Athens Reporter

The Mayor and Commission’s Regular Session Meeting on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 6:00 PM has been moved from the City Hall Commission Chambers at 301 College Avenue to the Clarke County School District’s Vernon Payne Meeting Hall in its administrative offices at 595 Prince Avenue. 

The new location provides a parking lot for those attending the meeting, a larger seated audience area, a security checkpoint and security features, better spacing for public comment, camera systems for meeting livestreaming, and a more accessible entrance. The temporary change is being made while additional security measures are being implemented at City Hall. 

“City Hall is a wonderful, historic building,” said Mayor Kelly Girtz, “but it was built in 1904 with a small courtroom area that isn’t up to modern large public meeting standards and isn’t easily altered. We already face space challenges across ACCGov, so other potential locations that we own have a variety of logistical challenges that are not immediately addressable.” 

Some changes for public input will also be in effect starting with the May 7 meeting. Public comment on both agenda items and non-agenda items will now be limited to two minutes instead of three minutes.  

Additionally, members of the public interested in speaking at the end of the Regular Session meeting on items that are not on the agenda must sign up prior to 6:00 PM on a list that will be available at the meeting. The Mayor Pro Tempore, who will be chairing the May 7 meeting, will call signed up speakers to the podium for their public input. 

An online public comment form for items listed on the agenda is also available online for use at any time at www.accgov.com/publicinput.

The Clarke County School District (CCSD)’s meeting hall has more recently been adapted for large public board meetings and is used for meetings of the Clarke County Board of Education. The temporary move into the CCSD meeting space will provide an opportunity for ACCGov staff to implement additional security measures in City Hall that can be used until the SPLOST-funded municipal building is constructed. 

"I appreciate Dr. Robbie Hooker, the Board of Education, and the Clarke County School District working with us on this temporary move into their facility," said Girtz. "We truly value our partnership with the school district on this and many other ongoing projects in the community."

The Mayor and Commission’s May 14 Budget Review Session and May 22 Agenda Setting Session that were tentatively scheduled to be held at City Hall will also move to the CCSD facility on Prince Avenue. The Agenda Setting Session meeting is moved from Tuesday, May 21 to Wednesday, May 22 due to local elections on May 21.

The meetings held at CCSD's Vernon Payne Meeting Hall will be streamed on the ACCGov YouTube channel and available afterwards on ACTV Cable Channel 180 and on the ACCGov Roku channel. The agenda for the May 7 meeting is available at www.accgov.com/agendas.