After a series of public meetings to get input from citizens, the town of Lookout Mountain, Ga., is close to issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the new Town Center. "This is the biggest project to take place in the community in years," said Mayor David Bennett.
The RFP will be published by the city next week. Interested bidders have until June 30, approximately 90 days, to submit bids. Information regarding the city’s requirements will be available at the city hall. There will also be a pre-bid conference scheduled for April 28 where town officials will talk to prospective bidders about proposals and requirements.
The RFP mentions the fact that design guidelines have been developed by the town and they will be available to the prospective bidders. Proposals will have to include the design agreement to comply.
A letter of interest from prospective developers will need to be submitted 30 days before the bid opening on June 30 or at the time a bid is made. This document will provide information about the company and proof of financial ability.
Sewer board representative Jimmy Campbell and Town Attorney Bill Pickering met with the developer of Brow Wood, Duane Horton, and have reached an agreement that the contract regarding the sewer system will combine Covenant College, Brow Wood and Thrive and will have a five-year renewal. The town will buy the sewer lines for these facilities for $350,000. Covenant, Brow Wood and Thrive in turn, will pay Lookout Mountain, Ga. a $31,000 yearly user fee. Some of this money will go into a maintenance account for those lines.
Statistics from the fire and police departments from February were compiled by Chief Todd Gann. The police patrolled 2,916 miles, made 11 traffic stops, issued two citations, gave 13 warnings and handled two auto accidents. Four city ordinance warnings were also given during the month. Investigations were made of four suspicious vehicles, and two suspicious persons. During the month there were two medical calls, two assist motorist calls and four assist citizen calls. There were no thefts or burglaries and no fire calls.
Councilwoman Taylor Watson announced that because of some people’s lack of attention to their property the town is starting to enforce its nuisance ordinances. This includes houses with garbage and junk in yards, uncut grass and overgrowth of invasive plants. She said that the city is aware of just four or five properties with these conditions, and they have either absent owners or are rentals with out of state owners. The first step the town will take is to send a letter for the owner to appear before the city court. She said if they show cause from a hardship that there are enough churches on the mountain, she believes, that could provide assistance.
There is a push to rid the mountain of invasive plants, and all the garden clubs, the Lookout Mountain Conservancy, Lula Lake Land Trust, the National Park Service and the Tennessee River Gorge Trust are working together to remove them. She said that landowners are responsible for removing kudzu from their property or will be facing fines and penalties. If not done, the town will remove it and charge for the chemicals and labor. On April 9 at 9 a.m. the Lookout Mountain Garden Club will sponsor a "weed wrangle" at Point Park to remove invasive plants in the park. The town has also prepared a handout that will be given when people come in to buy new car decals. It tells how to safeguard hemlock trees against the Wooly Adelgid. Affected trees will die within two to five years if not treated.
Dates of importance to the school were given by Councilwoman Caroline Williams. Spring break will be the week of April 4. The festival is scheduled for April 28. The fifth grade field trip will be the first week in May when the students will go to a 4-H facility in North Georgia and camp out. Graduation is May 20 and school is back in session again on Aug. 3. She said that the next step concerning the aquaponics project is to structure a campaign to raise money.
The town has submitted an annual stormwater report and is in good shape, said City Manager Brad Haven. At next month’s council meeting a presentation about stream buffers will be made by a biologist who is developing a map to tell the buffer sizes along every stream. This will help when making infrastructure improvements to pipes and ditches that handle stormwater.
In his budget report Jim Sabourin said the town is tracking on-budget for 2016. This is good news, he said, because it is the third consecutive year the town is operating in the black. The budget process for the next fiscal year has already begun.
Mayor Bennett said that asbestos found in the house that the town bought at the entrance of the commercial district, has now been removed. The next step will be to tear the house down. The speed limit on Lula Lake Road has officially been reduced to 25 mph along the entire length. The road also needs to be repaved, said the mayor. The cost estimate for resurfacing it is $230,000-$250,000.
He also announced that April 16 is a trail clearing day that is being sponsored by Loving Lookout. The baseball parade will take place April 23. Road striping will begin when the weather warms up, he said.
Resident of the town Rick Collett came to the meeting to ask the council for permission to claim his house address as a home office. This would be to get certification from the state of Georgia for his home health-care business that is based on Shallowford Road in Tennessee. The company wants to provide services to Lookout Mountain, Ga. and other cities in North Georgia. Attorney Pickering recommended approving Mr. Collett for the license, subject to his approval.