The Collegedale Commission took action at the Monday night meeting to rezone multiple properties in the city limits, several of which are owned by Southern Adventist University. Seven parcels that are east of Collegedale Academy, a private school run by the university, were rezoned from low density single family/two family to U-1, University. That will allow elementary school recreational activities, including a soccer field to be built there. Commissioner Katie Lamb commented that the zoning hange will remove quite a bit of property from of the tax rolls.
Rezoning other property at 4690 and 4688 University Drive owned by the university was also approved to change the zoning from R-2 Single - Two family residential to U-1 University, where the school will build more apartments. There will be eight apartments in each building.
Because of the additional people and cars, traffic will be impacted around Collegedale Academy. To help alleviate the problem, a new exit road leading out of the back of the complex will divert cars onto University Drive, away from the elementary school. And the city agreed to abandon the unopened 20-foot right-of-way off of the 4600 block of University Drive, locally known as Camp Road. That additional property will be divided between each of those two adjacent parcels.
Privately owned property at 10965 Apison Pike was rezoned from Agricultural to R-2, Low Density Single and Two-family. The occupied, single-family home located there will remain until the owner comes back at a later date to have the property subdivided. And an additional two parcels on Ooltewah-Ringgold Road that are currently C-2 Commercial, were changed to Mixed Use Town Center. The lot line between the two parcels will be abandoned to create a single lot.
Several items on the agenda were from City Attorney Sam Elliott dealing with state law. He said Collegedale Commission meetings do not always follow Roberts Rules of Order and that works for Collegedale. He recommended adopting a policy that codifies what has been the long-time policy, making that practice permissible. He said anyone on the commission can still call for the rules of order to be followed at their discretion.
The city’s air pollution control ordinance was also amended. Attorney Elliott said that air quality standards are established by the state and federal law, but Hamilton County allows for standards that vary from the state but can be no less stringent. The 11 governments in the county are being asked to pass the amendment to the ordinance to incorporate some of the federal requirements and allow the variances by the county.
Due to recent legislation in Tennessee, municipalities are required to publish agendas 48 hours before a commission meeting and in Collegedale that means that it will be sent to the commissioners on Friday morning. If there is an emergency, an item can be added to the agenda. The commissioners agreed to try to have all items that will be discussed at the meetings to the city manager by the close of the business day on the Thursday before the meeting. That would provide a little more time for the commissioners to ask questions if they have any, pertaining to the agenda items. Attorney Elliott said it is appropriate to publish and advertise the meetings on the city’s website.
Guidelines were also passed regarding records maintenance and how long they should be retained. The city will comply with the best practices recommended by MTAS, Municipal Technical Advisory Services, the agency that exists to assist towns and cities in Tennessee.
A resolution passed that approved some amendments and revisions to the Collegedale personnel manual incorporating comments from the commissioners at an earlier meeting. One item that is designed to recognize and reward employees for years of service, provides an incentive bonus aimed for the retention of employees. Another amendment involves harassment complaints and who an employee should report a complaint to. All but one commissioner agreed that the complaint should go through the customary chain of command, and that the commissioners’ job is not to micromanage and run the city. The traditional chain of command would be to first go to the city attorney or city manager. Commissioner Tonya Sadler was persistent in wanting the commissioners to be added to that chain of command and was the only voice in opposition.
Another condition in changes to the personnel manual is to allow an employee who is provided with a take-home vehicle, to live more than 25 miles from Collegedale, the current distance limit. Commissioner Debbie Baker said that people cannot be required to live in the city because many cannot afford the prices of a house in Collegedale. The holidays recognized for city employees will be determined by the city’s personnel policy. The changes made to the personnel policy were passed with only Commissioner Sadler voting no.
In other business, approval was given for purchasing six Dodge Durangos for the police department for the amount of $225,460. The police will also be getting a Laser Sight LE Simulator Range for $44,750. And a memo of understanding was approved for criminal history data sharing between Collegedale police department and the Collegedale municipal court.
Another police officer will be added to the department who will serve as the SRO for Collegedale Academy. The state now allows a city to provide SROs for a private school. The cost of this position will be shared with 9/12, or $70,500 coming from the school and 3/12, or $23,500 coming from the city. When school is out during the summer this officer will work as a Collegedale police officer.