The Lookout Mountain, Ga., City Council on Thursday evening received a report on the threat from wooly adelgids, an insect that is harming and killing the mountain’s hemlock trees.
Jimmy Stewart presented to council how the insect works and that it kills the tree within a couple of years. Currently there is no treatment to eradicate the insect, Mr.
Stewart said. However, there is a way to treat the trees to help prevent the insect, but it must be done annually.
Mr. Stewart will be having two workshops to explain how to self-treat hemlocks, one at Temple Park on West Brow Road on Saturday, April 15, at 9 a.m. and the second Saturday, April 29, at 9 a.m. at the Fairyland Club.
Mr. Stewart also said there are landscapers who are certified to treat hemlocks. The first discovery of the wooly adelgid infestation was on East Brow Road and it later moved to West Brow Road, Scenic Highway and Fleetwood Drive. Mr. Stewart said there was also an outbreak below Covenant College. He said agencies from the University of Georgia and the University of North Carolina are working to develop a plan to remove the insect. Currently they are treating over 5,000 trees in Cloudland Canyon State Park.
The council is still discussing the issue of short-term or vacation-type rentals within the city limits. The current zoning ordinance prohibits it and the city is enforcing that ordinance. Councilman Jim Sabourin has been researching cities that have home-sharing allowance ordinances. These types of ordinance allow for on-site owners only doing short-term rentals of a room in their home. The council is still looking into revising the ordinance or maintaining the existing ordinance.
Councilwoman Taylor Watson said the police have increased the amount of patroling they are doing within city limits. They have been successful with their zero tolerance policy for speeding and stop sign violations. Mrs. Watson said there have been concerns with drivers violating the one-way direction on Pied Piper Trail and speeding on that road. The police department is looking into ways to correct and limit issues on that road.
Mayor David Bennett is working on sending out an annual newsletter to the city’s residents keeping them abreast of happenings in the city. Mayor Bennett told the council that RFP bids for the town center development open Monday, April 3, at 2 p.m.
City Manager Brad Haven reported that the city has submitted all reports to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division regarding the city’s stormwater and runoff. Mr. Haven said he has not yet received any approval, but is confident that everything is in order. The sewer board reported that some repairs to the pump stations allowing for more efficient data collection will be made in coming weeks.
The next regular meeting of the Lookout Mountain, Ga., City Council is Thursday, April 20.