Parking at Sunset Rock has become a problem, Chief Randy Bowden said at the Lookout Mountain, Tn. Commission meeting Monday afternoon. With many more cars than parking spaces, people are leaving their vehicles parked in the yards of nearby residents.
The town’s meter enforcement vehicle has been left in the park ranger’s designated parking space and the Lookout Mountain, Tn.
Police have been placing portable no parking signs and cones to indicate restricted areas along West Brow Road, but people are blatantly moving them and parking in those places anyway, the chief said.
Chief Bowden and Mayor Carol Mutter plan to meet and discuss the problem and the possibility of putting up signs guiding people to alternative parking areas. In the meantime, visitors to the park should be aware that cars are now being towed and citations are being written for the parking violations.
Statistics from the police and fire departments were compiled by Chief Bowden and presented by Commissioner of Fire and Police Jim Bentley. During the month of September police responded to 88 calls, 14 burglar alarms (all false), six assist citizen calls and 13 calls to 911. They patrolled 4,199 miles during the month, made 32 traffic stops, and helped with three auto accidents. There were no thefts during September, but four arrests were made for DUI, and drug possession and paraphernalia. Response was made to 12 medical calls - nine in Tennessee and three assist calls in Georgia. There were six fire alarms answered, and all turned out to be false.
A new community information kiosk at the gate to the commons track is now complete. It was a project undertaken by Eagle Scout Jeremy Payne with a little financial help from the town. Brooke Pippenger, commissioner of parks and playgrounds, said it can be used by the community to post notices for items such as lost dogs or announcements for events. It is the responsibility of the person who puts the notice up to also take it down once the event is over.
Repairs have been made to Navarre Pavilion with help from a $12,500 gift from County Commissioner Joe Graham. Rotting wood has been replaced, the roof cleaned and a handicapped accessible water fountain has been installed by the tennis courts.
Registration forms will be sent home in the next few weeks for wrestling for third through sixth graders. The new website, www.bluesombrero.com can also be used for registration and for paying sign up fees. An advantage, said Ms. Pippenger, is that once a child has registered, the information is saved from year to year. She also told the commissioners that the Love Lookout committee from Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church is giving the town a gift of new lights for the annual Christmas tree in Caldwell Park on Scenic Highway.
The public works department is getting ready for the changing seasons, said Commissioner Walker Jones. The leaf vacuums are ready to go and salt has been ordered for clearing icy streets this winter. All 22 miles of streets in the town have now been re-striped and reflectors will be added where needed, he said. Repairs have been made to the stone retaining wall at LMPC along Watauga. The public works department did the work at a lower cost than any bids that were received. The next time that the dumpster will be available at the public works barn is the first week in December.
Commissioner of Schools Don Stinnett said final figures are not in, but it is already known that the LMS Carnival exceeded the profit that had been budgeted. The new greenhouse being donated to the school by the Lookout Mountain Beautiful Garden Club has now been framed and roof decking has been installed. “It will be quite an addition for the school,” he said.
The mayor’s initiative for a smoke-free community was launched by the Hamilton County Health Department and Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, who asked municipal mayors to get involved in the campaign to stop smoking. The group wishes to promote Hamilton County as a clean, healthy place to live, work and visit. Public spaces in Lookout Mountain, Tn. including the city hall and commons, already are designated as smoke free, said Mayor Mutter. Hamilton County Commissioner Graham noted that money that is funding this program is coming from settlement payments from tobacco companies.
Town Consultant Dwight Montague in the September financial report said that property tax bills have recently gone out and that payments are already coming in. Property liability and workers compensation insurance payments were the largest expenditures made during the month.
The 2011National Electrical Code and 2009 International Building Codes were approved on second and final reading. Chief Bowden said that updating codes on a regular basis is a requirement of the state of Tennessee and that these upgrades followed the upgrades made by Chattanooga.
The next meeting of the Lookout Mountain, Tn. Commission will be Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 5 p.m.