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Athens City Council approves housing parcel conveyance, consultant contract, EV chargers and festival street closures
Summary
Council passed a package of third-reading ordinances May 4 that included conveyance of a Hudson Avenue parcel for an 8-home owner-occupied housing project, a $120,000 one-year agreement with consulting firm Sunday Creek Horizons, approval of festival street closures (including a Porchfest finale), and acceptance of potential EV charging stations from SOPEC.
Council President McCarrie presided over a May 4 Athens City Council meeting at which members approved several third-reading ordinances addressing housing, consulting services, festivals and electric-vehicle infrastructure.
The council unanimously adopted Ordinance 29-26 to convey a surplus city parcel on Hudson Avenue to Community Building Partners LLC under the Welcome Home Ohio program. Council member Swank, who introduced the ordinance, described it as “the first step and the necessary step to begin a first tangible affordable housing project, in the city on a small scale, 8 homes at the end of Hudson Street.” Administration confirmed the project uses $2,000,000 in state funding and that the homes are intended to be owner-occupied.
The council also adopted Ordinance 30-26, authorizing a one-year agreement with Sunday Creek Horizons for consulting, grant administration and lobbying services. Council member Swank defended the $120,000 contract by saying those functions would otherwise require hiring one or two staff members at a higher total cost and pointed to previous work the firm did coordinating funding for local projects. Mayor Patterson cited past outcomes he attributed to the firm’s work, including helping secure a $2.5 million state grant for a fire-training center.
During public comment on that ordinance, a resident raised concern about a reported partnership between Sunday Creek Horizons and a private lithium developer and urged transparency about the firm’s activities beyond promoting EV infrastructure. The resident said the partnership involved “Lithium Harvest” and asked that such relationships be disclosed; council members recorded the comment but proceeded to adopt the ordinance.
Council amended and adopted Ordinance 31-26 to add late street-closure requests for several community festivals, including a Porchfest finale on Sunday, May 17 at Jackie O’s Taproom. The council suspended the rules to act on the request and approved the closure for 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., with cleanup allowing reopening by 11:00 p.m.
On sustainability, council approved Ordinance 32-26 to accept electric-vehicle charging stations from the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC) if the grant application is successful. Locations mentioned by council and administration included the municipal parking garage at 13 East Washington Street, parking along Armory Street near the refurbished armory, and the Athens Fire Department headquarters at 120 East Stimson Avenue. Mayor Patterson noted the city’s prior investments in resilience—including a 2.1-megawatt community solar array and a microgrid at the water-treatment plant—and said the chargers would be a further step toward reducing emissions.
Votes at a glance - Ordinance 29-26 (Hudson Ave conveyance for Welcome Home Ohio project): moved by Council member Swank, seconded; adopted unanimously. (Owner-occupied, 8 homes; state funding noted.) - Ordinance 30-26 (one-year agreement with Sunday Creek Horizons, $120,000): moved by Council member Swank, seconded; adopted unanimously. (Public commenter raised questions about a lithium partnership.) - Ordinance 31-26 (amendment to street-closure ordinance; add Porchfest finale May 17): moved by Council member Claude Felder, seconded; rules suspended and amendment approved; ordinance adopted. - Ordinance 32-26 (accept EV charging stations from SOPEC if grant awarded): moved and adopted unanimously. (Locations identified; signage and app-based availability discussed.) - Ordinances 33-26, 34-26, 35-26, 38-26, 39-26: adopted on third reading; these covered reappropriation of pass-through payments, staffing and professional-services adjustments for the environmental coordinator, a thermal-imaging equipment appropriation, replacement of a 2007 dump truck for the sewer department, and an annual backup prisoner-housing agreement with Washington County.
Council also took first reading of Ordinance 44-26 to expand the Athens Municipal Arts Commission from seven to nine members and amended the proposed language to clarify residency requirements (see separate item below).
The meeting concluded with announcements about upcoming festivals and local projects; a resident, Mary Abel, thanked the city and contractor Rumpke for post-commencement cleanup downtown. President McCarrie adjourned the meeting at 8:03 p.m.
