Collegedale has experienced one disaster on top of another, said City Manager Ted Rogers at the commission meeting Monday night. The city suffered significant damage from the tornadoes that went through the area on Easter night while the city was largely closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many city-owned properties were affected that Mr. Rogers anticipates will be covered by insurance. But he expects that it may be cheaper for the city to assume the clean-up costs as opposed to getting help from FEMA which could take years to be reimbursed.
The roof on Collegedale’s library needs to be replaced with the lowest bid being $107,120. Replacing the insulation under the roof will cost $4,500 and the city is waiting to receive bids for other interior work in the building such as ceiling tiles, cleaning the carpet, replacing books and computers. The roof on the bathroom building at Imagination Station playground was also damaged beyond repair and will need to be replaced. The low bid for this was $11,879. The roof at the city hall building, the clock tower in front of the library and damage at The Commons all will require repairs.
Trees were blown over along the city’s greenway, which is currently closed, as are all of the city’s parks and playgrounds due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The downed trees and damaged equipment will contribute to keeping the parks closed. The public works department will remove the damaged trees and at the same time has four crews working, with some overtime, to remove debris from various neighborhoods around town. Last Saturday, outside contractors picked up and removed about 100 trailer loads in 13 hours, said the city manager. After it is removed, more appears, he said, and it is expected to take another three or four weeks until it is all cleaned up.
“We’ve had a lot of positive comments about how the city’s handled it,” said Mayor Katie Lamb.
“The staff has done an incredible job,” said Mr. Rogers. It will take some time to get back to normal dealing with the coronavirus, the tornado damage and trying to complete routine projects that have been in the works, he said.
If an emergency is declared and emergency spending greater than $10,000 is needed before waiting for a meeting to get approval from the commissioners, the procedure is for the city manager to consult with the mayor. The expenses will be brought to the next commission meeting to be approved. After the tornado, Mr. Rogers said at no time did he have to consult with Mayor Lamb for spending over $10,000, but at the meeting Andrew Morkert, director of building, codes and safety, detailed a list of expenses needed because of tornado damage, each less than $600, which were given approval.
Because of the extensive damage in Collegedale, the commissioners adopted an emergency fee waiver for repairs and construction. This waiver will be in effect from April 13, the day after the tornadoes, until Dec. 31, 2020, and can be extended by the commissioners if needed.
Regarding the virus pandemic, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee made an emergency order that defined regulations municipalities have to follow. Those orders preempted any directives from the city that differed from the state’s orders, taking it out of the city’s hands. In the future, however, if something affects only the city, City Attorney Sam Elliott suggested adopting an ordinance that would give Collegedale a way to enforce its policies regarding that emergency. During discussion, the majority of the board felt this ordinance had the ability to be “heavy handed,” or to restrict individual freedoms. Due to the lack of a motion, the ordinance failed.
During the pandemic, Collegedale has kept all employees working. Some employees had role changes, however. The parks and recreation department was shut down because the shelter-in-place order eliminated recreational programming. To protect the workforce, parks and recreation employees were put in charge of a new, temporary child-care program that not only maintained their jobs but also gave other staff the ability to keep working, said the city manager. This program is scheduled to continue until May 29, when it is hoped summer programming for parks and recreation can resume.
In regular, on-going business, a public hearing and final vote for a zoning ordinance amendment took place with no one present to speak for or against. The minimum lot size was reduced for property that uses a septic system. This “sets the floor” at 25,000 square feet versus one acre if the lot size is acceptable to the Hamilton County Ground Water Protection. The one acre minimum was not an efficient use of land if a smaller lot will perk, said Planning and Economic Development Director Kelly Martin. Approval was also given for the lowest bid of $497,387 to construct a culvert on Prospect Church Road.
Looking forward, The Commons is scheduled to open on May 10, which will be allowed since it is considered an outdoor food market and not a park. And, the Fourth of July celebration is still being planned, said the city manager.