Stanley Allen
A 28-year veteran of the Chattanooga Police Department has been named assistant police chief in East Ridge. Stanley L. Allen was introduced to the East Ridge Commission by Chief J.R. Reed on Thursday night. The new assistant chief was sworn in by Mayor Brent Lambert.
In 2009, the city adopted a resolution authorizing the city to issue and sell a bond anticipation note (BAN) in the amount of $2,000,000.
This was to provide temporary or long term financing for capital improvements. The note will mature on May 1, 2015 and the Tennessee Municipal League (TML) has recommended spending the remainder by April 30. East Ridge officials would like to use that money for the purchase of the land being bought for the new fire hall which is expected to close this week, however there is awareness that closings sometimes do not happen when they are scheduled.
Because there is so little time left before the deadline of when the money must be spent, Thad Jablonski, city treasurer, developed two proposals for using that money. The first included the land purchase among other capital purchases. In case the closing is postponed beyond May 1, the second proposal included underground lighting along Camp Jordan Parkway, instead. A motion was made that approved the first option provided that the land closing happens when scheduled. If it is delayed, the resolution automatically reverts to the second choice that would pay for underground lighting.
On second and final readings an ordinance was approved to rezone property at 503 Frawley Road from R-1and agricultural, to residential to RZ-1 Zero lot line residential.
Discussion also took place about the possibility of sub-leasing mowing services at Exit 1 on I-75. TDOT has a contract with the city of East Ridge to maintain this property for around $40,000 yearly. The city manager said it takes a lot of manpower and wear and tear on the equipment as well as two-three days of work each time it is mowed. TDOT will pay for 10 mowings each summer. In the past, when TDOT maintained the interchange, it sometimes was 2-3 months between mowings. Mayor Lambert said that by contracting the work out, the city may lose money, but must decide if it is worth that much to keep it looking nice. The subcontractor would be required to have insurance and be responsible for liabilities. Approval was given to get bids.
Gearing up for paving, City Manager Andrew Hyatt suggested that the city get bids per yard and by thickness of asphalt as well as incremental costs on milling and striping roads. If bids are submitted in this way, going forward the city manager will have an idea of what each project will cost and it will be unnecessary to bid out individual projects. The bids will need to be good for one year.
Digital radios will be replacing analogue radios used by the fire and police department. In five years all old radios will need to be replaced. Homeland Security grants have been made available to Hamilton County which then distributed the money among municipalities in the county. The East Ridge fire and police departments have each received $9,200 this year and anticipate the same for 2016. These grants will be used to purchase new radios for each department. The ones used by the police each cost $3,400 and the ones used by the fire department are $5,000 apiece. This year two radios will be bought using the grant money for the fire department and three for the police. Mr. Jablonski suggested phasing-in the purchase of the remainder that will be needed in five years. If bought at once, the cost for those 31 radios would amount to around $300,000.
The city manager informed the commissioners that Ridgeside has requested additional services from East Ridge. That small municipality with four streets and 412 citizens contracts with East Ridge for fire and police services. Ridgeside is now asking for code enforcement as well, and would like to use the city’s court, all maintaining the current financial arrangements. The rate charged by East Ridge is set on a per citizen rate based on population. City Attorney Hal North said, “I think we need a significant increase in compensation to do this for them.” No decision was made at the meeting.
Another topic of discussion was insurance for city employees. The city manager told the council that the city has changed brokers because rates with the current broker had increased. The new company is expected to have a 10 percent reduction in costs for the city. Mr. Hyatt also said the new company is also prepared to provide more support for the city’s employees. The new broker is located in Dickson, Tn., but the insurance will be provided by either Blue Cross or Cigna in Chattanooga.
There were reservations about entering into an agreement with Retail Strategies for marketing the city to potential new retailers at the last council meeting. Because of this, research has continued on the company and Councilman Jacky Cagle forwarded information he found concerning Retail Strategies and Fort Payne, Ala. Mayor Lambert followed up and spoke to the Fort Payne mayor.
He said the mayor of Fort Payne has had concerns because there has been no updated information on the company’s website relating to Fort Payne and no business has been located there during the first year of the contract. Mayor Lambert said their contract is similar to the one East Ridge agreed to, which allows an opt-out each year. He reported that Fort Payne “is OK enough to continue with the contract for a second year."