NELSONVILLE, Ohio — The Outdoor Recreation Council of Appalachia council of governments reduced its membership fees earlier this month in a bid to bring in dues payments from the city of Athens and Athens County.
While the Athens city auditor recommends the city pay its fee, the Athens County Commissioners are divided on whether to pay up.
ORCA has been operating without a 2024 budget after unexpected issues in receiving dues payments from the city and county, ORCA director Jessie Powers told the Independent.
In January, the Athens County Commissioners opted against paying the then-$90,000 membership dues over budgetary concerns. Meanwhile, although Athens City Council approved an ordinance to eventually pay its 2024 membership dues to ORCA, it has so far lacked the funds to do so.
The shortfall has been substantial for ORCA, which was formed in 2019 to manage the expansion of the Baileys Trail System and develop the regional outdoor recreation economy.
In 2022, ORCA brought in about $418,000, according to its most recent audited financials. Of that, 43% would have come from the city and county’s membership fees, which were at that time $90,000 each.
ORCA finalized changes to its bylaws at an Oct. 18 meeting that cut the 2024 dues expected of the county and city to $30,222 and $24,673, respectively. The dues schedule is based on the number of people within each political subdivision.
In the new formula, larger political subdivisions (such as the county) subtract from their population-based dues the amount paid by smaller political subdivisions within their borders (such as the city).
Powers said the change will benefit the council of governments, should the lowered ask result in payment.
“ORCA needs to be sustainable, and we need to have information that we can plan around,” Powers said. “This, for us, is a win, if we can invoice a member and receive payment.”
Chauncey Mayor Amy Renner, who sits on the ORCA board, said the county and city paying membership fees is “a no-brainer.”
“Communities like Chauncey and now Buchtel and Doanville – and even, indirectly, Nelsonville and Athens – we have seen a huge impact thanks to the Baileys Trail System,” Renner said. “That’s worth investing in. I think it’s a very small investment that ORCA is asking for to sustain a destination like the Baileys.”
If the city and/or county don’t pay, Powers said in an email that they “would be quitting what they started before all the benefits are realized for their communities” and that the change would present “uncharted territory for ORCA staff to navigate.”
Powers added, “ORCA has and will continue to have diversified operational revenues, and as a [council of governments] we exist to find solutions for our members to fulfill the purpose for which the cog was created.”
Beyond 2024, the city and county would need to pay their ORCA dues in the first quarter of each year in order to remain members of the council of governments, according to the ORCA bylaws.
Commissioners divided on ORCA support
The Athens County Commissioners are divided on whether to continue membership in ORCA.
Athens County Commissioner Chris Chmiel — who, as of this month, sits on the ORCA board — told the Independent that he supports paying the 2024 dues.
“A lot of local people ride [mountain bikes]. There’s a lot of health benefits from that,” Chmiel said. “So, I’m supportive, but it’s got to make sense and you got to listen everybody’s perspective.”
Commissioner Charlie Adkins resigned from the ORCA board on Oct. 1 — in part, he told the Independent, because he does not support the dues payment.
Adkins has been skeptical of the county’s financial commitment to ORCA from the beginning, according to the Athens News.
Lenny Eliason, the third commissioner – and a potential tie-breaker on new ORCA funding – did not respond to the Independent’s request for comment.
Adkins said his concern with the dues payment is partly budgetary.
“We do not have the money in the budget to pay any dues this year,” he told the Independent.
Chmiel also said “things are tight” regarding the county budget. In a separate conversation, he said he was “doing a little bit of research about our financial situation” to “try to find a way to get it done.”
However, he said he was not optimistic.
“I’m not getting the sense that they’re going to want to fund it,” he said, referring to the other commissioners.
In addition to budgetary concerns, Adkins also has concerns with ORCA’s direction. Although he said he supports the Baileys Trail System, he said, “I’m not interested in paying county dollars that is going to try to get other counties on board.”
ORCA’s board members include only representatives of Athens County jurisdictions, though ORCA is currently in negotiations with Ross County about joining the council of governments as a paid member, Powers said.
ORCA expanded its service area to include counties throughout the region in May 2023, through a board vote. (At the time, Eliason was the county representative on the board; he was not at the meeting.)
ORCA extended an initial invitation for other counties to join as partners (rather than members) at no cost, with services to those counties provided by a consultant and funded by a grant.
Powers said in an interview that “regionalization” is important to “help Athens County and other counties continue to secure significant infrastructure investments.”
Powers also said Adkins is “misinformed” about ORCA’s work and criticized him for not accepting repeated invitations for a one-on-one meeting with her.
“I find Commissioner Adkins’ personal preference to not seek or understand the truth of ORCA’s work unprofessional and a disservice to everyone residing in Athens County,” Powers said in an email.
May meeting minutes also show that Adkins had concerns with ORCA’s financial management. At that meeting, he suggested it would be less expensive for the board to work with a certified public accountant rather than an employee.
The meeting minutes also show a dispute between Powers and Adkins over Adkins meeting with a former ORCA accounting employee, without involving Powers.
Adkins told the Independent he would not discuss some of his concerns with ORCA on the record until after the Nov. 5 general election.
When the Independent asked Chmiel whether the main barrier to the county paying its ORCA dues was budgetary, Chmiel replied, “There’s obviously been some personality stuff.” Asked to clarify, he said only, “People are messy.”
Chmiel expressed sympathy for Adkins’ concerns about whether ORCA’s regional ambitions align with what “local folks are looking to do.” He also questioned whether the Baileys Trail System has brought the benefits promised, stating, “You don’t overpromise and underperform.”
Asked if the benefits of the Baileys Trail System had been over-promised, Powers noted that initial impact projections from consultants in 2019 were based on a 10-year timeframe, and said ORCA has already had a major impact.
“ORCA’s work has elevated the region’s outdoor recreation portfolio and there’s no shortage of additional benefits of rural outdoor recreation based development that ORCA can continue to provide to member communities,” Powers said in an email.
The 2019 projections said that, as a result of investing in the trail system, Athens County would see increased local spending, higher wages, increased tax revenue and 78 new jobs.
A 2021 study conducted by Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, which Powers shared with the Independent, “conservatively estimated that the total economic impact related to trail tourism of the Baileys Trail System is $5.3 million,” according to a summary.
Renner said the Baileys Trail System has been a “catalyst” for the village to secure “over $25 million in grant investment in our community and infrastructure,” helping to set the village apart in competitive applications.
Athens city auditor recommends ORCA payment
In June, Athens City Council passed an ordinance authorizing the city to pay its then-$90,000 ORCA membership dues once the city’s general fund balance increased. The ordinance specifically established that the city would pay once its unappropriated general fund balance hit 9% of annual operating expenditures, based on advice from Athens City Auditor Kathy Hecht.
Hecht told the Independent in an Oct. 21 email that the city’s unappropriated general fund balance was currently at 8% of annual operating expenditures.
Although the fund balance remains below the previously established threshold, Hecht advised council members at an Oct. 28 Athens City Council committee meeting to pay the 2024 dues.
“I would like to see us make this payment this year, especially since the cost has gone down so much,” Hecht said. “I think … ORCA would appreciate that, and we do have the money. We have come up in our cash balance, and it’s still hovering at the minimum, but I would like to see us get that paid this year.”
In order to heed the auditor’s advice, council would need to pass an ordinance amending prior decisions related to its ORCA membership.
Hecht explained in an email, “Council will have to pass an amendment to the original agreement we made with ORCA 5 years ago and the ordinance they passed this year regarding the cash balance requirement for me to make this payment.”
Athens City Council President Sam Crowl told the Independent he supports paying the reduced 2024 dues, “as I believe the COG is a positive development for our region, including for the City of Athens.”
At the Oct. 28 meeting, Councilman Michael Wood, 3rd Ward, expressed his “support of ORCA and the great work that has been done with it.”
Athens City Council will likely consider an ordinance on ORCA dues at its next meeting on Nov. 4, council members said at the Oct. 28 meeting.
Note: This story has updated to include comment from Renner.
