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Athens Municipal Arts Commission seeks larger membership; council committee raises residency and voting questions
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Summary
The AMAC proposed expanding from seven to nine members and changing residency rules so five members must be city electors and four may reside in the county. Committee members expressed confusion over current code language and concerns about non-city residents voting on city projects; the item was held in committee for legal review and further AMAC discussion.
Kelly Reese, speaking for the Athens Municipal Arts Commission (AMAC), asked the committee to amend the city code to allow the commission to grow from seven to nine members and to permit up to four members to live in Athens County while requiring at least five city electors on the panel.
Reese said the expansion is intended to bolster volunteer capacity for arts programming and to align AMAC with other boards that allow some county residents to serve. Committee members questioned the current code wording and whether the existing ordinance actually permits county residents to vote on AMAC recommendations; Council members suggested the code language as written may allow non‑city residents to be voting members, which conflicts with the commission’s current practice and the mayor’s stated preference that non-city members not vote on city projects.
Members agreed to return the proposal to committee after the law director and the mayor clarify how the code reads and whether the proposed language should be adjusted to limit voting rights for non-city residents or adopt an alternative ratio (for example, 6 city / 3 county). The committee took no vote to advance the ordinance at this meeting.
