As citizens of Athens County, we oppose siting a new fire station on the Stimson Avenue greenspace as proposed by the City of Athens administration and city council without any opportunity for public input prior to the siting decision. 

• The community was not informed of this proposal until the announcement of a January 19, 2022 design meeting. Because the meeting was held during the height of the Omicron variant with no virtual attendance offered, many people did not attend. The initial online survey associated with this meeting offered no option to oppose the project or information about how the decision to use this site was made.
• This green space acts as a de facto park, with parking, pedestrian, and bike accessibility for the Athens community, enhancing the quality of life and property values. It is the only walkable green space adjacent to the near eastside neighborhood.
• The administration has failed to consider redevelopment of a site in the city that does not impact an ecologically and socially necessary greenspace.
• Building on the site threatens the capacity of the floodplain to assist in water retention and diversion of excessive water. It will increase degradation of Hocking River water quality through the displacement of greenspace while promoting runoff from the site, potentially impacting flood insurance and disaster recovery costs.
• The site is located on the re-channeled Hocking River. Building on this site threatens the city of Athens and downstream communities by potentially exacerbating flooding, increasingly frequent in these times of climate disruption. Emergency services will potentially be compromised if the site is flooded. 
• No information from studies has been made available to the public about the project’s potential neighborhood impacts including the number of calls per day, anticipated noise and air pollution levels from diesel fuel and increased motor vehicles, expected truck traffic patterns and impacts as well as associated risks to pedestrians, cyclists, and cars.

We, the undersigned members of the Athens community, oppose siting of the fire station on the Stimson Avenue Greenspace adjacent to the bike path and Hocking River. We respectfully demand the city withdraw this proposal and engage the public in discussion of possible alternatives. For instance, these could include the playing field on Bobcat Lane (adjacent to Mill Street) which is likewise Ohio University land, or possible sites that could be redeveloped on Columbus Road that are not within a neighborhood setting and will not negatively impact an Athens neighborhood.  

If you're interested in taking action beyond this petition, call the Athens City Mayor, Steve Patterson, at (740) 592-3338.

Questions, comments? Loraine.mccosker@gmail.com