Garnet Chapin said he has submitted an alternate proposal for a town center for Lookout Mountain, Ga., to one put forth earlier by his brother, Jimmy Chapin.

The plan by Jimmy Chapin includes an amphitheater and some adjacent Voges family property.

The Lookout Mountain, Ga., Council is to discuss the proposals at a meeting Thursday night. It is at 5:30 p.m. at the town hall.

Garnet Chapin said, "In response to a request from the editor, my intent in submitting a 'competing' proposal to the town of Lookout Mountain, Georgia was to allow city officials the choice of a plan they had spent well over a year preparing with licensed professionals and approving in deliberations with all of the parties involved vs. an amateurish effort which left the only doctor practicing on the mountain to seek other options. The prospect of the development of a park and cemetery on the Tennessee side of the mountain for a medical office was explored and rejected by concerned citizens leaving the only doctor to look elsewhere.

" The well-thought-out plan developed by the Town of Lookout Mountain, Georgia was to be left without a sponsor in response to the Request for Proposals that the city, as a public body, was forced to put out on the street for bids. In response to this conundrum, I retained the talented architectural team lead by Georgia licensed architect Terry Barker of River Street Architects to present their original plan for consideration by the city in consort with one of Chattanooga's finest construction firms, Raines Brothers, Inc. lead by another licensed architect, David Hammel. 

"The opposing proposal has no professional architectural, engineering or construction expertise whatsoever, and it's proposed financing scheme is contingent on over half of the proposed bid amount, $300,000, to be made up from charitable contributions to the city in the next two weeks. It is now up to the responsible officials of the City of Lookout Mountain, Georgia to make their decision for the future of the town.

"This convoluted scenario might only have occurred in a community named Fairyland by my Great Aunt Frieda Carter, the real creator of Rock City Gardens, in remembrance of her Germanic heritage. While an amateur architect herself, having designed a number of the original homes in Fairyland, I feel certain she would want the future of her dream community to be carried forward in the hands of accomplished professionals."