Athens City Council met Monday night to discuss a city-county agreement for sewerage line extension to replace an aging infrastructure.
Current systems are failing in the Radford Road area near Margaret Creek, which is a tributary to the Hocking River. The county and the city have previously been in dispute over funding and maintenance, but last night council members discussed a draft proposal detailing how the extension would be paid for.
The county is going to be responsible for the cost of any new infrastructure while the city would continue to be the supplier of the service.
Councilmember Chris Fahl, D-4th Ward, said her main concern was establishing the sewer for growth and said the county is not interested in any zoning.
But she said they do not want this extension to spark any curiosity with companies wanting to build in the area. There are not city taxes out there, she said, and they are concerned about businesses wanting to take advantage of that.
Right now, the area is mostly small single-family homes.
“We have come up with a reasonable draft expectation and contract,” Fahl said.
The county will take charge in installing the infrastructure necessary to extend sewage to the area. There will be a monitoring station that will conduct testing four times a month to make sure everything is balanced.
Their main priority is to make sure the Margaret Creek area is a healthy environment.
“This is the single most important health improvement we could make for the Athens County Area,” Councilwoman Chris Knisely, D-at large, said.
The city’s Community Development Block Grant will fund renovations on a city-owned house on Richland Avenue. The city wants to make the house wheelchair accessible, as well as renovate it for a more universal design.
The project will cost $75,000 and they have 18 months to complete it.
Steve Patterson, D-at large, said he wants this house to be a home for anyone.
“From an eight–month-old child to an 88-year-old individual,” Patterson said. “This (design) is all encompassing.”
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Julie Weller contributed to this report.
