The city of East Ridge will be celebrating its centennial on Saturday at Camp Jordan beginning at 8 a.m. with a 5K marathon and ending with fireworks at 9 p.m. Throughout the day there will be a market with 90 vendors, food trucks, a beer garden, games, family activities and live music from six bands.
On Oct. 5 the city will also host the National Night Out, to promote partnerships between the police and the community. This event will take place from 6-8 p.m. behind the city hall.
There will be booths, a petting zoo and hamburgers and hotdogs, said Chief Stan Allen.
Chief Allen is also asking for East Ridge citizens to participate in the upcoming Citizen’s Police Academy. Applications will be available at the both the Centennial Celebration and National Night out events.
Fire Chief Mike Williams reported to the council that the recent change of EMS and Ambulance service in East Ridge has been a very good move. At the end of July, the city changed from Pucketts to Hamilton County Emergency Medical Services. He said the change is working very well and has helped the fire department and citizens of East Ridge. Hamilton County EMS is working better in East Ridge, he said, than in other communities, with a response time of just four to six minutes because East Ridge is centrally located and near several hospitals. And, he said the service has been dependable. One ambulance has been stationed at the East Ridge Fire Station #2 and he said that GPS in the ambulances allows for response from the one closest to the call, which reduces time. He said the change was a smart decision by the council.
The council approved an agreement with the Chattanooga Red Wolves Academy for the soccer field utilization and programming. The Red Wolves will pay the city $60,000 yearly for the five-year term of the agreement and they will be responsible for maintenance and repair of the nine fields. East Ridge schools will use the fields for home games.
An amendment to the development agreement with Exit One, LLC, has been approved by the city’s Industrial Development Board and the City Council. The agreement is in relation to the border region tourism development district and the border region tax revenue that is attributable to two properties. 6725 and 6731 Ringgold Road. The council approved payment of $255,380 to Exit One, LLC for the years 2019 and 2020.
City Manager Chris Dorsey announced that the city will hold a Cruise for Paws on Saturday, Oct. 2, to benefit Chattaneuter. He also said that paving on Helton drive, Spring Creek, McBrien and Belvoir has been completed, and bids have gone out for paving Ringgold Road for the city’s multi-modal project. He told the council that the city’s insurer has sent notification that they have declined to insure McBrien School because of its condition. Mr. Dorsey is sending out a Request for Proposal to determine interest in the site by developers.
The mayor said that Chase Lowry has created two locations for retired U.S. flags as his Eagle Scout project. One is just past the library at city hall and the other is to the left of the entrance at Camp Jordan.