Athens County Commissioners met Tuesday morning to discuss the possibility of installing a visitor’s center on Court Street.
The Athens County Commissioners and the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau are discussing how to create a visitors center on the first floor of the county’s government building, 15 S. Court St., by mid-March.
Paige Alost, executive director of the Visitor’s Bureau, was present at the county commissioners meeting Tuesday morning to discuss the project, which has been previously deliberated by her and County Commissioner Chris Chmiel.
“Me and Chris have been talking about this for a while, and we thought this is the year to put the plan in motion,” Alost said.
Alost mentioned the goal is to install a large monitor in the ground-level window of the building, as well as an area displaying brochures for activities around the county.
“We are looking to put in a digital display right in the front, a couple large maps of the county on the wall and some brochures about local activities,” Alost added. “We want to connect with the people — real human interaction.”
Both Chmiel and Alost stressed the importance of connecting with visitors, especially in a college town.
“It’s an underutilized space, and it can be very useful for future visitors of the county,” Chmiel said.
The goal is to have the center set up before Ohio University’s Mom’s Weekend in April.
“There are some big weekends coming up soon so we want to be prepared,” Alost said. “Having this visitors center will help with weekends like Bobcat Student Orientation, football games, family visits and the Halloween party.”
Alost also said she’s appreciative of the commissioners for their support and for the opportunity.
“We are incredibly appreciative of the commissioners’ offering, and hopefully we can quickly hammer out the details of the contract to start working on this project,” Alost added.
The director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services Bob Gallagher also made an appearance at Tuesday morning’s meeting.
Gallagher and the commissioners discussed the resignation of an employee at the department.
The former employee left his position to accept an unspecified position with OU.
“I’m not sure why he left for OU; I guess people just move on,” Gallagher said.
County commissioners also met with Dan Pfeiffer, director of Athens County 911, in regards to his request for dispatcher training for current emergency service workers.
The commissioners approved his proposal for the EmergiTech training. EmergiTech is a public safety software company out of Columbus.
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