The Monday evening Signal Mountain Town Council meeting was the last one for Interim City Manager Mitchell Moore. It had been expected that a new city manager would be in place before he left. However, after narrowing the list of candidates to two, the council members decided not to move forward with either. So the search has started over from scratch. An employment agreement with James Smith, another interim city manager, was approved at the council meeting.
Mayor Charles Poss thanked Mr. Moore for all he did during the short time he worked with the city. Mr. Moore said he had enjoyed his short tenure. Wishing the town well, he said that he had found that Signal Mountain has five dedicated council members as well as dedicated employees.
During the time he has worked in Signal Mountain, Mr. Moore has been instrumental in filling vacant positions. On Monday, he announced two new employees, a new executive administrative assistant, Katie McKinnon, who started work this week. And beginning next week, Matthew Justice will become the town’s new water utility director. He comes to Signal Mountain from American Water.
Bid openings for paving will be Thursday and for a drainage project on Friday. Bids to replace 500 feet of water line on Palisades Road were advertised to be opened on Feb. 17, but no bids were received. Mr. Moore said the problem is that contractors do not want small jobs now. Additionally, water piping is not readily available. The work will be rebid in hopes that there is some interest received. A new bid opening for the project will be March 28. An extension may be needed from TDOT to complete the work. A special council meeting will be held March 3 to discuss problems with three projects that CTI engineers are facing.
Some interest has been expressed to locate a brew pub in Signal Mountain. After the initial inquiry the town found that would not be permitted under the existing zoning ordinance. After reviewing, the planning commission approved allowing a restaurant that would make and sell beer. The council agreed and voted to allow a brew pub in the Highway Commercial District. The change will require a second reading before it is final.
Two board appointments were made on Monday night. Those are Amanda England to the Condemnation Board and Katie Anderson to the Signal Mountain Recreation Board.
Resident and volunteer with the MACC Dick Graham gave a monthly update for the facility. He said that a goal of $15,000 was made for new lighting and that a check for $15,000 from an anonymous donor was received. On April 16 a community Easter egg hunt will take place there with over 3,000 eggs including camo-eggs for adults to find. And on April 2, the first monthly Market at the MACC will take place. It will be modeled after the Chattanooga Market at First Horizon Pavilion, with vendors selling crafts, photos, art and pottery.