The Food City grocery store in East Ridge will be moving across the street when a new store is built at 3636 Ringgold Road, which will be an assemblage of three properties, including an old bowling alley. The new store will have around one and a half times the space iasthe old Food City and will include a Gas ‘N Go. It is expected that the larger store will create 100 additional jobs. This will be a $16.5 million investment for K-VAT, the owner of Food City, said Stephen Spangler with Marathon Realty.
The company will benefit from the Border Region District with a portion of the sales taxes going back to the business. The benefit for East Ridge is projected to be $8 million over 20 years, plus the job creation.
At the Thursday night commission meeting the owner/operators were chosen for two new package stores that will be allowed in East Ridge. One will be on the western end of the city and the other on the east. This strategy was to bring people and activity to those areas of town. The city received 18 applications that were evaluated and seven of those met all the qualifications that had been laid out. Only one application in District A on the east end met all the requirements. The location for this store will be at 3940 Ringgold Road, next to CVS.
Six applicants qualified for a store on the west end. The commissioners chose to hold a drawing to choose the owner of that store. A representative from HHM accounting firm conducted the lottery by numbering six blank, sealed envelopes, and numbering six ping pong balls to match. The envelope matching the ball that was drawn is for a store at 6009 Ringgold Road at the corner of Spring Creek and Ringgold Road. The next step will be to issue a certificate of compliance to the winners at the next commission meeting.
The winners were Harsh Patel in District A and Suhash Patel in District B.
The commissioners are also planning ahead for a new dog park. Vice Mayor Mike Chauncey said an application has been made for a $25,000 grant that will be awarded June 15 from the Randy Boyd Foundation that will be given to 16 communities. The original site identified would put the dog park at Springvale Park at the old McBrien School. City Manager Chris Dorsey confirmed that there has been interest from developers for that site. The vice mayor said he prefers a larger location near city hall and the new splash pad and playground that is being built. A fencing contractor he met with has offered to donate the fencing which is equivalent to a $15,000 contribution, he said. If the park is located near city hall, it can be a bigger and better park, he said. There will be a resolution at the next meeting to accept the fencing donation. If the grant is awarded in June, the council could vote to accept it at the July 8 meeting and building could begin.
At the last council meeting approval was given to buy a 2001 model fire engine, contingent upon it passing inspections. The used vehicle will cost the city $129,000 as opposed to $1.4 million. A budget amendment was authorized moving money from the general fund balance to pay for the truck and for an additional $71,000 for equipment needed to outfit the fire truck.
The new playground next to city hall has started moving forward. Pioneer Frontier, the old playground, has been taken down and equipment to build the splash pad has been ordered. It is hoped that installation will be completed before Labor Day.
City Attorney Mark Litchford updated the council on the situation with the Budgetel motel, which came to light when residents of Patten Towers were displaced because of a fire and were moved to the motel in East Ridge. East Ridge inspectors were turned away by managers of the motel twice, causing the city to get a warrant two weeks ago to do the inspections. The problems had to do with fire safety and sanitation issues. None of the issues required immediate closure because they can be cured, said the city manager. The motel was given 30 days to come into compliance with the codes before the city will take action.
Announcements at the meeting include that there will be a take-back for unwanted and expired prescription and over the counter drugs on Saturday at Walgreens, 5301 Ringgold Road. Needles or sharp objects are excluded.
The East Ridge Library will have an outdoor movie night on Friday, April 30. Registration will be required which can be done by phoning the library. It will be a G-rated movie. People should bring their own lawn chairs or blankets. Social distancing will be observed.
Run for Kids will be held at Camp Jordan on Saturday, May 1, from 2-4 p.m. This is a 5K run and walk for families that is a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House.
An adoption event for the East Ridge animal shelter that had been planned for Saturday has been postponed due to the forecast of rain that day.
With a unanimous vote in favor, the council waived the fee for use of Camp Jordan Arena for a toy show fundraiser event held by the East Ridge Needy Child Fund.