The first draft of Red Bank’s budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 has been created and is ready for discussion at two public meetings that will be held on Thursday, May 25, at 4 p.m. and on Wednesday, May 31, at 5 p.m. The current property tax rate is $1.10 for every $100 of assessed value of the property. Included in the $9,773,647 operating budget is a seven percent cost of living adjustment for all employees with targeted increases for a few employees in order to be competitive for retaining them. There will also be enhanced longevity pay and long-term disability provided for the first time.
The new budget plans are to add several new positions, including two police officers which will increase the department to 26 officers. In order to have more firefighters on duty during the overnight hours, funds have been added to the part time budget for the fire department. This will allow five firefighters to be on duty during that time period. A full-time person for the stormwater department will be hired with a goal to create a stormwater infrastructure inventory and map. Plans are to implement a stormwater fixed fee based on the size and type of property.
One employee will be shifted from the streets department to the solid waste department and a new leaf truck will be purchased that will reduce the need for seasonal hiring in the fall. Improvements to the city’s roads are planned according to a system that will grade the condition of streets throughout the city. And there will be expansion of parks, trails and recreation services.
A zoning change is needed for 8.29 acres that abuts property at Strawberry Lane, Lullwater Road, Lynda Circle and Alden Avenue before a large new neighborhood of residential townhouses can be built. The property is located in an area of steep slopes. At the commission meeting on May 2, a vote to rezone from R-1 Single family residential was postponed while waiting for clarification of the city’s building requirements for steep slopes. After that meeting, City Attorney Arnold Stulce, along with Leslie Johnson, capital projects manager for Red Bank, and with the planning commission recommendations, tried to loosen restrictions and to clarify the city’s requirements. The stipulations are meant to be responsible with land disturbance and slope stabilization, said Ms. Johnson.
On Tuesday night, Jason Craven, the developer from Watchtower Investments, told the commissioners that civil engineers from RaganSmith Associates engineering firm still do not understand the ordinance as written. He referred to the city’s position as capricious, and requested that the ordinance presented for a vote to rezone the property be amended for clarity or that he be given a letter of clarity before moving forward with the development. The most pressing issue is about conditions in a variance the city may or may not give that could allow Watchtower to build more than eight homes on the property, which is what the maximum number is today.
Attorney Stulce took issue with the description of “capricious,” and said the city’s planning commission has spent months working on this project and had hired outside engineers as consultants. They came back with considerably different recommendations than the engineers representing Watchtower made. Attorney Stulce recommended that Watchtower give the city what they think is a threshold to grant a variance.
Commissioner Pete Phillips said he knows that he is not qualified to make judgments about land stability. “You could say that he bought a piece of land he can’t develop,” but he suggested listening to the company’s engineers. He said if they put their stamp of approval on the project, then it becomes their problem.
Vice Mayor Stefanie Dalton said she is not comfortable making further amendments to the conditions of the ordinance at this time, but she was willing to move forward with a vote as it was written. The commissioners approved the rezoning request on the second and final vote. Next, details will go back through the planning commission and discussions can be continued with Watchtower about the future of the development.
Another consideration to the current plan is opposition to a nature trail by most of the neighbors to the new development. A resident of Alden Avenue spoke to the commissioners regarding the path that is included in the plan. He said most neighbors in the area are against the trail because it crosses behind everybody’s back yards, it is not a trail to a park, he said. This is a privacy issue, he said, while giving the commissioners a list of signatures from the neighborhood who do not want the path to be built.
Red Bank has an existing contract with the Tennessee Department of Transportation for paving Dayton Boulevard from Browntown Road to Gadd Road. It was planned in 2019 and, since then, the costs of construction and goods have increased, Public Works Director Greg Tate told the commissioners. The difference from the original cost estimate has increased by $125,000. TDOT has put the paving on hold until the city has committed to fully funding it. The increase was approved at the commission meeting with the additional cost to come from the city’s State Street Aid fund.
Also approved was the purchase of a jet/vac system designed for stormwater utility maintenance. The cost is $470,168 for the stormwater department.
The board passed a resolution proclaiming May 21-27 as National Public Works week to honor the employees who perform the vital work to keep the city running and improve the quality of life for residents of Red Bank.