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Votes at a glance: Athens City Council adopts two ordinances, approves minutes and credit-card report
Summary
At the Jan. 13 regular session following committee meetings, Athens City Council approved minutes, adopted two emergency ordinances (supporting OML challenge to AT&T tariff filing and authorizing contingency legal representation in insulin/generic drug/PFAS MDLs), and approved the November 2024 credit-card transactions.
Athens City Council took several recorded actions during its Jan. 13 regular session after committee meetings.
Approved minutes: Council approved minutes for the regular sessions of Dec. 2 and Dec. 16, 2024 and a special session of Dec. 9, 2024. The motion was moved and seconded and approved by voice vote.
Ordinance 04-25 — OML challenge to AT&T tariff application (adopted, emergency): Council adopted an ordinance authorizing the city to participate with the Ohio Municipal League (OML) to challenge an AT&T tariff filing at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). The tariff filing would, if allowed, require municipalities to pay relocation costs for communications facilities moved in public rights-of-way; council found the filing “directly changes and significantly impacts” how the city manages public rights-of-way and declared the ordinance an emergency. Council moved to suspend rules and adopted the ordinance by voice vote.
Ordinance 05-25 — Legal services contract (adopted, emergency): Council adopted an ordinance authorizing the mayor to execute a contingency legal-services contract with Grossman & Kelly LLP to prosecute civil claims on behalf of the city in multidistrict litigation (MDL) concerning insulin price-fixing (MDL 3080), generic-drug price-fixing (MDL 2724), and negligence claims involving PFAS contamination (MDL 2873). The ordinance was introduced, the rules were suspended and the ordinance passed on Jan. 13. The contract is contingency-based (firm’s compensation contingent on recovery); council members debated the time pressure to join the MDLs before an announced filing deadline and several members warned about joining quickly without additional review, but the ordinance passed.
Credit-card transactions: Council approved the November 2024 credit-card transactions summarized for council review.
The Jan. 13 session also included a number of first readings and committee referrals (for example: East State Street signal improvements, Welcome Home Ohio appropriation and bridge rehabilitation ordinances), but these items were introduced for first reading and were not voted into final passage on Jan. 13.
