The Soddy Daisy Commission is considering taking steps to allow wine in grocery stores now that Tennessee lawmakers have voted to lift restrictions.
To have the law appear on the next ballot for a vote, Mayor Janice Cagle said a petition with an amount of signatures totaling 10 percent of the number of voters in the last general election will have to be collected. Commissioner Jim Adams suggested starting this process soon so that the measure could on the November ballot.
If voters support it, the soonest the law would go into effect is in 2016.
Several restrictions still exist. For a grocery store to be considered eligible to sell wine, it must have a facility with floor space of at least 1,200 square feet and a minimum of 20 percent of their sales must come from food products.
The commission also discussed the "Concussion Statute" signed into Tennessee law in 2013 by Governor Bill Haslam. The law states that youth athletes and their parents must read and sign an information form about concussions and head injuries before they can participate in youth sports each year.
The law applies not only to school-based sports programs but also to community sports. City Manager Hardie Stulce said Soddy-Daisy is a "facilities provider only" but the city must see that participants have signed the concussion information forms.
He also said for any organized league to use a Soddy Daisy sports facility, it must have its own insurance and list the city of Soddy Daisy on the policy.
He said, "It must give the city proof of insurance and must show that the city is listed."
In his report, Commissioner Gene Shipley said many of the roads above the sewer system constructed by the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority (WWTA) are deteriorating. He said when there is a problem with the pipes, the roads above start to sink.
In some areas, he said this has already caused dangerous cracks and potholes.
He said, "It is a serious situation. People will swerve to miss it and then you've got southbound cars."
He said currently, an area at the intersection of Lee Pike and Old Dayton Pike has become particularly dangerous.
The Commission decided to send a letter to the WWTA, reminding it that if anything happens, the city of Soddy Daisy is not liable.
Commissioner Shipley said, "We need to send them a message that we need to get this fixed. If a liability comes from it, we're going to hold them responsible."