Athens City Council met Monday to discuss sewer rates and construction on curb ramps and received a resignation letter from Board of Zoning Appeals member Joe Krause.
To start the meeting, Rusty Rittenhouse of Lavelle and Rittenhouse Attorneys at Law represented Krause at the podium and read his client’s letter of resignation.
“I’ve always felt incredibly indebted to this wonderful community that has been so good to me and my family, and being on the board has been my way of giving back,” Rittenhouse read from Krause’s letter.
Krause, a local landlord who held his position on the BZA for five years, had his reappointment tabled at Council’s Sept. 16 meeting.
In an investigation by United Athens County Tenants from November 2022, a documented record shows Krause’s consistent refusal to comply with city housing safety standards and putting tenants’ lives at risk, Damon Krane, a member of UACT, said in the letter.
Councilmember Alan Swank had only found out about Krause’s resignation two minutes before the meeting started.
“Mr. Krause reflected on many of the emails that came to Council this week and all of that, and I respect the decision he made,” Swank said. “I respect the time he spent on the Board of Zoning Appeals.”
Micah McCarey, councilmember at large, discussed an ordinance on first reading to raise sewer rates in Athens to cover the construction costs of past projects. If passed, the ordinance would increase residential sewer rates per 1,000 gallons from $6 to $6.18, commercial from $6.79 to $6.99, and industrial from $7.49 to $7.71.
“A lot of it is based upon the debt that we have for renovations at both the water treatment plant and the wastewater treatment plant,” Athens Mayor Steve Patterson said.
Swank explained Athens’s sewer and water rates in a 2022 survey by Ohio State University on behalf of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The survey included 300 municipalities in Ohio and showed that Athens sewer rates were about 13% higher than the state average.
However, with Athens’ low water rates, the average rate of water and sewer costs combined was $5 per month less than the average in Ohio.
“We’ve done a very, very good job with our water rates to keep that down,” Swank said.
Council passed multiple ordinances on first reading, including an increase in non-union compensation for current water, sewer, street and recreation supervisors, as well as the authorization to purchase a salt truck from Belpre.
Council also suspended the rules to pass an ordinance on first reading, introduced by Councilmember Solveig Spjeldnes, allowing the service-safety director to accept bids and enter a contract for the construction of citywide curb ramps.
“Just for clarification, so you know what curb ramps are, you know the corners so that wheelchairs and people who have any mobility issues can get up on the curbs,” Spjeldnes said. “This is a great way to address their needs and make the whole city safer for everyone.”
Patterson said the funding for that project came from an Ohio Department of Transportation grant, which was over $1 million.
The meeting ended after the Council announced its resolution supporting Issue 1, the Citizens Not Politicians amendment, which would create a citizen-led, transparent commission to draw legislative districts. The resolution was first brought to the Council by the local nonprofit Indivisible Appalachian Ohio.
“In a democracy, every vote must count the same, making sure all voters, no matter who they are or what their political views may be, have equal representation, and whereas this Athens City Council opposes creating legislative district maps in Ohio that put political parties' interests ahead of those of voters,” councilmember Beth Clodfelter, D-At Large, said.
Chris Miles, a member of Indivisible who has been urging for this announcement, responded to the Council’s decision.
“Right now, politicians have put Appalachian Ohio on a path to extraction and development that displaces working families, a path where a rising cost of living outpaces local families wages,” Miles said. “This plan for our communities is at odds with citizens' desires for equitable investment, equal representation and real action key issues that put working people first.”
