Changes are coming to the city of Athens’ Environmental and Sustainability Commission.
The two-year-old commission — founded to lend city officials advice on sustainable energy initiatives — will be expanded from seven members to nine, with the additional two members being residents from outside of the city.
That change, Democratic 4th Ward Councilwoman Christine Fahl said, hopefully will offer commission members a more comprehensive view of environmental concerns facing the region — not just those existing in the city’s borders.
Fahl, who also serves as council’s representative on the commission, said the commission requested changes because of regional environmental implications of city policymaking.
“The commission has suggested that the fair thing to do is to have elected members outside of the city,” she said.
Athens City Mayor Paul Wiehl agreed that the change would be a worthwhile endeavour since, as he jokingly said, “The environment seems to go outside of the city” from time-to-time.
City council members announced the new members of the commission Monday during their regular meeting.
The first new member of the commission will be Tess Finney, an Ohio University graduate student who has worked with OU’s Office of Sustainability and has been a resident of Ohio University’s “Ecohouse.”
The other new member will be Meredith Price-Mullins, a biology teacher at Athens High School.
Fahl introduced the amended membership requirements and the two potential new appointees during last week’s council committee meetings, but neither the appointees nor amended membership were approved until this week’s session.
Fahl said that similar layouts have already been successfully implemented in several other Ohio local governments.
The commission meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 5:15 p.m in the City Building.
