Commissioner Karen Leavengood and principal Ruth White
photo by Gail Perry
The Lookout Mountain, Tn., Commission has finalized a six percent property tax hike with most of the increase to be used for raising wages and benefits for the town employees. There also is $100,000 in the budget for the Parks and Playgrounds department, most of which is for replacing the lights at The Commons, and there is $125,000 set aside for paving.
Ruth White, principal of Lookout Mountain Elementary who will be retiring at the end of the school year, was recognized by the commission. A reception was held at the school to honor her 30-plus years in education, with 24 of those at LMS. She has been principal at the school since 2010. Commissioner of Education Karen Leavengood said the town will miss her leadership. First grade teacher Lisa Weikel and kindergarten assistant Amy Tolson will also be leaving.
Ms. White has already been working with new principal Emily Haney to familiarize her with the school. Next year LMS will also have an assistant principal for the first time, who can assist with the increased workload requirements from Hamilton County Schools. Ms. White thanked the commissioners and praised them for the support that they give the school. The Lookout Mountain School Board also honored Jim Haley at a reception for his over 30 years of service on the board.
End of the year events at the school will soon take place including Field Day, Awards Day and Fifth Grade Graduation. The last day of school for the students is May 24 and May 25 for teachers. Summer library hours will be announced soon.
Commissioner of Parks and Playgrounds Joe Hailey said that baseball on the mountain is nearing the end of the season with just one and a half weeks left. All star teams are in the process of being chosen now. He said that batting cages are being put in but may not be ready for this season. Bids have gone out for the replacement lights around The Commons but no decision has been made yet for which business will do the work. When a decision has been made, the lights will be purchased and stored until the installation in the fall to ensure that they are available.
Jim Bentley, commissioner of fire and police, said when school is out, there will be kids all over the streets and he warns drivers to keep their speed down. Caution is also needed around the water towers where Tennessee American is in the process of cleaning and painting the interior and exterior of both water tanks. Traffic will be diverted during the work that is expected to last into early next year. The mayor added that the process will be noisy and is expected to last eight months. He said it is beyond the town’s control, but that TAW will have to work within the town’s ordinances regarding noise and construction.
With the beginning of spring, Commissioner Bentley said that it also will be important for residents to follow the town’s noise ordinance, especially regarding motorized or power-driven leaf blowers, lawn mowers, chain saws, and trimmers. The hours that they are allowed on Monday through Saturday are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. or sunset, whichever is earlier. On Sunday they can be used from 12 noon until 8 p.m. or sunset. Mayor Jones said residents should be aware of their neighbors and considerate of them when using the noisy equipment.
Chief Duane Schermerhorn said that everyone has been surprised at how much the drug drop-off box at town hall has been used. The TBI and the Drug Task Force recently picked up two barrels of discarded medicine. He said that was 85 pounds of controlled substances that was destroyed, keeping it out of the water system. This drop-box is available in the foyer of town hall 24 hours a day.
The public works department is keeping up with brush that residents take to the street, said William Valadez, the commission’s liaison with the department. He said that in the past month a lot of potholes have been patched and the fountain has been cleaned and turned on. A second lift bucket for the garbage truck has been installed. The commissioner is requesting citizens’ help to fight kudzu in the town. He asks for homeowners to remove the “invasive, terrible and ugly” plant if it is found in their yards. Instructions can be found on the Internet.
Ann Brown with Bee City U.S.A. and the Lookout Mountain Beautiful Garden Club, along with Elizabeth Jones representing The Garden Club of Lookout Mountain, came to the meeting to encourage support for the environmental initiative Rain Smart Yards. This program encourages practices in individuals’ yards that positively impact water quality. The goal of the program is to keep water in your yard so it does not run off downhill. When that happens it affects the entire Tennessee Valley, said Ms. Brown. Stormwater runoff impacts the whole area, which demonstrates that the towns on top of the mountains are a part of a watershed. The conservation group WaterWays is conducting a friendly “Battle of the Mountains” competition between Lookout and Signal Mountain to see which can get the most yards certified as RainSmart. A request to have an expert evaluate your yard, offer suggestions and certify your property can be made at rosy@mywaterways.org. On Saturday at 10 a.m., a RainSmart yard presentation will be held at the Lookout Mountain, Ga. town hall.
The next meeting of the Lookout Mountain, Tn., Commission will be June 6 at 5 p.m.