A second and final vote at the Thursday night East Ridge City Council meeting made changes to the ordinance regarding wrecking and towing services. The issue that garnered the most discussion was the requirement for being included in the city’s rotation list. The new rule is that a new business operating in the city must comply with the entire ordinance, and be located and operate in East Ridge for three years. After that, the company has a right to apply to be put on the list.
A final approval was also given for revised building regulations. Exterior repairs or construction in any residential area are restricted to the hours between 7 a.m.–6 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays, or from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sundays. Exceptions can be made by the building official. There will be no exterior work allowed on six designated holidays. This change was made to ensure the peace and quiet of citizens of East Ridge.
The vote was tied for establishing rules for political candidates who set up tents around the polling location during an election. The proposal is for a lottery to determine sites for each candidate’s tent and is intended to prevent what had become a race in previous elections. Councilmen Jacky Cagle and Denny Manning objected to the lottery and voted no. Councilman Larry Sewell said it really did not matter where a tent is because people will have their minds made up before they get to city hall. Vice Mayor Marc Gravitt and Councilman Sewell voted for the lottery, Mayor Brent Lambert was absent. The matter will automatically roll over to the next meeting for another vote.
The council voted in favor of making purchases for projects and equipment used by city employees. Eight SCBA air packs will be bought at a cost of $49,625 and six portable radios at a cost of $26,307 for the fire and rescue departments.
A heavy duty trash/brush loader, mounted on a new truck and chassis, will be bought for $124,108 using a Clean Energy Grant, which will provide 80 percent of the cost with 20 percent coming from the city.
Camp Jordan Arena will be getting new artificial turf for the indoor soccer field. The council approved spending $63,147. The turf will be green with a Sporturf logo.
New fencing will be put up along Camp Jordan Road at Camp Jordan Park. It will be black, commercial grade, and six feet high. The cost of the fence is $7,407 and installation will add $2,000. The old fence that will be replaced can be taken down and sold, said Stump Martin, director of parks and recreation.
The application for a transportation alternatives grant from TDOT will be made which, if received, would be used for a multi-purpose path along Ringgold Road from John Ross Road to Kingwood Drive. The city plans to apply for $1,000,000. The actual construction of the project would be paid with an 80/20 percent split for the path that is expected to cost $650,000. The city would be responsible for the cost of design and right-of-way expenses.
Another grant application that was approved comes from Lil BUB’s Big Fund for the ASPCA. It would be for $2,500 for the animal shelter to provide special care for dogs and cats with special needs that are brought to the shelter.
A public hearing for rezoning property at 1016 Greenlake Road was held and only the owner, Richard Boyd, appeared to speak. The property has one building that holds six apartment units and is currently zoned C-2. The request is to change the zoning to R-3 Residential Apartments District. Mr. Boyd has owned it for 10 years and just recently was told by the fire marshal that zoning is non-compliant with the current use. Mr. Boyd said he needed the zoning change for his insurance on the property. Nothing has changed about the building, and it is legal to operate it as is, he told the commission. The change has also been recommended by the East Ridge Planning Commission and by Kenny Custer, building inspector. Several council members had reservations because the number of police calls to the area, and voted to pass the issue to the next regular council meeting to give them time to talk to Police Chief J.R. Reed.
Appointments were made Thursday night to fill vacancies on two boards - Mike Hendricks to the Board of Zoning Appeals and Mary Lambert to the Library Board.
Three new firefighters, Brandon Clark, Chris Cope and Tyler Ezell, were sworn in by Vice Mayor Gravitt.
The chairperson of the constitution committee of the Tennessee DAR's Nancy Ward Chapter presented a proclamation to honor the 229th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution on Sept. 12. East Ridge declared Sept. 17-23, as “Constitution Week.”
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the East Ridge City Council has been changed from Oct. 13 to Thursday, Oct. 6, at 6:30 p.m.