Tony Towns, left, is sworn into office by Mayor David Bennett
photo by Gail Perry
Tony Towns was sworn in Thursday night as the newly appointed Lookout Mountain, Ga. councilman to fill the vacancy left by Beth Soloff’s resignation. He has lived in the town for 18 years and has been on the executive board for the Chattanooga Nature Center.
Officials said an expanded trail system will be part of the town’s master plan.
Jimmy Campbell is heading the effort to create the plan which is required by the state and which will become part of the master plan for the regional Northwest Georgia Regional Commission. That plan will in turn be part of the Greater Chattanooga master plan. The report that will be submitted by the town includes giving the status of items that were in the 2012 plan as well as new items that will be included for the next five years.
This is a confirmation that the town follows through on items in the plan, said Mr. Campbell. He noted that earlier proposals that were carried out include installing security cameras as well as accomplishments of the recreation board and tourism goals. It is important because the master plan can determine grant money that may be received, he said.
Creating a network of four to five miles of trails for walking and biking will be part of the master plan. This is just the starting point said Mr. Campbell. These trails will be designed to tie into other trails coming from Chattanooga, such as the Riverwalk. Once finished, there will be 35-40 miles of trails going south on Lookout Mountain. In theory, he said, it will allow for biking from the Chickamauga Dam to Atlanta.
Another idea being floated is to create a bouldering park.
The town is hoping to receive state grants to help fund the trails projects, which typically provide 80 percent of the cost with the town being responsible for 20 percent. This will not happen overnight, but is now moving at a pretty good pace, he added.
The town is also doing a study hoping to be part of a Lyndhurst Foundation grant that would assist the town in creating the master plan. In the past, the foundation has been involved in projects where graduate students from the University of Georgia have worked in groups to research a project and create multiple concepts for it.
City Manager Brad Haven presented a stormwater report which specifies the requirement that any stream in the town will have to be protected by the minimum of a 25-foot buffer measured from the edge of the stream. There is one trout stream and it must have a 50-foot buffer. Those areas cannot be disturbed, and violators will suffer severe consequences and large fines that are non-negotiable. This impacts what can be built on some empty lots. If a building is already there, it is grandfathered in, but anything new must also provide protection to the stream. The property tax on a lot that is not buildable will be changed only if the owner appealed the assessment, said Mayor David Bennett.
Councilman Jim Sabourin gave a quarterly budget update, saying that expenses are up at this time by $21,000 for the fiscal year, largely due to unexpected costs such as repairing roads and work done on the town center. Revenues are down about $70,000.The budget will need to be amended before the end of the year so that it reflects actual expenses.
A second and final vote set the millage rate for property taxes at 9.05, keeping it the same as last year.
Tennessee American Water is changing their billing. The rate will now be based on gallons instead of cubic feet. A new ordinance was passed to conform to the different measurement.
Councilwoman Caroline Williams reported that the second fundraiser of the year for Fairyland Elementary, The Great Pumpkin Race, raised more than the event did last year. Grandparents Day at the school will be Friday, followed by the Thanksgiving holiday, when students will be out for the entire week. The Christmas program will be held on Dec. 13.
The sewer board has been testing a new chemical to solve the odor problem, but is trying to justify the increased cost.
Mr. Haven told the council that handling fall leaves was becoming more difficult because of finding a place to dump them. Soon the public works department may have to take them to the landfill and that will cost as much as taking garbage. He would like to encourage residents to mulch their leaves, which would return nutrients to the soil and at the same time would save the town money. Mr. Campbell said that he would include leaves in the challenges presented for the town’s new master plan.
The mayor said that close to 100 people attended the dedication of the new Gold and Blue Star Memorial Park. He gave a special thanks to Councilwoman Taylor Watson, Candice Chazen and the Lookout Mountain Beautiful Garden Club for putting it together.