Hardie Stulce and Charles Ingle, representing the Red Bank and Soddy Daisy Charitable Foundation, on Thursday night presented the city of Soddy Daisy a check for $23,000. When the Red Bank Hospital was sold to Erlanger about 30 years ago, Arnold Stulce, Sr. and Sam Swope had the foresight to invest the proceeds from the sale for future generations, said Hardie Stulce. The interest must be spent entirely each year and is split between Soddy Daisy and Red Bank.
Terms of the gift are that it must be spent for something that will benefit the entire community. This year, old training equipment at Fire Station #1 will be replaced with the purchase of new state of the art audio visual training equipment for the fire department.
Mr. Sulce told the commissioners that to date, since the foundation was begun, Soddy Daisy has benefited by receiving $800,000. The amount the cities receive each year varies, depending on the interest rates that year. The commission will pass a resolution to accept the donation.
The city’s dispatch room has also been updated with state-of-the-art equipment that mirrors the 911 center in Chattanooga. Dispatchers working from this room handle calls from all the city’s services such as the fire, EMS and police departments.
Nine roads off of Dayton Pike on the south end are on the list to be paved this year. The amount of $360,000 was budgeted to do those nine streets. Thursday night, the commissioners voted to proceed with those roads.
And the city has recently changed over to a new phone system which needed different phones from those that had been used. The old telephones were declared as surplus property and will be put up for sale. Items from the fire department were also declared as surplus, which will allow the sale or disposal of them.
City Manager Burt Johnson announced that the first Arbor Day in Soddy Daisy will be held Saturday at State Park/Pine Tree Park. The event is being organized by Jim Stewart, community volunteer with Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful. On Saturday, starting at 9 a.m., 16 trees will be planted. The city and Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful have both contributed money for the Arbor Day event. Volunteers are needed for planting the trees.
Mayor Rick Nunley told the commissioners that the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, (TWRA) has chosen Big Soddy Creek as a stream to stock with rainbow trout. Streams throughout the state were rated by the agency on a score of one to 10 and the stream in the city’s park was given close to the best rating. The mayor said that many trout streams in Tennessee are on private property and the state is trying to increase the trout population and availability for fishing. The stocking will take place on Thursday, March 10, and the TWRA is looking for volunteers to help with the process.
Commissioner Gene Shipley said that in the past month over $2 million in building permits were issued in the city. Commissioner Steve Everett said that the increase in building permits and quick sale of newly constructed homes is an indication to show that Soddy Daisy is a good place to live. He said that is a testament to what the city manager and staff do daily, and what the volunteers such as Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful do to enhance the city.