Some expenses for the city of Soddy Daisy in the past fiscal year were greater than anticipated when the 2017-2018 general fund budget was first adopted. At the commission meeting Thursday night, a public hearing and first vote took place to amend that budget to match what was actually spent.
Roadwork accounted for the largest adjustment. The city spent around $200,000 for several road projects during the past year. Three miles of Dallas Hollow Road that are within the city limits of Soddy Daisy were resurfaced. A $350,000 State Street Aid grant from the Federal Highway Administration was used for the work. The grant, however, could not be used for milling the road which was needed prior to resurfacing, so the city spent $150,000 to have it done. The city also was responsible for a $70,000 match in order to obtain the grant. The total of costs to repave three miles was $500,000.
A viaduct that crosses railroad tracks on Dayton Pike also needed repairs, and the city spent $40,000 for that unexpected work. Other repairs that were made to city streets were resurfacing Scribner Lane and part of Karen Drive, both residential roads. A lot of the problems on these two roads were from sinking asphalt caused by sewer cuts.
The city’s entire phone system was replaced in the past year. The commissioners chose to pay for the work up front rather than spreading the cost out over several years, as had been planned in the budget. The cost to pay for the new phone system was $30,000, which was included in the budget amendment that was passed unanimously by the commissioners.
A second and final vote on the budget amendment will take place at the next commission meeting. In the meantime, budget workshops are taking place to develop a new budget for fiscal year 2018-2019. The next meeting will be held on Monday, May 7, and is open to the public.
Inconsistent zoning in Soddy Daisy has been addressed by making zoning changes during the past month, so that property matches the zoning designation of what surrounds it. A second and final vote Thursday night approved changes to clean up spot zoning. Five tracts of land on East Highwater Road, four tracts on Baptist View Drive and one on Old Dayton Pike were changed from C-2 Local Business District to R-1 Single Family Residential. All of this property is in a residential subdivision, but for unknown reasons, those lots had been zoned as commercial.
A final vote also approved abandoning a small portion of the city’s right-of-way on the south side of Sequoyah Road that is parallel to 312 Weathersby Road. This was done in order to provide road frontage that was needed for a property before a home could be built.
Mayor Robert Cothran announced that on Saturday morning, 55 new names will be added to the Wall of Honor. The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m.