The East Ridge City Council on Thursday authorized the city manager to seek a $120,000 grant to pay for landscaping at an Interstate 75 Exit 1 beautification project.

City Manager William Whitson said the city is applying for a 2009 Roadscapes grant by the Tennessee Department of Transportation for landscaping. The city will have to match 20 percent of the grant, or $24,000. The application deadline is next Friday.

The grant will go toward the flag memorial project that is planned for the northbound side of Exit 1, Mr. Whitson said.

Mayor Mike Steele said the exit beautification will show the city’s pride in the state of Tennessee and will generate economic growth by drawing more interstate motorists to the city’s hotels, restaurants and gas stations.

“Over time, people will say let’s get off at that exit where the flags are,” Mayor Steele said.

Donna Reed of the Exit 1 Committee appeared before the council to request funding for the flag project as well as a planned gateway project. The city council authorized planning to move forward with the idea of spending an estimated $250,000 to $300,000 for the projects. However, Mayor Steele said that the city council would have to approve any specific funds for the projects at a later date.

The flag memorial will consist of the new East Ridge flag, plus the U.S., Hamilton County and Tennessee flags, Ms. Reed said. The Exit 1 Committee, which is part of East Ridge Revitalization, will sell memorial bricks to help pay for the project. There will be a walking path leading from land that a hotel owner is donating to the flags. There will be memorials to war veterans.

The gateway will be placed at the Ringgold Road bridge at Exit 1, Ms. Reed said. The gateway will include a waterfall, fiber-optics, landscaping and will use river rocks to form an outline of the state.

In other business, the council learned about plans to consolidate the city’s speed limits. Mayor Steele said that the city has speed limits of 30 and 40 miles per hour, which is confusing. City workers this month are replacing the speed limit signs, all of which will specify a limit of 35 mph, and enforcement will start in November after giving drivers time to adjust.

The council also authorized publicist Albert Waterhouse to spend up to $15,000 to organize and promote a fall festival on Oct. 17. Officials said they hope the event will become an annual festival to draw people to the city. The festival will include a parade of bicycles and wheelchairs, a chili cook-off, petting zoo, softball game and motorcycle rally, Mr. Waterhouse said. East Ridge retailers can display their wares as well.

And, the city council received an update on the construction of the new elementary school in East Ridge. Kenny Smith of the Hamilton County School Board said that the new school combining McBrien and East Ridge Elementary Schools will open next August. With 840 students, the unnamed facility will be the largest elementary school in the county, he said.

By January, 40 percent of the framing will be completed, said Keith Jones of EMJ Corp., the school’s contractor.

Jason Reynolds
jreynolds01@yahoo.com