►
From YouTube: Athens City Council January 6, 2020
Description
Athens City Council January 6, 2020
A
City
council,
its
January
6th
at
7:00
p.m.
this
is
our
first
meeting
of
a
new
year
and
I'd
like
to
welcome
those
in
the
audience
tonight
who
are
joining
us
and
also
welcome
back
our
newly
re-elected
council
members
and
some
newly
elected
ones
so
welcome
in
our
tonight.
Our
first
item
of
business
is
to
establish
the
quorum.
We
do
have
six
of
our
seven
council
members
present
tonight.
Next
item
of
business
is
appointing
the
Clerk
of
counsel.
I
would
need
a
motion
to
do
that.
Council.
Member
grace.
B
C
D
A
C
C
A
E
A
C
A
C
A
I
believe
we
have
two
abstentions:
yes,
council
members,
Smedley
and
Claud
filters.
They
weren't
here
for
those
sessions
of
council.
We
now
have
communications.
I
have
one
item
that
I
have
learned
of
that.
There
will
be
a
public
meeting
for
the
Farmers
Market
on
January
16th
and
that's
going
to
be
at
the
Community
Center
from
6
to
8
p.m.
and
they're
inviting
the
public
to
come.
It's
at
6
to
8
on
January
16th.
There
is
a
snow
date
of
January
23rd
and
councilmember
Reisner
and
then
councilmember
crawl.
Yes,.
E
C
E
Columbia
Gas
is
doing
installation
work
on
Mulligan
Road
it'll
be
for
the
next
month,
I
believe
and
it
takes
place
between
Hickory
and
Curtis.
Street
it'll
be
one
lane
traffic
only
we're
going
to
do
their
best
to
maintain
it,
but
it's
gonna
be
slow.
Going
and
they're
recommending
people
find
an
alternative
route
during
business
hours.
D
Thank
You
president
nicely
I
have
a
communication
from
the
environment
and
sustainability.
Commission,
a
member
of
the
Commission
Jessica
Dalzell,
prepared
a
report
on
plastic
bag
use
in
the
city
of
Athens
in
response
to
the
resolution
are
1216
which
declared
plastic
bag,
use,
an
environmental
concern
and
tasked
the
Commission
with
providing
data
on
both
single-use
plastic
bags,
as
well
as
reusable
bags,
and
mr.
Dalzell
report
will
be
provided
to
council,
including
her
recommended
methods
to
decrease
single
bag
usage
based
on
her
research
in
the
city
of
Athens.
D
C
A
F
So
good
evening,
as
you
know,
I'm
Li,
Sonia,
liason
of
the
law
doctor
for
the
city
of
Athens
and
the
Ohio
Revised
Code
mandates
that
once
a
year,
the
first
meeting
of
the
year
that
I
give
a
report
of
the
business
of
the
law
director's
office
during
the
previous
year.
So
that
would
be
2019
and
I've
provided
I.
Think
most
everyone
in
here
with
a
copy
of
my
report.
F
For
this
year
the
duties
of
the
law
director
mandated
in
the
Ohio
Revised
Code
and
also
in
the
Athens
city
code,
I'm
responsible
for
overseeing
the
law
department
and
that
law
department
consists
of
three
full-time
city
prosecutors.
We
had
to
but
I'm
pleased
to
announce
that
we've
hired
a
third
person
and
then
that
third
person
starts
I
will
announce
it
at
a
council
meeting.
So
the
office
has
three
full-time
city
prosecutors
that
prosecute
misdemeanors
that
occur
in
the
city
of
Athens
and
in
the
unincorporated
areas
of
the
county.
We
have
two
font
to
full
time.
F
Secretarial
staff
on
the
first
page
I
did
state
that
in
2019
there
were
seven
thousand
seven
hundred
eighty
nine
criminal
and
traffic
cases
and
Ovi
cases
in
the
Athens
County
Municipal
Court
the
year
before
there
had
been
eight
thousand
six
hundred
and
ninety
four.
So
the
case
number
is
down
slightly
of
those.
Approximately
three-quarters
of
those
either
pleaded
arraignment
go
into
diversion,
or
something
else
may
happen
to
the
case.
F
We
do
approximately
one-quarter
of
those
cases,
in
fact,
in
2019
about
seven
hundred
defendants
under
diversion
our
office
city
prosecutor's
office,
prosecutes
cases
for
the
city
of
Athens,
the
Athens
County
Sheriff,
the
Ohio
University
Police
Department
Department
of
Public
Safety
dog
warden,
Ohio
Department
of
Natural
Resources.
We've
been
called
upon
to
prosecute
cases
for
the
Ohio
Department
of
Agriculture
and
any
other
agency
taxation
that
would
come
to
us
with
misdemeanor
cases.
Our
office
prosecutes
misdemeanor
cases
and
those
are
the
cases
in
Municipal.
F
And
to
give
you
an
example,
what
that
would
be
is,
for
instance,
if
a
case
occurred
in
the
plains
or
on
Route
33
outside
of
Athens
unincorporated
areas,
not
in
the
core
incorporated
area
like
tremble
or
glass
tore
Nelsonville,
but
we're
mandated
to
do
that
to
prosecute
those
cases,
and
then
we
receive
whatever
compensation
the
commissioners
give
to
us.
There's
no
formula.
F
So,
on
page
two
I've,
given
you
an
idea
of
what
the
city
prosecutors
do.
Ultimately
it's
my
responsibility
for
the
prosecution's
and
the
city
prosecutors
worked
very
closely
with
me.
We
discussed
the
cases,
even
though
we
have
a
lot
of
cases,
but
prosecutors
come
to
me
and
we
discuss
a
resolution
of
a
case.
The
last
page
of
this
report,
I
called
it
Appendix
A,
and
it
just
gives
you
an
idea
of
the
cases
that
we
did
prosecute
the
kinds
of
cases.
F
F
However,
and
some
of
the
minor
matters
such
as
something
like
appearing
before
the
Board
of
revisions,
finally,
a
counter
complaint
to
a
complaint
for
reevaluation
I
would
appear,
I
also
appear
or
do
the
work
for
them
when
they
apply
for
tax-exempt
status.
So
some
of
the
general
services
that
the
Law
Director
provides
obviously
I
administer
the
office
supervise
the
prosecutors.
I
already
stated
that
I
meet
with
prosecutors
to
discuss
cases.
I
write,
formal
legal
opinions
if
requested,
I
attend
the
council
meeting
special
sessions
serve
as
the
parliamentarian.
F
So,
as
I
previously
stated,
I
also
am
responsible
for
the
civil
litigation
that
the
cities
involved
in
and
on
page
four,
the
report.
There
was
one
case
pending
at
the
beginning
of
2019
five
new
cases
filed
in
2019,
two
of
which
were
cases
that
we
filed,
which
were
appropriations
cases
which
were
subsequently
consolidated
with
one
pending
case,
and
we
completed
two
cases
in
2019
and
at
the
end
we
had
two
cases
pending
at
the
end
of
2019.
So
that's
where
we
are
I'd
be
glad
to
take
any
questions
that
council
may
have
I.
D
F
D
F
D
A
F
Are
I
just
thought?
It
was
interesting,
our
secretary
choice,
a
person
working
on
this
during
the
year
because
we
did
want
to
see
just
what
we
were
doing
and
you
can
see
we
did
three
hundred
and
twenty
three
cases
of
operating
a
motor
vehicle
under
the
influence,
I
think
our
hardest
sarva
hick
Euler
manslaughter.
That's
where
someone
commits
a
minor
misdemeanor
traffic
offence
and
and
someone
dies
then
it
becomes
a
second
degree
misdemeanor.
A
Thank
you
for
the
report
because
it
gives
us
a
better
idea
of
all
the
things
you're
involved
with
you're
with
us
here.
You
know
at
all
of
our
business
meetings
and
always
a
help
to
us
more
moving
legislation
forward
and
providing
advice
right,
there's
so
much
more
than
a
bigger
than
bigger
picture.
Yes,
thank
you
well,
thank
you.
Any
other
questions
or
comments
or
law
director
Eliza
thanks
auditor
Hecht.
Yes,.
G
I'm
not
giving
a
report
I
just
wanted
to
say,
congratulations
and
welcome
to
everyone
on
council
I
look
forward
to
working
with
everyone
this
year,
in
particular
the
Finance
and
Personnel
Committee
members
and
I
want
to
encourage
everyone
to
reach
out
to
me.
If
you
have
any
questions
about
anything,
you'd
be
amazed
at
the
amount
of
information
that
is
in
my
office
and
anytime.
G
So
I
understand
what
it's
like
to
be
on
council
and
all
the
various
information
that
you
have
at
least
I'm,
really
just
dealing
with
the
financial
aspect
now,
but
I'm
happy
to
answer
any
kind
of
questions
or
provide
any
kind
of
paperwork
that
you
have
and
questions
about,
and
so
I
encourage
you
to
do
that.
Thank
you.
A
H
To
kind
of
piggyback
on
what
council
member
reisender
was
talking
about
with
Columbia
Gas
Columbia
Gas
is
also
going
to
be
doing
work
on
Fort
Street
from
Congress
on
up
to
I
believe
it's
44,
Fort
Street
traffic
will
be
detoured
around
that
area
when
that
work
is
going
on,
because
that,
unfortunately,
will
have
to
be
a
project
where
there
will
be
cutting
into
the
street
itself,
as
opposed
to
boring.
To
put
the
new
gas
line
in,
unlike
that
that
was
up
on
on
Greenbrier,
cable
Lane
will
also
be
closed.
It
was
closed.
H
H
In
that
a
reminder
to
council
and
everyone
who's
viewing
tonight
that
March
first
getting
way
ahead
of
us
once
again,
but
March
1st
is
when
the
Richland
Avenue
pedestrian,
passageway
construction
will
begin
in
building
a
bridge
and
a
a
passageway
on
the
Richland
Avenue
between
West
Green
and
Baker
Center
Porter,
Hall,
Grover
Center,
and
that
project
is
slated
it'll
be
released
on
the
second
over.
The
second
is
Monday,
so
the
second
of
March,
and
that
will
run
through
September
11th
of
2020.
So
keep
that
in
mind.
H
There
will
be
significant
detouring
around
through
the
city,
at
least
in
the
Uptown
area.
You
will
be
detoured
onto
Schaefer
if
you're
heading
north
on
Richland
and
you're
heading
uptown,
you'll
be
detoured
on
to
Schaefer
Schaefer
on
to
West
Union
and
then
West
Union
on
up
to
Court
Street
to
proceed
through
the
Uptown
area,
or
I've
mentioned
this
before,
and
do
what
I'm
gonna
do
and
go
all
the
way
down
to
Stimson,
Avenue
and
jump
on
if
you're
coming
from
the
south
side
and
enter
into
the
city.
That
way.
That
way,
don't
worry
about
it.
H
A
couple
personnel
updates
for
Council
again
I.
Think
Council
for
authorizing
this
before
you
went
on
recess
if
2019,
and
that
is
that
we
offer
the
position
of
deputy
service
Safety
Director
Andrew,
chicky
Andrew
chicky
has
accepted
so
Andrew
chicky
is
the
new
deputy
service.
Safety
Director
for
the
city
of
Athens
and
Colton
James
has
accepted
the
position
of
master
landscaper
for
the
city,
which
is
great.
You
know,
I
see
immense
potential
and
Colton
James
as
our
arborist,
but
also
as
a
master
landscaper.
H
Well,
Andy
is
away.
Has
me
a
little
bit
nervous
to
be
quite
honest,
given
everything
that's
going
on
internationally
right
now,
but
you
know
Andy's
a
fine
service
safety
director
and
a
fine
officer,
so
I'm
sure
he
will
do
just
fine,
so
we'll
be
missing
Andy
for
a
little
more
than
a
year
that
he
will
be
deployed
over
in
the
Middle
East.
That's
all
I
have
to
share.
Thank.
E
B
Grace
Thank
You
president
nicely.
We
are
very
fortunate
here
in
the
city
to
have
numerous
commissions
and
wonderful
volunteers,
so
tonight
I
am
pleased
to
recommend
offer
a
motion
that
we
reappoint
Brandon
Thompson
to
serve
on
the
Recreation
Advisory
Board.
He
has
agreed
to
serve
another
term
and
we
appreciate
his
willingness
to
do
so
so.