City of Athens finalizes sewer improvements

ATHENS, Ohio — Athens City Council unanimously suspended its rules Monday and adopted on first reading an ordinance that finalizes over $17 million in sewer improvements the city made over the last six years.

Ordinance 97-25 involves at least nine other related ordinances, Service-Safety Director Andy Stone said. 

The ordinance amends a previous ordinance “to Capture All Phases of Design, Construction, and Construction Engineering of the City Sewer System Improvements, Project #330, and Declaring an Emergency.” 

All told, the sewer projects cost $17.2 million.

The ordinance also will allow the city to proceed with a contract to replace the Richland Avenue lift station, Stone said after the regular council meeting. The station was constructed in 1970 when the Hocking River was altered to prevent flooding. 

The contract will go to Sunesis, which entered the lowest bid at about $5 million and can now proceed. Funding for the project comes from the Ohio Water Development Authority’s Water Pollution Control Loan Fund, which offers loans for such projects at 0% interest, repayable over 30 years. The loan also comes with “principal forgiveness,” effectively giving the city an $8 million grant. 

“A lot of 50-year-old infrastructure is being replaced as a result of these sub projects,” Stone said to the council.

The sewer projects encompassed in Project #330 include the current installation of a new sewer line underneath Richland Avenue and a related force main under the Hocking River, Stone said, as well as a new line going through Ohio University’s Peden Stadium and along South Green Drive. 

Council President Sam Crowl, filling in for Mayor Steve Patterson, tied the projects to Pollution Prevention Week. 

In other business, the council heard third reading of Ordinance 85-25, which would require a permit and related fee for any dumpsters, moving pods or construction trailers placed on sidewalks. It also requires that temporary closures of streets, alleys and sidewalks be approved by the Service-Safety director or a designee. 

Council member Beth Clodfelter, At-Large, contributed additional language to a sentence in the ordinance, adding, “alternate passageways may be required.” The amended language sent the ordinance back to its first reading.

Also Monday, the council:

• Suspended the rules and unanimously adopted Ordinance 98-25 on first reading, authorizing a waterline replacement on Factory Street at a cost of $222,500 from the water budget maintenance fund. The 10-inch waterline project will serve Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
• Adopted four ordinances upon third readings related to fines and fees for overgrown weeds, animals at-large, parking regulations, and rules involving streets and sidewalks. Ordinance 84-25 will allow council members and members of city commissions, boards and their support staff to park in the city parking garage free of charge during their meetings. 
• Passed an ordinance replacing gendered language in the Athens City Code with gender-neutral language.
• Heard first reading of an ordinance that will contribute $10,000 from the general fund to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which sends free books to children ages 0–5 whose parents enroll them in the program.
• Heard from a mayoral proclamation read by Crowl that Sept. 15–Oct. 15 is Hispanic/Latin Heritage Month, with numerous activities planned around public libraries, Ohio University, and community events to celebrate the contributions of Hispanic and Latine culture in American society.
• Heard from Clodfelter that an open house for the re-opening of the Athens Armory building will be 3:30–6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, preceded by an invitation-only ribbon cutting.
• Heard from council member Michael Wood, 3rd Ward, that city residents have expressed the need to continue the city’s commitment to having and maintaining a Shade Tree Commission.

Second ordinance readings involved:

• Ordinance 80-25, which would sell two single-family homes rented by persons with disabilities, at 25 Central Ave. and 458 Richland Ave., to the Athens Metropolitan Housing Authority for $275,610. AMHA already manages the properties. Councilor Alan Swank, 4th Ward, said the county auditor needs to determine whether the homes can be sold, since the city acquired them using Community Development Block Grant funds.
• Ordinance 90-25, which authorizes the service-safety director to advertise and accept the highest bid for a lease agreement for the former fire department headquarters on Columbus Road.
• Ordinance 94-25, which establishes rules for rental dwellings, including short-term rentals, and requires local emergency contacts for rental units. The ordinance establishes rental permit fees based on units per building, and requires an extra fee for each unit owned by a person or business who is located 50 miles or more outside the city.

Athens City Council’s next regular meeting will be Monday, Sept. 22, 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.