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From YouTube: Athens City Council - January 3, 2023
Description
Athens City Council - January 3, 2023
A
B
Good
evening
and
welcome
to
Athens
city
council,
it's
Tuesday
January
3rd
2023,
our
first
meeting
of
the
new
year.
Briefly,
we
will
have
a
finance
and
Personnel
committee
meeting
and
then
we
will
move
into
a
regular
business
meeting
tonight.
So,
chairperson
of
finance
and
Personnel
councilmember
Crowell.
C
D
C
B
C
B
You
councilmember
Crowell
all
right,
we'll
move
on
to
business,
our
first
item
being
to
establish
a
quorum.
We
have
five
of
our
seven
council
members
here
tonight
and
the
next
item
of
business
will
be
disposition
of
the
minutes
and
I
seen
that
there
are
five
sessions
to
be
held,
I
think
I'm
going
to
move
forward
with
one
motion
for
each
for
all
of
them
together.
B
B
B
Okay,
I
might
just
make
one
comment:
I
know
that
our
city
Crews
have
been
devotedly
working
to
clearing
storm
sewer
drains
and
just
I
know.
This
is
an
unofficial
request,
but
if
your
your
address
is
in
front
or
behind
a
storm
sewer
drain-
and
you
see
it
clogged
with
leaves,
it
would
be
a
real
help
to
to
clear
them
away
and
get
them
up
onto
the
lawn
and
out
of
the
way
of
the
course
of
the
water,
because
I
think
we've
got
to
still
have
a
flood
warning
in
effect
right
now.
E
E
So,
on
that
side,
on
the
criminal
side,
we
prosecute
misdemeanors
that
occur
in
the
city
of
Athens
and
then,
by
way
of
an
agreement
with
the
Athens
County
Commissioners
and
a
mandate
from
the
Ohio
Revised
Code.
We
prosecute
misdemeanors
that
occur
in
the
unincorporated
areas
of
the
county,
so
something
like
Nelsonville,
that's
an
incorporated
area.
E
We
wouldn't
prosecute
those
cases,
but
the
unincorporated
areas,
our
office
prosecutes
cases
for
the
police,
Athens
City,
Police,
High,
University,
Police,
Department,
liquor
control,
the
sheriff's
department,
Ohio
State,
Highway
Patrol,
and
on
several
occasions
when
the
state
comes
in
with
a
violation,
for
instance
Department
of
Agriculture,
that's
a
misdemeanor.
We
would
prosecute
that
case.
So,
first
page
last
paragraph
and
2022
there
were
7
262,
Criminal,
Traffic
and
OVI
cases
filed
in
Athens,
County
Municipal
Court,
just
for
reference.
In
2021
there
were
7
350.
E
So
our
office
prosecuted
21
of
those
misdemeanor
cases
in
2022
409
defendants
under
diversion
for
drug
management,
suspension,
substance,
abuse,
offenses
and
involving
alcohol,
and
there
were
17
in
selective
diversion.
Our
office
then
has
takes
the
case
from
after
arraignment,
where
a
person
has
pled
not
guilty
all
the
way
through
restitution.
E
So
then,
the
prosecutor's
page,
two
of
detailed,
how
many
cases
there
were
we
prosecuted
371
people
who
did
not
have
attorney
representation.
Those
are
pretty
simple
cases
like
traffic
cases,
something
like
that
with
attorney
representation
1079
we
had
80
carryover,
so
the
total
prosecutions
for
our
office
in
2022
were
1530..
E
Page
three
are
the
additional
services
that
our
office
provides
and
at
the
bottom.
This
is
something
our
office
is
very
proud
of.
We
are
only
one
of
two
City
prosecutors
offices
in
the
state
that
actually
collects
restitution.
Most
often
restitutions
ordered
on
the
court
order
and
it's
collected
by
the
court,
but
our
office
Prides
ourselves
on
the
fact
that
we
do
collect
restitution
for
victims,
and
last
year
we
collected
28
690.
E
So
that's
the
criminal
side.
The
Civil
side
is
my
side.
Although
I
do
supervise
the
prosecutors,
I
mean
with
them
weekly
to
discuss
the
criminal
cases
a
lot
of
times.
They
have
discretion,
total
discretion
on
how
to
handle
a
criminal
case
or
a
traffic
case
also
DUI
case.
However,
they
oftentimes
consult
with
me
on
how
to
resolve
a
case.
E
So
on
page
four
are
my
duties,
Pages,
four
and
five
and
I
think
what
you
might
find.
The
most
interesting
is
the
civil
litigation
and
Common
Pleas
and
federal
court.
We
completed
six
cases
in
2022.
There
were
two
carryovers
from
2021.
Four
cases
were
filed
during
2022
naming
the
city
of
Athens
and
no
no
cases
are
pending
at
the
end
of
2022..
E
So
that's
somewhat
unusual
document
you
have
an
appendix
and
that
just
shows
you.
We
keep
track
of
what
kind
of
cases
we
have
and
the
First
Column
is
prosecution
of
defendants
without
attorney
representation,
and
the
second
column
is
with
returning
representation
it
just
it
just
shows
you
how
many
cases,
for
instance,
last
year
we
prosecuted
prosecuted,
218
OVI
cases.
So
anyway,.
E
My
I
usually
set
a
goal
for
myself
in
the
past.
My
goals
have
been
to
update
the
city
code
and,
as
you
know,
in
many
cases
it
hadn't
been.
It
had
not
been
updated
since
1994
for
city
code
for
traffic
and
general
offenses,
so
we
were
able
to
do
that.
My
goal
for
2023
is
to
and
counsel
about
this
in
my
budget
to
go
to
matrix.
It's
a
form
it's
a
way
of
of
obtaining
and
providing
Discovery
to
defense
attorneys.
E
We
the
reason
we
need
to
do
that,
and
it
was
an
initial
cost
of
ten
thousand
dollars
and
it's
five
hundred
dollars
a
month.
But
the
reason
we
need
to
do
that
is
because
of
the
body
cam
videos.
So
when
an
officer
is
at
a
scene
taking
body
cam
has
the
body
camera
on
that's
discoverable.
We
have
to
provide
that
in
Discovery
and
we
don't
have
the
capacity
in
the
office
on
a
computer
capacity
to
do
that.
E
So
this
Matrix
system
is
something
that's
used
by
the
County
prosecutor
and
many
of
the
law
enforcement
agencies.
And
what
will
happen
then,
is:
if
there's
a
body
cam
video,
then
it
will
be
directly
uploaded
by
law
enforcement
to
Matrix
and
then,
when
we
provide
Discovery
and
Discovery
is
in
a
criminal
case
when
somebody
obtains
an
attorney
either
entitled
to
see
whatever
evidence.
E
We
have
that
we're
going
to
use
to
prosecute
the
case,
so
we
will
be
able
to
just
give
the
attorney
a
code
a
number
and
they
can
go
directly
into
Matrix
and
they
can
take
their
own
video
off
of
Matrix.
We'll
also
do
the
paper
discovery
that
way
too
I
think
several
law
enforcement
agencies
provide
the
reports
via
Matrix.
So
that's
what
I'm
going
to
do
this
year
is
we're
entering
a
new
era
as
far
as
electronic
discoveries.
So
anyway,
that's
my
report
and
I
would
be
glad
to
take
any
questions.
E
Oh
the
at
the
Athens
County
Commissioners
give
us
have
provided
79
000
a
year
for
prosecutions,
and
the
cases
have
dropped
somewhat.
I
did
not
ask
for
increase
I,
don't
know
what
they
will
give
us.
They
only
passed
my
understanding.
Is
they
passed
a
temporary
budget
I'm?
Not
a
so
I,
don't
know
how
much
they're
going
to
give
us
for
the
year.
I
would
presume
79
000,
but
because
our
caseload
has
dropped
somewhat
on
the
criminal
side.
E
D
D
A
better,
not
jinx
that
but
anyway,
I
had
a
question:
that's
just
slightly
off
topic,
but
since
you're,
the
law
director
and
you're
there,
it's
been
on
my
mind
so
I
understand
it.
Sports
betting
is
now
legal
in
the
state
of
Ohio
and
the
messenger
had
a
huge
thing
in
their
sports
section
about.
This
is
what
you
need
to
know
and
I'm
still
going
through
it
and
I'm
still
confused.
E
F
E
That
we,
we
had
some
difficulty
with
the
drd.
The
mayor
may
recall
that
before
it
could
be
sent
to
the
state,
all
taxes
had
to
be
paid
property
tax
and
there
were
I
think
two
properties
who
had
not
been
current
in
their
property
tax.
So
we
had
to
update
the
Siemens
drd
in
order
to
get
it
sent
to
the
state
and
is
it
is
at
the
state
for
approval
right
now.
G
E
As
far
as
crime
going
down,
there
are
less
offenses
that
are
being
charged,
so
slightly
less
I
mean.
If
you
look
at
the
numbers,
it's
it's
almost
the
same:
I
I
looked
at
2020,
21
and
22,
and
in
2020
there
were
66
299
cases,
2021
7350.
It
went
up
slightly,
of
course,
that
was
covid
in
2020
and
2022
7262.
So
it's.
F
B
H
Nice,
lady,
if
I
may
have
a
few
items
tonight,
I'd
like
to
share
with
Council
I,
know
that
earlier
today,
I
didn't
send
Council
kind
of
a
very
brief
Cliff
note
a
year
in
review
for
2022.
before
I
go
there,
though
I
do
want
Council
to
be
brought
up
to
to
date
with
the
Congressional
Record,
the
proceedings
of
preceding
and
and
debates
of
the
117th
Congress
confirmations.
So
these
are
executive
nominations
confirmed
by
the
U.S
Senate
and
as
I
peruse
through
this
list
and
look
down
here.
H
Oh
look:
there's
Colonel
Andrew
B
Stone,
who
is
being
confirmed
as
a
brigadier
general.
He
will
not
take
that
position
until
there
is
a
vacancy
here
in
the
state
of
Ohio
or
within
the
guard.
Army
National
Guard
system,
but
you
know
extremely
proud
of
Colonel
Stone.
Our
service
safety,
director
being
confirmed
by
the
U.S
Senate
to
take
on
this
High
armor,
so
it'll
be.
H
It's
long,
but
in
terms
of
City
progress.
You
know
the
city
was
selected
as
one
of
a
few
autonomous
vehicle
test
sites
in
the
state
of
Ohio
to
where
we
currently
have
Drive
Ohio
and
the
rust
College
of
Engineering
have
a
van
that
I
have
seen
recently
on
Court
Street,
as
well
as
West
Union
Street
on
one
of
the
three
test
Loops
as
they're
going
around
the
stemson
Avenue
project
was
completed.
H
That
was
the
1
3.2,
was
for
the
Simpson
Avenue
Bridge
1.4
for
the
roundabout
secured
an
additional
1
million
for
the
West
Union
Street
project,
and
we
created
the
app
in
the
City
Community
Improvement
Corporation
in
2022
thanks
to
council,
some
other
notable
things
some
of
the
awards
and
recognitions
that
the
cities
received.
This
was
showed
up
in
the
our
local
newspaper
by
the
reporter
who's
here
with
us.
Today.
H
This
year
again,
I
mentioned
the
presidency
for
the
itga
and
appointed
to
the
Ohio
University
president
search
committee,
I
plan
to
do
a
state
of
the
city
address
sometime
in
late
February
or
early
March,
as
we
get
all
the
reports
together
from
the
different
departments,
because
that'll
be
a
big
part
of
the
stadium
state
of
the
city
report.
That
goes
out
which
will
be
bound
and
available
for
anybody
who
cares
to
see
the
highlights
from
all
the
different
departments
here
in
the
city.
B
F
You
I
was
pleased
to
hear
all
of
that
progress,
particularly
those
environmental
accomplishments
and
sustainability,
is
such
an
important
part
of
our
vision
for
Athens
future
and
I'm
curious
about
resolution
that
our
Council
adopted
in
my
earliest
days,
joining
on
becoming
plastic
free
by
2023
and
we're
now
in
2023
and
I'm.
Curious
about
your
perspective
on
our
ability
to
pursue
that
notion.
H
I
we
we
will
attain
that
this
year.
As
a
matter
of
fact,
Andrew
chickie,
Deputy
sort
of
safety
director
is
compiling
a
slate
that
will
go
before
Council
for
the
approval
of
all
the
events
here
in
the
city
of
Athens,
where
we
have
street
closures
and
and
well
most
of
its
street
closures,
because
it
requires
Council
action
and
one
of
the
things
that
he
has
been
doing
is
with
every
event
organizer
informing
them
that
there
will
be
no
plastic
cups,
there'll
be
no
plastic
Cutlery.
H
Everything
will
have
to
be
aluminum
cups
if
they
want
to
serve
something
in
a
cup.
No
water
bottles,
no
plastic
bottles.
So
we're
pretty
clear
with
event
organizers
in
terms
of
not
having
for
City,
sanctioned
events
having
any
Plastics,
so
I
think
we're
going
to
attain.
It.
I
know
that
we're
going
to
it's
just
something
that
we're
going
to
mandate,
that
organizers
make
sure
that
they're
using
Cutlery
they
can
be
bamboo.
They
can
be
anything
that
is
compostable
and
but
not
plastic,
as
well
as
anything
containing
a
beverage.
F
You
and
just
one
more
question
about
looking
forward
to
the
report
of
state
of
the
city
in
late
February.
To
what
extent
would
it
be
possible
to
organize
some
of
those
reports
from
the
different
departments
in
a
way
that
shows
where
progress
has
been
made
in
line
with
goals
in
Athens
2040,
comprehensive
plan?
We.
H
Can
explore
that
to
make
sure
that
anything
we've
been
able
to
address
that
is
in
that
comprehensive
plan?
I
like
I
like
that
idea
a
lot
you
know
the
comprehensive
plan
plan
was
codified,
not
that
long
ago,
so
it'll
be
interesting
to
see
if
we
have
hit
some
of
our
marks
that
are
in
the
comprehensive
plan,
but
I'll
make
sure
the
department
heads
highlight
something
that
does
contribute
the
objectives
of
the
comprehensive
plan.
Thank
you
very
much.
Yeah.
That's
wonderful,
great
idea.
Thank
you.
B
C
C
Thank
you,
president,
nicely
and
I,
don't
believe
we're
able
to
suspend
The
Rules
tonight,
because
we
don't
have
five
minutes.
Thank
you,
but
I
would
like
to
say
to
council
that
these
are
prior
year
bills,
so
we
would
like
to
rush
push
these
through
as
soon
as
possible
so
that
they
can
be
paid
so
hopefully
at
our
next
regular
meeting.
Thank
you.
C
B
And
we'll
move
on
to
announcements
and
other
businesses
business
and
as
council
member
Krell
noted,
we
will
be
having
a
meeting
next
week.
It
will
be
a
committee
meeting
at
this
point.
They
will
be
having.
We
now
have
some
motions
and
are
there
any
other
announcements
before
I
move
on
to
the
motions
we
have
three
to
make?
One
is
a
motion
to
accept
the
November
2022
Financial
reports
so
moved.
Second,
okay,
all
those
in
favor
signify
by
saying
aye.
D
B
H
B
C
A
F
B
Opposed
nay,
motion
carries
and
we
thank
her
in
advance
for
the
service.
We
now
have
an
opportunity
for
citizens
to
speak
on
any
matter
that
was
not
addressed
on
the
agenda
tonight
and
no
I've
seen
them
now.
Nobody
who
the
audience
member
is
not
interested.
So
thank
you,
and
we
can
now
adjourn
if
we
have
a
motion
to
do
so
so
lived.