Blog Topic: Government
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In the Loop: Mayor Denson Will Allow a Vote on the Anti-Discrimination Ordinance After All
Mayor Nancy Denson will put a proposed anti-discrimination ordinance back on the agenda next month, she announced at the Athens-Clarke County Commission meeting Tuesday night, shortly after hundreds of protestors marched on City Hall to demand a vote on the ordinance.
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones
About 200 protesters marched from the Arch and gathered outside City Hall, then entered the building singing and chanting as the meeting was getting underway. Several dozen of them stood in the back of the commission chamber continuing to sing as new Public Utilities Director Frank Stevens attempted to introduce himself to the commission.
Denson told the protesters that she would have police escort them out if they didn’t quiet down. “I think it’s not loud enough, if you ask me,” one woman replied. But the crowd did grow quieter when Denson said she would put the ordinance up for a vote Nov. 1 after blocking a vote for the past two months.
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In the Loop: Oconee Can't Dump More Sewage Into Calls Creek
Photo Credit: Lee Becker
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division has denied Oconee County’s request for a 3 million gallons per day waste load allocation for Calls Creek, saying the stream is too small to handle the treated effluent.
The denial means that the county will have to change its plans to upgrade its Calls Creek wastewater treatment plant on the outskirts of Watkinsville, run a sewer line down Calls Creek, or find another way to discharge treated sewer water from an expanded Calls Creek plant into the Middle Oconee River.
Residents along Calls Creek have voiced strong and persistent opposition to construction of a sewer line down the creek, with many saying they will force the county to take condemnation action against them to get easements for the sewer line.
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In the Loop: Mayor Denson Delays Discrimination Vote Again—Maybe Forever
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file
Mayor Nancy Denson listens as Mokah Jasmine Johnson speaks about a local anti-discrimination ordinance at the ACC commission's Aug. 16 meeting.
Mayor Nancy Denson has taken a proposed anti-discrimination ordinance off the Athens-Clarke County Commission’s agenda for the second straight month, and may never put it back on.
“I’m not sure what to do with it,” Denson said. “I haven’t decided when or if it’s coming back yet.”
The ordinance would require bars to post dress codes and private events at the door, and bars that are found to use dress codes or fake private events to keep out certain customers could have their alcohol licenses suspended or revoked.
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In the Loop: Activists Continue Push for Athens Civil Rights Commission
Photo Credit: Chris Dowd
From left, Mokah Jasmine Johnson, Commissioner Kelly Girtz and Jesse Houle.
The Anti-Discrimination movement has been going strong in Athens since an MLK Day rally that saw almost 400 people march to City Hall in freezing temperatures. At the Athens-Clarke County Library Wednesday, they gathered again to work to ensure the ACC Commission passes a strong anti-discrimination ordinance.
Mokah Jasmine-Johnson facilitated the meeting, and began by explaining her perspective and her hopes for what this ordinance could become. In essence, she believes our local government has an obligation to fight discrimination throughout the county—not just downtown, and not just in bars.
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In the Loop: Commission Approves 100 Prince Development
Photo Credit: Smith Planning Group
Just a few hours after Daily Groceries Co-op announced a deal to move into a much larger space at 100 Prince, the Athens-Clarke County Commission gave final approval Tuesday night to the development on what’s now the St. Joseph Catholic Church property.
The mixed use project—which will also include a restaurant in the historic sanctuary and 126 apartments aimed at young professionals and empty-nesters—was lauded by manyneighborhood residents as the type of development Athens needs. Some on nearby Pulaski, Barrow and Childs streets, though, expressed concerns about traffic the development would bring.
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In the Loop: Oconee Chairman Wants County to Pay for Median Cut
Only 2 hours and 14 minutes after learning that the Georgia Department of Transportation had turned down the county’s request for a full median break on Mars Hill Road to accommodate landowner Doug Dickens, Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis turned to “Plan B.”
Davis told commissioners that the county can build the median break when GDOT turns the highway back over to the county.
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In the Loop: Mayor Denson Won't Let the Commission Vote on the Anti-Discrimination Ordinance Next Week
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file
Mokah Jasmine Johnson speaks about the anti-discrimination ordinance at the commission's Aug. 16 agenda-setting meeting.
The Athens-Clarke County Commission won’t vote on a proposed anti-discrimination ordinance at its Sept. 6 meeting.
Mayor Nancy Denson told the Athens Banner-Herald that she supports the ordinance as written, but she took it off the agenda because she’s concerned that some commissioners will try to include restaurants in the ordinance, which currently would only cover bars.
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In the Loop: ACC Names Drew Raessler Transportation Director
A Cobb County engineer and UGA graduate will take over as director Athens-Clarke County's Transportation and Public Works Department, ACC Manager Blaine Williams announced today.
Raessler replaces David Clark, who took a job as head of Fulton County's transportation department in May.
"I am excited that Drew will be coming to our dynamic government and community," Williams said in a news release. "He brings technical expertise, excellent communication skills and a natural affinity for building and maintaining multi-modal transportation systems. I am looking forward to Drew having a long and productive career here."
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In the Loop: Oconee County Misled Public on Mars Hill Road Work
Oconee County administrators, to accommodate Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis, intentionally mislabeled $15,000 in expenses in giving a public presentation in June of a bill for added design work for Mars Hill Road.
Moreland Altobelli Associates Inc. billed the county $10,000 for requested design work to reconnect Old Mars Hill Road to Mars Hill Road and $5,000 for design work on a median break requested by businessman Doug Dickens.
In the presentation to the public, the reference to Old Mars Hill Road was eliminated, and the median cut was linked to the Athens Area Humane Society, not Dickens.
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In the Loop: Activists Push to Add Civil Rights Committee to Anti-Discrimination Law
Athens for Everyone and the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement—two groups that have been a big part of the push for a local anti-discrimination ordinance—say they will oppose the ordinance unless the Athens-Clarke County Commission includes a civil rights committee.
As proposed, the ordinance would allow city officials to suspend or revoke the alcohol licenses of bars that discriminate against certain patrons, but would not protect minorities from discrimination at any other local businesses.
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