Athens-Clarke County officials are shaking things up with a venue change and a time switch for their Work Session meetings. Starting April 9, city leaders will say goodbye to City Hall and hello to the more conversational digs of the Dougherty Street Government Building Auditorium. According to a statement obtained by the Athens-Clarke County unified government, these gatherings, where local matters get hashed out informally, were previously hosted at the Dougherty Street location before they migrated to City Hall in the latter part of 2018.
The Mayor and Commission are all set to quickly settle into their new-old venue, located at 120 West Dougherty Street, where the political dance of democracy will unfold at the more office-friendly hour of noon. Despite the change in scenery and schedules, those in power aim to keep the agenda steady with Work Sessions generally slotted for the second Tuesday of each month and additional meetings penciled in as necessary. As reported on the Athens-Clarke County website, these sessions are meant for the Mayor and Commission to seriously consider presentations on coming policies or projects without the formal fanfare of voting or taking public comments.
In a move aimed at accommodating the schedules of staff, elected officials, and other presenters during regular business hours, the February retreat saw the Mayor and Commission requesting staff to explore the possibility of the time change. As they put it, ditching the afterhours meet-ups for midday gatherings could serve to simplify everyone’s daily grind.
The mechanics of local government might not be everyone's idea of must-see TV, but the engaged citizens of Athens-Clarke County will still have access to livestreams of the Work Sessions. These will be broadcast across several platforms, including the ACCGov YouTube and Roku channels, with rebroadcasts on ACTV Spectrum Channel 180 and available on-demand for those who prefer to catch up on local governance at their leisure. Furthermore, agendas for the Work Sessions will continue to be posted on-line in advance for those interested in the civic process.
