Correction appended.
Driverless vehicles could one day be on the streets of Athens.
Athens City Council members voted on Monday night to allow the city of Athens to enter into an agreement with DriveOhio, an Ohio Department of Transportation initiative seeking to increase smart vehicle investments in the state.
Athens City Council Member Peter Kotses, D-At Large, said that could mean autonomous vehicles on local roads.
“This is for having a test loop within the city of Athens looking at a driverless vehicle,” Kotses said.
Kotses clarified although the vehicle would be “driverless,” someone would be stationed inside to control the vehicle.
Athens has come up in statewide discussions regarding smart vehicles, Athens Mayor Steve Patterson said. Patterson recently attended a meeting with state officials in Marysville about the projects.
“There were several mentions of Athens in that meeting,” Patterson said. “We are certainly being looked at as a potential test site.”
Patterson said autonomous vehicles could help expand access to rural areas, and would help Athens.
The agreement doesn’t mean anything is final, Kotses said, and more legislation and specifics will eventually follow.
Council members also passed a resolution asking that some of Ohio’s nearly $2.7 billion rainy day fund be invested back in local governments.
Council President Chris Knisely said in a previous Post report Athens has lost funding from the state since 2006. Knisely said Athens received $815,063 in Local Government Fund money in 2006 compared with $363,481 in 2018.
“For me this is about local control,” Council Member Chris Fahl, D-4th Ward, said. “Our local government funds have been cut year after year.”
Fahl said the funding cuts make it more difficult to provide services to Athens citizens.
Councilman Jeff Risner, D-2nd Ward, brought up a recent New York Times report in which Ohio Governor John Kasich disputed negative effects to his funding and tax cuts.
“We have a constant whining from local governments,” Kasich told the Times. “They want handouts. They want it to be easy.”
Risner said municipalities should have the money back to avoid increasing taxes and costs for their citizens.
“You’re damn right I want it,” Risner said. “We cannot continually raise taxes on our community to make up for these shortfalls.”
State officials have previously said despite the dwindling local government fund, the majority of Ohio’s budget still goes toward communities.
Council members also heard a presentation from Wayne National Forest Supervisor Anthony Scardina about the forest’s new planning process. The Forest is updating its Land Management Plan, a process that can take years, Scardina said.
The process is currently in an assessment phase, and Scardina said feedback from the public and scientific data are considered.
Heather Cantino, a member of the board of directors of the Buckeye Environmental Council, criticized Wayne National Forest for allowing land to be logged and leased to industries, and called on the forest to adopt an environmentally friendly plan.
“The Wayne must adopt a new plan, appropriate for the 21st century,” Cantino said.
The Forest has been criticized for leasing land for oil and gas manufacturing, according to a previous Post report.
Correction: A previous version of this report incorrectly spelled Peter Kotses' name. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
