Athens council approves consent calendar including equipment purchases, sets public hearing on 122-acre rezone

The Athens City Council on July 28 approved a consent calendar that included multiple equipment and vehicle purchases, a surplus declaration, a zoning-board reappointment and the setting of a Sept. 8 public hearing on a conditional rezone of roughly 122.02 acres near U.S. Highway 72 and Cambridge Lane.

The consent calendar passed by roll call vote, 5-0. Items approved included travel and education expenses for street-department staff ($631.86) and for water-services personnel ($5,007.50); the reappointment of Jim Earnest to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a three‑year term; declaring a 1997 Ford F‑700 wastewater collections truck surplus and authorizing its public auction; and several purchases of equipment and vehicles.

Why it matters: the purchases and the rezoning public hearing involve city capital budgets and…