The focus of the East Ridge City Council meeting Thursday night was dealing with the request from Lexington Assets Management to rezone property at 3623 Fountain Ave. from R-1 single family residential to R-3 residential apartment district. This was first brought up at a meeting June 14 when it was tabled.
Five citizens came to the meeting Thursday and two letters were read into the record to tell the council of their opposition of allowing this company, which they said manages other apartment complexes that cause problems in the city, to build more in their neighborhood. The existing buildings are poorly built and maintained and considered an eyesore and a magnet for undesirable tenants, said multiple citizens. They said this causes nearby homeowners to fear dangerous activity, a decrease in the value of their homes, and increased traffic and hazards for children getting to school.
The general consensus was that more rental units, especially of this caliber, will not increase ownership in the city which is only around 50 percent in East Ridge. It also would not contribute to “community building,” said one speaker.
City Attorney Mark Litchford, at the direction of the Council, did research to determine if the city could require Lexington to include a crime-free clause in leases for this property. Unfortunately, he reported to the Council that is not allowed in Tennessee, but he said the Council holds the keys to rezoning, which would be the way to restrict building more apartments at this location.
A representative from Lexington Assets Management addressed the Council to give a response to concerns that came up at a public meeting regarding this apartment development. He said he was disappointed to hear overwhelming negative comments. He said the property was bought in 2013 with plans to renovate the buildings right away, but that failed to happen due to a contractor walking away followed by a lawsuit. He said the only request currently on the table is to complete renovating 20 units that face the street. As for quality of construction, he said inspections would be done during each stage of the building by the city of East Ridge. One building on their property has been completely demolished now. He said that his company would be putting “seven figures” into the Sweetbay Apartments, if the city allows it.
Feedback from the public meeting with Lexington includes that a landscape architect has been hired to create a visual of landscaping and fencing plans. He has agreed to install traffic mirrors at the entrance for safety, and would work with local entities to have a bus stop pad built. Adequate lighting would be put on the buildings and surveillance cameras put where needed. He said that Lexington would implement a crime-free addendum to their leases, without the city asking for it. He told the Council and the audience that his door is open, and he could be contacted by email. Finishing the 20 units, he said, would be better for the neighborhood than leaving a vacant building. He is still in process of addressing other concerns or questions he heard at the meeting with the community.
Mayor Brent Lambert said he respected everyone’s opinion, but he said he found it interesting that the same folks who are concerned about their own property have not considered the property rights of the owners of the Sweetbay Apartments. The Council left the rezoning request for this property on the table.
In other business the Council approved awarding a bid for the purchase of an inflatable rescue boat to be used by the fire rescue department. The low bid of $13,967 was accepted for this budgeted item.
The Council also authorized City Manager Scott Miller to purchase two 2018 Nissan Frontier trucks for the building and codes department for $36,030 and one Nissan NV 200 Van that will be for the animal services department for the cost of $18,485.
Talley Construction was the only company to submit a bid for building the Adventure Guild Pathway in Camp Jordan Park. This will be one of many on the long lists of improvements that the Council has decided to make to update the park. This path will lead from the North East parking area of the park to the zip-line area. It will be 12 feet wide and paved with asphalt and be big enough to accommodate emergency vehicles if needed. The winning bid amount was $118,000.
Also approved by the Council was a resolution that will authorize the use of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office server for the East Ridge records management system. The agreement is for a three year term at a cost of $12,820 per year.
Mr. Miller announced that East Ridge received a $500,000 grant from the state of Tennessee that will be used for improvements to Pioneer Park and for a splash pad. He said construction will not begin until next year.