Lookout Mountain, Tn. received “a clean audit opinion,” accountant Paul Johnson reported at the commission meeting Tuesday evening. The good news, he said, is that the town had a good year overall. It also received $65,000 more than budgeted from the Hall state income tax. The bad news, he said, is that the Hall tax is going away and it makes up 20 percent of the town’s income each year. It has been announced that the tax will decrease each year by one percent until it is gone.
That’s why property taxes are going up, said Mayor Carol Mutter.
Town Consultant Dwight Montague told the commissioners that at this point in the year, the town’s income and expenses are right on target. He also said that Mayor Mutter applied for a TDOT grant that would be used to build a sidewalk along North Watauga Road from the animal hospital to Lookout Mountain Elementary School. It will be in late 2017 before the town knows if it received the grant. The cost of the sidewalk is estimated to be $850,000 and the city would be responsible for 20 percent of that amount.
Commissioner Jim Bentley read the monthly statistics from the fire and police departments that were compiled by Chief Randy Bowden. In September the police had 126 calls, patrolled 3,691 miles and checked 19 burglar alarms that were all false. Response was made to seven assist citizen calls and 22 calls to 911. There were 19 traffic stops and one auto accident with no injury during the month and two thefts, of which one has been solved and closed. There were 14 medical calls in September and one fire alarm that was an electrical fire in a pool house.
There is an on-going issue with speeding, said Commissioner Bentley. Other traffic-related problems he said involve getting up the mountain. Bikers coming up Scenic Highway are a hazard, said Chief Bowden, and Commissioner Brooke Pippenger cited the crosswalk at Ruby Falls with tourists standing in the middle of the road taking pictures where there are blind curves. She suggested having signs to warn that bikers may be on the road and that there is a pedestrian crosswalk ahead in order to give tourists a warning. Hamilton County Commissioner Joe Graham said that he would ask TDOT to put up the signs. Chief Bowden said that people should be aware that pedestrians have the right of way on any marked crosswalk on the mountain whether there is a sign or not.
The dedication of the greenhouse that was given to Lookout Mountain Elementary School by the Lookout Mountain Beautiful Garden Club took place on Oct. 2. Commissioner of Schools Don Stinnett said that it now has an official name, the Roots and Wings Learning Conservatory. He said it is being used for science and art classes. “This is a great addition to the school - kudos for the wonderful gift,” said the commissioner. During the week of Fall Break the PTA and Hamilton County Department of Education are working to remove overgrown plants and replace them around the school building. The recent day at Camp Alpine for the fifth grade was a success and a wonderful experience for the kids, he said. Parent-teacher conferences will be held on Oct. 27. About $9,000 was raised from the coupon book sale this year and it will go toward technology and software.
Commissioner Pippenger urged residents to buy Christmas mailbox decorations from the Laurelwood Garden Club. She said the money that is made from the sales is split with half going to Lookout Mountain Elementary and half going to Fairyland Elementary.
The commissioner of parks and playgrounds said the two best ways to see what is going on with rec sports are by going to the website bluesombrera.com or to livingonlookout.com. Registration for wrestling started on Oct. 1 and will continue until Nov. 8, with matches beginning soon after registration ends. Basketball registration will take place from Nov. 1 through Dec. 18. Games will start in January after the Christmas break.
Walker Jones, commissioner of public works, said that his department is event driven, but when leaves start to fall, they will be ready. The town now has two leaf machines and the place where leaves are dumped is closer this year so it should be easier to keep up with removing them. The dumpster is scheduled to be back at the public works barn on the first weekend of December.
A second and final vote gave approval of the new ordinance banning short term rentals, such as VRBO and Airbnb, throughout the town. The Regional Planning Agency will now review the ordinance.
A new personnel policy ordinance was also approved on second reading. It will require that all employees buy short term disability insurance and the town will increase their salary by the cost of the insurance so that employees will see little to no difference in their take-home pay. This will give the responsibility of deciding when a person can go back to work to the insurance company, taking the awkward decision away from the commissioners.
The medical insurance for town employees is up for renewal. The commissioners gave approval for the plan that will keep premiums down by increasing co-pays by a small amount. This new plan is with Blue Cross Blue Shield and complies with Affordable Care Act requirements. The premiums will be increased one half of a percent. There is also a small rise in prescription costs.
The manager of site development for Gulf South Towers presented the commissioners with a new proposal for building a cell tower on the mountain. The 120-foot tower planned to accommodate five carriers is modeled after the design that was approved previously. The tower would be concealed as much as possible and is planned for the same location - below the parking lot at city hall. The town would be paid $2,500 a month for rent plus $1,100 for each carrier. The company is asking for a 12-month option in order to secure at least one carrier. Construction would begin after contracting with the first carrier.
The commissioners decided to ask for financial information from the owners of the company as a first step. New drawings of the plan done by engineers from Gulf Tower would also need to be approved. If everything proves to be satisfactory, a permit could be issued before a lease is made with the Gulf South Towers.
Halloween falls on a Monday night this year. Mayor Mutter discussed with the town of Lookout Mountain, Ga. about changing trick-or-treating to the weekend before. In the end, it was decided to leave the holiday celebration on Monday.
The mayor also said that the commissioners want to do whatever they can to enhance the business district in response to a request from Vanessa Cullers, representing Yessicks on Lookout. She is asking for permission to hang a sign and flower baskets on a lamppost, naming the business district in order to distinguish the little town. She also has requested help to beautify the area around the stores since the garden clubs removed their planters and flowers because of the cost to maintain them. The city also recently removed a tree that was blocking views of Talus and Yessicks and that needs to be replaced with another plant. Attorney Smith said the sign ordinance will need to be revised for the type and size that is being asked for. Chief Bowden also said the sign would need to be high enough so as to not block the vision of cars backing out. Ms. Cullers also suggested adding directional signs pointing to the village area on the black signs owned by Rock City.