Driving down Ringgold Road will soon become easier. City Manager Scott Miller said at the Thursday night council meeting, that the multi-modal project is winding down and that the barrels that remain on the westbound lane will be removed Saturday.
The city is now conducting inspections and creating a punch list for areas that do not pass inspections. So far, there is a 10-foot section of curbs and guttering on the lane traveling west that will have to be removed and repoured. That will be done from May 3-6 so there will be another lane closure during that work. And the city manager is aware that water is pooling and backing up behind the new sidewalk near Walmart, which will need to be corrected.
Mayor Brian Williams would like for residents of East Ridge to be aware of all the activities going on in the city. At the East Ridge Library, a cooking club meets there and a Lego club and there are bingo games among a long list of other things. A craft fair will be held at the city’s community center on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. to benefit the library. The mayor urges residents to visit the city’s website to see a full schedule of classes and events at the library and community center.
Baseball signups are taking place now and games will begin soon for those ages 12-16. And a new, free sports program has been introduced: korfball. Shawnna Skiles, director of the parks and recreation department, said it uses a tall piece of equipment topped with a circle that a ball is thrown through, similar to a basketball goal.
Councilman David Tyler announced that the East Ridge Optimist Club will hold a food drive on May 11 at Southern Honda Power Sports. He said that donation boxes will also be available at area churches.
In regular business at the April 25 meeting, the council gave unanimous approval to accept a donation of a $1,500, new canine ballistic vest for K9 Police Officer Quest. The city submitted an application that has been approved for the grant from Brady’s K9 Fund. East Ridge is now on a waiting list and the vest should be received in 30-60 days. It will then need to be fitted specifically for Quest.
City Manager Miller said he had a good idea until he found out the actual price would be triple what he expected. An empty sign that is at 6501 Ringgold Road can be seen from both that road and the interstate. Emerson Properties was planning to donate the sign and the city was planning to turn it into an electronic message board that would be used to promote events in the city. The cost to do that came in at $275,000-$300,000 which Mr. Miller said he could not recommend and asked for the matter to be withdrawn from consideration.
Items of interest at the next East Ridge City Council meeting on May 9, include the construction of two trails in Camp Jordan Park, a three-mile trail for walking and a three-mile mountain bike trail. The 55 acres where they will be built is a flood plain and is often under water so the trails will be dirt paths that will cross the creek and connect to an existing two-mile track.
On May 9, the company will be chosen to engineer and design the renovations to the East Ridge Community Center. Four firms are expected to submit bids.
The city manager will give a presentation of the city’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2025. He said it will be a tight budget, but homeowners will not see a tax increase.