Grant could remedy smell near Court Street

by Hillary Copsey
Senior City Writer

Residents of the four-block neighborhood surrounding Fern Street might have better-smelling days around the corner if Athens receives a grant to repair a century-old storm sewer running under North Court Street.

The city will submit an application to receive a competitive grant from the Ohio Community Distress Program for the maximum $300,000, Mayor Ric Abel said at a public hearing last night.

City Council suspended its rules of procedure yesterday evening to skip the first two readings of the ordinance, allowing Abel to apply for the grant by the Feb. 4 deadline.

The grant — the first of its kind — is available only to distressed counties or cities in Ohio. Because about 60 percent of Athens city and county residents bring home low to moderate incomes, both are classified as distressed areas.

Abel said the Fern Street sewer was chosen as the grant project because of the numerous residents who have complained about the smell in that area.

“I go through that area quite often ... I too have noticed the problem,” City Council President Bill Bias said. “The odor at times ... is almost enough to make you sick.”

Deficiencies in the storm sewer, which is brick and was built around 1900, were found this summer, and officials began working then to find funding to remedy the problem, Abel said.

City engineers estimate the total engineering and construction costs for the project will be $492,500, Abel said. Because the grant — which has $3 million in funds, but will help more than one distressed city or county — only allocates up to $300,000 to recipients, the city will have to match nearly $200,000.

“There’s no requirement (that the city match the grant money),” said Melissa Knight, an assistant to the mayor. “In competitive grants, more money shows more interest and looks more impressive.”

Abel said he is unsure if Athens will receive the grant but thinks it is necessary to try.

If the city is awarded the grant, it will receive notification around April 4, and construction could begin this summer, Abel said.