At the last town council meeting before the Signal Mountain School Viability Committee (SMSVC) makes the presentation of its findings, a room full of people interested in the outcome came to the council meeting Monday night and spoke, all in opposition.
A Hamilton County resident who has attended most of the SMSVC meetings said that seven people do not have all the answers and urged the council to seek out school officials to get additional information.
. Unanswered questions remain, including ownership of the buildings, if the number of students required to establish a school district live in the designated areas, and the financial obligations among others, she said. Another speaker with two sons at Thrasher Elementary said she had created an “inventory of the facts” after attending many meetings and traveling to Memphis with the committee. She said there is a more to the story than is being presented. She heard how costly the process was in Shelby County and said the financial effect on Signal Mountain would be debilitating.
Another parent with five children in schools on Signal Mountain said he was disturbed at the last SMSVC meeting when the chairman said that a certain comment “weakened the argument.” He said they should not have been making an argument, just collecting facts, and that suggested bias. When the council hears the results of the study, they should consider the study might not have been approached in an unbiased manner, he said. Another resident, a mother with a special needs child, said it appears the committee has given little thought to special education, only that it will be addressed because it is the law. She said the proposed budget in the study is not adequate for programs needed by special needs students.
Two teachers from the schools on Signal Mountain told the council that opinions of teachers have not been included in the study. One brought a stack of questionnaires that he created and that had been filled out by teachers and gave them to the council. Another teacher said he has been hearing tension and division from the students in his classroom. He also said methods and strategies to enhance education should be discussed with the teachers.
Kathy Lennon, Signal Mountain’s representative to the Hamilton County School Board, said that changes are being made and the Hamilton County Department of Education is moving forward, starting with a new superintendent. She said that no one from Signal Mountain has ever come to a school board meeting to say “this is what we’d like to see done differently.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 18, the SMSVC will present the results of the 10-month study. The meeting will be held in the gym at Signal Mountain city hall at 7 p.m. Town Manager Boyd Veal said the format will be a presentation of the report from the committee. The council will have the report prior to the meeting and will be prepared with questions following the presentation. The public is welcome at the meeting but will not be allowed to ask questions that night. Meetings for public participation will be scheduled for a later date.
The Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club sits on land that is owned by the town. The lease for use of the land has been updated and was approved on Monday night. The term is for 20 years and the rent will be based on ad valorem taxes for the property and the rate that is established each year by the town. The amount will be adjusted as re-assessments are done every four years. The monthly cost for 2018 will be $4,238 beginning Jan. 1.
The council approved a resolution to enter into a contract with Professional Engineering Services for an amount not to exceed $70,000 to provide engineering services for the construction of a new bridge and temporary access road on Shoal Creek Falls Lane. The agreement also includes inspection services during the building of the bridge.
State law has changed the way libraries owned by municipalities are run and Signal Mountain passed an ordinance in order to be compliant. The library board that up until now has been an advisory board will become an operational board, responsible for daily operations including appointing a director and hiring and firing. This will shift responsibility for running the library from the town manager and the council to the board. Money for the library must now be kept in a separate fund. The board will develop and manage a budget but it must be presented to the council for approval. The number of board members will increase from seven to nine. Annette Allen was appointed to fill one of the positions and the other slot will be from the town council.
The Signal Mountain air pollution control ordinance was revised to match the requirements of air quality rules that are updated from time to time by the EPA. The amendment that was approved will assure that air quality is up to federal standards. It will increase permit fees from $5 to $10 and makes changes to open burning rules.
Authorization was given to Police Chief Mike Williams to accept a grant from the Tennessee Highway Safety Office for $15,000. It will be used for police overtime and replacing radar equipment in police vehicles.
Mike Bau was appointed to the town’s recreation board. His term will expire on Dec. 31, 2018.
Representatives from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will conduct a public meeting on Friday, Oct. 20, to give a review of a project list on the current conditions of the road coming up Signal Mountain. Plans for options and plans for repairs to the road will be discussed. The meeting will be held at 11 a.m. and will be followed by the monthly town council agenda meeting.