Soddy Daisy Commissioner Mark Penny reported to the board of commissioners about a recent economic development meeting that he attended in Lakesite along with Cindi Sanden from Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful, who had helped organize the event. The commissioner said that venues surrounding the I-75 corridor have become crowded so people are looking for other locations to use. Soddy Daisy has amazing parks including the Rails to Trails path, he said, and at the meeting he learned that a grant may come available to pay for a study about lodging and hotels which could be beneficial for tourism opportunities. With the amenities in Soddy Daisy and the growth that will be taking place around McDonald Farm in nearby Sale Creek, there will be opportunity for development in the area and he said it would be advantageous for Soddy Daisy to have hotels available.
Commissioner Gene Shipley announced for those who had not heard that earlier that day, the Hamilton County Schools announced changes that will affect Soddy Daisy for the better. The trend, he said, is to combine schools, and that will be done by creating a K-8 grade school complex. There will be separate buildings at the site for the elementary and the new middle school. He said the middle school will get new athletic facilities, and ball fields with lighting and that it will be a plus for the community. An actual plan should be available in six-eight weeks. He thinks the buildings will take three years to complete. He said that replacing old buildings will reduce the high amount of deferred maintenance that the school system is now facing. It is either do that, he said, or raise taxes to pay for the repairs that are needed.
The commissioners voted to authorize City Manager Burt Johnson to sign a grant contract with the state that will provide $150,000 to Soddy Daisy for two new School Resource Officers. One is for Ivy Academy and the other will be at Skillern Elementary. Both of those schools will contribute to the expense of having SROs.
The purchase of two additional patrol vehicles was also approved in the amount of $79,184. The city manager said that the state of Tennessee is considering increasing the amount of money being given to municipalities for SROs that would cover the cost of capital outlays cities will need for buying vehicles and equipment for the new officers. The old police vehicles will go to the two additional SROs and the new cars will be for two newly hired officers that will replace the ones being moved to the schools.
Soddy Daisy has also received a grant of $102,608 from the Department of Finance and Administration for violent crime intervention. Mr. Johnson said this is a 100 percent grant that needs no matching funds from the city.
In regular commission business, approval was given to rezone 8208 Dayton Pike from R-2A Rural Residential District to C-2 Local Business. The location is surrounded by commercial development and the zoning change had been recommended by the planning commission.
Several years ago the city purchased a former dental office building at 10298 Walden St. At the time, the city planned to move the police department there. Plans changed and now the new building will be built on property behind the current city hall. No longer needing it, the city put the dental building up for sale but received only one offer for $500,000. The council turned down the bid with the city manager’s recommendation because the offer is less that what the city has invested in it.
Approval was given to have a portion of three roads striped - Thrasher Pike, Gann Road and Old Dayton Pike, South. The city’s public works department will be responsible for cleaning the roads before they are painted. And a new digital sign will replace the one in front of city hall that no longer works. The cost of this will be considered to be part of the new municipal building project. The new, improved sign can be remotely programmed, which will be beneficial in emergencies, said Mr. Johnson.
A brief discussion took place about the importance of creating a way for vehicles to cross railroad tracks when they are blocked by trains. It is a matter of safety and response times for emergency services, said Mayor Steve Everett. He hopes to work with the railroad to come up with a solution.