A public hearing was held at the Signal Mountain work session Friday afternoon concerning the fiscal year 2015-2016 budget. Two residents made inquiries about the status of sports fields operated by the parks department. Bill Galloway said he had made a request three years ago that has yet to be considered by the town. Signal Mountain’s only softball field, Driver Field, is not quite the standard size, measuring 270 feet as opposed to 300 feet. He asked that the field be enlarged.
He said that 100 taxpaying adults use the field all summer and improvements would not go to waste. He suggested doing the work in stages with the first being to clear trees.
The council was reluctant to commit support for the project until the total cost is determined. Town Manager Boyd Veal told the council that by the next agenda meeting he would get cost estimates for tree clearing and site work, including fill for the space and fencing. Mayor Dick Gee told Mr. Galloway that the cost would not be included in the budget now being considered but work could be funded by an amendment to it at a later date.
Dave Waggoner’s question about field conversions was answered by the city manager saying that interest in the Timber Links project being converted into a football field and the Hedges’ property into a baseball field is not in the budget. Since original discussions, there may be an opportunity to add fields versus rearranging existing ones. There will be no major changes this fall, he was told.
Total revenue in the general fund is $10,681,983. The property tax rate remains the same as the current year at $1.5684 per $100 of assessed value. Mayor Gee said in his opinion it is a very appropriate budget for the needs of the community and the available assets.
In the new budget, the purchase of road salt in the amount of $19,028 for the public works department was approved. A paving contract with Wright Brothers, Inc. was also approved for an amount not to exceed $725,000. Due to a budget error last year, not enough money was allocated for paving and none was done. The unspent amount has now been combined with $350,000 allotted for 2015-16. With that amount it is expected that around five and a half miles can be paved at a rate of $136,000 per mile. This year the city will not stop work if the list of streets on the bid runs out, but will instead pave until the money runs out. Other road work being done is the installation of two speed humps that will be installed after July 1 when the new budget goes into effect.
The city manager suggested the council accept a new policy for disposing of excess property. If the sale of any item brings over $10,000, the town manager must notify the city council within 30 days. This involves mostly the sale of vehicles, such as an old garbage truck that was sold for $49,000 on gov.deals.com. The procedure will be for a department head to take it to the town manager who then notifies the council. The fees associated with any sale are already included in the budget.
At the July 13 regular city council meeting, a recommendation will be presented by the planning commission concerning the revision of the zoning ordinance. The matter was prompted by attempts to create lots smaller than one quarter acre. Some requests are due to abandoned lot lines and others because of combined properties and people wanting to sell the land. It has been estimated that this involves 27 lots in older neighborhoods and roughly 100 in new subdivisions.
Jordan Clark with the planning commission previewed the new ordinance for the council. It will create an amendment that allows smaller than one-half acre lots, but no smaller than one-quarter acre. The maximum lot coverage, including the footprint of the house and driveway, is a maximum of 35 percent of the lot size. There is a maximum height of 35-40 feet for a house. For every foot greater than 35 feet, the house must be moved backward on the lot one foot. Also, every home must provide at least two parking spaces.
Discussion followed about making new structures compatible with the existing neighborhood. Mr. Clark responded that would make it difficult because the rules would be “floating” and not consistent if they are based on neighboring properties. The mayor said that any loopholes would be covered by existing current regulation. City Attorney Phil Noblett said that once a lot line has been abandoned it cannot go back to what it was before. The property would have to comply with the rules at the point of time of any transaction.
Discussion also took place about an emergency disaster plan for the town. Councilman Robert Spalding, who iniated the conversation, was told that the town operates under the Hamilton County Plan that is updated annually. It addresses emergency functions including housing and is administered by the American Red Cross. Contracts with the schools have been worked out for housing in emergency situations. Commissioner Spalding said neither he nor any of the other commissioners were aware of this plan, and asked for a link to be posted to the Signal Mountain website to notify the public. He also suggested that the mountain top location might require something different than the rest of Hamilton County since the town could be cut off from supplies in an emergency.
Two appointments were made at the Friday afternoon meeting. Clyde Womack was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Parks and Recreation Board, and Mike Rowe was appointed to serve on the Mountain Arts Community Center Board.
The mayor asked all council members to participate in the Fourth of July parade. It will start at Alexian Village at 10 a.m.