A donation of $1,000 from the Elks Lodge #91 was given to the city for the purchase of canine body armor for the city’s drug dog, Officer Axel
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photo by Gail Perry
A large portion of the East Ridge City Council meeting Thursday night was devoted to the discussion of a proposed amendment to the ordinance previously passed relating to minimum hotel and extended stay hotel requirements. The new recommendations, which the city manager, codes enforcer and city attorney have drafted after meetings with hotel associations, are that a stay can be a maximum of 120 consecutive days (four months). A maximum of 210 days, (seven months) is allowable per calendar year as long as they are not consecutive days.
The customer must also show a valid ID with a permanent address.
Several residents of the city spoke saying the proposed changes were not strict enough, and that the rules favored the hotels, not the citizens. “I’m not for hearing about murders in hotels on a monthly basis,” said one speaker
Vice Mayor Marc Gravitt said that some of the requirements in the first ordinance that the council passed earlier this year could cause some of the hotels to lose their franchise agreement resulting in them being forced to close. Mayor Brent Lambert said if the city eliminates a decent hotel from offering extended stays, East Ridge could be sued by companies such as Hilton and Marriott that have extended stays as a segment of their businesses. He said it is not a bad thing, “but in East Ridge, we equate extended stay with Superior Creek Lodge.”
In making the ordinance revisions, the council is following advice from the city attorney, said Vice Mayor Gravitt. “The implication is that we’ve sold out,” said Mayor Lambert.”I want to be unmistakably clear that this council is going to do what is best for the city because we believe it’s the right thing to do, not because we’ve been pressured.” A motion to table the matter until more questions are answered was unanimously passed.
Bids have been received for building the East Ridge Fire Hall #2. Don Sells, project manager for the building, recommended accepting the low bid of $1,476,310.00 from J&J Contractors. It has been determined that because of growth in the city and continued development on the eastern end that the new fire station should have three bays to have room for expansion that will be needed in the near future. One million dollars was budgeted for the building, so the extra cost will come from the fund balance. City Manager Scott Miller said the road leading to the new fire station was designed for residential traffic and will need to be replaced to handle the weight of the fire trucks when construction of the building is complete.
The street resurfacing bid for several roads around the city was awarded to Talley Construction for $944,500. Work will start on April 1, 2017.
The council voted to approve providing a financial incentive for a development at 6408 Ringgold Road, the former location of Long John Silver’s Restaurant. Mack Smith Commons has acquired the property and demolished the old building that will be replaced with a new 5,500-square-foot building that will hold three businesses. A lease has already been signed with Dunkin Donuts and Firehouse Subs. The third business is yet to be determined. This property lies within the border region district so the money that the city spends will come back to East Ridge from the state of Tennessee. Mayor Lambert said that the border region designation is designed to make property more productive than it previously has been. The city will give the developers $30,000 per year for 20 years, with conditions that are favorable to the city to safeguard the investment. With just the two restaurants that are already secured, the city should make $2.166 million over the 20 years.
Another discussion among the council members was about the proposal to take ownership of the sports and recreation fields, including the football stadium, track, soccer and baseball fields and tennis courts, at East Ridge High School. The city sports facilities are now concentrated just at Camp Jordan at the eastern end of the city. Taking possession of the facilities at the school would provide recreation in the city center. The Hamilton County School system that owns the property now has failed to maintain it and has no money available to make any improvements in the next five years, said the city manager. Vice Mayor Gravitt said he was apprehensive about the yearly costs of maintaining fields as well as the liability. He said that there are other major issues facing the city including building a new animal shelter and hiring more fire and police. “How are we going to pay for it? Raising taxes?” he asked. The city would try to fund the expenses with grants, said Mr. Miller. “If we do nothing, nothing happens, and the kids ultimately suffer,” said Mayor Lambert. “It sounds like our school board member and county commissioner need to get involved,” said Vice Mayor Gravitt. A motion was passed that will allow the city manager to further explore an agreement with the Hamilton County School Board. The matter will then come back to the council with parameters and terms.
An ordinance was passed that authorizes the establishment of a five percent monthly penalty for non or late payment of liquor by the drink taxes.
The council approved a bid for the purchase of soccer uniforms consisting of T-shirts for the 2016-2017 indoor soccer season.
Another vote adding charges to cover court costs for city court was approved.
Property located at 1016 Greenslake Road was rezoned from C-2 General Commercial District to R-3 Residential Apartment District.
Two grants will be applied for - the TML property conservation matching grant and the department of Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters grant.
A donation of $1,000 from the Elks Lodge #91 was given to the city for the purchase of canine body armor for the city’s drug dog, Officer Axel.