City Council still mulling June bike race; hears good and bad
By Nick Claussen
March 27, 2008
Athens City Council heard a positive pitch for the proposed bike race for uptown Athens on Monday, but additional questions were also raised about how much the event could cost the city.
Council also discussed several other topics during the meeting, such as the proposed access road for Holzer Clinic property and the noise from outdoor patios at bars and restaurants.
The first annual Athens Great Bicycle Race and Family Fun Cycling Challenge is planned for Sunday, June 1.
The bike race is being promoted as an event that will benefit the city and bring more people to the uptown area, but questions about the race’s promoter have been raised by the president of the Ohio University cycling club and by a past coordinator of bike races in Athens.
Bill Bias, president of Athens City Council, said during Monday’s meeting that he has concerns about the city shutting down uptown streets for a for-profit event. Usually the streets are shut down for events such as the International Street Fair and the Halloween block party that are non-profit, he said.
With the bike race, the city will do this work for an out-of-town promoter who’s setting up the race in order to make money, Bias said. He also said he is concerned about whether the promoter can get enough volunteers to help with the event.
Debbie Phillips, who represents the Fourth Ward on council, asked if the police and fire chiefs had been consulted about the race, and asked how closing the streets for the event might impact safety.
Mayor Paul Wiehl said the police and fire departments had been consulted about the route for the race, and that he plans to discuss the issue further with them. He added that he will look into how much it will cost the city to have the race in the uptown area.
Gina Geremia, marketing director for the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said she understands the concerns raised about the bike race, but said it will be a positive event for the city. If a local, non-profit agency had come to the Visitors Bureau asking for assistance with a bike race, she would have been happy to provide help, she said. When for-profit promoter Tym Tyler came for assistance with this event, Geremia said she was happy to help because it’s her job to help with these kind of events.
She said Tyler has been easy to work with and professional. Others may have raised concerns about him, but he puts on a large number of races every year and has done a lot to promote bike races in Ohio, she said.
The bike race will be a good economic opportunity for the city, and it could provide numerous benefits, Geremia predicted. She added that she will meet with Tyler regularly, and invited members of council to talk with him about any concerns they have.
ALSO AT THE MEETING, council discussed plans for the access road that will be built for the Holzer Clinic facility at the end of East State Street.
Bias said he had received at least eight e-mails about the road plans, mainly from people upset that the city will spend money on a road that will benefit the clinic. Bias said there is a misunderstanding in the community about funding for the project, and asked Phillips to discuss it.
“We are not committing any funds to this project,” Phillips assured council. Funds for building the road is coming from an Appalachian Regional Commission grant and from Holzer, Phillips said. The city will accept the road as a public road eventually, but is not spending any money on it now, she added.
Nancy Bain, who represents the Third Ward on council, during the meeting raised the issue of noise from outside patios at bars and restaurants near residential areas. This issue has been brought up before, in particular regarding noise from the outdoor area at the Broney’s Alumni Grill in uptown Athens. Residents living near the bar/restaurant have complained about it in the past.
Bain asked city Law Director Pat Lang about legislation council could discuss dealing with outside noise at night, and also questioned why the current noise ordinance doesn’t do more to address noise problem raised by outside businesses.
Comments
Please log in to post a comment.
