Fire Chief Eric Mitchell presented his department’s newly completed strategic plan to the Signal Mountain Town Council Monday night. It states the fire department’s plan to meet its goals and future needs. The mission statement is to protect all life and property in the town. The vision looks to the future. And the core values include integrity, responsibility respect, teamwork and results.
The response time from the fire department in 2018 averaged four minutes and 30 seconds, which Chief Mitchell said is outstanding.
One of the initiatives is to create a web/cloud-based system that should make the firefighters' jobs easier, he said, including putting tablets in the trucks. One way this could help would be to put pertinent building information into the system. “Premise notes” are now made by the dispatchers. When a call is received, the dispatcher notes issues such as a big dog being present, or a special needs child or elderly person is in the building. In answer to City Manager Boyd Veal’s question, Chief Mitchell said a pre-plan can be created for individual homes and he said that residents can make escape plans. Guidance for creating these, he said, is on the town’s website and Facebook page. He said that this year he would also like to send this information by letter or email so residents of the town will know it is available.
The last payment for the new fire station on Shackleford Ridge Road was authorized at the council meeting. The town will pay Allen & Hoshall $48,862 for reimbursement costs and additional architectural and engineering fees from the completion of construction. In all, Signal Mountain paid $2.933 million for the building, which is below the funds that were authorized for it, said Mr. Veal.
A resolution also passed unanimously to contract with Johnson, Murphey and Wright for yearly auditing services for $25,650. A vote also approved buying a Chevrolet Silverado for the amount of $28,697 to be used by the water department.
The council wants to honor Phil Noblett, past town attorney who left the position last month and Chris Howley and Dick Gee for their service as mayors and councilmen. The city manager suggested planting “honor trees” with a plaque at the base for each.
A memorial for Sam Powell, who died recently, was also discussed. Ideas to honor him include naming the trailhead at Rainbow Lake for him or a bridge that he was instrumental in having built. Mayor Dan Landrum asked for ideas from the public. When ideas are collected they will be discussed at a council meeting.
An update on the sewer moratorium was given by Mr. Veal who explained that the cause of the problem is due to old broken sewage pipes that let stormwater into the system causing overflows with the extra water. The WWTA’s original plan was to smoke test all lines from houses and fix the ones that are broken. The $8 monthly charge on all WWTA bills would pay for that. He said the plan is changing and in the near future individual sewer lines will only be repaired in an emergency. Anticipating that change, he urged residents to have WWTA inspect the sewer lines that leave their homes while that service is still being done.
Signal Mountain has been participating in state insurance coverage for retirees, which gives the person a choice of continuing on the state medical plans. The past employees of the town must pay 100 percent of the premiums if they opt to continue the coverage. The council voted to keep offering the state plan but will be able to opt out of it in the future.
Officials with the Hamilton County Schools and Signal Mountain have met concerning traffic at the high school. Once all perspectives have been gathered, Mr. Veal will schedule meetings with broader groups, he said. Council member Susannah Murdock said that since police have been there in the mornings directing traffic it had been much more efficient. It has not cost the city to provide that service because the manpower is available, said Mr. Veal.
The town has unsuccessfully attempted to clear drainage pipes to alleviate flooding of some homes on Signal Mountain Boulevard, which came to their attention at the last council meeting. In the past two weeks documents have surfaced which show a former homeowner gave Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church an easement where the buried pipe causing the problem is located. Mr. Veal reported that he has received a good response from the church regarding their obligations.