl to reach out to the student population in Athens. Although many students at OU are not permanent residents of Athens, no one can deny that the fates of the city and the university are entirely intertwined. By listening to the concerns of the students, Wiehl would create a more beneficial dialogue between the city and the university.
It is also important for Wiehl to reconsider his opinion on the annual Athens Halloween celebration. As an outspoken opponent to the annual festivities, Wiehl has seemingly ignored the economic boost that the holiday provides to the city.
While some issues about Halloween safety linger, the economic importance of Halloween is huge, despite what tax dollars might be spent on it.
Wiehl must also be vigilant in his enforcement of city codes. While problems such as litter do have an impact on Athens, other worries (such as building code violations and working utilities) must be a top priority.
Lastly, it is important for Wiehl to embrace growth in the coming years. While growth for growth's sake is hardly wise, smart progress should be encouraged.
LAW DIRECTOR: For the first time in 30 years, the city has a new law director in Pat Lang.
Despite his criticism of the former law director, Lang should not be afraid to take some of his advice. At the end of the day he served the city of Athens for 30 years
he said of Hunter during post-election celebrations. Indeed, Hunter had his hand in city affairs for a very long time. Lang should take this opportunity to talk to him about the position ' surely he has some wisdom to impart. In addition, Lang should keep the prosecutors and staff already working in the law director's office.
When we endorsed Lang, we advised him not to take on a prosecutor's role nor spend much time in court. This is simply not the role of the law director. As Lang officially assumes the position, our advice remains.
Finally, Lang should challenge landlords who have not turned in landlord-tenant agreements. In September of last year, the city instituted an informational form for all tenants to explain basic code requirements. These forms are mandatory for a reason. As law director, Lang should encourage his prosecutors to crack down on violators.
CITY COUNCIL: With the election of Amy Flowers, Jim Sands and Elahu Gosney to City Council, The Post has high hopes for what it might accomplish.
Parking ' or the lack thereof ' is a major problem in Athens. There simply aren't enough parking spots to go around.
Residents of rental property have it especially bad, having to move their cars every 24 hours or face costly fines. Several possible solutions have been suggested, and Council should continue working to improve parking conditions.
We've said it before, but it bears repeating: The university's Halloween-management skills need improvement. The new council members should work to make Halloween more profitable in the coming years. A beer garden, a haunted house and increased advertising are just a few of the potential ways to increase revenue. They should also look into hiring a planner, sooner rather than later ' waiting until a month or two before the holiday to work on it does not work.
Council should avoid, however, getting too caught up in the big issues. Gosney has mentioned working on the small things that would make the city more efficient ' online bill payment and improved communication during boil orders are just two examples.
With all of these in mind, the newly elected city officials should be able to enact positive change for Athens.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of the executive editors.
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Officials-elect ought to keep these in mind
