ATHENS, Ohio — A wide-ranging Athens City Council agenda Monday spanned several topics, including the need for a shade structure for a playground at the community center as well as whether — and how much — the city should kick in for an Uptown Independence Day celebration.
Playground needs shade
Council heard second reading of Ordinance 0-48-26, authorizing up to $105,000 to replace aging preschool playground equipment located behind the Athens Community Center.
At previous council meetings, Alan Swank, 4th Ward, had questioned whether the 26-year-old equipment needed to be replaced rather than repaired; the need for a $10,000 contingency built into the project; and the safety of artificial playground grass.
On Monday night, Swank said he could let some of those questions slide, noting that council had received several emailed letters of support for the project.
However, he said he still was worried about excessive heat from the playground surface. He visited the Richland Avenue Park, which has a similar turf surface, around 1:30 p.m. May 31.
“I put my hand down on the surface and it was very hot,” Swank said. When he walked across the surface in his bare feet, he added, it was “like going to the Outer Banks at high noon in August.”
Swank said he went home, retrieved an infrared thermometer, and went back to Richland Avenue Park. The temperature it recorded was an alarming 154.3 degrees, Swank said.
“Bare skin, on that surface, at that temperature, in two to three seconds will burn,” Swank said.
He noticed that people at the park kept to the playground’s corners, where there was shade. Installing new playground equipment and turf at the community center without ensuring shade would be irresponsible, he said.
“I would like for this project to go forward,” Swank said, but proposed amending the ordinance to allow for a shade structure.
Paul Isherwood, At Large, offered that the playground would not be constructed until the fall, giving the council time to consider a shading solution. Isherwood said such shade can come in the shape of a “sail,” and must be about eight feet higher than the tallest playground equipment.
City Service-Safety Director Andy Stone said he is “100% committed” to installing shade once council has agreed to fund it. Such a purchase, made separately from the ordinance and current purchase proposal, would be about $20,000, he said.
Stone, like Isherwood, also said preferred installing a shade sail rather than building an actual physical roofed structure. Swank noted that there are several shade sails in place at the West State Street ball fields.
Council member Beth Clodfelter, At Large, said in addition to shade, the new playground area would benefit from the planting of shrubs and trees.
Audience member Emily Guseman, a member of the Recreation Advisory Board, said she also took infrared thermometer readings at three locations on Monday. She measured the playground surface at Richland Avenue Park at 77.9 degrees in the shade and 111.9 degrees in the sun; at the Athens Community Center, she found temperatures ranging from 90 degrees in the shade to 112.4 degrees in the sun.
“I think these are really important things for us to think about … how we can best support our children’s physical activity, our youngest community members, in this place,” she said.
Independence Day spending sparks a few fireworks
Council heard first reading of Ordinance 0-58-26, which appropriates $30,000 for leased vehicles used by city police. The topic of the discussion, however, revolved around amendments to appropriate funding for Independence Day celebrations.
During a session of the Finance and Personnel Committee earlier in the meeting, committee chair Jessica Thomas, At-Large, brought forth a request from the Southeast Ohio History Center for $7,500 to pay for a stage, lighting and a band at the Independence Day celebration it is planning.
Committee member Michael Wood, 3rd Ward, had questions about that amount — specifically, the lack of specifics.
The request “is very vague, and without knowing any information about it — who the band is, what’s going into it, who are we paying — I’m just not keen on throwing $7,000 at a thing that we don’t have any of this information about.”
Because the request would have to be added to Ordinance 0-58-26 through an amendment, further discussion was delayed until the ordinance was read during the regular council meeting.
Swank, who is part of the committee planning the event, explained how the committee came together.
“Two months ago, there were no plans whatsoever for a Fourth of July celebration in the City of Athens,” he said. This year marks the 250th year since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, he noted.
The event will feature a full day of activities for all ages, he said.
The total estimated cost for the event is $15,000, Swank said. As council members looked over the proposed budget, they found several things to question.
Wood noted that the budget includes $1,000 for a birthday cake. Beth Clodfelter, At-Large, wondered why the committee chose Bon Journey, a Bon Jovi/Journey tribute band from Pittsburgh, as headliner at a cost of $4,000.
“As Porchfest admirably demonstrated, we have some really excellent local bands who would not require $4,000 to play,” she said.
Swank said the band was secured by a member of the volunteer committee, and noted that events such as Halloween often feature bands from outside the area.
“We put this together as quickly as we could, using those connections,” Swank said. “At this point in time, it might be a bit of a problem if suddenly we were to tell these groups … that we don’t need them anymore.”
The Southeast Ohio History Center has not yet allocated its funding for the event, Swank said. “And at the end of the day, what doesn’t get covered, the Tavern Association is basically going to pick it up.”
“Great, so why don’t we have them cover the $7,500?” Wood responded.
That issue came up again when the matter of a vote to amend the ordinance came up.
“I think we’ve done our part by approving the street closures. We’re donating police services,” Wood said. The Tavern Association is going to cover costs that are not covered by the history center, “and they have the money to do so,” he said.
Clodfelter said she’d rather wait to discuss an amendment until the history center board has approved its funding for the event.
The proposed amendment failed on a 5-2 vote, with only Swank and Isherwood voting in favor.
Lack of ADA transition plan criticized
At the end of the meeting, during audience time reserved for the public, former Athens City Commission on Disabilities Commission Chair Davey McNelly asked for an update on the city’s Americans with Disabilities Act transition plan timeline. The plan is intended to audit city buildings to determine whether they are ADA-compliant, and what would need to be done to ensure compliance.
McNelly, director of the Southeastern Ohio Center for Independent Living, detailed his concerns in an email sent Monday afternoon to Mayor Steve Patterson (absent Monday), the council, and Service-Safety Director Andy Stone a detailed letter Monday expressing his concerns.
Uptown crosswalks and sidewalks as “a mess,” McNelly wrote.
“The curb cuts and bricks put in at Court Street and Union last year immediately needed to be ground down as the bricks sank. It needs to be ground down again,” he wrote. “The bricks aren’t flat, have gaps, and some are missing. Bricks are not accessible. Let’s get concrete put in the crosswalks.”
McNelly added that during the annual Court Street accessibility challenge event Walk, Talk and Roll, “The two [people] who made it across in the time allotted are both wheelchair athletes and had to get medical attention afterwards for injuries. Dozens of people were not able to make it across. This is a health and safety liability.”
McNelly’s letter criticized local consulting firm Sunday Creek Horizons, which is contracted to complete the transition plan.
“Members of the disability community have been showing them what an ADA transition plan is, but they have only audited one building so far, and I have not been able to get an updated timeline,” McNelly wrote. The plan was supposed to have been completed in 2025, he noted.
“We asked that the City contract with an organization that has experience writing ADA transition plans but this has not been done,” McNelly wrote. “I ask that the City have a timeline done for completing the ADA transition plan and have someone who has experience in ADA lead this and to hold the team accountable to the timeline.”
Contacted on Wednesday for comment, Sunday Creek President Zack Space said, “While the plan was not completed in 2025, our team has been actively reviewing existing data and assessing conditions and needs across the City. As part of that process, we have met with representatives from the Disabilities Commission to better understand the community’s needs and priorities. We have been working on a planning document that meets the requirements and formatting consistent with ADA Transition Plans completed by other Ohio municipalities, and we are on track for completion by the end of 2026.”
The Independent emailed Patterson for comment, but had not received a response at publication time. We will update this story if/when we receive comments.
Summer street repair appears to be a no-go
Also speaking during citizen comments was Mary Abel, a Strathmore Boulevard resident, who said the city should be able to complete some street repairs now that the city income tax levy passed.
City officials including Josh Thomas, the city’s interim auditor who replaced now-retired Kathy Hecht, said the city will not start collecting what is estimated to be an added $1.9 million from the income tax increase until well into 2027. The increase will take effect in January of next year.
Jessica Thomas, acting as council president pro tempore, said the city would be taking this year off from summer street repairs “due to constraints on the street fund.” The city did not know until just recently if the income tax levy would pass, and planning for street repairs takes 12 to 18 months, Thomas said.
In other matters Monday, council:
- Conducted a public hearing on the five-year review of the Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, which allows alcoholic beverages to be consumed outside during a specific summer time period and has been expanded to include the city’s Westside. Athens resident Rob Delach said Porchfest this year was also expanded to the Westside, with DORA expansion helping to direct how public performances can occur without need for street closures. Delach said there may be a possibility of creating a fall Porchfest event when students return, although DORA currently ends upon students’ return in August. Delach said an expanded DORA calendar “should be tried out” as other cities have done with success.
- Held a Community Development Block Grant public hearing on providing funds for projects that improve accessibility, such as funds to improve sidewalks on West State Street. Jeff Jenkins, a community development coordinator with Hocking Athens Perry Community Action Program, said Community Development Block Grant monies are federally funded and can be used to improve living for low- to moderate-income persons through projects for the 2026 programming year that would total $150,000. Such projects may include sidewalk improvements on West State Street at Court Street to include curb cuts and accessibility ramps.
- On third reading, the city adopted Ordinance 0-44-26, which expands the Athens Municipal Arts Commission from seven to nine members, all appointed by the mayor. Five of the members must reside in the city; four can reside outside of Athens, but must be within Athens County.
- The council heard second reading of Ordinance 0-45-26, which proposed to designate Ohio University’s historic Lasher Hall, constructed in 1925, as a local historic landmark. Plans underway, already unveiled to the council, propose to raise donations and turn the building, which once housed The Athens Messenger and OU’s journalism program, into a museum.
- Heard second reading of Ordinance 0-46-26, which expands Athens’ DORA and sets its hours of operation. A similar ordinance in second reading, Ordinance 0-47-26, approves DORA’s continuation past the five-year point.
- Heard second reading of Ordinance 0-49-26 and city plans to upgrade its water meter reading system with a new radio signal-controlled system that will involve more than 5,000 water meters within the city. The $1.3 million price of the new system will be divided evenly between the water and sewer Funds.
Athens City Council’s next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, June 8, 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.
This story was updated at 3:53 p.m. Wednesday, June 3, to add a comment from Sunday Creek Horizons.
