By Adam Smith
adam@athensnews-courier.com
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Athens officials are taking a look this week at continued beautification measures, particularly in regard to dilapidated buildings and the city’s weed ordinance.
The issue of litter has long been a top priority for Mayor Ronnie Marks, who began an aggressive anti-litter campaign earlier this year. At Monday night’s City Council meeting, however, Council members heard from residents and voiced opinions about abandoned buildings on Market Street.
Council President Jimmy Gill said city officials need to look at buildings located between the square and Big Spring Park. He said it looked to him like the only thing holding up the buildings is “termites holding hands.”
Councilman Harold Wales agreed with Gill’s assessment and said the owners of the buildings should bring them into compliance or pay fines.
Gill suggested the possibility of tearing down the structures, but Councilwoman Dr. Milly Caudle said some of the buildings may have historic attributes that should be considered before demolishing them.
Athens resident Quentin Anderson suggested the city use the $21,000 it previously appropriated for a proposed image-building campaign to cut down high grass and weeds around downtown buildings. He told council members there was little use for a campaign to entice tourists if the downtown area doesn’t look its best.
Marks, who was not at Monday’s meeting, said he believes the city is closer to resolving the abandoned building issue than council members realize. He was scheduled to meet with city officials again Wednesday to address the issue.
“We’re trying to get to every building and look at where we need to make improvements or condemnations,” he said. “I think we’re a little further ahead than what was brought out at the council meeting.”
Marks said he planned to present a map at the June 20 council meeting that lays out locations of abandoned buildings and weed ordinance violations.
He said the city deals with weed ordinance violations every summer, but citizens may not understand how slow the process can be for the city in getting those issues resolved.
“If we can’t get the property owners to be responsible, we’ll cite them for being in violation,” he said. “Sometimes people will do the right thing, and we make every effort to work with those people. If not, we go through the legal process.”
The council approved a resolution Monday to set a public hearing to declare public nuisances in the Watercress subdivision because of weed ordinance violations. The hearing will be held July 25.
History uncovered
In a brighter moment this week, a piece of Athens history was uncovered after crews removed a façade from a downtown building.
According to Trisha Black, executive director for the Spirit of Athens, the city had asked the building’s owner, Tong Shen Chiou, to improve the dilapidated façade of the old theater, located at 209 West Washington St.
When crews removed the stucco façade, they discovered the original brick underneath was in good condition.
“Although some are saddened to see the ‘theater façade’ torn off, restoring the façade to the original brick is on target for downtown revitalization,” Black said.
The building housed the Plaza Theater from 1939 to 1954 and had an art décor façade, she said, adding the Spirit of Athens has a façade grant program that can help offset the expense of restoration.
