The owners of the Red Wolf development in East Ridge are continuing to invest in the 60-acre area around the stadium which has already been partially built along I-75. The entire development has been designated for a variety of uses including the stadium, retail space, hotels, residences and the infrastructure associated with the new buildings. East Ridge City Council members made decisions Thursday night to assist the new growth that is taking place around that area, including asking the state for a $13 million grant.
A state grant has just become available for aid in development that was discovered by Sterling Holdings, the owner of what the city considers its gateway development, and the developer of the projects, Star Community Builders.
The state money that would require no match is from Governor Bill Lee’s new budget. It would be eligible to help with economic development involving public infrastructure improvements. The deadline to apply for the grant is Feb. 12.
Because the Red Wolves development is a privately owned, the owners cannot apply for the grant. But the application can come from the city. The request will be for $13 million and if received, would be paid to the city of East Ridge which would pass it to the city’s Industrial Development Board and then to Star Community Builders, to help with Phase 1 of the development. There would be benchmarks that the developer must meet to receive payments from the IDB. For its work, the city of East Ridge would be allocated $130,000 in administrative fees , or one percent of the total amount of the grant.
Jeff Sikes and Kenny Custer from ASA Engineering told the council that because Phase 1 has already been started there are already associated costs of $33 million that have been identified which meet the qualifications for the grant, but that amount is not all for public infrastructure. The goal, said City Attorney Mark Litchford, is to keep the project that has been started continuing moving forward by helping with costs already incurred. It is his opinion that the grant can be used in retrospect. He believes that developers should not be penalized because work has already kicked off and that they should be rewarded for their commitment.
Definite answers are needed, he said, before a development agreement can be made between the owner, developer and city to make sure all entities are protected. East Ridge must ensure that it will not be responsible if some of the costs end up being unacceptable for grant money.
The council voted unanimously to let Mayor Brian Williams apply for the grant. Mr. Litchford said the development agreement may be ready for a vote at the next council meeting in two weeks if it is approved by the IDB beforehand.
The council also approved rezoning 10.3 acres adjacent to the Red Wolf stadium property on Hurst Street, Floyd Drive, McCall Road and Mack Smith Road to C-1 Commercial and C-4 Planned Commerce District to allow the developers to extend the area for building new townhomes and parking. The city will abandon its right-of-way at the end of Hurst Road so the new neighborhood of townhomes can be enlarged.
A rezoning request to change 495 Camp Jordan Parkway from C-1 Commercial to O-1 Hospital and Institutional District was approved for the 1.7-acre property. This zoning will allow an emergency services business run by HCA Hospitals to be built on the location that will provide easy access to Camp Jordan Park that is the home of so many team sporting events. The Regional Planning Agency recommended approval and the council followed the recommendation. The lease will be for 15-20 years but if the clinic ever stops operating, the zoning will revert back to Commercial activity.
Rezoning property at 1410 Mack Smith Road to build apartments was tabled in November after public meetings had been held. It was on the agenda again Thursday night for a vote which resulted in the project unanimously being denied with no additional discussion.
At the meeting, an overview was presented of the city’s plan to amend the East Ridge Municipal Code pertaining to personnel. Personnel Director Michelle Sinigaglio told the council that the personnel manual will be removed from the city codes and all content will be put into a separate human resources manual. She has had the assistance of MTAS in making changes to the outdated terminology and inaccuracies and in adding needed polices. Making changes previously had to be done as an ordinance. Changes to that may be made to the manual are less cumbersome and can be done by resolution, she said. It will also make city policies and guidelines easier for employees to find.
The council reviewed and approved the design and façade materials for the two new package Liquor stores that are currently under construction in East Ridge. This will provide oversight to ensure the new buildings meet design standards and sizes that were required.
City Manager Chris Dorsey said the new Pioneer Frontier playground is being landscaped now using ADA compliant features for ramps and parking. It is hoped the playground can be opened soon. The splash pad area is being fenced and ADA compliant sidewalks and parking are also being built there. The city manager hopes it can open in May once the weather warms. The new Dog Park is now fenced and benches have been installed. Agility equipment has been ordered including crawl tunnels, a teeter totter, King of the Hill, a ring jump thermo, stepping paws and two Fido Fountains. Including shipping, this equipment totals $19,725. Fencing, benches and three waste stations were donated. Money to pay for the park is coming from a $25,000 grant from The Boyd Foundation.
With the COVID virus trending down and the from the suggestion by Mayor Williams, the council agreed to relax COVID protocols. Beginning with the next meeting the partitions between council members will be removed and there will no longer be live feeds of the council meetings. They will continue to be recorded and available to view the following day.