The ending balance for Signal Mountain’s stormwater fund was $120,000 higher than projected for fiscal year 2018-2019. The council approved reallocating that money for making multiple, urgent stormwater repairs that have developed. One of those repairs is to replace a culvert on Stratford Way which is backing up and causing flooding in nearby yards. The lowest and best bid was accepted in the amount of $42,401.50 with an additional $4.300 in contingency funds.
City Manager Boyd Veal was authorized to enter into an agreement with CTI Engineers to design, bid and provide project management services for a water line relocation that is associated with a TDOT slope stabilization project. The work is located between Palisades Road and Signal Mountain Boulevard, behind the Space House. The cost of this work was approved at an amount not to exceed $15,000.
The Signal Mountain fire and police departments will be getting a new all terrain vehicle to be used for emergency response, such as for emergencies at Rainbow Lake. The cost is not to exceed $15,858. The ATV is being bought with a grant so the town will be fully reimbursed. Any excess from the grant will be used to buy a stretcher mechanism to use with the vehicle.
The life expectancy for the public works department’s Caterpillar track-loader was supposed to be 15 years but the 10-year-old machine that is used to push leaves and brush needs a new engine. Research has been undertaken to decide the best way to get the machine back in service: to rebuild the engine, replace the engine or replace the entire machine, which would cost around $100,000. Rebuilding the engine would be more expensive than buying a new one, so approval was given to purchase a new Caterpillar engine for a total amount not to exceed $25,000 including the installation. It is expected that will extend the life of the track-loader for 10 more years.
A resolution passed at the council meeting to amend the memorandum of agreement between the Signal Mountain Elementary Preservation Fund (SMEPF) and the town of Signal Mountain. The city manager said the SMEPF has a good track record and is capable of undertaking and managing capital projects on its own, primarily for the MACC. The council agreed by passing a new resolution that will allow the SMEPF to do these projects on the condition that the town is provided with a detailed narrative of the scope of the project and the equipment and materials to be used. This must all be approved by the town manager or town council and government funds cannot be used to finance the project. This will eliminate some steps, such as needing to bid the work out, and will streamline a project so it will be able to proceed more quickly, said Mr. Veal.
In his city manager report, Mr. Veal announced that as of June 1, 2020, Signal Mountain’s fire department will have an ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating of 2. A rating of 2 puts Signal Mountain in the top four percent of all fire departments in the nation. The number is used to determine how well the fire department is equipped to protect houses and the community, and is used by insurance companies to determine rates. Signal Mountain’s rating will be improving from the previous score of 3.
Mr. Veal introduced Adam Chrnalogar, the town’s new director of the water department who has 16 years of experience in the water industry, most recently with Tennessee American Water.
The city manager also announced that this summer there will be a day camp at the MACC for two weeks, June 15 and June 22. He asks that residents participate in the 2020 Census which should be arriving between March 12 and March 20. He said the number of people in the municipality will weigh in on the amount of funding that the town will get from the federal and state governments. This is the first year there will be the option of filling out the census online.
Another topic he talked about is the town response to the coronavirus. He said Signal Mountain is limited because there is no medical facility and the town does not run the schools. But the first responders are kept updated, he said.