The Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission are set to meet tomorrow for their regular voting session, with a long agenda in front of them. One item that isn’t scheduled for a vote however, is an eviction relief plan that several Commissioners have been advocating for.
Project RESET is a local proposal modeled after an eviction relief program in Gwinnett County. The plan, which would use federal relief funds to help tenants pay back rent, was the subject of an intense and sometimes contentious discussion at a Commission work session in May. At the end of that meeting, lawmakers directed county staff to put together a proposal for how to structure Project RESET, with the hope that they would have a plan to vote on by tomorrow’s meeting.
That hasn’t happened though, and that has District 5 Commissioner Tim Denson, one of the project’s most ardent backers, frustrated. “It is extremely frustrating for us to be in a situation where we’ve had months to prepare for this and we’re just not ready,” Denson said.
A federal moratorium on evictions expired on Saturday, leaving thousands of ACC renters in potential jeopardy.
Referring to the moratorium’s expiration, Denson said, “We need more time, but we don’t have more time.” Denson added that he will keep up the pressure on county staff to get a plan together in a timely manner for a Commission vote.
Tomorrow’s Commission meeting begins at 6:00 PM and will be streamed on the county’s YouTube channel.
