The Athens City Council continues to be embroiled in controversy, this time over the treatment of the historically black community on Strain Road and Luke Street.
For decades, rain has resulted in raw sewage flowing in the streets and problems with drainage, including plumbing backup and smells. The aged pipes are inadequate to address the problem, and the residents have brought their concerns to the Athens City leaders on multiple occasions.
The issue came to a head in November 2023, precipitating involvement from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In February, Dr. Robert Bullard, an environmental justice advocate, offered his help to the community. In June, Mayor Ronnie Marks held a meeting to respond to the residents' concerns and update them on the grant process through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), which the city leaders hope will mitigate the cost of upgrading the sewage system.
On October 1, another meeting was held at St. John Missionary Baptist Church to mount an action plan, according to WHNT.
WHNT reported, “In September of 2023, Athens Water Services worked on a survey to allow homeowners to see the extent of the issues. They were also informed that updating the sewer lines would be costly. Mayor Ronnie Marks informed the residents that the city would apply for grants to help cover the initial costs. When asked for an update on the progress of the grant application, a spokesperson for the city of Athens told News 19, “We submitted the required pre-application to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) on May 30. We have not received a response yet.”
Two weeks later, at Monday's night council session, Mayor Marks finally received a response from ADEM and read the note into the record.
Marks stated, "Over a year ago, almost a year ago or more, we had a gentleman from ADEM stand up in a community meeting and say to us that all the city had to do was ask for funding, and you shall receive it. Well, we've asked for funding months and months ago, and about every few weeks, we send a note to Mr. Eric Reddy, who's the gentleman who made the statement, I believe, inside the church on Strain Road. And so, we asked for any kind of update, and I want to read to you this from Mr. Eric Reddy: 'At the moment, the Strain Road project is funded on this intended use plan. If everything goes to plan the funding will be available the beginning of the calendar year January 2025.'"
"That was sent to us at 1:47 p.m. today, and that is the latest update I have," he added. "Any projects or any things that we have done there prior to this funding is at city expense. We have talked about also the drainage coming off of the Luke Street on the west side of Strain Road. Mr. Lucas and I have been there several times and met with some of the residents, and I'm sure a little later on there will be some comments from the audience about this," he added.
However, when the council chairwoman opened the floor to public comment on the issue, members of the Strain Road/Luke Street community and their neighbors pointed out the council's lack of understanding of the plight of these taxpaying residents.
Around the same time the sewage issues were being addressed, the City Council voted unanimously to fund a one-year contract with the Athens-Limestone Animal Shelter totaling $480,000.
Strain Road resident Kirk Parker took issue with the expenditure toward the animal shelter when the needs of the Strain Road community were more pressing.
“You know, I feel less than an animal right now because if you're going to spend $500,000, you can come up with $500,000 to help the animals," he told the council.
“You could have connected sewage, you could have come in and dug out all the ditches, and we could be comfortable, too," Parker added. “Now we've got to wait. Wait on somebody to approve something, and we don't know whether that's gonna get approved or not. But to make us feel like we're less than animals, to come up off of $500,000 dollars that quick for the animals when we've been complaining for years and years about our community. And everybody else around us living good.”
Experts have surmised that the residents' issues began with the construction of Interstate 65 and have only escalated with the rapid build-up of housing communities in the city limits.
Parker noted the dichotomy, saying these new communities are “less than a hundred yards away all around us. But yet, we're living like animals. Constantly getting flood out. Constantly have to smell feces. Constantly our commodes not being flushed, even in the Summertime it smells so bad! But, this is what I have to say. I feel like a dog and less than a cat, because ya'll treat us less than human beings in our community. So ya'll should be ashamed of yourselves.”
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Resident Jane Davis, who spoke in defense of the Strain Road community, commented, “We are all Athenians, all of us. We belong together, we're a community. Our population at Luke Street and Strain Road has never had proper solutions for generations."
“The rest of us have brand new housing developments go up and they have everything, but raw sewage still flows after the rains into this community. And we promise to correct this but we're always waiting for grants, we're waiting for the money for something else, so we have a proposal," she added.
Davis recommended that the city government require housing developments to contribute to community improvement.
“The money they donate would pay for the construction and the connections required," she outlined. "And I propose this: that the Athens people pay for a new sewerage system for this part of town. Payment could come from the community development fees. From the housing development corporations, the Strain neighbors will be forever free of the health-endangering open sewage that they currently live with.”
Mark Wilson, another lifelong black resident, alleged that instead of replacing the pipes, the city leaders opted for temporary repairs.
“Ya'll had a lot of sewage money. I know, shake your head like you don't understand, man. You know all about everything that goes on in North town and all over this city because you're the mayor. You're causing a lot of these problems because you don't do nothing [sic] for everybody. You do something for your friends," he stated.
Kirk Parker stepped up to the podium again to address Councilman James Lucas.
“Mr. Lucas, we need our roads paved, and we need lines down the street because people walking down the street get run over," he declared. “It's just a disgrace that we need to be treated like animals, feel like animals, and looking at the people all around us living good. But yet, we have to take the filth that's running right through us.”
The Villas of Swan Creek, with three-bedroom, two-bath homes starting at $464,000, is the most recent housing subdivision built near the Strain Road and Luke Street historical neighborhood.
Kenneth Hines, who lives outside the city limits but was allowed to speak, said, “[T]his isn't a question of whether there is money, whether there are resources to do this, it's a question of how high it is on the priority list so that money gets distributed to it.”
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, As the Girl Turns, is an investigative journalist, author, opinion analyst, and contributor to 1819 News, Redstate, and other publications. Jennifer writes on Politics and Pop Culture, with occasional detours into Reinvention, Yoga, and Food. You can read more about Jennifer's world at her As the Girl Turns website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram.
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