ACC Commission funds workforce support plan, approves housing developments

The Athens-Clarke County Commission has approved plans to provide $3.3 million towards workforce support and development over the next two years, including funding for worker-owned cooperatives and child care.

The commission also approved almost 600 new housing units in three different developments across town, authorized a $5.7 million bond to help keep the landfill operating into the future, strengthened Athens’ anti-smoking ordinance and funded youth sports in collaboration with the Clarke County School District.

Table of Contents
Workforce support and development
Housing developments approved
Landfill expenses
Anti-smoking ordinance strengthened
Youth sports program approved

Workforce support and development

The ACC Commission approved a workforce development plan that will ultimately provide $3.3 million with the goal of empowering the local workforce to help them meet the needs of Athens businesses in the immediate and long-term. 

The workforce plan includes proposals from both the Athens-Area Chamber of Commerce and the Business Development and Workforce Support Taskforce convened by Mayor Kelly Girtz. The chamber’s proposal, dubbed “Athens Achieves,” was originally approved in June. It focuses on workforce development in a traditional sense, including job training, education and building pathways to employment. The plan developed by the county’s taskforce takes a different approach. It seeks to empower and support workers through ‘know your rights’ trainings, improving child care provision, offering loan funds for small businesses and support for cooperative businesses and employee ownership.

Athens Achieves has been changed somewhat since it was originally approved. It will now receive a total of $2.35 million, up from $1.9 million, to provide support for some Athens-area nonprofits such as Destined Inc., which may receive up to $300,000 for their “Read to Succeed” program for elementary school students. Other nonprofits funded through Athens Achieves include Education Matters, which may receive $75,000 to support career pathways for high school students, and the Athens Community Apprenticeship Program, which may receive $150,000 for apprenticeship training.

The remaining $925,000 of the $3.3 million package will likely go to various nonprofits who can meet the goals laid out by Girtz’s taskforce. For example, the Economic Justice Coalition is being asked to develop a train-the-trainer program on workers’ rights topics such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, including ways to fight wage theft, discrimination and sexual harassment. Other nonprofits which are likely to receive funding include Quality Care for Children, which would provide business coaching and community support to promote high-quality child care in Athens; the Georgia Center for Employee Ownership, which would help convert local businesses over to employee-ownership after the founding owners retire; and the Georgia Cooperative Development Center, which would establish a business purchasing and marketing cooperative to help small business band together for their mutual benefit.

Commissioners praised the plan, which passed unanimously in an 8-0 vote.

“The businesses that will grow out of [this plan] will contribute to the community and create jobs into the future for decades,” said Commissioner Melissa Link.

“All of it comes together in one great big bubble of collaboration and community…it includes everybody, youth as well,” said Commissioner Tiffany Taylor, who served on Girtz’s taskforce.

Commissioners Ovita Thornton and John Culpepper recused themselves from the vote out of conflicts of interest due to their current service on the Board of Directors for the Economic Justice Coalition and the Athens-Area Chamber of Commerce, respectively. Since Culpepper’s vote was needed to pass the Athens Achieves plan back in June, that decision may not be legally valid, which is why the plan needed to be re-approved this month.

Despite universal approval for the plan, some commissioners expressed disappointment and frustration that it took so long to come together. The plan was initially conceived back in 2022 when socialist Commissioner Mariah Parker was able to pass a proposal for workforce support (as opposed to workforce development) in a split 6-4 vote over significant opposition.

Parker would resign from office later that year. Around the same time, progressive Commissioners Tim Denson and Russell Edwards lost their seats due to Republican gerrymandering, further undermining support for left-wing economics on the body. Some of Parker’s more left-wing ideas like support for union organizing ended up not being pursued, and the Chamber of Commerce developed their own plan in parallel to compete with Parker’s vision.

Due to various delays, Girtz’s taskforce ended up convening too late to allow for a robust request-for-proposals process in which different proposals would be vetted and carefully selected for funding. Instead, the commission decided to fund the nonprofits listed above directly, without a formal proposal process.

“In the best of all possible worlds, at least from my perspective, we would have had this done early enough that we could have had a request-for-proposal process,” said Commissioner Carol Myers, who served on Girtz’s taskforce and drafted the final proposal. “At this point, it was really a question of how supportive are we of the goals of the workforce development, versus following what would be a standard procedure.”

These workforce support programs are funded through the federal American Rescue Plan which must be entirely allocated by the end of the year, leading to a tight timeline. The nonprofits which have been selected for funding must submit a scope of services for their proposals by Friday, August 16. If the commission gives their final approval at their September voting meeting, these programs will be funded through 2026.

UPDATE (9/18/24): The ACC Commission approved the funding plan, giving $150,000 to the Economic Justice Coalition, $300,000 to Quality Care for Children, $150,000 to the Georgia Center for Employee Ownership and $150,000 to the Georgia Cooperative Development Center. They declined funding for OneBreath CNA because it is incorporated as a for-profit LLC, not as a nonprofit.

Housing developments approved

The commission voted unanimously to approve almost 600 new housing units spread across three developments in different parts of town.

The first of these is a new apartment complex near “Space Kroger” on US-29 which will add 330 units with over 500 new beds in total off McClung Road.

Over on the eastside, the commission up-zoned a parcel off International Drive that includes The Reserve apartment complex, which previously held more units than the zoning code technically allowed. By changing the zoning designation fully to RM-2, The Reserve will come into compliance and allow the developer to build 24 new multifamily cottages. These cottages will have four bedrooms each which will be rented individually, perhaps to graduate students.

Finally, the commission approved 198 new townhomes, 29 detached single-family homes and 11,000 square feet of commercial space on the far west side of the county off Cleveland Road. 

While no one spoke in opposition to any of these developments at the meeting, some Cleveland Road residents were fiercely opposed to an earlier version of this development that included an 150-unit apartment complex. 

The apartment complex ended up being removed in the final version, but with it went the only guaranteed affordable housing in any of the developments.

“I personally had wished that [the apartment complex] stayed,” Houle said before the vote. “They were going to use our inclusionary zoning ordinance and give us some affordable units mixed in with their market rate units…But I also appreciate that that has gotten us to where we are, where we don’t have a line of people at the podium opposing it.”

The commissions’ inclusionary zoning ordinance grants developers density bonuses and other perks if they set aside some of the units as affordable for someone making 60% or 80% of the area median income. However, it has been underutilized since its passage in 2022 for various reasons. In this case, nearby residents “complained relentlessly,” according to Houle, and were able to prevent the affordable units from being built.

Landfill expenses

The commission authorized a $5.7 million revenue bond to cover construction costs related to the Athens-Clarke County landfill. The bond will be secured through Regions Bank, which offered the lowest interest rate (3.68%) of all the applicants. The bond will be paid back over seven years. 

The revenue will allow the landfill to open two new cells when the current ones are eventually filled. 

“We’re not expanding the landfill [with this vote],” said Commissioner Patrick Davenport, who chairs the ACC Solid Waste Management Authority. “We are entering a new phase of the landfill that has already been purchased, and we need to put liner down.”

Davenport urged Athens to continue recycling to slow down the pace at which the landfill’s capacity is used. If you have questions about what is and is not recyclable, check out the ACC Solid Waste Department’s FAQ page here.

Composting food waste is also an excellent way to reduce the amount of trash that goes into the landfill and thereby conserve our tax dollars.

Anti-smoking ordinance strengthened

On a recommendation from the American Heart Association, the ACC Commission voted unanimously to strengthen their anti-smoking ordinance to remove exemptions for employee break rooms and private banquet rooms. 

The only remaining exceptions to the ban on indoor smoking and vaping in Athens are private residences, hotel smoking rooms, tobacco stores and certain other private rooms or events.

Culpepper voted with the majority at last Tuesday’s meeting although in committee he voted against it.

Youth sports program approved

The commission also voted to continue their investment in Athens youth through the ACC School District by providing $110,158 to extend their youth sports program through the 2024-2025 school year. This covers half of the program’s expense with the school district covering the other half.

An estimated 2,150 youth will be served in this program, called the Athens Youth Development Initiative. These children will get an opportunity to play or compete in basketball, cheerleading, football, flag football, soccer, track and field, volleyball, and cross country. Additionally, swimming and wrestling could be available as well, if some logistical hurdles can be worked out.

“[The] primary objective is to create opportunities for Athens-Clarke County children, while removing barriers, especially the cost barriers for our families,” said Chris Hulse, the coordinator of the Athens Youth Development Initiative. “In the last year, I’ve seen our children come together and not only compete but grow and learn lessons…that include but are not limited to accountability, humility, determination, selflessness and what an honor it can be to represent our community.”

The local government’s portion of the funding will come from the American Rescue Plan. Commissioners were supportive, although some wondered if the local government should continue to contribute in future years after American Rescue Plan dollars were expended. 

“I think our taxpayers would have some angst if we put the school district as part of our budget [going forward],” Fisher said at the commission’s agenda-setting meeting in July. “They got a higher millage rate [than we do]…We should not have them in our general budget at all.”

Funding for the Athens Youth Development Initiative passed unanimously.

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