Now that the long-awaited decision has been made to close McBrien Elementary and combine the students with East Ridge, what is going to happen to the property that the school sits on? Let this be an open letter to the Hamilton County Commissioners, School Board and the East Ridge City Council - please turn the property over to the city of East Ridge and let's make a city park for the residents to enjoy.
As an almost lifelong resident of East Ridge, I can say that there has always been a lack of areas for families to come together and enjoy a nice afternoon, except for the small and not really family friendly "Pioneer Frontier" playground. The playground is good for small activities or birthday parties, but that is all.
What would be great is for our elected officials to actually give the residents of East Ridge, which is where the tax base in the city comes from, a large park similar to that which is at the Chattanooga/ Hamilton County Riverpark. This could be a park where there is a large, new play area, visible to the parents to watch their kids playing, more than just a couple of benches to sit on, enough grills spread out around the area so more than one party could be going on at the same time and maybe a larger walking track that would take more than three minutes to make one lap around. This could also be an area to socialize or even check a book out at the public library (which sits in front of the McBrien School) and spend time on a sunny afternoon reading.
Another nice amenity would be for East Ridge to put some sidewalks and crosswalks in leading to the park on and from side streets coming off Ringgold Road where families could take a stroll instead of having to drive all the way to the Riverpark to do what we could be doing in our own city. This would also bring people into our city and enhance the sales tax base, possibly spurring new businesses (not a scam of a water park) and really enhance our property values, not just our assessments. All this could probably be done with grant money from either the federal government, which is giving stimulus money out left and right, or the state or possibly even some large donations to go along with public tax dollars. For too long there have been no improvements outside of Camp Jordan which is not even used by most of the residents of East Ridge.
There is no need for the property to be used to build any new city offices or departments on, but needs to be for the citizens. That would be a real step for "Revitalizing East Ridge."
Kevin Akins
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For those who are suggesting a use for McBrien School's future not to worry, the property already belongs to the city of East Ridge. As for utilizing the facility, East Ridge officials will in all probability give it to the baseball or soccer people.
I say this because the facts speak for themselves. Almost every dollar spent goes to a small percentage of our population who are sports minded. It's been that way for decades and I doubt it will change.
With the majority of our citizens over 55 years of age, we don't even get a nod from our mayor. Mayor Steele rammed millions into Camp Jordan along with past mayors and have given our seniors nothing in comparison.
I just don't know what's so important about patronizing some young squirt from Mississippi to entertain this out of state juvenile whose parents lodge in the city of Chattanooga.
Mayor Steele supports paying tens of thousands to a part time lawyer, and $10,000 to send a collection of people to Washington, D.C., to do what? The city manager is the only one who needs to go to Washington, D.C. - not the part time lawyer, not the safety director and surely not the councilmen. I hope they take notes because there will be a test when they return.
As for McBrien School property, it's anybody's guess what will the future will be, but be assured the majority of citizens will not benefit from it - only Mayor Steele and his friends.
Chuck Mehan
East Ridge
cbm2006@comcast.net