City council will meet Monday and discuss Halloween, the Armory, and vacation time.
Halloween is a little more than a month away, but Athens City Council is preparing for it early this year.
Councilwoman Michele Papai, D-3rd Ward, will continue the reading of three ordinances, one of which is “in anticipation of a large number of people converging on downtown Athens,” according to the agenda for Monday night’s meeting.
However, Barbara Stout, owner of Athens Underground, which is on North Court Street, isn't pleased with the Athens Uptown Business Association Trick or Treat being scheduled on the Monday preceding the Halloween Block Party.
At the Sept. 8 city council meeting, Stout voiced her concerns.
“I have no other choice but to shut down due to traffic issues," Stout said at the Sept. 8 meeting. "I can’t have kids running down the stairs into my business.”
At one point last year, she almost had to call the cops over two argumentative parents, she said.
Stout has reached out to Papai in effort to change the date of the Trick or Treat to Nov. 2.
To ensure the usual ordinances are in place for the Trick or Treat, the ordinances must be voted on on Monday.
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"The city administration said they could accommodate either day," Papai said.
However, the Athens Uptown Business Association has voted to keep the Oct. 26 date, Papai said.
The ordinances will allow for a portion of Court Street to close, bands to perform and vendors to open up shop on the street. All are typical ordinances for an Athens Halloween.
The ordinances are slated to be voted on on Monday.
An ordinance authorizing roof and brick repairs on the Athens armory will also have its second reading this week.
Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl said the roof has already been repaired twice in the 20 years the city has owned the historic building and the mortar between the bricks has started to decay and require attention.
“The roof was probably done two or three years ago,” Wiehl said. “The first time it was done poorly.”
Wiehl said about 10 years ago the Athens Historical Society looked into renovating the armory into a museum that was estimated to have cost $3 million to $5 million.
But it would probably take only $1 million to renovate the building to “stable conditions," he said. Wiehl said the building will require a new heating, plumbing and electrical system as well as ADA accessibility.
But until the building is in better condition, no plans can be finalized, Wiehl said.
Finally, the entirety of city council will pass a resolution affirming the authority to set fringe benefits, including vacation time, solely by city council.
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Originally proposed by Councilman Jeff Risner, D-2nd Ward, the resolution now says it will be proposed by all members of city council.
This resolution is in response to the discontent among city employees after Athens City Auditor Kathy Hecht’s office announced the dismissal of accrued vacation time as of Oct. 3 in a memo sent earlier in August.
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