East Ridge will be giving back a $100,000 parks grant.
Two years ago the city applied for and received a Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant (LPRF) from the state of Tennessee that the city had to match. The original intent was to create a park at the site of the old East Ridge swimming pool on Monroe Street. Before work on the park began, the property was sold to Walmart and projects planned for the park were shifted to Camp Jordan, which already has some of the planned amenities.
At the Thursday night city council meeting it was decided to return the grant money and scrap the plan to build more park facilities at Camp Jordan where they are not needed. Work done up to this point, including $4,000 in administrative fees and $2,840 for engineering, is the responsibility of the city. It will be paid out of the budget set up for engineering projects.
The next time this grant will be available is in 2018. The council will conduct workshops to figure out what it would like to put where before applying again. The community will be involved in the input meetings.
One of the activities that has been held at Camp Jordan for many years is indoor soccer. Parks and Recreation Director Stump Martin is requesting new soccer carpet for the arena. Discussion ensued about the project that will be planned for in next year’s budget. Cost of the carpet will be around $60,000 and, because of the high cost, Vice Mayor Marc Gravitt questioned how much the city earns from this sport. He was told that this year the city received $125,204 in direct income and spent $57,793 on indoor soccer. Bids will be requested for both traditional green and also for orange and navy carpet, which are East Ridge’s colors. Trading in the old carpet should be factored into the total cost.
Progress is being made at the new Exit 1 development in East Ridge. The council has been informed that dirt work is 98 percent finished. The pavilion that the developers are giving the city should be finished in the next two weeks, and painting the old bathroom will be done after a new roof is put on. Seed, fertilizer and straw have been put down on cleared property.
The city has spent over $500,000 on the work around the Bass Pro Shop development. Interim City Manager Mike Williams said that Hamilton County has pledged $500,000, but no money has been received yet. City Attorney Hal North suggested that he contact the county mayor’s office for help.
Mayor Brent Lambert said that the time had come to select an engineer for phase two of the development, which will require a request for qualifications (RFQ). The city has $2 million set aside for the work, but he said that actual costs may differ from the estimates. The city’s debt policy will allow East Ridge to borrow up to $17 million. There is already $6.6 million of debt, which will permit the city to borrow up to $10 million more. Vice Mayor Gravitt asked to compare the up-front costs of getting a bond with that of interest rates from local banks.
Shifting employees into different jobs has left a void in the building and codes enforcement department. One employee was moved from that department for failing to complete required certifications and put into the administrative department, displacing another employee. The city manager has asked for the council to create a new job in administration so it will free up the position that is still being paid out of codes enforcement.
In the meantime, with all the new development taking place in East Ridge, an additional codes and building inspector is needed. The council voted to approve Mayor Lambert’s motion to create an additional position in the codes department before resolving the issue of creating a job for the displaced employee. A policy will also be established that defines all the requirements of the position, such as timelines for receiving certifications to which the new hire must agree. Starting pay will be $15 per hour and will increase as the various tests are passed.
Approval was given to upgrade the city’s Information Technology infrastructure, including cabling for the city hall complex, creating new firewalls and wireless connections as well as a new server. The total cost will be $37,810.
Vice Mayor Gravitt requested that speed humps be put along South Smith Road to slow down the traffic along a road that has heavy pedestrian traffic and no sidewalks. He was told that this is a citywide problem and building speed humps one place will cause other people to request them. He was also told that it would require engineering and traffic studies. As an alternative, he then changed his request to set up radar on the street and provide chase cars to write tickets.
A vote approved various city board appointments that were recommended by each councilman. These include the Industrial Development Board, the Library Board, the Beer Board, the Zoning Appeals Board, and the Planning Commission. Mayor Lambert appointed Fire Marshal Kenny Custer as the city’s representative to the WWTA for a term of one year.
The next meeting of the East Ridge City Council, originally scheduled for the week during Spring Break, has been moved to March 31 at 6:30 p.m.