In the continuing effort to slow down traffic, the town of Lookout Mountain, Ga., has purchased two portable speed signs. In addition to showing drivers the speed they are traveling, the signs will collect data such as the number of cars and their speed, which helps police to determine problem areas. The two signs are currently located on Lula Lake Road and Princess Trail, but will be moved around the town.
The first two signs are battery powered, but they may be converted to solar power because of the short life span of the batteries. Additional signs will be bought and they will be solar powered, said Mayor David Bennett at the December town council meeting. He asked for and received approval to pay $4,440, the price for the first two signs, out of SPLOST funds.
At the November council meeting the council had approved raising the sewer rate by four percent for the remainder of the fiscal year to cover unexpected increases of $19,000 that WWTA charged the city for operations and for making capital improvements in 2017. The increase was planned to start in November but was not included in the November bills. In order for the town to collect the same amount of money over a shorter period of time, the council approved changing the increase from 4 percent to 4.75 percent until the end of June.
The city’s stormwater report that is required each year by Georgia was created by City Manager Brad Haven. Conditions must be met by the city to ensure that water is clean when it reaches the Tennessee River. Mayor Bennett said everything in the report was good.
City Attorney Bill Pickering told the council that another requirement from the state is that the city must carry cancer insurance for each firefighter, starting Jan. 1, 2018. The council passed a firefighter insurance resolution to provide this insurance at the annual cost of $400 per firefighter.
Taylor Watson, council member in charge of fire and police, reported that Police Officer Tanner Clark has resigned. She plans to interview three of the town’s part time officers to fill the position before opening up interviews to the public. Because the town will have an additional expense of about $4,000 to provide EMS training to the new officer, the person hired will be asked to sign a contract that guarantees five years of service to the city.
The council presented Glenn and Angie Sutherland the volunteers of the year award. Glenn has been a member of the planning commission for several years and Angie oversees the special events committee, is a past president of the Fairyland Elementary PTA and is the town’s nuisance hearing officer.
Beginning in January, the start time for the Lookout Mountain, Ga., city council meetings will change from 5:30 to 6 p.m.