The Collegedale Commission meeting on Monday night was held around a table with commissioners sitting six feet apart. No one from the public was present, to ensure their welfare, said City Attorney Sam Elliott.
A first and final vote for an ordinance approved a payment in lieu of ad valorem taxes (PILOT) for McKee Foods. The company has planned to spend $90 million for a building expansion and improvements and $415 million for the addition of new equipment. This growth of the business is expected to create 480 new full-time jobs with average wages of $45,000 excluding benefits. The Hamilton County Industrial Development Board negotiated the PILOT, the third such agreement the city has had with McKee, said attorney. The vote was unanimous to approve the PILOT. The PILOT is for 15 years and is the same as the county's. All school taxes will be paid.
A bid approval for a paving project was also accepted to resurface sections of Edgmon Road and Little Debbie Parkway. One road will have 3,500 feet and the other 3,200 feet repaved for a total cost of $514,745,90. When finished, the entire length of Little Debbie Parkway will have been resurfaced. This amount also includes the repair for a shoulder failure on Tallant Road.
Other road work in process includes a traffic signal project on Edgmon Road that TDOT expects will begin April 20-27 when construction signs will be put up. The contract specifies the work must be finished by May 11, 2021, but TDOT is optimistic that it will be completed before then.
Vice Mayor Tim Johnson was told that the Greenway cannot be closed down during this time of health threats from the coronavirus because it is considered to be an alternative means of transportation. People can use the walkway from the apartments to buy groceries. But all restrooms are closed and water fountains are turned off. There are closed signs on the restrooms and a dozen construction barrels with signs at the most popular entrances to the Greenway, warning all facilities are closed. People cannot be kept off the path. If someone can walk to it, it is OK to use, but the parking lots have been closed to discourage people from driving there to walk, officials said.
Because residents were not present at the commission meeting, a public hearing and second vote on a zoning issue was postponed until the public is able to voice their opinions. The proposal is to reduce the minimum lot sizes in Collegedale for land that is not connected to the sewer system. For the past 20 years, the minimum size for these lots has been a full acre. This size would be sufficient to install a septic system to ensure enough area for the land to percolate. A septic system will work on less than an acre in many cases, Kelly Martin, director of planning and economic development, told the commissioners before the first vote was approved changing the ordinance. Building cannot be allowed on those smaller lots now because of the one-acre requirement in Collegedale’s zoning ordinance.
The recommendation from Mr. Martin is to reduce the minimum size to 25,000 square feet if the smaller lot size is approved through the Hamilton County Groundwater Protection. This would match the requirements for surrounding unincorporated property in Hamilton County.