In an informal poll, the Signal Mountain rec board’s main concerns were about opening up recreational facilities on time this year, said Council member Andrew Gardner at the Monday night council meeting. For the time being, the town is making plans for that to happen, Town Manager Boyd Veal told the council members. He currently is advertising for lifeguards and part time staff for the gym. Applications are on the town’s website. The goal is for the pool to open on Memorial Day.
When it opens, there will be a refurbished concrete deck. The town council on Monday approved a contract for $63,375 to make repairs, resurface and put a coating on the deck surrounding the swimming pool that will eliminate the need of sealing it each year.
Plans are also being made to open the gym. It cannot be opened for free play yet, said the town manager, because it would need to be staffed. He did agree to open it in the mornings for pickleball. The gym does not need staffing to supervise pickleball players who generally are older and should already be vaccinated for COVID.
Council member Vicki Anderson, the board’s liaison to the Library Board, said it found $27,250 in savings in the cost of constructing the new reading room. Mr. Veal said the money saved would be set aside as contingency funds to have available if issues come up during construction.
Approval was given to a resolution authorizing a contract with CTI Engineers for design, bidding and project management services for a water pump replacement. The upgrade will replace a 250 gallons per minute pump with one that moves 670 gallons per minute at the town’s pump station.
The budget for fiscal year 2020-2021 was amended to account for revenues and expenditures that changed during the year. Some changes include the transfer of money to make repairs caused by stormwater runoff, such as fixing roads that have developed problems caused by the water. Small adjustments will be made for surplus items the city sold during the year and for the purchase of one vehicle.
Two neighbors joined the council meeting with concerns about a house in the Old Towne neighborhood that they said has had recent additions and renovations made without the owner getting building permits to do the work. A large lot at 405 Georgia Ave. has been subdivided into two half-acre lots. An existing house sits on one of the lots and is connected to the sewer system. Anything built on the newly divided lot will have to use a septic system because of the sewer moratorium on Signal Mountain.
Issues that have been raised by the neighborhood are that a shed which is on the lot with the original house was converted to a guest house with a kitchen and bathroom without a building permit and another bathroom was added to the old house without a permit. Those three additions would also be additions to the sewer system. Another problem is that the converted shed now exceeds the footprint of the original structure and is too close to the property line of the neighboring house, the council was told. Construction and renovations need to be inspected by the town’s building inspector and if work done without a building permit is not done correctly, the town has the right to ask for it to be removed. “If the property owners build something they weren’t allowed to do, we can’t just slap their wrist,” said Mayor Charlie Poss.
Another issue is that neighbors do not want a house with a septic tank in the middle of all theirs that are on the sewer system. If a house with a septic system is built on the newly created lot, the field lines would end up in stormwater runoff streams. That water runs downstream through the neighbors’ yards and pools on property at 102 Louisiana Ave. The owners do not want that runoff to be in their gardens or yards.
The town has not just looked the other way, said Mr. Veal. He found out about it last week, he said, and a letter was sent to the property owners by the end of the week. He is now waiting to get answers about what was done and when, as well as explanations about all the other issues that have emerged. All these problems will be addressed in two weeks, when the answers are known. Timing is important because of a pending sale, it was stated.