Citizen concerns include litter, dilapidated houses, noise law

When citizens met at the Athens Community Center for a Town Hall Tuesday night, the biggest concerns covered was the state of infrastructure and building quality throughout the city, enforcement of the city's noise law, and a new effort to clean up Athens.
The meeting was held as a companion to a February Town Hall where citizens expressed various concerns to the administration of Mayor Paul Wiehl. Tuesday night, Wiehl and members of his administration sought to address those concerns.

Among the questions addressed were more concerns about noise, what can be done about dilapidated homes, construction standards, the state of various streets around town, and environmental and poverty issues.

"I'm now three and a half years into my term, and I think I've got a good crew here," Wiehl said pointing to his administration team. "They really make me look good."

One of the first questions of the night alleged "lax enforcement" of the city's noise ordinance before midnight.

Police Chief Tom Pyle addressed that by stating that he disagrees that enforcement has been lax. He pointed out that officers are not allowed to initiate noise violation enforcement until after the designated times of 10 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends. Prior to those times, the police department needs to receive a complaint to address a noise problem, Pyle said; however, most complaints received by the department don't come in until after those times.

Another issue Pyle addressed involving the noise ordinance is complaints about the unsanctioned student street "fests" in the spring. Often, he said, the police department will receive a complaint about the fest itself being too noisy. But, he explained, the APD needs a complaint about a specific residence in order to issue a citation. A blanket complaint about noise from a "fest" is not sufficient, he said.

Moreover, Pyle questioned the use of the noise ordinance in trying to address the street fests in the first place.

"There might be a notion from some in the community that the noise ordinance specifically can be used to shut these events down," he said. "That's just not going to work Noise enforcement would be like trying to use a fly-swatter to herd a buffalo."

Pyle said that if the community wants to stop these events in the future, it will require other legislation.

Code Director John Paszke addressed concerns about the city permitting homes that are uninhabited and/or dilapidated to remain standing year after year.

"In 2010, the city had 10 homes demolished," he said. "In 2011, this year, so far, one has been privately demolished with four others slated for next month. Currently, there are three other homes designated for demolition through the neighborhood revitalization initiative, but funding may become an issue."

Later, Paszke pointed out that the city doesn't have a building department to cover a variety of work as it relates to construction and housing in Athens.

Wiehl quickly noted that a building department is not in the foreseeable future, and the city does not have funding for such a venture.

Andy Stone, city director of engineering and public works, went over a variety of work the city is doing on its streets as well as plans for the future.

In response to a question about consistently bad pavement on Grosvenor Street, Stone said the city is aware of a slip and has unsuccessfully applied for various grants to fix it. He said the fix would cost $300,000, which is roughly equal to what the city spends paving a variety of streets each summer. Because Grosvenor is not a major artery in the city, Stone said, most federal and state agencies are unwilling to foot the bill through a grant.

One audience question Tuesday night addressed property owner and landlord responsibility when it comes to Operation: CleanSweep, the city's effort to make Athens a litter-free city over the course of this summer.

"This is what CleanSweep is all about," Wiehl said. "We've taken our code office offline for rental inspections for six weeks to follow along to raise the standards."

Wiehl said that this will be an ongoing process. He said the type of landlords in the city and the level of their involvement varies.

"The ticketing goes to the property owner eventually," he said. "If the tenant is not there to get the citation, the property owner (becomes) involved as well."

When it comes to cigarette butts littering Court Street, one suggestion was to put in receptacles in front of uptown bars to encourage patrons to throw butts there instead of on the street.

Wiehl said this has been tried several times, but there are still problems associated with it, such as potential fire hazards and what to do with the receptacles once they get filled. Everything comes with a cost, he said.