The Town Council of Lookout Mountain, Georgia has a new member. Kevin Leckenby is taking the place of Jim Sabourin who resigned from the position in August. Until January, he will be considered an appointed Council member. Just two people have qualified to run for the two Council positions that will be vacant in the upcoming election, Taylor Watson and Kevin Leckenby, so there will be no city election this fall, said Mayor David Bennett.
Longtime community volunteer Jimmy Campbell is relinquishing his position as chairman of the Comprehensive Plan. He said that after a lot of thought he had made the decision to retire as chairman and hand over the title to fresh eyes. On behalf of everybody, said Mayor Bennett, thank you for all the work you have been doing. The comprehensive plan and trails projects will now be headed by Kenny Lee who has worked alongside Mr. Campbell for about a year.
The goal of creating a trails system throughout the town is to build “community interconnectedness” by creating trails, paths, sidewalks, parks and green spaces, said Mr. Lee. The objective of a trail system is to make connections between the new Town Center, Fairyland Elementary and Covenant College, and the “Mountain Garden,” Carter Field and existing national and state trail systems.
There will be a loop trail starting at what is now referred to as “Victory Garden” on Whitt Road property that is owned by the town. Within it will be a garden that will be ADA compliant, have raised beds, and room to grow edibles and flowers. The space will also be designed to be used as a music venue and a place where people could gather, and the school could use it for teaching.
The Covenant College Trail would connect to Lula Lake and the park system trails. This is seen as a three to five-year project. A local funding partner may join the city to help design and build the trail near Whitt Road community garden. State funding may be available that would cover 80 percent of the ADA accessible trail.
The original estimate for building the sidewalk from Rock City Trail to Wood Nymph Trail did not include curbing. The council approved spending and additional $7,800 to add it.
Architect Bob Franklin is ready to put out for bid the new town hall, police and fire buildings, including parking areas. Town Attorney Bill Pickering said that the date for bid opening will depend on publication dates where they are advertised. Mayor Bennett said the buildings could be funded 100 percent with interest rates now at about three and a half percent. There will also be an effort to find government grants.
Officer Aaron Dean was recognized at the meeting for helping Chief Todd Gann as an assistant chief.
Chief Gann said that instructors recently came to the mountain to provide training for firefighters. Volunteer firefighters were also able to sit in the sessions to refresh their training. Chief Gann prepared and presented statistics from his departments which showed 2,991 miles were patrolled during August, 37 traffic stops were made and 22 citations and 24 warnings were issued. There were four auto accidents. Police checked 16 alarms that were all false. Assistance was given to 16 citizens, five motorists and the Lookout Mountain, Tn. police department four times during August. There were 10 false fire calls and 14 medical calls. Five suspicious persons and four suspicious vehicles were checked.
Chairman of the Sewer Board Wes Hasden said the first round of sewer billing done by the city went smoothly. Those who signed up for auto bill payment received a one-time bonus of 25 percent of their bill. The council voted to extend the bonus offer for one more month. The town benefits financially by this method of payment. Engineers are now studying plans for updating the pumping station to help the town decide whether to revamp the old system or to spend more money initially to build a new one with current technology.
Mayor Bennett said that police will be monitoring the streets on days that garbage is collected to watch for people who put garbage on the street outside of cans. He said the public works department has almost completed painting center street lines. Some work has begun on the temporary office space in the Methodist church that the town will use during construction of the town center municipal buildings. Plans are to relocate offices within the next six weeks.
The mayor gave a brief overview of the community meeting about improving safety on Ochs Highway. He said he and council members Taylor Watson and Arch Willingham met with Lookout Mountain Tn. Mayor Walker Jones and Commissioner of Fire and Police, Jim Bentley to identify issues and find solutions to present to TDOT and the city of Chattanooga for making the road safer.
Residents of Lookout Mountain, Ga. are invited to a community meeting at Fairyland Elementary School on Thursday, Sept. 26, beginning at 5:30 p.m. to hear a presentation by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Topics will be relevant to the upcoming 2020 election.