Citizen volunteers in Soddy Daisy play a big part in the community, including the holiday festivities. Commissioner Mark Penney thanked Cindi and Nate Sanden for organizing the tree lighting ceremony which was a first for the city. Lighting the 62-foot tree kicked off the holiday season in Poe’s Tavern Park on Nov. 17.
The local Vietnam Veterans of America were in charge of lining up the floats and vendors, bands and horses who participated in the Christmas parade.
The annual Christmas Parade that was held last Sunday was a tremendous success, said one commissioner after another at the meeting on Thursday night. Each board member recognized the effort it took to plan and organize the parade. Those involved and who were thanked included the public works employees and the fire and police departments for closing the roads and keeping the conditions safe for everyone.
Mayor Steve Everett noted that there are many good, things happening in Soddy Daisy everyday because of citizens who help the city. Those include Curtis Cecil who created and runs the Soddy Daisy Community Library, which also holds free community events such as feeding children in need during the summer months and holding movie nights with refreshments. He is now starting a community garden which will give citizens who do not have a location to grow their own food. A part of the food that is harvested will go to Soddy Daisy’s local food bank.
The organization Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful started by planning days for volunteers to pick up trash and litter and now helps the city in other ways including holding the fall festival. And the Northside Neighborhood guides people to resources that they may need, among other services. The mayor thanked them all and said that it is amazing what these groups do with the funds that they have. Commissioner Penney requested for more residents of Soddy Daisy to join and get involved with these groups.
In regular business, the commissioners approved for the city to give each employee a Christmas bonus of $100. This includes both full and part time employees.
Fire Chief Dusty Morgan received approval for items needed for the fire department. The residential living area at Fire Station #1 on Card Road is being renovated. Four bedrooms are being created out of one large space and furnishings that are needed were approved for purchase by the commissioners. Eight recliners will be bought for $7,520, and four beds with drawers underneath will cost around $5,000. The purchase of new fire hose was also approved. Chief Morgan said in order to receive it by October 2024, it needed to be ordered now. A new vehicle budgeted for the fire department this year, was not delivered and the order cancelled. Money that had been budgeted for that vehicle will now be used to buy the fire hose.
Joshua Light, director of the Soddy Daisy High School band, came to the commission meeting asking the city for support to buy instruments for the band. Any instruments purchased would stay with the school. He told the commissioners that it costs about $200,000 to run the program each year. Student fees for band members are $400 each and that only covers 40 percent of the cost, he said. The rest that is needed comes from fundraising and donations.
Commission meetings on Dec. 21 and Jan. 4 have been cancelled due to the holidays. The next meeting of the Soddy Daisy Commission will be Jan. 18.