The city of Soddy Daisy exists today because two communities joined together in 1969 for a single purpose, said Hardie Stulce who grew up in the area and has long been involved in the government with a special interest in the fire department. The sole purpose that the former communities of Soddy and Daisy merged, he said was because insurance companies had stopped writing homeowners policies because there was no available fire protection. At that time, a civic organization sponsored a referendum to incorporate these areas.
By 1971, he said a fire station had been built and two used fire trucks had been bought. A rescue squad provided manpower. By 1973 a federal grant was obtained to install fire hydrants around the city. He said that by 1976 Soddy Daisy had three fire stations and more trucks. The current commission recently voted to buy two more pumper trucks.
The fire department started with volunteer firefighters but that has changed when it became increasingly difficult to find volunteers during daylight hours. The city then hired full time staff in addition to the volunteers. After that, it became apparent that there was a need for firefighters to be available full time on weekends and three shifts every day for 24 hours.
It is well known that the best practices to provide the best fire service is to have five men on a truck to fight a fire, he said. Ten years ago, that is what the city had. But now, the number of firefighters per shift has been diluted down to three, because of spreading out the total number. This is partially because there are fewer volunteers that the city used to be able to depend on.
He told the commissioners that his opinion is that Soddy Daisy needs to hire six more full time firefighters in order to have five available on each shift for the proper 24-hour protection, seven days a week. With budget time coming up, he said that now is the time to consider increasing full or part time personnel for the fire department.
The fire department is getting another form of help thanks to the Soddy Daisy and Red Bank Charitable Foundation, which gave the city $23,000 this year for the purpose of buying audio visual equipment. This is state-of-the-art, computerized simulator training equipment for the firefighters. The city will contribute $2,255 from the general fund to pay the balance of the cost.
The Soddy Daisy Police Department will also be getting new equipment. New Motorola radios will be bought for the police vehicles at the cost of $23,719, which is under the amount that was budgeted.
City Manager Burt Johnson was given permission to salvage an unused 2012 Ford Escape and to accept the only bid received for resurfacing Dayton Pike. Talley Construction will do the work for $4,028,000 paid from a federal highway grant. The city will be responsible for $700,000 of the total and $528,000 of the city’s share will come from American Rescue Plan funds.
City Attorney Sam Elliott told the commissioners about the settlement made with a company that had been used to provide cameras and recording equipment. He said that there had been a long-term contentious relationship. In the effort to arbitrate the matter, the city chose not to make the last payment of $40,000 because the system was not working. Mr. Elliott said he had negotiated for the city to get the hard drive and to pay $20,000, half of the amount due, rather than spend more to try the case. A mutual release was signed.
In regular city business, pubic hearings and the first reading took place regarding three properties. Rezoning a tract of land at 11908 Dayton Pike from R-1 Single Family Residential to C-2 Local Business was approved on the first reading. The owner plans to construct a commercial building for his business. Property at 8210 Dayton Pike was rezoned from R-2A Rural Residential and A-1 Agricultural to C-2 Local Business District. The owner requested the change before he sells the land. And a tract adjacent to that, at 8212 Dayton Pike was also changed from A-1 Agricultural to C-2 Local Business to make it easier to sell, that owner told the commissioners. Each of the zoning changes had been approved by the city’s planning commission.
The city is also amending provisions in the zoning ordinance relating to the height of buildings for both multi-family structures and hotels that would apply only to the zones where those uses are presently allowed. The maximum height of these buildings now is two and a half stories, or 35 feet. The new height that was approved can be up to 75 feet at the peak of the roof. Some apartment complexes or hotels might want to build more stories, said City Manager Johnson. At this time there is nothing specific for the height increase, but the city is planning for the future when a hotel may want to build there. The commissioners were assured that the city’s fire apparatus could reach that height.
Jimmy Stewart representing Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful informed the commissioners about the second Arbor Day the organization will be participating in on March 4. The city is providing some financial support and the hard work of digging the holes for planting 35 trees on the south side of the lake. He said that $1,000 is still needed as well as volunteers to get the trees in the ground. Individuals can dedicate a tree to honor someone, he said and anyone can join the group that day to help or just to watch. Volunteers should arrive at 9:30 a.m.
Representatives from the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy came to the meeting to ask for the city to write a letter of support for protecting a section of the river. They also asked the city to join their efforts to stop fill permits and burn permits in the watershed area. They said it would be effective if the city would add requirements to the zoning ordinances.
In his report, Mayor Steve Everett said employees are harder to get and retain now than they were in the past. He said the city now has more varied competition and is recommending for the commissioners to look at the employee pay scale to see if it is in line with other municipalities and businesses. The budget will be hard to set without knowing pay rates, he said. Pay plans and personnel needs will be discussed at the next commission meeting on Feb. 2. He said he does not want Soddy Daisy to be sub-par with citizen’s needs and that we want to set the standard in Hamilton County.