New officers Sam Chisholm, Eddie Richmond and Odas Smith
photo by Gail Perry
Three new officers have been added to the Soddy Daisy Police Department. Police Chief Mike Sneed introduced them at the Soddy Daisy Commission meeting Thursday night. The three were sent to the police academy for 12 weeks of training. During that time, the reports he received showed that they all scored at the top of the class during the weekly exams. They represented the city well, said the chief. Now they have returned and are beginning to ride along and work with the other officers.
Odas Smith, Eddie Richmond and Sam Chisholm were each presented with a certificate from the police academy for completing the training.
City Manager Burt Johnson reported on business that took place in the past two weeks. He said a change order had been received for a dump truck that had been on order a long time. The price of the truck body remained the same as it was being built, but the price of the dump trailer increased and is now $113,196, a little over what had been budgeted. The commissioners approved the increased amount.
Bids were received for 15 laptop computers. The lowest bid received, at $19,800, is the one that the commissioners voted to accept. This is less than the amount that had been budgeted for them. A computer-aided dispatch system is needed to work with the new computers. This CAD is used to interface with multiple agencies and law enforcement systems. The first year of this service will be $5,500 and $30,475 to install it. The service will increase each year by five percent.
An unexpected issue at city hall required the purchase of a new printer/copier/scanner. The price for this office equipment will be $11,128. But the good news, said Mr. Johnson, is that Soddy Daisy received a state grant of $8,000 for making upgrades to the senior center. The grant will be used to replace flooring and gutters, to paint it inside and out and to add Wi-Fi.
Public Works Director Steve Grant told the commissioners that after a joint meeting with WWTA and engineers about the unacceptable repairs that were made to Dayton Pike after sewer line work earlier this year, they have agreed to fix it the way the city wants it to be done. Going forward, Soddy Daisy will require repairs needed because of road cuts to be done the same way that Hamilton County and the city of Chattanooga specifies. This will result in more durable repairs. The requirements will be written into the specs and Mr. Grant will be included in the pre-construction meetings for road repairs.
Vice Mayor Robert Cothran gave the council a report on a trip made to Kentucky to take supplies after the recent devastating flooding. He said there was so much water out of the riverbank, that the water mark line was up 30 feet into the trees. The force of the water washed away houses and roads. The damage also included the small towns’ municipal buildings and equipment. The fire hall he visited had five feet of water inside and will have to start over after flooding destroyed its fire engine. Soddy Daisy has recently received a new engine and was preparing to declare the old one as salvage and sell it. Instead, the commissioners voted to donate that fire truck to Fletcher, Ky.
The group aiding the victims in Kentucky included the Vietnam Veterans in Soddy Daisy and local churches, which Commissioner Cothran thanked. They raised over $15,000 in two weeks time enabling them to give $1,000 to each of 14 families. Plus, they distributed two trailers full of cleaning products.
Founder of the Kelcurt Foundation and the Soddy Daisy Community Library Curtis Cecil gave a reminder and invitation to the community for the free “SDCL Wild Community Elevator Event” taking place Friday from 5-8:30 p.m. at Veterans Park. In addition to games and food, the focus will be on the non-profit organizations that provide service to the community. They will be there to inform people about what services they provide. The movie Jumanji will be shown at 9.
During the time for citizen participation, a resident asked the city to increase the number of pickle ball courts. She gave facts and figures showing the popularity of the sport. One suggestion was to reconfigure the one pickleball court that was recently built. The space can accommodate two courts. Public Works Director Grant will see if it can be done.
The commission made the presentation of a Certificate of Achievement to the Soddy Daisy lacrosse team that won the state championship during the last school year.
State champion Soddy Daisy High lacrosse team
photo by Gail Perry