City Council Meeting
May 12, 2022
6:00 PM
@ Athena City Hall- Miller Family Community Room
NOTICE OF BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING
A public meeting of the Budget Committee of the Athena Cemetery Maintenance District #1, Umatilla County, State of Oregon to discuss the biennial budget for the fiscal years July 1 2022 to June 30, 2024, will be held at Miller Family Community Room at , 215 S Third Street, Athena, OR. The meeting will take place on May 17, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.
The purpose of the meeting is to receive the budget message and to receive comment from the public on the budget.
This is a public meeting where deliberation of the Budget Committee will take place. Any person may appear at the meeting and discuss the proposed programs with the Budget Committee.
A copy of the budget document may be inspected or obtained on or after May 6 at Athena City Hall between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. This notice is also posted on our website at www.cityofathena.com.
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NOTICE OF BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING
A public meeting of the Budget Committee of the City of Athena, Umatilla County, State of Oregon to discuss the budget for the fiscal year July 1 2022 to June 30, 2023, will be held at Athena City Hall meeting room, 215 S Third Street, Athena, OR. The meeting will take place on May 18 at 6:00 p.m.
The purpose of the meeting is to receive the budget message and to receive comment from the public on the budget.
This is a public meeting where deliberation of the Budget Committee will take place. Any person may appear at the meeting and discuss the proposed programs with the Budget Committee.
A copy of the budget document may be inspected or obtained on or after May 6 at Athena City Hall between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. This notice is also posted on our website at www.cityofathena.com.
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR MAYOR:
First, the upsides… our town has been immensely blessed the last few years having Kristin Williams as our librarian. She has brought such great life and richness to Athena’s library. We wish her well in her new paths of life, and we are so very excited that the legacy she leaves is going to be carried on in the more than capable hands of Stephanie Partida. Stephanie comes to us with such great energy, creativity, and a true passion and love for the library, as Kristin also had. I encourage you to check out what is going on at the library and stop by to meet Stephanie at the library if you have not done so yet. I’m sure you will leave with a smile! Our town has also been immensely blessed to have Kim King in our public works department. The range of skills, professionalism as a public servant, and dedication Kim has had have been great assets to Athena. Kim will be retiring at the end of this year, and we are very excited to welcome Brian Pickard on board to be learning the ropes with Kim and Kenneth until that time. Brian comes to us highly recommended and brings a wealth of skills and experience for this position. So - a thousand welcomes, Stephanie and Brian!
Sorry to say, but we also have a downside this month. In recent months there have been some characters passing through our town who have not had the best interests of Athena or its citizens at heart. We know we do not live in a perfect world and there is simply no way to prevent all of this. I heard a great training from a law-enforcement officer once who stated that police, fire, and ambulance workers are not technically the “first responders” to any situation. It is the actual people who are there when the thing happens… Those who dial 911… Those are the actual “first responders”. This is why it is so important for all of us in our small community to keep our eyes and ears open. If you see something going on that does not seem right, say something! I think social media can be a good place to communicate and network in ways that can help keep our community safer, but it is only one tool. Please do report things to the sheriff's office so they can be even more informed and will have a record to use when they need it for documentation. Talk to your neighbors, but please make sure your conversations are not just hearsay or gossip as these can be more destructive than helpful. Also be aware that often times our law enforcement and code enforcement officers are doing much more behind the scenes than you are aware of to correct situations. You are always welcome to contact them and ask questions if you feel you need to.
Athena Caledonian Games
Volunteers are always needed to help with short-term projects for our Scottish festival on July 9, 2022. Call 541-566-3880 to check in. Caledonian Games has a Guardian program for donors who donate $50. The Guardians are protecting our precious Scottish heritage in Athena. Please mail donations to Athena Caledonian Games, PO Box 161, Athena, OR. Athena Caledonian Games will feature Celtic band, "Endalos", with Scottish and Irish music in the park!
Code Enforecement Corner
Code Enforcement Corner:
May has arrived and summer will soon follow! The flowers and trees are blooming and lawns everywhere are growing wild. When you are outside mowing lawns, pulling weeds and raking everything up, please DO NOT forget the alley way behind your home. It is so important to NOT let grass and weeds grow tall and dry out in alley ways as they present a tremendous fire danger! Keep these areas trimmed and free of grass and weeds for everyone’s safety.
Code Enforcement would like to remind everyone about the presence of inoperable and/or unlicensed vehicles on your property. According to the definition of solid waste in the city ordinances, vehicles that are inoperable and/or unlicensed constitute a code violation for your property. If you have such a vehicle and don’t have the title in hand, please call Gina @ (541)278-6300 for assistance. If the inoperable and/or unlicensed vehicle is valued at $500 or less and should be dismantled, we can provide you with a Junk Slip Form 272 that will help you get rid of it!
Don’t forget our “COMMUNITY CARES” sign-up! There are folks in our city that need help with cleaning up their yards and good communities take care of each other! If you have a few spare hours and some equipment, please sign up to help your neighbors! Call City Hall or Code Enforcement to sign up, there is need right now for your assistance.
HAPPY MAY TO YOU!!!
Community Yard Sale
ANNUAL CITY-WIDE YARD SALE!!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND GET ON THE MAP/LIST NOW!
May is here and we are getting ready for our annual Yard sale day. May 21st Saturday from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm. If you are interested in having a yard sale and being put on the map, please call either City Hall (541) 566-3862 or Bee’s knees (541) 566-0203 Thursday – Sunday 11:00-5:00 with your address and contact info. (Your contact info will not be on the map). We provide Maps for easy shopping. Best time of year to have a yard sale. We advertise for you in multiple newspapers. We look forward to another great year. If you have any questions contact Paula Babb (541) 969-7904.
Athena Public Library
This summer the Athena Library will be hiring a part time teen intern thanks to a grant from the State Library of Oregon. This is a great opportunity to build your resume, increase skills, and learn the scope of library work and be able to identify how their interests and skills match that work. The intern will complete 100 hours over the course of 8 weeks and will also complete a connected learning project that will benefit our library, in collaboration with the Library Director. Interested applicants must be at least 16 years of age. Applications can be picked up at the Athena Library starting May 16, 2022. Applications close May 31, 2022.
Book club this month has been moved to Wednesday, May 25th at 6:00pm. Pick up a copy of our current read, The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai.
Save the date for the Traveling Lantern theatre group! They will be helping us kick off Summer Reading with their “Camp Ocean” performance on June 8, 2022 at 6:00pm.
We have lots of fun events planned for Summer Reading this year so be sure to follow us on Facebook or stop in the library for updates on upcoming events.
The library will be closed Thursday, May 5th and there will be no craft that day. We will also be closed Monday, May 30th in honor of Memorial Day.
Library Board will be held on Monday, May 23rd at 6:00pm
Since 1993
Caledonian Days
ATHENA CALEDONIAN GAMES
Athena Caledonian Games, a Scottish heritage festival, is held every July. We are seeking parade participants, old cars for showing, athletes, clans, vendors, pipers and dancers. Please volunteer to help us. (Call 541-566-3880.) We need elbow grease and support. Our $50 Guardian Donation Program seeks donors to guard and preserve Athena’s Scottish Tradition. Donations may be sent to ACG, PO Box 161, Athena, OR 97813.
