Improvements continue to be made in the city of East Ridge, largely due to its status as a border region retail tourism development district from the state. The city qualified for this designation in 2012 because it borders another state and has an interstate running through it. Being a border region district allows East Ridge to receive 75 percent of the state sales taxes generated in the district in addition to the local option sales tax that the city receives. The tax money can be used to provide economic development incentives for businesses and infrastructure improvements that will be necessary to attract businesses.
East Ridge continues to take advantage of these benefits with several large projects currently in progress. . An $8 million bond issue has recently been closed. Of that, $6.5 million has been appropriated to build a new multi-purpose pavilion behind the city hall and the community center and $1.5 million has been allocated for making various upgrades at Camp Jordan Park. Mayor Brian Williams said that the $8 million bond will all be eligible for reimbursement from the city’s border region status.
City Manager Scott Miller said that the new East Ridge Animal Shelter is close to being completed. The interior should be finished by the end of next week and inspections are scheduled for July29 when the building will be considered substantially complete. Then furniture, fixtures and equipment will be installed and the shelter will be opened sometime in August.
Another project is widening North Mack Smith Road. EPB is installing wire on new poles in the area and underground wires are being placed. Next, gas line replacements will be done. All of this work should be finished by the end of July after which the road construction will begin.
The East Ridge Fire Department will be the first municipality in Hamilton County to install a Safe Haven Baby Box. It will be put at Station #1 and East Ridge will be one of only four cities in Tennessee to have one, said Fire Chief Mike Williams. He said it is important and he feels there is a great need because East Ridge is located on the state line and borders the city of Chattanooga. He said, "We do not want to find a baby in a dumpster or trash can. This is a way that someone can safely surrender a baby with no questions asked. The fire department location was chosen because it is staffed 24 hours every day."
The cost to install it will be $15,000, but Chief Williams said that the Craig Foundation will pay for the installation and all costs for the first three years. He said that the box is 100 percent safe and is climate controlled and has a camera inside. Once the doors are closed an alarm notifies dispatch who in turn immediately notifies the firefighters. Once the doors close the baby cannot be retrieved, however the mother has 30 days to petition the court to get her rights back. A baby that is left will first be taken to a medical facility for a health check and will then be turned over to the department of children's services. Chief Williams will ask the council for approval at the July 25 meeting.
At that meeting, amendments to the sign ordinance will also be made, specifically about lighting and store front displays. The proposed changes drew a room full of concerned business owners when it was on the June 13 agenda because some feared that there would be unintended consequences. It was the changes to store front displays, not lighting, that drew the most opposition. They are related to how much of the window area can be considered to be an advertising sign. In some cases conforming to the new ordinance would requirer the business owner to renovate the building. The city manager wants to put the public on notice that these issues will be on the agenda of the next meeting on July 25.
In regular business, the council voted to approve the purchase of a new ladder truck for the fire department. Chief Williams said it will be replacing a 1993 ladder truck that was original equipment from the time when the fire department was taken over by the city. Parts are no longer available for the 30-year-old truck, so it cannot be repaired and it did not pass the last inspection. The lead time for building a new truck is 40-41 months and the city will pay $2,163,598, which includes a savings of $173,853 if $1 million is paid up front when it is ordered. This is the largest purchase that the fire department has ever made, said the chief. It is expected to last for over 20 years. When the truck is delivered in three years, the city manager said a decision will be made whether to get a loan or to pay for it from the fund balance, which he said is now at a healthy $12,300,000.
Mayor Brian Williams proclaimed July 10 as Leona Lucille Culpepper Day in East Ridge to celebrate the day she turned 105. She grew up in East Ridge, moved away and then returned and now lives one mile from her childhood home.