The month of June was relatively quiet for the Lookout Mountain, Tn., Fire and Police Department, said Fire and Police Commissioner Jim Bentley. At the commission meeting on Tuesday, Chief Chuck Wells told the board that the police department has lowered the miles being patrolled monthly throughout the town and instead has been concentrating on driving around and through each neighborhood. At night the police have been spending more time on foot in the tourist locations around Point Park and the Incline.
He said this makes police more visible and is helping to prevent car break-ins. Cameras at the entrance to the town are all in working order and the company that maintains them is constantly monitoring to ensure any problems are fixed quickly.
Commissioner Bentley read the fire and police department statistics from June which show police patrolled 2,862 miles during the month. There were 250 calls to the police department, and 15 calls to check burglar alarms. There was one auto accident without an injury, and 15 parking citations were issued. During June police made 150 traffic stops. There were five arrests stemming from those stops for traffic, narcotics and DUI violations. None involved were residents of the mountain. Investigations were made of 14 suspicious persons/vehicles/activities and one stolen vehicle was recovered. Six fire alarms were answered, all false, and there was one smoke investigation. During June there were 23 medical calls - 13 in Tennessee and 10 in Georgia.
A beneficiary of one of those medical calls came to the commission meeting to thank all involved with the emergency that his family experienced and praise the ones who are responsible for responding. The call included police officers, the medical responders and the dispatcher who all conducted “a seamless operation,” he said. Commissioner Bentley said he appreciated the compliment and said that is what they are here to do. “Those guys are spectacular,” he said.
Commons Camp will be open until July 19 and children can still attend by the day. Flag football sign-ups will be coming up in August, said Commissioner of Parks and Playgrounds Brooke Pippenger. The parking lot below the tennis courts is now finished. Drainage issues that caused the problems there have been fixed and tree stumps have been removed. New grates have been installed and the area has been cleaned up, said Mayor Walker Jones.
School is out, but the summer library program is underway until July 19, said Commissioner of Schools Don Stinnett. The library is open from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Summer goes by so fast, with only 20 days remaining of the summer break, he said. Registration for all students will be Monday, July 29, and the first day of classes for grades 1 through 5 is Aug. 7.
During the summer, the public works department is cleaning up brush that homeowners take to the streets and is continuing to fill potholes which seems to be unending, said Frank Schriner, commissioner of the public works department.
The financial report given by Assistant Treasurer Samantha Van Alstyne showed that the town collected $10,000 in delinquent property taxes and received a $9,000 grant from the state of Tennessee for in-service training used by the police department. A police equipment package was added to a new Tahoe. Expenses from the public works department included $8,000 for three months of landfill charges and the purchase of a new lawnmower. $60,000 was spent on park enhancements during June, which included repairs to the tennis courts parking lot.
The commissioners functioning as the town’s beer board approved the application for a take-out beer permit for The Mountain Market. A new license was needed because of the change in location from N. Watauga to the new space previously occupied by Talus.
Mayor Jones wants to thank the town for participating in the Fourth of July parade. He said that people were on every corner along the route and that it was a unique and fun event.
On a sad note, Mayor Jones announced that Dr. Bob Clark passed away on July 5. He was the mayor of Lookout Mountain, Tn. from 2000-2004.
The next meeting of the Lookout Mountain, Tn. Commission will be on Tuesday, Aug. 13, at 5 p.m.