“The city’s doing very well financially,” City Treasurer Thad Jablonski told the East Ridge City Council at a meeting Thursday night. He said that property tax revenue is up significantly over the same time last year as is local sales tax. Building permits are up 200 percent and plan review fees are above what was budgeted. An indication that new businesses are moving into East Ridge is the increase in the application for business licenses. Municipal court fees and revenue from the parks and recreation department are both above what was planned in the budget for 2015.
City Manager Andrew Hyatt added that he has been in discussions with five businesses that are considering moving into the city, three of whom he said are viable. New development of a grocery store is getting ready to take place at the former pool property with the sale of the land expected to close in the next 72 hours.
Preparing for a renewed city spurred by the retail development surrounding the new Bass Pro Shop, attention is needed to infrastructure, officials said. The old fire hall has now been dismantled to make way for the new shopping center. Director of Sanitation Melvin Petty was thanked for putting together the crew that completed the work by the deadline and for salvaging materials for future use. At the same time, the city manager said he is continuing to look for a suitable place to rebuild the structure and to find an architect. He said until a new fire hall is built the firefighters are working in close quarters but that homeowners should have no fear that their property is in danger because the department is doing a great job.
Mr. Hyatt said that transportation issues around Exit #1 onto I-75 that will lead to the new shopping complex need to be addressed. The sewer system also is in need of expansion to handle added capacity for the new stores. The council voted Thursday night to submit an application to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development for a $525,000 grant for the needed improvements. Although the city no longer owns the sewer system, if received, the grant would flow through the city and be turned over to the WWTA since that organization is ineligible to apply for the money.
To keep the momentum going, the city put $100,000 in the budget for a façade grant program as a perk to businesses for encouraging improvements within eight-10 blocks along Ringgold Road surrounding city hall which is located on Tombras Avenue. Businesses will be able to apply for reimbursable costs up to $10,000 from the city. This is planned to be a five-year program with a 20 percent reduction each year. If the company stays in business for that amount of time, no money will need to be repaid. The program will be on a first come first serve basis as long as the money lasts. The council members will establish the qualifying standards considering such factors as how long a company has been in business, if it is current on all state and city taxes, and if the business license is in order.
The city’s sign ordinance is also being reviewed. A meeting with John Bridger from the Hamilton County Planning Agency is scheduled for recommendations concerning signs and design standards for new construction.
Discussion took place about a special event planned for Independence Day. Director of Parks and Recreation Stump Martin suggested putting on a party for the city. It was decided that this year the event would feature a warm up band starting at 7 p.m. followed by the well-known local band The Beaters. Fireworks will follow the music and food trucks will be available. The event will be free to the public this year. Still to be decided is if the party will take place on Friday, July 3, or Saturday, July 4.
A fence that is needed at Camp Jordan was put out to bid and the city also solicited a quote for materials only. With the significant differences in the costs, it was decided that city employees would build the fence. Because the cost will be above $10,000, the council authorized the city manager to put the purchase of raw materials out for bid. Since the salaries for employees are already in the budget, the labor to build the fence will come at no additional costs to the city.
Approval was also given for two requests from civic groups to use city facilities at no cost. Fees were waived for the Lions of Tennessee District 12-0 to use the community center on June 9-11 and for Scenic City Volks Folks Bug-a-Paluza to use Camp Jordan in April.
Money borrowed three years ago for capital projects known as a Bond Anticipation Note (BAN) legally needs to be converted to a long-term loan, said Mr. Jablonski. He recommended making the change to the Tennessee Municipal Bond Fund’s variable rate loan program. A unanimous vote approved the conversion to a 20-year loan that will have average payments of around $90,000 yearly. The city treasurer said he will also be looking to consolidate two other long-term loans that the city has.
Maintenance of the I-24 exit #1 onto Ringgold Road was discussed at the meeting. The city does the work and receives $16,000 from TDOT to do it, which covers the cost of three or four cuts per year. City employees actually mow the space around 30 times, said the city manager. Vice Mayor Marc Gravitt suggested bidding out the work to contractors rather than buying equipment and using city personnel. Mr. Hyatt will go through that process. He also said that he has suggested that TDOT plant wildflowers there to reduce the area that needs to be mowed.
Mr. Gravitt asked that the speed limit on Spring Creek Road that runs in front of Parkridge Hospital be made more consistent. He said that currently it changes from 30 mph to 15, back to 30 and drops again to 20 in front of the hospital. With the agreement of the CEO of the hospital, the council decided to remove the 20 mph sign in front of Parkridge but leave the blinking lights.