The next step to find a new town manager for the town of Signal Mountain was discussed at the council meeting Monday night. ZOOM interviews were conducted on Jan. 3 and from those, three candidates were chosen for in-person interviews.
Those are:
Michael Morrow, Lake Worth, Fla.
Matthew Hammond, Village of Tequesta, Fla.
Kevin Owens, Birmingham, Ala.
Honna Rogers, municipal management consultant with Municipal Technical Advisory Service in Knoxville, (MTAS), who is guiding the process, suggested proceeding with a group interview and an assessment panel which would look for qualities not necessarily found on resumes.
Then individual meetings will be scheduled for those who the council is most interested in.
The afternoon of the interviews, a casual community reception will be held where employees and citizens can talk to the applicants. An assessment will also be done online by the California Psychological Inventory, and the results will be given to the council after the interviews. Ms. Rogers said all these measures should be used as tools to make a decision. The goal is to schedule the interviews for the week of Jan. 31 and a decision could then be made at the first of February.
In the meantime, the council voted to increase the payment for travel reimbursements to Interim Town Manager Mitchel Moore who is commuting to Signal Mountain from his home in Athens Tn., until the new town manager begins. He found that the original employment agreement that paid $298 per pay period did not cover actual expenses and a vote to increase that amount to $591 was unanimously approved.
The lengthy process for building sidewalks in the Old Town neighborhood of Signal Mountain was started a couple of years ago and is being extended again. Chris Davis with ASA Engineering updated the council on where the project now stands. He said recent suggestions to move the sidewalks to different roads or place them on different sides of the street might be good ideas but it could not be done without causing significant delays in the construction. Because that would be different than the original plans which had been submitted to TDOT, the changes would cause the whole process of reviews and approvals to start over. As it is, the engineers have to reply to comments that have been sent from TDOT and must get their approval before authorization will be given for the town to purchase rights-of-way. That acquisition should take around one year at which time construction plans can be started.
The council decided that more information was needed before making decisions on proposals that would amend the pay scale of various job positions in the town and eliminate one title from the pay scale in the fire department. MTAS is now in the process of doing departmental studies that will be used to amend the pay scales once the results of the studies are known.
Since the Lions Club will no longer be participating in the fireworks display on the Fourth of July, the town has been investigating ways that the shows could continue. In the past, the town of Signal Mountain has contributed from $4,000 to $5,000 to the Lions Club for the fireworks show. Mr. Moore told the council that the cost to schedule a show for the Fourth of July would now be $25,000 and that it is too late to do it for this year. The council discussed planning ahead for future years by asking the Recreation Board to form a sub-committee that could include representatives from businesses and/or Walden in hopes of finding sponsors and donations that could fund the fireworks show.
Loretta Hopper, director of the public works department, was appointed to be Signal Mountain’s representative to the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority (WWTA) replacing retired Town Manager Boyd Veal.
In his report, Assistant Town Manager Moore said that he is trying to get the town back up to speed after a rash of employees have been absent due to having COVID or having been exposed to it. He said it has become a real issue that people need to take seriously. Water Utility Director Adam Chrnalogar’s last day will be Jan. 14 and Mr. Moore said that he had done a great job and will be missed. The job opening has now been posted on the town’s website along with a vacancy for an administrative assistant. An agenda is being put together for a special council workshop session that is scheduled for Jan. 20 at 6 p.m. to be held at the MACC.
Dick Graham reported recent and upcoming activity at the MACC. He said that the MACC board has received a matching grant that will double what can be raised up to $15,000. There are two months left to procure the money in order to receive the match and donations will be welcomed. The next playhouse will take place on Feb. 11 and then every Friday and Saturday through February. An art show with works from the late Joel Baxley will also be open during the month. There will also be a couple of concerts during March.
The next meeting of the Signal Mountain Council will be Jan. 24.