Councilman Sandy Gothard told the Lookout Mountain, Ga. City Council on Thursday the Comprehensive Plan is progressing nicely and another public meeting will be held for residents to review the draft of the final plan. The meeting will be set once the town’s consultant, The Walker Collaborative, notifies the council of completing the draft plan.

The topic of most interest to residents, he said, is the density plan for the area south of the town along Lula Lake Road. The draft plan now sets a 60,000-square-foot minimum lot size that would allow up to four homes with each home being on a minimum 15,000-square-foot lot. The plan also sets aside land that is not developable such as ravines, rock outcroppings, streams, and steep terrain. As an example, Councilman Gothard said if a 60,000 sq. ft. lot had 10,000-square-foot of undevelopable land, then the remaining 50,000-square-foot could only support three homes with each having a minimum 15,000-square-foot lot.

Councilman David Fussell asked what would happen if a groundswell of support against these lot sizes developed after the next public meeting. Councilman Gothard said, “The comprehensive plan is not a popularity contest.” He said all factors must be considered and combined to do the best we can do. “The buck stops here at this table,” he said.

Mayor Tom Gifford said Councilman Gothard’s leadership on the Steering Committee has been very important to the process. Other council members added their praise and Councilman Gothard said, “This is exciting. It’s our future.”

Resident Jimmy Campbell addressed the council and said, “I appreciate what you are doing. Hang in there. Listen to what people have to say and keep going.” Other residents in attendance applauded the statement.

In other business, the council approved, on first reading, an ordinance acknowledging the adoption of all eight of the International Building Code standards. Last month the council had approved, on first reading, adoption of seven out of eight standards. After asking for clarification from the Municipal Planning Commission of why the eighth standard was not being adopted, the MPC changed their recommendation to include all eight.

City Attorney William Pickering said he felt it necessary to begin again with the first reading of the ordinance change rather than amending the language and going ahead with a second reading. The second reading will now be on Oct. 6 at 7:30 a.m. at a called meeting of the council.

The council set the millage rate at 8.5 mil. The millage rate remains the same as last year, but must be set by ordinance each year. Mr. Pickering said he will have the ordinance drafted and available for first reading at the called meeting on Oct. 6. Second reading will be at the regular meeting of the council on Oct. 15.

Resident Taylor Watson addressed the council about the possibility of the city putting speed bumps on Rock City Trail. She said she and others have witnessed numerous non-resident vehicles traveling at speeds above the speed limit when children are present. She said she did not mean to imply that residents always obey the speed limit.

A recent incident involved a young non-resident driver doing at least 40 mph in the 25 mph zone causing adults, children, and pets scrambling to get out of the way. It was very nearly a serious accident, she said. She witnessed the incident and gave the police a description of the car.

The car was stopped later by the police and the driver was given a warning. The driver could not be cited because the police did not witness the incident, Vice Mayor Dennis Eischeid said.

Ms. Watson presented the council with a petition of 44 residents asking the council to put speed bumps on Rock City Trail. The petition includes 100 percent of the residents on Rock City Trail plus other residents who recognize the problem.

Along with the speed bumps, a white line at the STOP sign is needed also, another resident said. A third resident said the intersection of Cinderella and Wood Nymph needs a white line, too.

The council approved a motion to take these recommendations under consideration and present their findings at the next meeting.

In the Mayor’s Report, Mayor Gifford reminded the council of the authority they gave him in May to seek and make grant applications for the purpose of replacing the Flintstone subdivision sanitary sewer system and pumping stations. He said he has found two grants that could provide the needed funds.

Mayor Gifford asked the council to approve a resolution allowing him to apply for $200,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission and $100,000 from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (Immediate Threat and Danger Program).

The council approved the resolution. If the grants are not approved, the city will not be responsible for the Flintstone sewer system. Walker County and Covenant College would then have to provide the funding.

On the mayor’s recommendation, the council approved Doug Stein to be reappointed to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Mayor Gifford said the qualifying period for local elections has passed. There are two mayoral candidates (himself being one), he said. Also, he said, there are four candidates for the three council positions. All three council members whose seats are up for election are seeking re-election. They are Sandy Gothard, David Bennett, and Vice Mayor Eischeid.

Councilman Bennett said the Fairyland School PTA has some concerns about the safety of the existing playground. A consultant for them said $15,000 to $20,000 is required to fix all issues. He asked Mr. Pickering if the city could be a party to improving the playground.

Mr. Pickering said state law prohibits the city giving money directly to the school. It may be possible to give some additional funds to the Recreation Board and they could, in turn, use it to improve the playground.

Mayor Gifford said he will work with Councilman Bennett and Mr. Pickering to come up with a proposal. “We always want to be supportive of our youth,” he said.

Mayor Gifford closed the meeting by saying Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson and his department raises money each year for their Stockings Full of Love Fund. Last year, they raised $46,000.

Mayor Gifford said he wants the city to be involved this year and wants the city fire trucks to drive through the neighborhoods to collect toys and cash donations.

The council approved of the recommendation.

Dana Wilbourn
dbwilbourn@yahoo.com

Getting ready for Stockings Full of Love Fund drive. From left, Sgt. Eric Robertson, Santa and Mayor Tom Gifford.
- Photo2 by Dana Wilbourn