The city council and planning commission of the town of Lookout Mountain, Ga., on Wednesday approved adding Town Center Zone to the zoning ordinance. This will allow construction of the new city hall, fire station and retail development to move forward. Earlier in the day a pre-bid conference about the Town Center’s municipal buildings was held. Nine contractors showed up and sealed bids will be opened at the city hall on Oct. 24.
The town’s planning commission appointed Mike Willingham as a new member at a meeting on Oct.
8 and reappointed Glenn Sutherland and David DeVaney.
Mayor David Bennett said that the city of Chattanooga and TDOT are taking good steps concerning repaving the Tennessee section of Ochs Highway, which is scheduled to begin this weekend. Ochs Highway will be closed from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. during the work. Tally Construction will be doing the work and has requested to park equipment at the Georgia city hall. Because the paving costs will be less with the equipment already on the mountain, the town will take the opportunity to pave Lula Lake Road from the Tennessee state line to Garden Walk Inn. GDOT will pay $24,500 with a 30 percent match from the town. The council approved spending an additional $10,000 for the work if needed.
Work continues for building trails through the city limits. Currently grants are being pursued. If they are all received, there is a potential of receiving $250,000 for the system of trails, said community volunteer Jimmy Campbell.
The town’s new trash ordinance will be enforced, said the mayor. Only household garbage will be collected with the new one-armed garbage truck. Each house is provided with one garbage can that works with the truck and a second can be purchased for use each year. Garbage in any other type of container or left on the street will not be picked up. It was suggested that people recycle to cut down on garbage. A dumpster that is shared with Lookout Mountain, Tn., on the first Saturday of each month, is available for items other than household garbage.
Excess brush that is taken to the street for pickup has also become a problem. City Manager Brad Haven will establish the size of brush, leaves and grass piles that the city will remove. He will be responsible for sending residents a letter and an email that sets the dimensions and spacing of debris on the streets. Disregard for the rules may cause damage to the equipment, danger for employees and decrease efficiency of garbage and trash collection, he said.
The council approved hiring an independent engineer to make sure that proposals from contractors working on the town’s stormwater plans conform to what the state requires. The council was told that asbestos remediation of buildings on the Sims property will begin this week.
Ashley Keck, who currently collects sewer fees for the town, was chosen to be the town’s Election Superintendent. Elections are run by volunteers, but Ms. Keck can appoint the poll officers.
Statistics from the fire and police departments in September show police patrolled 2,998 miles, made 30 traffic stops, gave 16 citations and 18 warnings. There were two auto accidents. In September, 11 burglar alarms were checked, all false. There were no burglaries, thefts or arrests during the month. Eight suspicious persons or vehicles were investigated. There were five medical calls and four fire calls during the month.
On Oct. 26, the Lookout Mountain, Ga., Police Department will partner with Fairyland Pharmacy to accept and dispose of unused and expired drugs, with a goal of keeping the drugs from contaminating the Tennessee River.
On Nov. 5 from 5:30 until 9 p.m., the “Fill the Boot” fundraiser will be hosted by Ruth Oehmig at Café on the Corner. This is an annual event to raise money for both the Georgia and Tennessee fire departments.
The “walk to school day” at Fairyland School was a success with over 200 participants, said Caroline Williams, the city council’s liaison with the school. She said the school has the largest number of participants in the region largely due to support of the community and the police department. The Laurelwood Garden Club is holding events to benefit both Fairyland and LMS. On Tuesday, Nov. 5, a community work day will be held at Fairyland by the Laurelwood Garden Club to help with landscaping needs. Volunteers should meet on the playground from 10 a. m. until noon. On Thursday, Nov. 7, the same event will take place at Lookout Mountain School from 10 a.m. until noon. A community tree planting ceremony at Carter Field will be held starting at 9:30 in the morning on Saturday, Nov. 9. Volunteers and garden club members will plant over 40 trees that day. Grandparents day at the school will be the Friday before Thanksgiving.
The millage rate of 9.54 percent per $100 of assessed property value was approved on second and final reading. The rate remains unchanged from last year.