ATHENS, Ohio – Athens City Council member Alan Swank, 4th Ward, and Mayor Steve Patterson both addressed the state of Johnny Appleseed Park during Monday’s regular council meeting, after receiving concerns from residents about damage to the natural space as the result of a city-sanctioned project.
The small park is located at the intersection of Mound, West Carpenter and North Lancaster streets and is dedicated to the legendary John Chapman – better known as Johnny Appleseed. Swank said the park is currently being used as a “staging ground” for the city’s grant-funded, $6.5 million Uptown Utility Relocation Project.
The project, which began in late March, involves burying electric and telecommunications lines underground along West Carpenter, Mill, and West State streets, and is expected to be ongoing through the fall. The construction contract was awarded to Miller Cable Company, whose equipment has been parked or stored in the park.
A walk through the small park Tuesday showed heavy equipment parts placed just a few feet from the Johnny Appleseed historical marker. The marker says that Chapman, who lived from 1774 to 1845, was a “wandering planter” whose work inspired future generations to “beautify Ohio.”
Swank said he promised West Side residents concerned with the park’s fate that he would discuss their concerns Monday before Council.
He read from an email from a Mound Street resident who stated, “Over the past several weeks, equipment and heavy machinery have been stored in the park. Last Saturday, I realized that piles of concrete debris were being dumped in the park, with approximately half of the park’s surface turned into a dirt pile. All grass has disappeared.”
The letter also stated that a memorial tree is leaning over due to dirt and mud being dragged on the ground by the moving of heavy equipment. There is also a storm sewer “that is plugged,” with “water accumulating on the road.”
One onlooker Tuesday described the park’s current state as ”temporary pain” the city is inflicting on amenities affected through its utility lines project. Swank told fellow council members that with utilities buried 6 inches to a foot in the ground, the damage to the park is deep enough to require “a complete and comprehensive restoration when all of this is said and done.”
Patterson said that, like Swank, he received several communications of concern involving Johnny Appleseed Park.
“The surety from the contractor is that the Johnny Appleseed Park will come back better than what it was received as when this uptown improvement project is completed,” Patterson said.
The Independent asked city officials who authorized Johnny Appleseed Park to be used as a staging area for the utilities project.
“That would be an administrative matter, which does not come before Council,” Swank said on a phone call Tuesday.
Patterson, replying by email, offered, “Reach out to Andy Stone,” referencing the city service-safety director.
Stone told the Independent in an email that the city authorized the contractor to use Johnny Appleseed Park for staging and that he has committed to replacing damaged landscaping and “putting the space back a better condition than when we started upon completion of the project.”
“The area known as Johnny Appleseed Park is part of the Carpenter St. right-of-way,” Stone added. “[There] is a shortage of public space in the uptown area, and we’ve attempted to keep streets open as much as possible rather than staging in the street. This summer will have a lot of travel disruption in various places around town, and we don’t want to add any more than we already have to.”
The city’s Uptown Utility Relocation Project, funded by the Appalachian Community Grant Program, previously received recent criticism from members of the city’s Shade Tree Commission.
At least five trees planted along West Carpenter Street are already in distress as their space for growth has been reduced to small squares of dirt and grass with concrete rubble commission chair Tristian Kinnison told council April 20. Kinnison, a certified arborist, also expressed concerns that Shade Tree commissioners were not informed of the work impacting the trees as is required under Title 33 of City Code.
City administration has been embroiled in a battle with the Shade Tree Commission since last fall, in an as-yet unsuccessful attempt to turn the commission’s statutory powers over to the city Planning Commission.
In other business, council adopted the following ordinances Monday upon third readings:
- Ordinance 29-26 authorizes conveyance of a city-owned parcel on Hudson Avenue to Community Building Partners, LLC, as part of a $2 million Welcome Home Ohio Grant Program. Community Building Partners will, in turn, develop eight pre-fabricated homes under an Affordable Housing designation, with the developer selling the homes to eligible buyers whose incomes are at or below 80% of the area’s median income. Sale prices per home are not to exceed $180,000. The city can cancel the agreement if construction does not commence within six months of conveyance.
- Ordinance 30-26 authorizes Patterson to enter into another one-year agreement with Sunday Creek Horizons, a consulting firm that provides grant application services, project oversight, and lobbying to state and federal governments to benefit the city. The agreement cost remains at $120,000 annually, which Swank said is worth it as Sunday Creek has taken the lead on projects such as the restoration and reopening of the armory building. Sunday Creek also secured $300,000 toward the city’s forthcoming Multipurpose Pavilion, he noted.
- Ordinance 31-26 authorizes Stone to temporarily close streets in the Uptown area for 2026 special events. The ordinance contains a list of events and street closures. The ordinance was amended by Council – with rules suspended – and then adopted to add the Porchfest finale on May 17. Porchfest’s last event over a two-day span will require temporary street closures related to musical performances at Jackie O’s Taproom on Campbell Street.
- Ordinance 32-26 authorizes Stone to enter into an agreement with the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC) to receive electric vehicle charging stations for placement at the city parking garage and the armory building, as well as a fast-charging station at fire station headquarters on Stimson Avenue.
Natural gas pricing ‘good news’
Swank said he has heard good news from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, or NOPEC, in regard to forthcoming natural gas prices for NOPEC members. From June through September, prices for consumers will decrease from 0.719 CCF (per hundred cubic feet) to 0.635 CCF, a decrease of 13.2%, he said. For those on longer-term fixed pricing, rates will be 0.645 for 12 months, and .625 for 24 months. NOPEC is a Council of Governments that negotiates bulk rates for electricity for 240 member communities across Ohio, including Athens.
