City Council - Regular Meeting

good afternoon and welcome to Athens City Council today is Monday August 3rd and we are starting our regular session tonight with a few committee meetings first we are going to kick off tonight with a slight agenda change we are moving the data center moratorium to committee of the whole and we will start with that I'm going to start by—everyone will remain on the dais for this. And I'm going to read some remarks or comments from President McCary, who was under the weather and could not be here today. He said at the beginning of Monday's committee meeting, he is inviting a motion to amend the agenda, moving the topic to the Committee of the Whole. His explanation for this is that the moratorium is a temporary citywide safeguard involving several areas of Council responsibility. Because this concerns utility capacity, infrastructure, public safety, municipal finances, neighboring properties, and environmental impacts, and because the topic crosses multiple committee jurisdictions and all council members will be asked to consider the legislation, the Committee of the Whole provides the most appropriate forum for shared public discussion. So we are going to move on to, I'm going to introduce moratorium and then we will go through a normal round of input from the administration the public and members of Committee of the Whole I am introducing this and I'm just going to start off briefly with how this started into council watching all the news regarding data centers council received an email from Michelle Pappy inquiring if there had been any consideration and addressing them within the city I replied to her email and agreed that being proactive on this would be the best plan for the City and to give the City time to study the situation while protecting citizen voices. I considered other areas' movements on this and asked the Law Director to consider moratorium language to be ready as Council resumed. I believe the public has been very vocal about the desire to be informed on any potential data centers and to have time to determine potential impacts. A one-year moratorium will direct and give the Planning Commission time to study the impacts on data center land uses and provide any update to city zoning they deem appropriate. This also gives up to a year for citizens to be heard and allows for due diligence to be done on any proposed changes. As with anything anticipated to have an impact on the city and land use, looking at city zoning code to shape and regulate our community. I believe this to be an urgent and necessary step for the City of Athens. And I'll move now to input from the administration.

Thank you, President Pro Tem. I am glad council is considering this piece of legislation tonight for a sundry of reasons. I think most importantly, the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, both of whom are organizations that I belong to, the city belongs to. The city belongs to the National League of Cities. This has been a conversation going on for a while now within both those organizations, recognizing that data centers are coming at us fast and furious in a lot of ways, and also recognizing the different elements that you just described, the impacts that communities are seeing, but also recognizing now the industry is looking more and more to rural areas in the United States Areas throughout the Appalachian region and so I support council on bringing this forward tonight I'd be really interested to hear from any public comment that is here tonight On this particular topic, but I think a moratorium is the way to go in my opinion If this were to pass as a moratorium, the city will get to work immediately upon passage to start working with a firm that will help us look at our code, look at our code thoroughly, and in particular, our zoning code, to see and identify areas within our zoning to where we need more support in how we go about doing business here in the city of Athens.

All right, anything else? And we have anyone from the public who would like to speak, please come to the podium. You'll have three minutes and just please state your name.

our water use and build a sustainable economy. And I think that this data center moratorium supports all of those goals in that plan. As you probably know, data centers use a tremendous amount of energy. And if they are not cooled using electricity, they additionally use a tremendous amount of water. The chips in these facilities can either be cooled with air conditioning, essentially, electricity, or with water. Some have grid-tied power, which raises the rates for everyone else very highly, potentially. Or they bring their own power, which is in the form, generally, of gas turbines, which would then increase the city's energy use and greenhouse gas consumption. The other thing I want to point out is that a number of these facilities rely on backup power in order in case there's a power outage. That often takes the form of diesel generators. There is a data center in Northern Virginia, a very highly populated area, that went offline due to a power outage for 24 hours and they ran diesel generators continuously. There's photo and video of just these clouds of diesel fumes coming off of this data center. And additional modeling has shown that air quality deteriorates. in up to a 20-mile radius downwind of these facilities. So, for all of those reasons, I believe a moratorium is appropriate and I'd be very happy to work with the City on long-term solutions. Thank you for listening to my comment.

Thank you. Anyone else like to speak? Step on up.

Hi, my name is Aurora Sharlow. I live on Grosvenor Street, and I work as the digital archivist at Ohio University, although I'm not speaking in my capacity in that regard tonight, only as a citizen. But I do want to point out that data centers are intimately tied to the work that I do in my day-to-day life. I like to think of myself as informed. I think the last set of comments that we had were excellent. I would like to add in terms of water usage that even data centers that use recirculating water or are cooled by air conditioning use more water on a state level than others because they're also pulling from the the grid the power source that uh they're they're pulled from so water usage increases no matter what i also want to add that somebody with a history of respiratory illness the potential for air pollution in the city is extremely concerning to me and

would motivate my decision to stay in athens as a more permanent resident thank you thank you come on up hey my name is austin markwell uh i live on nottingham drive 15 nottingham drive uh i against this i'm sure anybody who knows me on council knows I'm not going to give you any other reasons than what I've already been laid forth. I would just, in what I saw in wording, I saw that it was limited to artificial intelligence data centers. I would like for that to be expanded to just data centers in general. Just with data storage capacity being a different thing than AI, I could see somebody trying to circumvent in that regard.

Anyone else like to speak?

I'm Rob Delage. I live here in the city of Athens, 124 Morris Avenue, speaking just for myself. I commend council for bringing this up as a potential moratorium here. I think that's a good choice. Athens Township just passed a moratorium on, I think it was Saturday, to try and address the lack of Zoning code to deal with data centers. They like ours have no definitions for what a data center is they have No controls in the in the code to deal with this kind of facility or even allow it for that matter I will say that I'm not necessarily Opposed to all data centers. I think that done, right? It's maybe it's it could be a good idea and There could be good economic benefit if we check all the boxes and make sure it's addressing all our concerns. That is possible, I think, and maybe in the future it will be more possible. So just excluding them completely for all eternity may not be the right approach. One thing I'll say, though, is that what Austin just pointed out, I think is a good point, that the title of this moratorium has artificial intelligence data centers in it. And if you read further down, I didn't see that. It just says data center definition. It doesn't say AI. I think maybe striking it from the title is a good idea. This particular data center that's come up as an inquiry from a company in New York is not specifically an AI data center. Not that it could be, but it seems unlikely based on the kind of work they do. So as just an example, the one inquiry that's come through was probably not an AI data center specifically. So I think that that adjustment might make sense here. Again, I think that we need to get our ducks in a row and this moratorium will help us do that, help us adjust our code, make sure we have the controls and tools in place to ensure that we can have a good product if we do have such a thing come to the city as a proposal in the future. There's something else I was going to say and I can't remember what it was. I think that'll do it for now. Thanks.

Thank you. Would anyone else like to speak? All right. I'll now ask for members of council who would like to weigh in.

Beth? I agree with some comments that were said, I think by Mr. DeLac, that it's probably good that this doesn't last forever, but I wonder if we are limited to a one-year moratorium.

I believe we are limited to one year, and we could

look to renew it again next year but I don't think we can just have it you couldn't but it is limited to a year for the city to move forward and study maybe hire someone from the outside an expert to take a look at our zoning code and then in a year maybe we will have an idea of what we need to do we've done it with our code so and I don't see why you couldn't extend a moratorium beyond this if we aren't at that point.

Thank you.

Member Wood?

Yeah. Thank you all for coming tonight. Thank you for introducing this item. Thanks to Michelle, my neighbor and former member of council, for bringing this up. I think that's great. And I think there's no doubt that we'll pass this. I can't see a world we don't. What I want the folks to take away from this is, again, that this won't stop that other data center. This won't do that. And I am concerned that the headline will be, you know, that we passed this and people will get a false sense of security about it that we've done the thing. And so the independent did great reporting on how this can circumvent such controls simply by going to a more rural area. um so it's good that we're doing this that's great um i hope that people continue to stay involved and take it to the other bodies county commissioners other folks that do have agency over the whole county um to actually make this a um something something broader it'd be great if we could do some three mile thing out but we can't that's not something we can do so um I would really like to make sure that the headline isn't, hey, we've done it, we've won. It is maybe a notch for the good guys, but yeah, let's not have a false sense of security about it. Thank you.

Member Isherwood?

Yeah, I want to thank everyone for coming, and I agree with all the sentiments expressed tonight. And I agree with Member Wood, and I agree with it, it's still a very good thing that we do this. It's a moratorium, it's not a ban, but it is a moratorium to say that we as a community and our county are not ready for this nature of development that would have such massive environmental changes and trauma for our county. to say developers who are looking at our region to say that the voice of the City Council of Athens and the community is, we're not ready for this. This is not a location where you will find right now that we are able to accommodate what you're looking for. And I think this is, as I said, I agree with Member Wood, I don't see any world where this doesn't pass council very, very quickly.

Anyone else? I have a couple questions for the law director then. If we would like to amend this to remove artificial intelligence from the title, from the third whereas, the fourth whereas, and the fifth whereas, do we just need to do that here? You can just do it right now because... It's still in committee? Right, it's still in committee.

But I do agree that those are the places it should be removed.

Okay, so we'll remove all of that. Do we what?

Do you have a motion to do that? No.

And Jessica's also in 6 and 7. Is it in 6 and 7? Yeah, I see it.

Point of clarity, sorry to interrupt. I feel like it is actually covered in section one because it doesn't say, it just says data center means facility used for digital data. I think that already, the meat of it in section one does not say artificial intelligence, it has all the other stuff. So I feel like it's already- It's already covered. Well covered. It is.

Yeah. I think so. All right, so we can do that. Do you have any other additional comments?

Mayor? I would suggest as a friendly suggestion to you adding a section in there that gives the mayor or the service safety director the authority to extend the moratorium by an additional 12 months if we haven't come to firm conclusion with the study with the external firm that will look into our zoning code to put protections in place if we haven't gotten there yet, giving me or again the service safety director the authority to extend for an additional 12 months. I would hate to be boxed into 12 months, which is fine, and then come back to council at month 11, actually month 10 and a half, to say we're not quite there yet. Would you be willing to extend it? Let's just bake it right into the ordinance itself. That way it's there. And I or the service safety director will keep council 100% informed and the public as to how this is evolving over time. And if we have to make that extension give council plenty of time to recognize that we do have to enact the extension for the moratorium Okay, I just said a whole lot Yeah, probably in section 2 does anyone in council have any Opinion on that or anything?

They'd like to win. So if we want to add that I'm guessing section 2 imposing a temporary Moratorium not to exceed one year on the grant granting and issuing of any permits as well as the receipt and processing of applications for permits under the city Athens City codified ordinances for proposed data centers within the corporate limits of Athens and add in there the mayor or and or City Safety Service director is authorized to extend the moratorium by 12 months and An additional 12 months.

In the event of...

In the event of not finding enough, or I guess not having enough time to have conclusive, something less wordy than that, probably. I am not your low-wordage person.

Yeah, not concluding the study. Not concluding the study, okay.

And the mayor will inform council of setting...

Wonder which section it should it could best go in section 3 and section 4 would also be candidates for that I Kind of like section you think section 4.

Yeah, that would yeah, that would work. Well discusses the moratorium the Planning Commission Perform due diligence on data centers And at the end of that should the mayor and or city service safety director Not feel the study is concluded. May extend for an additional 12 months.

Yeah.

Any additional wordage or comments on that? All right. Seeing no additional comments, is there any objection to moving this item forward for first reading?

All right, we will move it forward.

Moving on to the next item on our, we are now in Finance and Personnel Committee. I'll just ask everybody to remain at the dais, and we'll just start with committee members to begin discussing Member Clodfelder, Member Wood, and Member Stace. Sorry, Staser. I was not anticipating this much talking. I would have brought more water. First item is the Public Defender Ordinance. This is done annually, but then has a six-month extension that's been done. This just allows the City to enter into an agreement with the Board of Athens County Commissioners for the purpose of obtaining the services of the Public Defender's Office through December 31st, 2026. and to extend said agreement through June 30th, 2027, and declaring an emergency. We do this every 18 months-ish. The last time we did this was in December of 2024. That is now coming to an end, and so we just need to re-sign this contract. Down in Section 2 of this, you'll all see that the mayor is authorized to expend up to $100,000 $20,000 for fiscal year 26-27 in the agreement, up to $54,273 from the 2026 general fund, and up to $65,000 from the 2027 general fund. And those exact numbers are determined once we get to roughly this time next year. Any comments from the mayor's office?

No.

Auditor?

We would like to

Moving along because we do need to get a paid Any questions or comments from the public? And anything from council or members of the committee All right, and is there any objection to moving this forward to first reading All right Moving next to appropriations We have a three tonight We are going to need to amend the 2026 Appropriation Ordinance 12025 from the appropriating from the unappropriated balance $615 to the CDBG Formula Grant Fund 248 to cover property taxes from the sale of 458 Richland Avenue. The city recently sold that property and we sold it for $140,460, I think. So these are just the property taxes that are due to the county for that Will be appropriating sixty four thousand nine hundred and seventy five thousand seventy five and twenty two cents to the PACE fund for the property assessed clean energy loan payment Just as a quick reminder that I sent out to the committee, but for the public the PACE loan fund is a clean energy loan that property owners located within an ESID can put onto their property taxes to then get reimbursed from the state for putting in clean energy. This is processed at the county level with their property taxes assessed at that county level. Everything goes through the normal stages of property taxes. They then pass it on to the city and we pass it on to the state. This is all passed through and no city monies are involved. and we will need to appropriate $1,000 to the parking garage fund for the refund line. Prior to council recess, we did this for $100, and apparently we were very optimistic in the number of refunds we were going to need. So we're going to bump that up a little bit in this appropriation. Any comments from the mayor on this one?

No, I'm glad that you alerted everyone to the PACE financing, that again, it is a pass-through, it is not city, monies in any way shape or form that is going through. This is basically from the county, between the county and the owner of the facility.

Anything from the auditor?

Need to get this one passed because these are just odds and ends that come up over the break while you guys are gone. We just want to stay ahead on this.

Do you have any questions or comments from the public? Anything from members of the committee? And do we have any objections to moving this forward? All right. That ends finance and personnel. We'll move on next to City and Safety Services Committee, chaired by Member Isherwood. And who else is on this committee with you? I have not looked this up.

Member Swank is absent, Member Wood, and Member Almeida.

All right.

We have two items on the agenda tonight on the City and Safety Services Committee. The first is an ordinance authorizing the service safety director to advertise and accept bids where necessary and enter into contracts for design and construction of the community pavilion project number 397. This is phase one and declaring an emergency. So Ryan, can you put up the image? So this is the pavilion for the Athens Farmers Market. This is the first initial stage of this. And instead of me waffling and explaining this and getting some of the details wrong, I'm going to turn it over. The Athens Parks and Rec Director is here as well to provide all the accurate details. So I might just ask her to step up and explain what this ordinance is. Would you be willing to do that?

I'm Katherine Ann Jordan, Director of Arts, Parks, and Recreation, and my work life resides at 701 East State Street. Okay, so we are asking for money to be appropriated to support the first phase of the community pavilion that includes the design costs and the site preparation for the eventual community pavilion. That money would be appropriated from somewhere, Josh Thomas knows. The idea is that we're getting that money reimbursed, the full $300,000 that we're asking for from state-appropriated money. However, we are on a time clock to get that money reimbursed, and so it's very important that we continue moving forward pretty quickly and We have until the end of so the state fiscal year. So June 30th 2027 to either expend the full $300,000 or show that we have and will be able to spend that full $300,000 by the end of that year of their fiscal year. And so what we're asking for is, I guess, twofold, because I'm also respectfully requesting a suspension of the rules as well so that we can get our contracts secured and BDT can move forward with the design because we will have to bid this out, and bidding takes sometimes more than one time. And bidding itself, you have to leave the public bid open to accept bids for... I want to say it's... I think it's two weeks. It might be a little bit longer for construction bids. And then if you don't get a successful bid, then you kind of have to recalibrate, pull yourself together, make some adjustments based on the feedback you get from firms that maybe you've reached out to and said, hey, why didn't you bid on this? I can tell you from experience that the projects that I've had and put out to bid, they don't receive... bidders because it's a low dollar amount. It's not a low dollar amount, but it is a low dollar amount to some of the larger construction firms who are able to put bids on government projects. So I anticipate a little bit of a challenge with the bidding process. But then... Then we have to move into construction, which would be the excavation and removing the old tennis courts and site prep, moving electric to that area. There's already water access, but there's some preparatory things that we need to do so that we can accept a facility when the funds are available.

I'm going to ask us to pass this at the committee and then add it to the agenda this evening and suspend the rules and pass it this evening. I believe that we're entertaining this evening. Mr. Mayor, do you want to add anything?

I do. I know that there's been some questions. The design firm has gone through, under ORC 153.2, the qualifications-based selection criteria. There were two design firms, and so BET was selected. The other thing that is worth mentioning, and I think Director Catherine Ann Jordan mentioned it well, is that under the state capital budget, which is where this money came from, we've got a two-year time frame in which to expense that money. It took us a while to work through some details with Farmers Market, the Farmers Market Board. I know we have Leslie Schaller here tonight, working closely with Leslie Schaller, because there has been comments about, okay, if this goes forward with the 300,000 from the monies that we received from the state, and as money is slowly coming in for the rest of this project, will the city be responsible for additional funding going into this? And the answer to that is no. This commerce pavilion It may take some time to fully realize itself, but I have every confidence in the world with those who are working hard to secure funding as we move forward with this process. This isn't anything new. I have been involved in this for so long, and that's a good thing. I know Leslie Schaller's laughing. I have been deeply involved as a council member and as mayor with recognizing that over farmer's market They have a long history here in the city of Athens, going all the way back to the 70s, of kind of having to bounce around a little bit throughout the city, up on Court Street for a time, and out on East State Street, and back and forth and back and forth. And I think to have this move forward, again, recognizing that the yeoman's work is going to be on the those who are going to seek the funding for this, to have this be a reality, it's a good thing to have happen here in the community of Athens. What I hear from both farmers market attendees, customers, as well as the farmers market vendors, the farmers, the craftsmen, the butchers, the coffee makers, that that site, is so much better than what has been their sights in the past. And so with Director Jordan's work, with the work of the city to sit there and figure out how this is all going to work moving forward in time, I think we will ultimately get there. But if you think about it, this is going on city land. So there's a huge value in where the location is for putting this thing which is why we feel that this $300,000 to start with, both for the engineering as well as site prep on this site, that it'll really get things going in place. I know that the farmers market has been really hard at work with their capital campaign. Capital campaigns are hard, and it will continue to be a process as we move forward, but the community pavilion at the end of the day is going to be a great project here in the city of Athens. It's going to take time.

I would like to add, too, thank you for that, Mayor Patterson, that once the site is prepped, even if it takes another year for the building to become a reality, it's usable. And so we'll be able to use it and program on it, but also the farmer's market will be able to have their vendors, if they wanted to move, That's something that we have talked with them about and had discussions of, would you move over there just so that people could have more parking at the farmer's market? I think that's important. It's not just going to be some unused site until... facility gets constructed on it So and then the pavilion itself, it's a community pavilion You know I had to apply to the National Park Service to get permission for us to construct this facility just because of a deed restriction and the you know main requirements is that it has to still be preserved for community access and recreational resources and which it certainly will outside of the farmer's market hours. And we intend to have summer camp programming there, other kids programming, outdoor fitness classes. People will be able to rent the facility out for events. We can hold events there and have more sheltered area because it is going to be a large facility. So it really opens up the door to a lot of opportunities for our community to enjoy this space as well. do you have other questions that I can help you understand? I know Paul had mentioned there might have been a question about why the suspension of the rules. Did I make that clear, or do I need to address that anymore?

Member Wood looks like he wants to ask a question.

You do. I do.

Hi, Director.

Hi. I love the project. I think it's really great. thing it reminds me of finley market or eastern market in detroit i love both those spots those are really cool have a lot of ties to the farmer's market obviously my brother and my parents have both been vendors there at different times so i i think this is a great upgrade i don't love it as an emergency um i don't get it um why it's not another week uh a and i don't understand Primarily because I don't understand quite we're committing ourselves to should the other money not come through that's my biggest flag is Should this other hundred thousand not be raised obviously we have 300 being matched That we're not we're a pass-through effectively if I understand it right for this But if we are on the hook are one Are we saying we're on the hook for the money if it doesn't get raised? Two, are the plans locked in? There's no changing them. Three, and related to that, yeah, I just noticed that there aren't bathrooms in the building. Correct. And I wonder if there's a reason we don't have. We just made these awesome bathrooms in the parks over on the ballfields. which was really cool, is the reason we're not putting those there as well. So I think those are my three main things.

Okay. So why the suspension? Why not wait? I need a PO, a purchase order in place. order to say BDT please start your work and it will take BDT probably a couple of months from the time I say go to get a design plan in place with the construction documents and the bid documents together so that we can so if I get the word now like tonight then it'll take How long to get a PO, Josh? Help me out. A few days. And then I can say, BDT, let's get this ball rolling, and then we likely won't see anything and be ready to put anything out to bid until October. So every time that we delay a week or if you go through the full three readings, then we're pushing the bidding opportunity further down the road, which brings us that much closer. We have... 10 months to spend or have a clear plan in place to get money from the state to actually get that reimbursement back so that we're not on the hook for that $300,000. And 10 months is a really short amount of time, from my experience, to get the bidding process through successfully and then have construction begin. So that's why, that's the rationale. And we had... Um, we had the request for qualifications. We accepted those, the end date for the design proposal. Um, that was June 15th. And so, you know, We were ready sometime in late June, but council's on recess, which is fine. You all absolutely have a right to that. We continue business while the city has needs, while you all are taking your very rightfully earned rest. And so that's why sometimes at these meetings, and as soon as you get back from a recess or even your winter one, people are like, we need this now because it's been a long time for us. Your second question was, I might be out of order, but restrooms. Your second question was about the design. And can there be changes to the design? Is that... and the restrooms are wrapped up in that or that's one of them. So we have, I've been a part of this conversation with the farmers market for maybe three, three and a half years at this point seriously where we've been meeting regularly and The farmer's market has had to scale back what they have wanted as well in order to make and bring this to fruition. I think one of our early estimates with restrooms, with the demonstration kitchen, that was like three or four million dollars and that's just not something that the city can support or farmer's market can support. We also, you know, this is an open-air facility and it can't be enclosed anywhere. It has to be a pass-through because of the floodplain and those are the regulations. And so there's a limit to how we can change the design or add. And so really it's been a process of, and Leslie, correct me if I'm wrong, it's been a process of, okay, what's the pie in the sky? And now, how can we actually make this happen? And I know that Member Swank had questions about the restrooms as well, you know, for events, but we have events out there all the time, and people just rent portable toilets whenever we have weekend events, and it's going to be once the community center is closed. I would also like to just point out that you all have a pretty good idea of the budget that I manage and our city's budget in general and the challenges that we face. When we're adding a million-dollar facility to arts, parks, and recreation budget, that's a lot more of another strain that's on the arts, parks, and recreation budget. But we're committing to it, but if we add restrooms, that's more of a strain of who's going to clean it, how often is it going to clean, and we're already not fully staffed in our parks and groundskeeper position. Area and that's not something that's really going to change moving forward. So every time we add a facility It's my job as a director to say well, okay Who are the actual people on the ground who are going to be taking care of this facility? Do we have enough and? Bathrooms are not not really an option for my department to be able to manage and but you had another question and I I Forgot the other question.

Yeah, what happens if... Oh, on the hook for money.

Right, yes. So we're on the hook for making the site construction, the site prep happen. which we also have access to what the farmers market has already raised, which is a little over $100,000. And so that really brings what we have to work with up to $400,000. We haven't done the exchange yet, but that's what we have all committed to in this first phase is the site prep. So once this site has been prepped, we're not on the hook for any more money until it becomes time. So the design proposal is a little confusing because BDT put together the full commitment of from day one, we're starting the design process and getting all of the materials together to the end of the day where the final checks for the final building... have all been cut and those permits and inspections have happened for the building. So we don't have to pay for any of the scope of services that aren't included in the site preparation at this point. That is enacted once it starts, I know. It's convoluted. But if you look at the scope of services, I don't know if you have... Paul, if anybody has that. I don't know if I do. Okay. Well, if you have access to the design document, everything's listed out as project phasing is A, phase one, and B, phase two. And so what we're working on and what BDT understands is that we are working on phase one right now. And that is written in 6.6, the construction budget, where it's generally understood that this first phase is 200 to 300 and the second phase is in the 800 range. And so basically, Part of their scope of services is managing the construction aspect of this project and getting the permits in place. And so that won't enact or become live or however you want to put it until we're ready to move forward with that phase. So we say, all right, we're not ready to move forward with phase two right now, and they won't do the work for phase two, and they won't bill us for phase two because they can't because there's no work to be done. So I don't know the best way to answer. It doesn't look like I'm answering your questions at all about the... The different phasing.

I could get a whiteboard. This $300,000 is the preparation leave to a surface on which can be used. That's all that we are on the hook for at this point in time. If for some reason that money can't be raised in the future and no other construction can happen, we're not required to fund the construction of anything.

Yes.

but we will have a usable space which is reimbursed by the state for Mayor Paterson.

Thank you. Councillor Moria Sherwood. Let's not use the word on the hook. We have $300,000 from the state and our intent is to expense that $300,000 to get a surface in place that will accommodate the Farmers Market, the community pavilion down there. If you recall, the restrooms in question are identified down at West 8th Street, Ballfields, Those are really expensive restrooms. So why would the city put restrooms in this pavilion, which is a passive pavilion, mind you, because that's how we have to work this facility. It cannot have, you know, it can't have walls, it can't have a lot of things associated with it. It'll have walls, but they're gonna be permeable, not permeable, they're gonna be walls that allow for passive water flow through this area because we all recognize We can either spend a whole bunch of money worthlessly to build the soil up to get it above the floodplain, or we put in a passive structure, which is legal and appropriate in this site, where it'll be a structure, basically kind of a nice-looking pole barn with roll-up doors. with the ability for water, if we have a high water event, for the water to flow through it. If you have restroom facilities in there, that becomes a whole different challenge with now having your wastewater lines in there, your water lines in there, electricity as a whole, everything we can talk about on another day. But to throw a large amount of money at restrooms unto themselves when 250 yards away there's a building that has plenty of restrooms in it, is the game plan. Why put more amenities that are going to have to somehow be hardened against a potential high water event and other things of that nature? The other phasing that Director Jordan is talking about is again going to continue to be a part of the ongoing capital campaign. It's going to be an effort to where the where Leslie Schaller and the city has the authority to apply for a sundry of different grants that are out there. We will certainly apply for those grants to see what we can bring in and hopefully have capital campaign money that has been raised over a period of time be the match for a grant if that grant requires a match moving forward. I want to say this too, because the urgency was the number one question that you asked you know, Council Member Wood, if anybody who's here tonight or anybody who is watching tonight or council members haven't noticed, there's a war in Iran that is still going on. And with that war in Iran that's still going on, I just filled up my gas tank and I had to pay $70 $8.27 to fill the tank in my truck. I didn't have to pay that three days ago. And so the only reason I'm sharing that is because a lot of what is going to go into what Director Jordan is going to be doing with BDT is going to be asphalt work. Asphalt is following the price of oil and gas these days. And the more we wait on this one, the more we sit back and go, eh, maybe the tariffs will all go away, or something's going to happen where everything's going to be hunky-dory again. I'd love that, but I'm a realist, and I think every project that we have had over the past three years, and I would probably even go back further than that, the minute... That grant funding, you get a word of notice or funding that we have in place is there, and I'm just sitting here watching the price of materials and everything that go up almost daily moving forward. That's part of the urgency, too. If we sit and wait another two months, three months, four months, whatever, knowing that we've got to expense this money because it's state money or else it'll get clawed back. You know, I'm also watching at the price tag for things that are going up. It happens. It's happening on 680-256 Roundabout. It happened on the Stimson Avenue Bridge project. It happened on, well, it didn't so much happen on West Union, although it did happen. This is our new normal to where the longer you wait, the longer the price of whatever that project is is going to go up. And whatever you appropriate on the front end, something's going to have to go up in the future. And so the sooner we can operate on this, the sooner Director Jordan can get things rolling, and the sooner we can get a foundation for phase two to be moving forward in time.

I'm sorry?

I didn't hear that.

I was asking Megan if she had anything to add before I ask more questions. Go ahead.

You have more questions?

I think on the hook is the right term because to your point, the price is going to increase almost certainly. I agree. And sure, we're not paying this 300 directly. but if we end up with a flat piece of land and you know the Athens farmers market folks are upset later that we don't finish the project we don't finish what we committed to then we are kind of on the hook and we're saying that we're going to do this project so I think that's unless you're nodding vigorously no but so I dislike that I also dislike you know and I'm trying not to let how much I dislike these answers color you know what a think is the right thing to do here. I don't want to belabor it too much.

Walter Thomas, do you want to answer?

Actually, let me just walk through the... Let me do my part here and just walk through the financial side of this ordinance. I think that's the... Let me finish my thought, please.

I think if we have had it for three years, then showing up and saying, oh, it's an emergency ordinance because you were gone for a month is a bit like, you know, okay, well, you've known for three years. So I dislike that characterization that it's an emergency because you were gone for a month. If you've been working on it for three years, we should have had that ahead of time. So that's that's my my end of the thought there. Thank you.

I do have a direct response Hang on that we've gone out of order like through this whole process So the mayor has spoken council has spoken the auditor and we still have not heard from the public So just to get us kind of yes on an orderly track here

Who does the chair want to go?

I want to order, and then we'll take it to the public, assuming there's no members of the committee who want to speak.

Okay. I mean, just to walk through just the financial side of this ordinance real quick, because I had my questions, too, about this as well. The thing to understand is we were awarded from the state $300,000, right? So that's essentially free money for us. It is a reimbursement money, though. So we have to spend $300,000. So just to walk through the nuts and bolts of this ordinance, Section 2, we're appropriating $300,000 out of Capital Fund 580. That's where the money is going to come from to get this ball rolling, okay? We're going to then transfer that money we appropriate into our new fund, multi-purpose fund 908. This was just established. You remember at the end of the beginning or first half of the year, we put in a new fund. The $300,000 then will be spent out of 908. The thing that is really important to put in here is that the service safety director is authorized to only expend $300,000. So when Director Jordan gets this bid, it's only $300,000 bid for site prep. There is no other bid. We are not signing anything that says we're doing anything more than $300,000 worth of site prep. So your phrase on the hook? We're only going to be on the hook for the $300,000 that we have that we're going to be reimbursed from by the state. So again, not on the hook for anything past that because legally, we're only allowing the service safety director to expend $300,000. There's no way we can sign a contract for anything more than $300,000. You, counsel, that's how you're going to approve this. The phase one, as the mayor and everybody said, we are only committing to phase one. The farmer's market knows that. Everybody understands that, that there's no commitment past phase one. Once the funds, the other $700,000 or however much is needed to actually construct the building comes in, then we would put that, that would go out to bid as well. That would be a separate bid to do the actual building, okay? This first bid is $300,000 just to do the parking lot. So, I understand your concern that are we stepping into something and then later it's like, where are we going to get the money from? This project, based on this ordinance, the exact wording and the way we've done this ordinance, legally, we will only be spending $300,000. And the reason for the urgency is because we will be spending the $300,000, but if we don't do it in a timely manner, then the state could say, you weren't quick enough, we are taking our $300,000 back. In which case, it would just come out of capital improvements. The capital improvements fund would be short $300,000. It has the funds. It could do it. But that would be $300,000 we wouldn't be using for something else. The last line of this then says, as the state pays us back, that money will go back into the capital improvements fund to make it whole. Again, we're sort of borrowing from capital improvements to get this fund project going. As soon as we spend all the money and the state is satisfied, they'll give us our $300,000 back. We'll put it back into capital improvements. But again, Not on the hook for anything other than the $300,000 because that's the ordinance you're approving. You're not approving any other money than that. You're not approving anyone to take a bid out for more than $300,000. So there'll be no contractor. There'll be nobody out there saying, well, no, you told us you wanted to build a building. We won't be at that point. Does that make more sense?

And the other thing, and I think Director Jordan has spoken to this, and from the communication I've had from Director Stone and others is that the reason for the suspension, we could say, well, if we took another two weeks to go through this, but we are at a point, and I understand your point, saying, well, this has been a conversation for a very long time. But we are at a point where we could be, if we waited two, three weeks, we could be at a point in the process in May or June of next year where we are not going to be able to get the money back from the state. So we're wishing then that we had suspended the rules and moved things quicker. And so, yeah, we always want to, if there is time, to do three readings, committee three readings. We should always do that. I totally understand that point of view, but that is a process that would jeopardize the ability of the city to actually complete this project in a timely manner and get the $300,000 reimbursed. I think for that reason, I personally feel comfortable moving forward with this to make sure that we are able to do it. But I appreciate you raising the point and having the conversation about it, because I think it is a worthy conversation to have. Any other members of the committee? Any members of the public wishing to comment?

Me. May I comment? One more, because I have for the three-year, about the process of how we got to here. Okay, because I was like, that doesn't sit well with me right now. There's a different process that's not clear.

Good evening. Love being name checked throughout the evening. Leslie Schaller, wearing my Appalachian Center for Economic Networks hat. And a long time partner with the Athens Farmers Market and the Athens Art Guild, which will also be a beneficiary of this project as well. Maybe with your permission, if I could just do a little bit of historical context. This has been a project and an aspiration of the Athens Farmers Market ever since we moved from the community center property during the construction phase in the 90s to what was then the University Mall. And that location, really allowed the market association to grow exponentially. We continue to grow. We have lots of new vendor members this year. And I think part of the enthusiasm for new vendors joining the market is the fact that they see on what feels like, hopefully, to Member Wood's concerns, a horizon that this project that we've talked about, that I personally have worked on since 1999 is getting closer to the finish line. So I think there is a concern in terms of what it takes to raise the total capital for phase one and phase two. When I started writing a number of the capital grants the beginning of 2025, I think the biggest challenge was recognizing that we would probably have to Do this in multiple phases. Quite frankly, the last year and a half have not been the greatest environment of trying to raise funding at a federal or state level, but we've persevered. I also want to do a big shout out to both the mayor, to all the council members who have been supportive of this project for a good couple decades, quite frankly. And the newer members, if you're really interested in learning more, I would love to talk your ear off and share all the various applications. and PowerPoint presentations that we've put together. But I do want to assure you, whether we're going to be able to raise hopefully $1.2 million within the next 10 to 12 months, that is still a hard goal to reach. But in the meantime, the Farmers Market Association, many dedicated community members have been doing an incredible job. And a job that, quite frankly, farmers are not accustomed to doing. fundraising, hosting numerous events every month, raising individual donors, donations anywhere from $25 to $5,000. So I think we're getting there. I'd like to have at least another 300 to 400 committed from sponsorships and from the capital campaign. So why suspension of the rules? Yes, it is not optimum. I think the challenge right now is we need to work with BDT to get this next round of analysis completed as to what the project is going to look like. And also anticipate, I think, Director Jordan is totally right on in terms of the concerns that sometimes for these projects you have to go out to bid multiple times. So with that $300,000 we know secured through the state capital budget, we want to make sure that we're moving as expediently as possible. My experience with utilizing capital budget funds in the past is you can pull it down in tranches. And I'm assuming that Mr. Thomas probably knows that as well. So that $300,000, it should not have to be 100% cash flowed. It should be able to pull down and be reimbursed. in recent, I would say, projects funded through the capital budget, that that money does turn without too much concern. So assurance is there. I think that will be good. And then we'll be able to start making more funds available as more grants are secured, And some of these larger sponsorship donations in the $100,000 to $150,000 range are assured. Hopefully, we'll see some press releases, I think, this fall from some of these larger sponsor donors. So am I concerned? Do I worry about Ken? We get to this $1.2 million, ideally, in terms of price tag. It is probably, just to be totally candid, going to take a couple rounds. But I see momentum and I just want to share any sense of confidence that I can. And then I guess the other thing in terms of urgency, folks, is I am 73 years old. I have been working on this project since the 1990s. I am not going anywhere. I will not be retiring anytime soon, but I want to see this come to fruition for everyone who has championed this. And whether it's been BDT, that has been a tremendous provider, architectural firm to work with. Whether it's the city administrator's role, I would also like to thank the Athens County Foundation. because they have been walking on this journey with us for a long period of time as well. So does it feel a little daunting? Yes, but we will get there. And whether you feel that you're on the hook or not, I continue to be on the hook, and I will stay on the hook until I get to see that pavilion built. Thank you.

So, point of clarification on the process. If we vote for this, can we then ask for this to be on the agenda later this evening? And then at that point, we'll ask for the suspension of the rules. Okay. So, I'm going to ask, is there any objection to moving this forward to full committee this evening? Oh, sorry.

Amy Delage, once again, still on Morris Avenue, donor to the Farmers Market Pavilion. I just want to make one observation based on something I think Director Jordan said, is that you'd be looking to put this out to bid in like mid-late October. Is that correct? Yeah, so under a failure to suspend the rules, it doesn't just become like a few weeks because then you're looking at it going out right as the holidays are hitting. So you're looking at maybe four to six additional weeks of delay when you figure nothing happens from like the last week of November on. So I just want to make sure that everybody kind of has that in their brain as well.

Aurora Charlo again at 156 Grosvenor Street, and I just want to say I have not been involved in the campaign for the pavilion. I have not yet donated to the pavilion, but I do want to say through my observations of the news following as the farmers market has been doing this capital campaign and also my own experience with bureaucratic procedures that The democratic process has taken place over the last three years of discussion and that if the concern with making an exception to the rules is that the democratic process of the city council would be subverted or in any way distorted, I don't believe that that is an issue. Just speaking as a member of the public and somebody without a huge stake in this project, But somebody who cares about the democratic process, I personally don't see any issue with moving forward. And I thought it was just valuable to say that.

Thank you, okay. So committee, is there any opposition to moving this forward to the agenda for tonight's meeting? Seeing none. I'll move on to the next item of the agenda. This is an ordinance. This is ordinance 0-26. Actually, I don't have the number on this one. This is an ordinance amending ordinance 6825, authorizing design and construction of a public safety training facility, project number 373. This is the Kenny Drive Training Center. I don't really have much more information about this. Direction did not get back to me, but I believe this is just amending to change amended amounts to pay to cover what was appropriated. Mayor Paterson.

I can add a little bit more detail to this. We're asking for an increase of $40,000 and this is due to, and this is from 206 TC 500, but this is due to damage during the construction process of not only the road but to build the five, almost six-story fire training center at the end of Kenny Drive that did happen to TS Tech's roadway as well as the new EMS station. So being good neighbors, we know that we have some work to do because there is identified and associated with the construction process damage to the new EMS stations Drive slash parking lot, as well as TS Tech, who, mind you, TS Tech is who donated the 13.4 acres of land for fire and safety services on that site, hence there being a new EMS station and this new fire training center. They were generous enough all the way up to the corporate headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, to give us the green light to transfer that land to the city of Athens, so this is just It's a $40,000 increase in the appropriation to fix the damage that has been done during this construction project.

Members of the committee, any questions? Member Wood. Very small one. TS Tech, formerly TS Trim.

It is formerly TS Trim.

Thank you.

Members of the public. Okay. Any opposition to moving this board to first reading at our next meeting? Seeing none, that ends City and Safety Services.

All right. Thank you. We will now move on to regular session of council. We will call to order and establish quorum. We have six of seven members of council present tonight. We will start with approving the agenda and we will need to move a motion to amend the agenda to add the... Do you have all the numbers? All right. Ordinance 0-70-26, Ordinance 0-71-26, Ordinance 0-72-26, Ordinance 0-73-26, and Ordinance 0-74-26. May I have a motion? those in favor aye any opposed all right the agenda has been amended we'll move on next to the approval of the disposition of minutes from the special sense special session of City Council held June 8th and regular session held June 15th kind of a motion to approve so good can I have a second second All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Minutes have been approved. We'll move on next to communications. Do any members of council have communications that they would like to share? Member Stazer?

I think Mayor Patterson, I think you might be addressing this later about the closure on Richland, right? But, you know, so I'm getting some communications from people in my neighborhood about, you know, sort of the Displeasure I think about you know the timing of the closure with it being you know around school and just all the other construction I think that's going on around town, you know the roundabout out there You know people trying to drive their kids up to the planes to go to school and you know how this is gonna disrupt that With it, you know being right when school starts Any other members communications I will move next to communications from elected officials

So, Kelton Verstager, let me start with that one, start with the bad news and migrate through to some better news. We do have the variable message sign boards out there alerting the public to where August 10th through September 10th, there will be a closure at the intersection of Derry Lane and Richland Avenue. This is to put the waste collection water line, the sewer, across that street, or under that street. The challenge, which we've known for a while, is the fact that that sewer line, as it runs from Derry Lane into the new wet well, which everyone has seen being constructed right there alongside the river, that's gonna be the lift station that forces the sewage across underneath the river. over towards Peden Stadium and then Peden Stadium to South Green Drive. The depth of this sewer line replacement, which is absolutely necessary because of the addition of sewage coming in from the extension that has gone out to basically Radford Road, Gary Lane, of course, and 56, is that this sewer line that we're putting in is 20 to 25 feet deep. It's a deep dig. We are putting all the pressure we can on the general contractor that is putting this thing in. We apologize to everyone up and down the Richland Avenue corridor, the detour. All the businesses will remain open up and down Richland Avenue. The detour is going to have to be off of 33, 33, 50, 52 or 32 to get around if you're heading to the high school or if you're heading to the Plains Intermediate School. You're going to have to take that route even if you're going to the middle school or the elementary schools. We're well aware, we've kept the businesses apprised of what is going on. I just got off the phone earlier tonight with the former council member from the ward that you represent with concerns over this. I told him what I just told you and I'm telling all of you. This is a much-needed project to go in place, and we're going to, again, put the full court press on them. This is not something that could be delayed until next summer. That isn't going to happen. That can't happen on this particular project. So the plan is for the Director of Engineering and Public Works and his team, Jared Balderson, again, to keep the pressure on the contractor to get this done and hopefully get it done in less time than that one month period, but we recognize the challenges, trust me. I want to get that one out of the way first. Again, we're looking at August 10th through September 10th, hopefully sooner than September 10th, but that's where things are at with that. Might as well go right down the list of other projects. The Columbus Road, there have been lane closures for them to complete the sidewalk work or continue the sidewalk work and curb work. I've had a number of people ask me, why are you putting curbs and sidewalks in on Columbus Road? Columbus Road with the new Memorial Healthcare Hospital down there, it's needed in this corridor. We have a lot of businesses down there to get the sidewalk in place. This is also a phased project. We hope to look at sidewalks from Circle Drive on up to Second Street, really, ultimately in the future. It's going to take time to do that. It's also going to take grant funding to be able to do that, but we've got the funding in place to do Circle Drive to basically the further down Columbus Road. It's a great project. It's a multi-use pathway that's going in place. If those of you have seen it, they're really chugging along down there. We may see some more work in that area when it comes to single lane use, but I think they're pretty much at the point where they've got things done to where they're not going to have to do flagging with single lane, but I will certainly keep the public apprised of that. With the uptown improvement project, this is where we're burying utilities underground. This is another really challenging project. I know that the West State Street alley delays, there is some work going on there currently. This is the alley between Tony's Tavern and Sovlaki's Mediterranean where they're doing some work. You're gonna see some more of that moving forward. I can share with council and everyone who's here tonight, Miller Cable is now subbed with Shelly and Sands, so we've seen a lot, more project movement to where we've got some sidewalk improvements that have been made on Carpenter Street. Still more to be done, we recognize that, but there is more activity going on in that particular project. So that is another project where we have six point something million dollars from the Appalachian Communities Grant Project. It is one of those projects. So hopefully we'll continue to see this accelerate to its fruition to where we're getting utilities put underground. That was kind of my Carpenter Street, Columbus Street, I already mentioned that. Some other things just to kind of give people an update on is the 682-56 roundabout project. They're looking to transition to the phase three. When I say phase three, they're kind of taking this project and put it into quarters of the roundabout So that activity is continuing to progress. Stimson Avenue Bridge, the only thing left on that punch list, for those of you who noticed, the streetlights were on all the time. And one of them was not functional at all. So that has been corrected. It is on a timer. The lights come on when it gets dim, or when it gets darker during sunset. Not dim. When sunset occurs and those street lamps come on. The only thing left with that was the accent lighting that they're putting on the undercarriage of the bridge, on the steel work, which is going to be a nice accent to the bridge itself as people come into one of our heavily used gateways in the city of Athens. I mentioned Columbus Road. Another thing I want to bring up is The Hudson Street building, the city owns, which is part of the Welcome Home Ohio housing project that's going to be happening down there. The fire department, police department, my city workers have been working really hard to clear that building out. That building will be demoed along with the shed that is sitting on what was the Red Cross property. That will be removed. There will be a neighborhood meeting to discuss what this is going to look like The plan from the city's standpoint is to implement a TIF on Hudson Street and the new properties that are going to be going in, the eight new homes that are going to be built at the end of Hudson Street with a temporary TIF. The revenue that comes in is going to go towards the street improvements that you will also see on Hudson. Not only the additional roadway that has to go in to get to these houses, not a roadway that's going to connect Hudson to Mill Street. That is not happening. I've heard that rumor out there as well. That is not happening. To put proper roadway in for qualified purchasers of these eight homes that are going to be going in, we will be rebuilding a sidewalk on Hudson So in order for us to be able to cover the cost of the sewer extension and some other things in that area, a new sewer, I should say, a new water line in that area, the TIF is gonna be needed. You're gonna hear more about the TIF in the future for those water line connections and whatnot. Another project is the Elliville Road project. That won't be happening for a while yet, but it is to complete the water loop that is gonna go from the new fire station I shouldn't say fire station, the new fire training center at the end of Kenny Drive. We have to tie into the water line that runs down Elliottville Road. That isn't going to be happening until we get the, after we get the Richland Avenue project done. The last thing I want to update, I got two more things, but one more thing I want to update council on is that we were awarded with the most recent capital improvement round at the state, $200,000 to go towards putting in a kayak ramp that will basically go from what everyone used to call Little Red Schoolhouse, which is not a Little Red Schoolhouse. It never was a Little Red Schoolhouse. It was actually part of the Athens Lumber Company property back in the day, for those of you who remember the Athens Lumber Company that was on West Union. We were able to migrate that building over near the river. It is right on the bike path. This kayak access or canoe access will make it easier for people to get down below the Whites Mill outflow and into the Hocking River, creating a river trail. So that's wonderful news. A lot more to follow on that as we move forward. Director Katherine Ann Jordan is deep into that as well. There's a ways to go. The last thing I want to share This is on the city's website, again, because a lot has happened since June. Our city planner, Megan Jennings, has been hard at work in putting together things like this. I know you can't see this in TV land, but I'll kind of try to waffle around with this. I'd be a terrible green screen person. But this is the kickoff for our open house for the comprehensive plan that is moving at us. You're also gonna see this poster being posted. I truly know that those of you who are watching on the government channel tonight can't see this, but this is the poster that you're gonna see out there. Again, it's got a QR code on it. We're asking people to to take out your phones, go to that QR code, give us input on this planning as we're moving forward. July is the kickoff, actually now is the kickoff. September's gonna be economic development, November's gonna be housing, January's gonna be environment within our comprehensive plan. In the spring we're gonna have staff We'll draft the plan and cast the community vision on this. Then in August, it's going to be culture and values. Mobility is October. Recreation is December. Then there's going to be a February open house in 2027. And then the summer of 2027 is when hopefully we have the entire new plan visioning looking forward in time for the city's comprehensive plan. This is exciting. I know that Megan Jennings and her team have been working tirelessly on getting this out there. and working with Council on constructing those who are going to be serving on this comprehensive plan moving forward in time. President Pro Tem, that's all I have. Unless there's any questions from Council, I know that's not our normal protocol, but I've just said a whole lot.

I don't think so. Member Claudefelder did have an announcement.

Yes, I just wanted to make sure to recognize all the people who helped with guard care that was held this past weekend. That was a collaboration of the Ohio National Guard, the Athens City County Department of Health, and the College of Osteopathic Medicine. And I went over there to check it out because it was such an important thing, and I was tremendously impressed. with the number of different medical resources that the National Guard made available. There were tons of people in line to get, I think they said, vision, hearing, and dental care. They were providing that. There were doctors there, a number of National Guard doctors providing anything people wanted from doctors. They were running labs for people. I mean, and I'm sure there were things that I didn't even notice they were doing, but hundreds of people from our area went out. They didn't ask any people about their insurance or their ability to pay. It was all free. And it seemed like the National Guard had things running really efficiently. All the lines were moving. A lot of people told me they got out in less than an hour. I sort of lurked in the parking lot trying to see people's impressions. And people were delighted. They were so happy by the quality of medical care they got, how quickly they were in and out. And it was the only guard care held anywhere in the state of Ohio in 2026. So my hat is off to anybody in our Athens area who helped bring that to Athens. Next year, they will only be holding guard care events in northern Ohio. So that was really our opportunity. And of all the places in southern Ohio, they came right here. So many thanks to everyone who helped with that.

All right. Any announcements or reports from the law director? No. right moving on we'll move on to first readings we will begin with ordinance 68-26 this is an ordinance authorizing the service safety director to submit an application and enter into an agreement for a state infrastructure bank loan for the state route 682 major rehabilitation project and designating a dedicated repayment source for the loan we talked about this prior to the break and Transportation Committee this is for the on ramps and off ramps between the Richland roundabout and 33 those cement sections there ODOT is there 40 some almost 50 years old ODOT is going to replace them and there is a mandatory $500,000 local share of this in order to cover that we are getting a 0% interest five-year loan, an SIB loan. The loan will be for $499,000. There's a $2,000 loan origination fee that will come from the streets fund, and this will go into fund 589. Do we have any questions from council on this ordinance? and did this need to be suspended I don't have notes on that okay we have plenty of time on that one any comments from the administration and any questions from the public all right we'll move on to the next item this is ordinance 69 dash 26 this is setting up the repayment for the SIB loan that will also come out of fund is 589 once the funds are in there really just a technical formality that we have to do. Do we have any questions on this? We discussed all this before break, so this is kind of a getting around to the paperwork. All right, we will now move on to Ordinance for First Reading 70-26. This is, let me pull up everything. Data center moratorium. I will read through this because we've had changes. Bear with me. This will be ordinance 70-26, an ordinance imposing a temporary moratorium not to exceed one year on the granting, issuing of any permits for data centers within the corporate limits of the city of Athens and declaring an emergency. Whereas the City of Athens is a municipal corporation organized and existing under the Constitution and laws of the State of Ohio and possessing all powers of local self-government granted by Article 18, Section 3 of the Ohio Constitution. And whereas the City of Athens has the authority to enact zoning regulations and land use controls pursuant to the Ohio Revised Codes Section 713.06 through 713.14. including the power to regulate the location, construction, and use of buildings and structures in the interest of promoting public health, safety, convenience, comfort, prosperity, and general welfare. And whereas data centers are large-scale facilities that house computing infrastructure designed to support machine learning, neutral network training, large language model operations, and other processing activities, and such facilities typically consume extraordinary amounts of electrical power generate significant heat transfer significant heat requiring extensive cooling systems impose substantial demands on water resources and create unique land-use impacts and whereas the rapid development of deployment of data centers facilities nationwide has created urgent land-use planning challenges for municipalities including but not limited to impacts on electrical grid capacity and reliability, water supply and wastewater infrastructure, traffic and transportation systems, noise and vibration, cybersecurity and public safety considerations, and compatibility with surrounding residential, commercial, and institutional uses. And whereas the City of Athens currently lacks comprehensive zoning regulations, performance standards, and site plan review criteria specifically addressing the unique characteristics and impacts of data centers and the existing zoning code provisions applicable to general industrial or commercial uses may not adequately protect the public health, safety, and welfare in relation to this emerging land use category. Whereas Council finds that the immediate action is necessary to prevent the establishment of data centers while the City conducts a comprehensive study of the land use, infrastructure, environmental, economic, and community impacts of such facilities and develops appropriate regulations to address them. And whereas the Council has determined that this ordinance is an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace, health, and safety. in that the absence of a moratorium could result in the establishment of data center facilities before adequate regulations are in place, potentially causing irreversible impacts of the city's infrastructure, environment, and community character. Be it ordained by the City of Athens, State of Ohio, Section 1, that just reads the whole definition of the data center and I'm going to spare us all that huge paragraph. Section 2, the Council of City Athens imposes a temporary moratorium not to exceed one year on the granting, issuing of any permits, as well as the receipt and processing of applications for permits under the Athens City codified ordinances for proposed data centers within the corporate limits of the City of Athens. Section 3, this temporary moratorium suspends and tolls any time periods proposed by law, prescribed by law, within which any city department, any official, or any official body of the City of Athens is required to take action upon application and or site plan review approval process during the time this moratorium is in effect. Section 4, the City of Athens, hereby imposes a temporary moratorium in order to allow Council, any of its members, and the Planning Commission to review applicable Ohio State statutes and undertake a review and or study of the codified ordinances of the City of Athens, and perform further due diligence on data centers to determine how data centers will impact the city's infrastructure, utilities, environment, residents, and the long-term planning goals, as well as to protect the public health, safety, and general welfare.

Can I borrow your notes on the evidence?

This is where we made the changes during committee. We would change Section 5 to read, this one-year temporary moratorium may be extended for one additional year at the discretion of the mayor or service safety director for further study of the impact and to develop appropriate regulations. We will then move what is Section 5 to Section 6. This ordinance shall be an emergency measure necessary for the preservation of the health welfare and safety of the residents of the City of Athens, Ohio in order to provide continued efficient delivery of services and it shall be in full effect upon its passage and approval by the Mayor. All right. Ordinance 70-26 has been read. I would move to suspend the rules for the purpose of moving this along faster. So moved. Second. All right. All those in favor of suspending the rules? Any opposed? Seeing none. Any discussion or questions?

Perhaps you already talked about this and I couldn't quite catch it, but in the third whereas paragraph, the current language is really tailored, it seems to me, toward artificial intelligence data centers. And I wonder if that might ever bite us if we don't get some of that more AI specific language out of there and make it more general in terms of any kind of data center. The supporting machine learning, neural network training, large language model operations, to me that sounds like AI.

So you think removing the language, house computing infrastructure, remove that whole area?

I think maybe designed to support, remove from there until... Maybe you can just say data centers are large-scale facilities that typically consume extraordinary amounts of electrical power, generate significant heat requiring extensive cooling systems, impose substantial demands on water resources, and create unique land use impacts. And just delete the sentences and the wording that are specific to AI.

That works for me. Does anyone else have an opinion or a thought?

And do we need to? Right now, we have a motion and a second to suspend the rules. If the rules get suspended, then I'm going to look to the clerk also. If they make a motion to approve, I suppose they would have to amend it first.

And we voted on suspending, didn't we?

Before we suspend.

Before we suspend or before we approve?

Probably, I agree first. Yeah, before we suspend.

Okay. So, we would then need to rescind? Let's do that, just to make it cleaner.

Okay. To rescind that motion to suspend.

Rescind the motion to suspend? Withdraw, I guess.

Withdraw the motion to suspend? I withdraw my motion to suspend.

Okay, do we have to officially withdraw the second, or is that? That's fine. I'll have to withdraw it, too. All right, so then we will discuss the amendment suggested by Member Cloudfelder. Does anyone have any questions or suggestions or thoughts on that? Member Wood?

We're just talking about the whereas section, right? Yeah.

The third one.

The third one. That is not the material binding part. It's not one of the sections. I mean, we can wordsmith it for hours, but it's not actually part of the material stuff, so let's just move on. That would be my vote.

Is that fine with the law director? So what are we doing? Well, he, Member Wood's just pointing out that this is not really a binding part of the ordinance. It's true. So we could leave it and it won't really impact our ability to enforce the moratorium. Is that correct?

Why doesn't Member Gladfelder read it as she thought it should read, just to make sure we're all on the same page?

Okay. My suggestion is that it say in the third whereas paragraph, Whereas data centers, taking out artificial intelligence, AI, whereas data centers are large scale facilities that house computing infrastructure and typically consume extraordinary amounts of electrical power, generate significant heat requiring extensive cooling systems, impose substantial demands on water resources, and create unique land use impacts. And, and just take out all the wording there that seems to be specific to AI data centers. since we had taken out all the other references to that.

So is that going to be your motion to amend it? I understand, Member Wood also, that it doesn't really... It's a whereas section. The body of it's pretty clear as to what we're talking about. So do you want to make that motion? I'll leave it as it is.

I would rather move that we delete that AI-specific language in that third whereas paragraph.

So there's a motion to amend it.

second who was the second all those in favor of the amendment aye any opposed all right the amendment has been accepted now we can move to suspending all right can I have a motion to suspend the rules second any discussion on the suspension all those in favor of suspending aye any opposed All right, the rules have been suspended. We can now take any additional discussion on the actual moratorium ordinance. One motion to approve and then the discussion. Didn't we just?

No, it's a motion to approve. Motion to approve, okay.

So moved.

And a second to approve. Who seconded? I did. Okay. Now discussion on the moratorium. Anything from members of council? All right, anything from the mayor?

I applaud Council for suspending the rules this evening because of the urgency in which we need to have this come into play. We've all seen how quickly this popped up in Athens County already, out across from the Athens High School and US 33. The question I've heard, well, could this happen in the City of Athens? It could. It could. Unless we have safeguards in place and we are able to do the research to suspend the rules, kind of like the conversation we had about the Commerce Pavilion, we need as much time as we possibly can get, regardless of the ability to extend, to make sure we get things in place and we get this done. I applaud Council for suspending the rules tonight, especially on this piece of legislation.

And members of the public?

I absolutely do not want to throw a wrench in anything or slow this down in any way, but there is actually a federal definition of data center on the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The definition is any facility that primarily contains electronic equipment used to process, store, and transmit digital information. So if you want some language to make it a little bit definitional without it being AI That's probably you can maybe even just reference the energy federal under Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 Is it similar to what we have in section one?

I just didn't read section one Any additional public and any additional discussion from council I I would move to adopt ordinance all right all those in favor of adopting 70-26 any opposed all right the motion has been adopted we're doing backflips today all right we will now move on to ordinance 71-26 authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with the Athens County Public Commissioners for the purpose of obtaining services of the Public Defender's Office through December 31st, 2026 and to extend said agreement through June 30th, 2027 and declaring an emergency. As we just discussed this a little while ago, in committee, do we have any members who are not on the committee or have additional questions on this? I would move to adopt 71 oh I'm sorry we have to suspend on this one too don't we I would move to suspend the rules on 70-26 second all those in favor aye any opposed and any discussion on the suspension of rules would then move to adopt 71-26 so any discussion anything else from the mayor or the public all right all those in favor of adopting 71-26 any opposed 71-26 has been adopted Moving on to ordinance 72-26 an ordinance amending the 2026 appropriation ordinance Again, we all know we discussed this in committee Do we have any questions from members of council who are not a part of the committee who would like to Share anything ask anything This was on the property taxes the pace funding loan and the parking garage refunds All right anything from the public? seeing none I would move to suspend the rules for 72-26 second any discussion on the suspension of rules this is just to get things paid that have been waiting to get paid all those in favor of suspending the rules any opposed the rules have been suspended I would move to adopt 72-26 Any discussion? All right, all those in favor of adopting 72-26? Aye. Any opposed? All right, 72-26 has been adopted. Moving to ordinance 73-26 an ordinance authorizing the service safety director to advertise and accept bids where necessary and enter into contract for design and construction of the community pavilion project number 397 phase 1 and declaring an emergency introduced by member Isherwood.

I move to suspend the rules.

Second. All those in favor of suspending or any discussion on rule suspension? right all those in favor of suspending the rules aye any opposed the rules have been suspended move that we pass ordinance 73 73 yeah 73-26 I get a second second any discussion any additional questions and anything from the public on this all right Do you want to move to adopt?

I move to adopt 0-73-26. Second. Well, I think we already had the motion.

Did we already have the motion? Okay, we had the discussion. So I think you're ready for your vote. All right. Glad you're here tonight. All those in favor of adopting 73-26? Aye. Any opposed? All right.

73-26 has been adopted. All right, moving on to Ordinance 74-26, an ordinance amending Ordinance 68-25, authorizing design and construction of a public safety training facility, Project 373, introduced by Member Isherwood.

training facility yeah so this just this would be first reading this is um do we don't need to suspend on yeah and this is as we discussed earlier by being good neighbors I can't eat right all right any additional thoughts or questions on the training facility all right moving on to announcements and other business

Let's see, we have a reappointment to the Affordable Housing Commission of Solvig-Spielness. Can I have a motion to approve? So moved. Can I have a second? Second. I think Megan or John got it. All right, all those in favor of approving this reappointment? Aye. Any opposed? She has been reappointed. Next, we have an appointment to the Shade Tree Commission of Chris Hedges. Do we have any questions? Since this is a new appointment, any questions or does anyone have anything to share or add? All right. Anything from the public? Can I have a motion to approve appointment of Chris Hedges? So moved. All right. Can I have a second?

Second.

All right. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? He has been appointed. Next, can I have a motion to accept May and June 2026 financial reports?

So moved.

Second. All those in favor of approving? Aye. Any opposed? The reports have been approved. Motion to accept the 2026 credit card transactions.

So moved.

second all those in favor aye any opposed all right they've been approved we'll move on now to the public input if we have anyone left who would like to speak on legislative or city matters not covered on the agenda all right seeing none we will need to move into executive session For the purpose of covering pending litigation, we will have all members of council, the law director, the auditor, and the mayor. We will do a roll call vote. Once we have voted, we'll allow for a couple minutes for anyone that has questions, and then we will close the doors and go into executive session. We will open the doors when we are done with the executive session, and we'll adjourn after that. I'll do a roll call vote. Member Almeida?

Aye.

Member Stazer? Aye. Member Wood? Aye. Member Cloudfelder? Aye. Member Isherwood? Aye. Do I have to say aye for myself? Yes. All right. Member Thomas? Aye. All right. We are entering executive session.