Ambulance service for the city of East Ridge will be changing from Puckett’s to Hamilton County Emergency Medical Services. City Attorney Mark Litchford said the city has reached an agreement that will pay Hamilton County EMS a total of $680,000 for a period of four years to provide service. That comes out to $170,000 each year, which is based on population and $8 per person, he said. After that agreement ends, East Ridge will have the option to renew the contract minus incentives that were included in the original agreement.
The waste disposal contract that the city currently has will expire in August.
City Manager Chris Dorsey has put out a request for proposal for a new company to handle the waste. The new quotes will be available by the end of August for the council to review, said Mr. Dorsey.
With the traffic expected to increase at the the Red Wolves stadium, the city manager has also put out a request for quotes for improvements to the entrances into the complex.
An on-going problem in East Ridge is that trailer tractor trucks routinely get stuck in the tunnel on Ringgold Road under Missionary Ridge. Mr. Dorsey told the council that he has sent emails to TDOT requesting that an advance warning system be installed to head off the problem. He has not received a reply yet, he said. There already are signs warning that the height limit is 11 feet in multiple locations leading up to the tunnel, but they have not prevented the large trucks from entering. And, he said the sign that used to be posted at the actual tunnel has been lying along the side of the road for quite some time. Most directional apps, such as Google maps, are aimed at automobile traffic, he said.
This issue costs East Ridge a lot of time, said Police Chief Stan Allen. The recently installed new lights in the tunnel are largely missing now because trucks have taken them out. Charge backs and fines can be issued to trucking companies, but that only deals with and punishes the vehicles in violation, he said. It doesn’t get passed down to keep others from repeating the problem.
Fire Chief Mike Williams has discovered that he has access to $15,000 from a Homeland Security grant that was received in 2019, but not used. The acceptance of the grant was given at the time it was received and he is authorized to spend that amount. The new quotes he has gotten for 24 radios for the fire department is $15,013, exceeding the approved amount. He received permission from the council to spend the additional $13 from his department’s budget to purchase the radios from Motorola.
Vice Mayor Mike Chauncy reported to the council that he spoke to a representative from Dog Park Dash, the organization that has awarded East Ridge a grant to build a dog park. Since the original application, a better location for the park, behind the city hall, has been found, but because the application included an exact location, approval from Dog Park Dash will be needed before changing where it will be built. Without that approval, the grant is subject to be lost. The vice mayor has scheduled someone from Dog Park Dash to look at the new site by the end of this month and, if it is approved, it will be voted on at the next council meeting on Aug. 12.
TDOT rewards many grants to East Ridge. In order to continue receiving them it passed a resolution approving the adoption of the TDOT Local Programs Procurement Policy. Finance Director Diane Qualls said that has been the city ‘s practice, but the vote makes it official.
Council member Esther Helton appointed Carol Grohn to the city’s personnel board.