Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 9

185 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 9 ATHENS COUNTY , OHIO typically have access to because of geographic barriers preventing access to employment and educational opportunities.” Environmentalism is another important focus. The City of Athens Environment and Sustainability Commission implements any green initiatives and sustainability goals. Rural Action, a membership-based non-profit organization has been working on The True Pigments project in the county’s Millfield area along with some other partners. “They’re taking the acid mine discharge (AMD) from the Sunday Creek watershed, extracting it, and making paint with it,” says Powers. “They’re actually removing the old coal mine runoff from the water and utilizing it in a different form. That’s a really neat sustainability project.” Looking ahead three to five years, Perani would like to see continued growth in the county’s broadband infrastructure. She acknowledges, “The county currently has many partners in the Athens community that are working hard to expand broadband infrastructure. The Athens County Broadband Advisory Committee was formed specially to help tackle this problem. As we know, broadband access plays into health, education, and economics. For the county to keep moving forward, we need to expand broadband.” Perani also looks forward to having companies in The Ohio University Innovation Center expand, maybe into one of the new speculative buildings. Powers would like to continue growing the county into a vibrant thriving area, and notes, “Having the Baileys Trail System completely built out and in full use will certainly help. I think we have an opportunity to lead the region in doing this correctly by being holistic and collaborative. That way, we can deliver more opportunities to Appalachian Ohio.” Baileys Trail Photograph by Joel Prince - Courtesy of Athens County CVB