The Soddy Daisy Commissioners have approved making several changes related to commission meetings upon the recommendation of City Attorney Sam Elliott. City Manager Burt Johnson said some of the changes are in response to recent legislation and are the practice in other cities in Tennessee.
The meetings will now be more formal following the most recent version of Roberts Rules of Order, which provides parliamentary procedures for meetings. Other changes are in regard to public agendas. An agenda will now be posted on the city’s website at least 48 hours in advance of a meeting. Once it is posted, nothing can be added unless there is an emergency, and that change must be made at least six hours prior to the meeting. Additionally, all business that will be voted on will be on the agenda. In the past some items were brought up and voted on during the meeting during reports from the city manager or commissioners.
Soddy Daisy had TWM Engineering conduct a traffic study for roads around the city’s schools before making changes to speed limits. That study has been completed and the council voted to accept the recommendations for school zones that came from the report. The speed limit will be increased from 25 to 30 mph in the school zones on Sequoyah Road. The speed limit will be decreased from 40 to 30 mph at all times on Dayton Pike between Montlake Road and Charlie’s Restaurant in the Ivy Academy school zone. License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras will be used to monitor these speeds.
Police Chief Mike Sneed applied for a grant to purchase a camera system for security in all the city parks. He told the board that Soddy Daisy will receive the $104,000 grant for the cameras. This will be an upgrade to cameras that are currently in use. This will be a single system which uses 4-K cameras. Images can be viewed remotely on a phone and the devices will be able to send messages to the police. The cameras will not be ordered until the grant money has been received.
Construction of a new building to house the Soddy Daisy Police Department had been approved. City Manager Johnson sent the plans for locating the 7,500 square foot building behind the current city hall, to the Planning Commission. He said it will be large enough to provide for future growth. The planners approved the building and location.
A reminder was given that the July 4th celebration in Soddy Daisy will take place on July 1 at Soddy Lake.
Volunteer Curtis Cecil, co-founder of the Soddy Daisy Community Library and Kelcurt Farms, spoke at the meeting to present upcoming community events that have been planned by the organizations. On Saturday, July 15, a Movie in the Park will be held. The Super Mario Brothers Movie will be shown at Veterans Park at 9 p.m.
The Kelcurt foundation has established Kelcurt Farms, the food security arm of the foundation. A ribbon cutting ceremony for their third hoop house will be on Saturday, June 17, at 2 p.m. at 606 Lee Pike, Soddy Daisy. The Soddy Daisy Food Bank will receive 10 percent of everything that is produced and some of the proceeds from sales. The farms are growing tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, squash and pumpkins.
The SDCL Summer Celebration is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 19, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. There will be food trucks a variety of vendors and non-profits that serve the community. Activities include games, craft stations, a scavenger hunt and live music.
Halloween EEKstravaganza! Will take place Saturday, Oct. 28, from 3-8 p.m. at Soddy Municipal Park. This event will be an updated version of Trunk or Treat that has been held in the past. The movie “Goosebumps” will be shown and there will be a tractor show, celebrating agricultural heritage in Soddy Daisy. There will also be a chili cook-off and a pie baking contest along with other planned activities.
Mr. Cecil is asking for sponsors to step up for these festivals. He said in the past, money has been lost on all the events Kelcurt has held and sponsors will help to keep them going. He said he would like to at least break even.
The company Custom Stone Handlers has stopped gathering stone from a location in Soddy Daisy and has been closing down its operations since December. The location is behind Ivy Academy and is adjacent to state property, bordered by a creek. A reclamation project for the quarry contains conditions that would stabilize the creek bank and satisfy other requirements.
Susan Crowell, representing the North Chickamauga Conservancy, was at the meeting questioning if the city had inspected the site to make sure the conditions of the reclamation had been met. She said what has been done so far is unacceptable to the conservancy after Public Works Director Steve Grant responded. She asked for proof from the city that the results match the plan. “It is the responsibility of the contractor to verify it,” said Commissioner Marcus Keith. Mr. Grant will meet with Ned Rich from Custom Stone along with the contractor for confirmation the plan is satisfied.