Two grants have been given to Red Bank, which the commissioners recognized as very helpful to a small city. At the commission meeting Tuesday night, a vote was unanimous to accept a grant for $40,000 from the Tennessee Highway Safety Office. It is a 100 percent grant that requires no matching funds from the city and will be used by the police department for the distracted driving reduction program.
Another grant will come from the city’s insurer, Public Entity Partners Risk Management Pool.
This “driver’s safety” matching grant is for $4,000 and it requires a matching amount of $4,000 from Red Bank. The Public Entity Partners is seeking to encourage a safe and hazard free workplace for city employees. This grant has been received every year, said City Manager Tim Thornbury. This year it will be used to add lighting to the back of garbage trucks to keep the employees safe.
Building sidewalks along Dayton Boulevard and Ashland Terrace has been a long time coming, said the city manager. Competitive bids were advertised for the project that will build the sidewalks from Newberry Street to Greenleaf Street along Dayton Boulevard and from Bank Street to Knollwood Drive on Ashland Terrace. Kleenco Construction submitted the lowest bid that met all the specifications, and on Tuesday night was awarded the bid for $380,742. Funds for this project were budgeted.
In the time allotted for citizens to speak, two requests were made. One was to put a speed awareness monitor on Ashland Terrace to reduce speeding. Another suggestion was made to add a place to the city’s website for requesting help from the public works department. This would take the place of making a phone call to place a request.
Mayor Ruth Jeno said that on Sept. 3 the Red Bank Food Pantry served 483 people. The next day it will be open is Thursday from 5-6 p.m. It continues to be a drive-through service. Volunteers are needed to pack boxes and help distribute the food.
Red Bank Baptist Church will have 3,000 boxes of produce to give away Wednesday night from 6-8 p.m. in the parking lot.
Pastor Ken Sauer at the Methodist Church sends his thanks and appreciation to the city for allowing the church to use the park for Sunday services. They are held every Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m.
The mayor would like to remind citizens of Red Bank to be sure to fill out the census forms.