By Michael V. Hannigan
A very important agenda faces the Athens City Council tonight.
The council is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. at the City Hall Annex. I will be posting from the meeting on a Facebook live thread, providing updates from the council chambers.
There are several notable items on the agenda tonight, including:
— Fertilizer fire update by Fire Chief John McQueary and Proclamation honoring First Responders involved with fertilizer fire … These two items definitely go together. I know most of Athens is interested in hearing what the fire chief has to say about the fire.
— Discuss updating zoning ordinance … The city is looking at changes to the zoning ordinance in regards to hazardous materials, including ammonium nitrate, the volatile fertilizer that played a key role in the West, Texas explosion and was involved in the recent local fire. You can read more about this here.
— Decision on Athens EDC request to buy 95 acres of land … The Economic Development Corporation has a plan to buy land adjacent to the current industrial park on Enterprise Street at a cost of about $859,000, or $9,000 an acre. You can get more information, including an audio clip of AEDC Executive Director Brian Malone, here.
— Decision to allow Airport Advisory Board to use an unpaid consultant … While this particular item is fairly simple, it is noteworthy because of the importance of extending the runway at the Athens Airport. You can here Airport Advisory Board member Steve Grant talk about the airport and runway project here.