Red Bank City Manager Martin Granum on Tuesday night recapped the new plan by school board member Ben Conner and County Commissioner David Sharpe for keeping an elementary school in Red Bank.
The current middle and high school campus is 50 acres. There are 11 ½ acres that hold five ball fields adjacent to the school property. He said it appears that property is part of the school, but that land and the ball fields belong to the city of Red Bank and is a public city park. That area is not under the power lines that were an issue on the main campus.
Mr. Granum said if the 11 ½ acres are added to the 50 owned by Hamilton County Schools, the parcel will be large enough to add an elementary school there. All three schools would share the athletic fields, similar to shared fields in Signal Mountain and Soddy Daisy, he said.
Mr. Conner told the Red Bank Commissioners that an in-house architect has looked at the proposal and has given it an initial vetting that is positive enough to take a further look. He said that utilities, sewers, power lines, and traffic patterns will play a part in the decision. Mr. Conner still has to sell the plan to the school board and the Red Bank commissioners want to hear feedback from their residents but the board is all behind the new proposal.
The county school facilities committee meets on Jan. 4 and the school board meets on Jan. 18 when a vote may take place on the plan. A joint meeting with the Red Bank Commission and the school board is tentatively planned for Jan. 11 to hear community input. Value of the Alpine Crest property and that of the 11 ½ acres on the joint campus will have to be determined for the school board and county to make a land swap.
A house located at 201 Memorial Dr. in Red Bank has been renovated and owner Kelly Coffet requested for the property to be rezoned from R-1 Residential to R-3 Residential so the house can be used for a short-term rental. The city’s zoning ordinance requires that short term rentals are only allowed in the R-3 zone.
Although the city’s planning commission recommended single family as the only use, the commissioners granted the change and removed the restriction of short-term use because it is surrounded by multi-family residential properties. The owner has obtained a business license and he said he is following all the rules. A second reading will be needed before the zoning change is final.
The commissioners debated the purchase of a street sweeper requested by Public Works Director Greg Tate. Currently, he said the city contracts for street sweeping services only as an on-need basis and only on the main corridors. He said this equipment has accessories that will allow it to vacuum out stormwater basins and to be used as a pressure washer. It also has an attachment that can cut weeds growing in ditches. City Manager Granum said although it is a large ask at the cost of $280,000, he believes the streets and parking lots will be noticeably cleaner.
Commissioner Pete Phillips said he believes it is a bad idea for the city to buy such very specialized equipment that is easily damaged and hard to maintain. He said a lot of contracted street cleaning could be done for the same cost as buying and maintaining the street sweeper.
The machine can be used by the street, the stormwater and solid waste departments by employees who are trained to use it, it was stated. Even though this was not a budgeted item, a vote approved the purchase using money from the State Street Aid fund. The machine should have a 15-year life expectancy with proper maintenance.
The pubic works department was also authorized to enter into an agreement with Gametime Recreation to install additional drainage and curbing to the new playground site at White Oak Park. The cost of the additional work is $13,280. The money will come from $4,550 received for the surplus sale of the old playground equipment along with $8,730 from the 2024 public works budget.
The city manager announced that the city offices will be closed Monday, Dec. 25, and Tuesday, the 26th, for Christmas as well as on Dec. 29 and Jan. 1 for New Years. The next regularly scheduled commission meeting will be on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 6 p.m.