New lights should be installed at Johnson Field by mid-September in time for football season at Lookout Mountain, Tn. After a strong spring storm broke one of the light poles at The Commons, town officials followed by making safety inspections of all the other poles. The town of Lookout Mountain, Tn. decided to replace them all.
New LED bulbs were bought and stored until the installation could be done. Lookout Mountain’s representative on the Hamilton County Commission, Joe Graham, offered help by having the county coordinate installation of the new poles, fixtures and bulbs. At the commission meeting, Mayor Walker Jones thanked Commissioner Graham, County Mayor Weston Wamp and Hamilton County Director of Parks Matt Foltz for their support and assistance. Lights around Senter Field, which is used for baseball, will also be replaced next spring.
Scott Shell, director of parks and playgrounds, is leading the end of summer cleanup effort around The Commons. A large tree that fell will be removed and shrubs and trees are being pruned as needed. And work has started to correct the drainage issues in the northeast corner of Johnson Field where water pools and runs over the track.
Commons Camp was a success this summer with a record number of campers. Joe Hailey, commissioner of parks and playgrounds, and Mayor Jones gave credit to Gwin Tugman for leading the camp this and many other years.
Sporting events and other special events at The Commons will be enhanced by the addition of a food truck named Mountain Muncheria, run by two long time residents of Lookout Mountain - Stephanie Wharton and Starr Hoover. It will be parked at the gate where both water and electricity are available. Ms. Wharton said they will be filling a need since kids now have to walk up Scenic Highway from the Commons to get food or drinks. The menu will include hot dogs, gourmet nachos and freshly ground coffee. The business is ready to go when football season starts.
The first day of school is Aug. 9, and Lookout Mountain Elementary will be starting the new year with many new faces, said Commissioner of Education Karen Leavengood. Emily Haney is the new principal and the school will have an assistant principal for the first time. Missy McKenna, a teacher at LMS for many years, will fill this position. There are also several new teachers and staff members and growth in the number of students. This year 232 students have enrolled. That number traditionally drops after school begins for various reasons, said the commissioner. Kindergarten parent orientation is Tuesday, Aug. 15, and on Friday, Aug. 18, new parents to the school are invited to a new parent gathering. That day is also Lions Day and the first full day for kindergarten students who will be phasing in over the next week and a half. The first PTA meeting on Aug. 22 will be followed by parent orientation.
Jim Bentley, Commissioner of Fire and Police, is appreciative that the citizens of the town are obeying the speed limits. This is especially important with school beginning, he said. The police will be setting up speed readers at several locations as a reminder. The parking kiosks around Point Park and the Incline have been removed and have been replaced by Park Mobile signs. That new system will improve the police department’s ability to track, monitor and enforce parking remotely by using the app.
The fire and police department will be adding several new part time PRN employees who are experienced in firefighting and police work. They will be able to serve as backups when the full time officers and firefighters are in training. It will reduce costs by not paying overtime.
Town Manager Brooke Pippenger is in the process of organizing the municipal codes and has discovered some that were discussed but tabled during the COVID pandemic. Two new ordinances were passed at the Tuesday afternoon commission meeting. An ordinance regulating fencing was passed that allows no chain link fencing along the road side of a house. There are also specifications of set-backs for fences. Old fencing that is out of compliance will be grandfathered in.
The first reading for a new sign ordinance was also passed. Among other things, it regulates location and size of signs as well as the condition that no lighting and no video screens are allowed.
The public works department has been in the process of picking up brush which has been interrupted by the need to clean up debris after several recent strong storms. Keeping brush under control that is growing in yards and on right of ways and town-owned property, has also been a focus. And there are four known storm drains that are stopped up, said Commissioner of Public Works William Valadez. The town will get estimates and bids before the drains are cleared. Two important required inspections have been made - the stormwater inspection and another for insurance liability, The town got good results from both, he said.
Lookout Mountain, Tn. has been a member of the Small Towns Coalition of Hamilton County since it was organized. Bridgett Raper, communication strategist for the group, gave an update to work that has been done during the preceding year. She said the main goal of the coalition is to maintain a good relationship with the legislators and to have no bills pass that would impact the small cities of Hamilton County in a financially negative way.
Mayor Jones said that the first water tower is nearing completion and is scheduled to be finished within two weeks. The old antennas will be replaced on the freshly painted water tower that was the first to be rejuvenated. Then work will be started on the second tower. The good news is that Verizon will be replacing their old antennae with new ones. The mayor said he is hopeful that cell phone service will improve with the new equipment.
The next meeting of the Lookout Mountain, Tn. Commission will be Sept. 12 at 5 p.m.