New playground equipment for Redding Street park
The old playground at Kids Korner Park on Redding Street in Red Bank is being replaced with new wooden playground equipment. The Red Bank/Soddy Daisy Charitable Foundation has provided $23,000 and the Greater Chattanooga Area Foundation has given the city close to $20,000 for the project. Both contributions will be added to the amount budgeted by the city for the $98,000 cost of the equipment. At the commission meeting Tuesday night, an agreement with Hammer Down Outdoor Creations was approved in the amount of $16,650 for installing the playground.
Final approval was given to rezone 12, 16, 300 and 306 Ashland Terrace from residential zone to C-2 commercial.
The properties have had continual commercial use, but were inadvertently given a residential designation when Red Bank zoning maps were re-drawn in January 2015. The four lots will revert to their original zoning.
The second reading of ordinances to regulate short term rental units in Red Bank was on the agenda for a second and final reading Tuesday night. Mayor John Roberts said that state legislation is currently taking place regarding short term rentals and asked that the second reading of the Red Bank ordinance be postponed until the May 1 meeting, when the state’s legislative action will be known. Commissioners voted to delay the discussion and final vote on the city ordinance until the first commission meeting in May.
The commissioners authorized a revocable license agreement between the city and the Red Bank Historical Society. The agreement will give the historical society a designated time to use the Red Bank Community Center. The group has outgrown the fire station where meetings have previously been held. Meetings will now be on the first Tuesday of each month at the community center.
A vote was unanimous to accept the 2018 Homeland Security Grant in the amount of $14,000 to purchase radios for the fire department. No match is required from the city.
In April 2017 a woodworking shop was given one year to complete construction and have business underway. During the past year, there were delays in the building causing the owner to request a one-year extension to finish construction and open the cabinet, millworks, carpentry shop at 4704 Dayton Blvd. The commission voted to extend the time limit until April 4, 2019.
James F. Exum III was appointed to be Red Bank’s administrative hearing officer. He will replace Kyle Hedrick, who held the position for the past several years until he was appointed Hamilton County Circuit Judge by Governor Bill Haslam.
A resident who has lived in rental houses in Red Bank for 10 years spoke to the commissioners asking that they address two issues. She said she had “witnessed things that are frightening” and she “hears things in the night” stemming from a meth and opiod epidemic in the city. She asked for help from the city to restore neighborhood watch associations that would be led by citizens. She also suggested a renter’s rights advocacy group to encourage landlords to respond to complaints from their tenants.