Discussion about a new cell phone tower continued at the Tuesday evening meeting of the Lookout Mountain, Tn. commission. Wireless Properties was the only company proposing to build the tower after AT&T dropped out of the competition. Tower Holding, LCC came into the process just last month and Tuesday night was issued a conditional permit after its application met all the requirements in the town’s zoning ordinance. Town Attorney Brian Smith said that multiple conditional permits are allowed.
With two contracts to consider, Jim Murphy, the legal consultant hired to lead the commission through the procedure of building the tower, offered suggestions for making comparisons easier.
The town will submit standard terms that are defined and agreed upon by both companies with blanks left for filling in the terms offered by each. This will level the playing field, he said. A time will be designated for submission of the proposals in the form of sealed bids which will both be opened at a determined time. The bids will then be evaluated ending with the approval of one.
After considering the cell phone tower for the past year, the commissioners are still having difficulty in determining how and where to build it. Concerns from the commissioners are centered on it being aesthetically pleasing and concerns from the builder are that it be larger. “The bottom is worse than the top,” said Commissioner Brooke Pippinger, referring to the equipment that is located at the base of the tower. If placed behind city hall trees, walking trails and a stream would be lost.
Town Consultant Dwight Montague said, "We want to tell them what to build, not let them dictate to us.” To do that, he said some engineering help is needed from an independent company to tell the commissioners what is really needed and the best site and configuration for the equipment. Approval was given to engineer and survey both sites that are under consideration. This way the impact to each area can be visualized, helping to make the best decisions, it was stated.
During the citizens' input segment of the meeting, resident Chuck Adams raised objections about procedures that were used by law enforcement during the burglaries that occurred over a year ago in both Lookout Mountain, Tn. and Ga. Police Chief Randy Bowden, Mayor Carol Mutter and Fire and Police Commissioner Jim Bentley said, by law, police must follow protocol and respect jurisdictions. Chief Bowden said, "We did a great job on investigation and getting back the stolen property.” The mayor said, “We’re very proud of our police department and we get letters and accolades for them from all over the mountain all the time.”
Mr. Montague reported that issuing of building permits has slowed since summer. Sales taxes, however, have increased indicating that the retail section of the mountain is doing well. During the month $10,000 was paid to ERMC for the security cameras with $7,500 being held for a few final “tweaks” of the project.
Because of the Affordable Health Care Act, the town is unable to change health insurance policies without incurring a 20 percent increase in premiums over the current policy because a change would fall under all new rules. This locks the town into keeping the existing policy with Blue Cross. If kept as is, the price would increase 11.5 percent. The decision was made to increase deductibles from $2,000 to $3,000 with the town picking up deductibles over $1,000 for employees. This will save $21,000 for the year.
Commissioner Bentley read statistics from the fire and police departments compiled by Chief Bowden. Police answered 86 calls, patrolled 4,474 miles and responded to 18 burglar alarms, all false. There were nine assist citizen calls during September, seven 911 calls, two auto accidents, 24 traffic stops and no arrests. There were four fire alarms with all being false, five medical calls in Tennessee and eight mutual aid calls in Georgia.
The grand opening of the new tennis courts and dedication of the Marilyn Voges Brown court will take place Saturday, Oct. 18, at 10 a.m., said Commissioner Pippinger, who now heads the department of parks and playgrounds. Past commissioner Joe Hailey, who directed the building project from beginning to end, said that the town will be proud of these courts for a long time. Ms. Pippinger also announced that registration for basketball will be held Nov. 15 and the season will begin after Christmas.
Commissioner of Schools Don Stinnett said that the carnival held Sept. 23 was a success. Because of the sale of T-shirts printed with designs created by students, this year’s budget was exceeded by thousands of dollars. Money raised at the carnival helps support additional teachers at the school. He thanked the many sponsors of the event both on and off the mountain. A new service is being offered, which is school-age child care until 6 p.m. It is hoped that an average of 20 students will participate daily. He also told the board and teachers that were present, that quotes are being obtained for a buzzer at the front door of the school building.
Walker Jones, commissioner of public works, said this year’s budget allots $10,000 for paving. He asked and received an increase to $25,000 for repaving the alley between Hooker and Morrison streets and to do permanent repairs to Bartram Road and Bragg Avenue.
Hamilton County along with emergency services has asked the town to re-name a portion of Bartram Road. The new section will be West Bartram. Some house numbers will also be changed.
It was announced that the Comcast franchise is being sold to Charter Cable in the Lookout Mountain area.
Approval was given to Warren Cole for a variance to setbacks on property he owns at 132 Eastview St. in order to build a house that fits in with existing ones.
Mayor Mutter said that the opportunity is still available for being a donor to install a sculpture in Jane’s Park on West Brow Road. She said that another art piece had already been placed in Temple Park. “The Watcher” now sits on a boulder near the water fountain and is painted bright yellow. This drew a citizen who lives nearby to say that she wished neighbors had been asked before placing it in the beautiful natural setting of the park, saying it would be more suitable at the children’s playground.
Letters will soon be sent requesting support for the annual employees Christmas breakfast, which is planned for Dec.11 at 7 a.m. at the golf club.
The next meeting of the Lookout Mountain, Tn. meeting will be Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 5 p.m.