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Athens Municipal Arts Commission asks council to loosen residency requirement to fill vacancies
Summary
AMAC leaders told the City & Safety Services committee they would like city code adjusted so one additional township-resident could serve, arguing low applicant numbers from the city proper have left seats vacant; council members urged more outreach and advised caution before changing city code.
Kelly Riesbeck, former chair of the Athens Municipal Arts Commission, told the City & Safety Services committee that AMAC is near full strength but is prevented from filling a vacant seat because the commission’s residency rule requires a larger share of members to live inside city limits than the current applicant pool provides. Riesbeck said AMAC’s proposal would flip the existing residency split—allowing three members who must live in the city and four who may reside outside the corporation limits but within Athens Township—to widen the pool of eligible candidates.
Riesbeck and interim chair David Delega said they have used city social channels and their own networks to recruit without success and that allowing one additional township-eligible seat would help the commission remain active and avoid long vacancies. Riesbeck said AMAC’s work—mural walks, traffic wraps and an Athens Poet Laureate program—is intended to ‘‘make the arts visible in Athens’’ and does not require professional artists to serve.
Committee members and staff pressed for more outreach before changing city code. Member Alan Swank said he prefers a majority of commission members be city residents when recommendations could involve spending city tax dollars; he offered to help post recruitment notices to neighborhood Facebook pages and the Far East Side Neighborhood Association newsletter. Chair Jessica Thomas signaled the committee could wait and asked staff to gather comparative data on residency ratios across commissions and examine recruitment options, including student representatives, before advancing a code change.
Director Stone indicated AMAC’s liaison has been largely supportive but recommended additional information about tax implications and consistency with other boards and commissions.
The committee did not advance a change to city code at the meeting; Thomas said the disposal-of-equipment item would proceed to next week’s legislation and suggested returning AMAC to a future committee meeting after additional outreach and information are collected.
