ATHENS, Ohio — In its Monday night committees meeting, Athens City Council spent more than two hours discussing a slew of proposed changes to city fees for permits, parking, sewer, and several other purposes.
City council will have to make final adjustments to the draft proposals at a future regular meeting.
In other matters, council discussed the sale of two city-owned homes to the Athens Metropolitan Housing Authority and a plan to revert the city parking garage from metered parking to a ticket-and-gate system.
The new fee proposals, as drafted, will require the council to make the final fee adjustments by ordinance at a forthcoming regular council meeting.
Other discussions included new fees such as temporary placement of dumpsters on sidewalks; and requiring property owners from out of town by 50 miles or more to pay an extra fee for rental unit permits.
Council learned that the city has an opportunity to join at least one, possibly two, class action settlement involving opioids, and that a small number of city code sections that mention gender-specific language will be changed to gender-neutral language.
Higher permit fees for absentee landlords
The longest discussion Monday night revolved around proposed rental permit fees, with a new proposal to charge “$25 per unit for each unit owned by a person or business residing 50 miles or more outside the corporation limit, in addition to the standard rental permit fee.”
Standards rental permit fees vary, but include $175 per unit for up to 10 units in one building, and $75 per unit for over 10 units in one building.
Andrew Chiki, deputy service-safety director, said the $25 will be applied toward covering the administrative costs associated with gaining compliance from out-of-town rental property owners. He noted that the cost of certified letters is now more than $6, adding that several letters are sometimes needed before contacting a property owner.
The city currently has four full-time code enforcement officers, led by Director David Riggs.
Council member Solveig Spjeldnes, 1st Ward, said her own research shows that the number of completed inspections has declined recently, due in part to lack of adequate staffing. Spjeldnes reported that:
- In 2023, 90% of rental units in the city were inspected, with 37% later re-inspected as needed. Those figures declined to 76% of all rental units inspected in 2024, with 32% re-inspected.
- In 2023, 44% of code enforcement officers’ time was spent on enforcement of rental inspections, with the average inspection lasting 37 minutes.
- It would take just over five full-time code enforcement officers, or one more than currently employed, to inspect all rental units in the city annually.
Councilor Alan Swank, 4th Ward, said council should consider a standardized rental permit fee. Rental permit fees currently generate about $703,000 per year. A standardized fee of $150 would produce an additional $142,000, while a $175 fee would add $283,000, he said. That additional revenue could be used to hire another code enforcement officer, or even a building inspector, Swank added.
Patterson said later that such decisions on permit fee increases, though possible, cannot simply charge what administrators would consider appropriate.
“We’re always open to considering all kinds of things,” Patterson said. “But you know, the interesting thing with fees is that they have to be attached to what the city’s expense is to administer said program.”
As for a building inspector, Patterson said that has been a topic “as long as I’ve been mayor.” The problem has been finding someone qualified to go through the required licensure process, he offered.
Changes at the city parking garage
The city will pay Pepper Construction nearly $381,000 to convert the municipal parking garage from individual meters to a ticket-and-gate system, Chiki confirmed on Tuesday. The garage previously used a ticket-and-gate system until fall 2001, when the city eliminated the parking attendant position and installed meters.
The renovations, which begin next month, will involve demolition of existing restrooms; constructing a second exit lane out of the garage onto East Washington Street; and installation of parking control equipment, electrical work, and plumbing. The work is expected to be completed by December, Chiki said.
In the new system, customers will pay for the time used as they exit the garage. Proposed rates are $1 up to the first hour; $1 per hour for 1 to 10 hours; and $20 a day for 10 to 24 hours. Monthly rental of a reserved parking garage space will be $175 plus any transactional fees, and $150 for a nonreserved space plus transactional fees.
The proposed ordinance for the fee changes includes language that would allow the city to offer a validation discount program that would reduce garage rates for employees of Uptown businesses.
Other proposed fee changes
In addition to rental permit fees and garage parking rates, the council discussed a number of increases and changes to various city fees, including:
- Raising fines for garbage and rubbish citations from $50 to $75 for a first offense, and raising each subsequent offense by $25.
- Clarifying that the city will charge a $50 fee for after-hours water turn-on or shut-off.
- Increasing water and sewer rates for residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Residential customer rates will rise from $6.18 to $6.24 for the first 1,000 gallons; the monthly base rate charge for the first 15,000 gallons will increase from $32.28 to $32.60. Rates for commercial and industrial customers will increase by 3%.
- Creating a new permitting process for temporary placement of dumpsters, moving pods and construction trailers on sidewalks, at a cost of $15 per week. Swank said the dumpsters should have clearly visible stickers on them so neighborhoods can “police” the length of their presence. Chiki said some temporary dumpsters, not previously regulated, remained in place for months.
- Raising the cost of a floodplain development permit from $100 to $125.
- Raising the cost of a minor lot split from $100 to $150.
- Creating a permit process at $25 per day for temporary street, sidewalk and alley closures.
City to sell two homes to AMHA
The Finance and Personnel Committee discussed the sale of two city-owned homes to the Athens Metropolitan Housing Authority, which already leases and manages the properties.
The two properties, at 458 Richland Ave. and 25 Central Ave., are currently occupied by income-eligible residents. Turning over the properties to AMHA makes sense, Patterson said, since the agency has the expertise required to serve the residents, whom he said are on public housing vouchers and have disabilities.
The City of Athens plans to sell two houses, at 458 Richland Ave. and 25 Central Ave., to the Athens Metropolitan Housing Authority, which already manages them. The homes are currently occupied by residents with disabilities. Photos by Larry DiGiovanni.
The city previously sold homes in the North Blackburn Road area, Patterson said. As with those sales, the properties will be priced at near-market value, he said. After the meeting, he told the Independent that he anticipated the combined sale to be more than $200,000.
The real estate website Zillow values the Central Avenue site at $141,000 and the Richland Avenue home at $201,700.
Athens City Council’s next meeting will be Monday, Aug. 18 at Athens City Hall, Council Chambers, third floor, 8 E. Washington St. Meetings are also streamed online. Regular sessions are on the first and third Mondays of the month; committee meetings are on the second and fourth Mondays.
