The new position of administrative hearing officer was approved during a second and final vote at the Red Bank Commission meeting Tuesday night. Kyle Hedrick, a local attorney, will be given the position, the same he holds in Collegedale and East Ridge.
Both of those cities have reported good results since establishing the system for dealing with repeat violations of city codes.
Attorney Hedrick will deal with citizens who have been given multiple warnings that property needs attention yet continually fail to perform the work needed to bring the property up to code.
Commissioner Terry Pope said “It’s not our intention to fine people, just to get them to clean up their property, be good neighbors and live up to community standards.”
It is also not their intention to take away from the job of City Judge Johnny Houston, said Commissioner Pope. The administrative hearing officer will hear cases involving municipal code violations, freeing up Judge Houston to hear more serious cases involving drugs, traffic and criminal activity including murder.
He told the commissioners that he has spoken to the judge and he is OK with it.
Commissioner Rick Causer made a motion to disagree with the ordinance creating the position saying Judge Houston told him that he can handle it. That motion failed for lack of a second. The ordinance passed on a vote of 4 in favor with Commissioner Causer’s vote the only one in opposition. This will be a contract position on an “as needed” basis. It will cost the city $200. per hour, but will only be applicable if there is a hearing.
Mayor John Roberts said the Red Bank Community Swimming Pool is 50 years old and is tremendously utilized by around 9,000 people each year. He said it is a real asset to the community and now it needs a little work. What is done this year will not be needed again for another 30 years, he said. Commissioner Pope said that in 2001 the city-owned pool was going to be closed when five people created a non-profit board which has maintained and upgraded it since then.
Funds for the work were included in the 2016 operating budget. The commissioners voted unanimously to authorize an agreement with Kennedy Pools, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $76,076 for the needed renovations.
A second reading was held on several other ordinances for final approval. A donation of $1,000 from the Dallas Bay Baptist Church was given to the Red Bank Police Department to show appreciation for law enforcement. The money was appropriated into the budget to purchase backpacks filled with items to be given by officers to children in times of critical need or stress.
A $15,000 “alcohol enforcement program grant” from the Governor’s Highway Safety Office will be used by the police department for impaired driving enforcement. This is a 100 percent grant that does not require any match from the city.
Another grant awarded from the Tennessee Municipal League for $1,500 also has been acquired by the police department. It will be used to purchase puncture resistant gloves for the officers to prevent puncture wounds from needles or other sharp objects while searching individuals or vehicles.
No regulations have existed in Red Bank pertaining to mobile food vehicles such as food trucks and push carts. To handle the food truck craze, the commissioners approved a mobile food vehicle ordinance that established regulations for these businesses.