The new retail development in East Ridge that is centered around Bass Pro Shop is beginning to take shape, East Ridge officials said Thursday night. Plans are being made for the removal of Fire Station #2 that is located where the stores will be built. The property will be turned over to the developers on Feb. 12, and the council wants to move and store as much of the existing building as possible for future use.
City Manager Andrew Hyatt has been contacted by the construction company that originally built the structure about disassembling it for the amount of $24,550. Another bid will be sought before a called meeting Monday night to decide if the work will be contracted out or done by the city employees.
Mr. Hyatt also has scheduled a meeting next week to look at property for relocating the fire hall. Pending approval by the council and Fire Chief Mike Williams, the city manager said he would like to get it under contract so construction could begin on the new building.
Mayor Brent Lambert said that most towns that have experienced large retail developments for the first time express the wish that more planning had been done. He said that the council needs to take a serious look at transportation and accessibility to the location of the new shopping center. He suggested holding a meeting in February to discuss items that might be needed such as work on Exit 1 to make it more user friendly. He said citizen input will be welcome.
With the new push for growth, the city is formulating a design review manual. A draft has been written but needs more input before adoption. This will be a blueprint for what the city leaders envision the buildings, signs and landscaping to become in order to attract new businesses. Mr. Hyatt suggested a workshop on the matter after the staff advises changes to the draft. It should be ready for consideration by the council at the next meeting in three weeks.
Discussion took place about waiving fees for Bug-a-Paluza that will take place in April. In the past, the city has allowed use of the amphitheater at Camp Jordan for the charitable event. Parks and Recreation Director Stump Martin said the event has gone from raising $6,000 the first time it was held, to raising $29,000 last year for the Ronald McDonald House. The city is contributing by providing the amphitheater, but it still benefits from parking cars and campers. Mr. Martin said the city businesses profit as well from food sales and hotel rentals.
Mayor Lambert recently visited the playground that has just been built at Camp Jordan. He said at the time there were at least 20 children and 15-20 adults there. He had three people tell him it was one of the best things the city has done. “They were tickled pink,” he said. He suggested making plans for how to use the other city parks.
In his report, Councilman Jacky Cagle questioned the reason WWTA bills were combined for the past two months. Don Seagle, East Ridge’s representative to the WWTA, said that Tennessee American Water had failed to supply the data from which WWTA bills are figured. He also gave the statistics that 96 percent of the sewer bills are being collected from East Ridge, that 11 percent are paid late and that late payment fees of $118,000 were collected in 2014. He also said the city is continuing to look for a local third party service to handle sewer bills.
The council approved a transaction for trading in surplus equipment from the public works and parks departments in exchange for a new Kioti tractor. Also included in the trade, the city will get $10,000 to put toward the purchase of a new Gator for use at Camp Jordan as well as $500 for parts and labor to repair an old Gator that the city already owns.
Putting out bids for a GPS system for city vehicles was authorized Thursday night. City Treasurer Thad Jablonski said the GPS system for roughly 70 vehicles including police cars, fire and garbage trucks and vehicles used by the streets department would lead to efficiency in fleet management
Time clocks that identify employees with a thumbprint were suggested by the city manager. Multiple clocks would be part of a single system that could be used for time management and would have capabilities to do payroll. This equipment could be either bought or leased. Approval was given to get bids only.
Christopher Shobert, a resident of East Ridge and a sixth grade science teacher at East Ridge Middle School, came to the council meeting to seek help with a neighborhood problem stemming from a vacant house. The house located at 4110 South Terrace was abandoned due to a foreclosure three years ago. The following summer Mr. Shobert had a “large rodent” infestation. That summer 16 rats were trapped in his crawlspace and basement. Last summer an exterminator was called to handle the problem. Each month, bait traps are found completely empty, said Mr. Shobert and the exterminator has told him it would take 50-60 rats to clean out the traps. That empty house has become a breeding ground, and Mr. Shobert said he is concerned about the entire neighborhood since the pests go elsewhere when no food is available.
Councilman Larry Sewell said that reportedly the house was sold on the courthouse steps. City Attorney Hal North said the new owner is responsible. He added that it could be condemned if qualifications are met. Mr. Shobert said tearing it down might make the problem worse because rats live in burrows underground. The city will attempt to find the owner and encourage them to hire an exterminator.