Athens-Clarke County Commissioners are set for what could be a lengthy voting meeting on Tuesday. The 27 items on the Commission’s agenda reflect several issues which have been in the public eye for the last few months, such as the government’s continued focus on equity and inclusion, the role of mental health teams in emergencies, and the ongoing TSPLOST process.
More to do on equity and inclusion:
Addressing equity and inclusion has been a consistent theme for Commissioners in recent months. In August, the Commission unanimously passed a non-discrimination ordinance, and on Tuesday, lawmakers will debate two additional proposals. One is a proposed disparity study, which would allocate up to $400,000 to investigate how the county has spent its money with minority-owned businesses. County staff say that in order to change ACC’s procurement practices to give some preference to minority-owned businesses, a disparity study has to happen. That study is projected to take up to a year to complete.
Commissioners will also get a look at a draft ordinance establishing a Human Relations Commission. Lawmakers envision this citizen-led body as a conduit between the community and the government on issues of equity and inclusion, as well as a resource to help ACC residents navigate the complaint process established by the non-discrimination ordinance.
The Commission’s Legislative Review Committee advanced a draft ordinance out of committee last week, but committee members are urging their colleagues to postpone a vote for another month in order to refine the draft ordinance further, based on public input.
Augmenting mental health co-responder teams:
Athens-Clarke County has been employing mental health co-responder teams for some time. These teams pair a law-enforcement officer with a mental health professional to respond to incidents where mental health crises are believed to be a factor. That program, later named in honor of the late Commissioner Jerry Nesmith, has proven to be popular with policymakers and community members, and after the first team began work in 2019, a second team was created, with a third in training. In their FY 2022 budget, Commissioners approved funding to bring the total number of mental health co-responder teams to seven.
On Tuesday, Commissioners will evaluate a proposal to add Alternative Response Teams to the mental health mix as well. As proposed, the Alternative Response Teams would include an EMT, a licensed mental health clinician, and a “peer specialist.” Unlike the mental health co-responder teams, the ARTs would not include a police officer, and would only be dispatched for non-emergency behavioral health calls received by the county’s 911 system.
If the plan is approved, the county would partner with Advantage Behavioral Health to field and manage the ART, at an initial cost of $276,000.
TSPLOST in the spotlight:
Commissioners will also be looking at the potential list of projects for TSPLOST 2023. The TSPLOST 2023 Advisory Committee received nearly 90 project ideas, totaling close to $700 million in spending. The committee’s task over the next few months will be to reduce that list down to a total of $144.5 million in costs. While Commissioners can also place projects on the list, this year Commissioners chose not to add any additional projects, although they will vote on a list of projects that commissioners consider to be important. Those include:
- $4.7 million for bridge replacement and repairs. County officials say that the average age of bridges in Athens-Clarke County is 41 years. Some of the bridges on the list for repairs are over 60 years old. The newest bridge on the list is 47 years old.
- $72.4 million for pavement maintenance on the county’s roads and streets.
- $14.2 million for culvert and stormwater pipe replacement.
- $9.7 million to replace vehicles in the ACC fleet, including buses, with electric vehicles. County officials estimate that this “Electrify the Fleet” plan would save the county $456,000 over ten years.
- $35.5 million to augment the operations and maintenance budget for Athens Transit for the years 2023 – 2027.
- $7.9 million for a College Square Pedestrian Plaza.
- $10.3 million to complete a segment of the Firefly Trail from Hancock Road to Winterville.
The list of proposed projects deemed important by Commissioners itself exceeds the projected TSPLOST revenue of $144.5 million, adding another complication to the TSPLOST Advisory Committee’s work.
Resolutions:
In addition to the big ticket items mentioned above, Commissioners are expected to vote on several resolutions, including one establishing the second Monday in October as Indigenous People’s Day in ACC, joining many other cities, states, and counties across the US in remaking Columbus Day. Another resolution up for consideration would continue the local state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commissioners meet on Tuesday at 6:00 pm. The meeting will be streamed live on the county’s YouTube channel.
