Signal Mountain entered into a $3 million loan agreement in 2017 to pay for a new fire station and equipment to service the large number of new residential developments in the town. The council that approved the loan, agreed to an option in the agreement that the bank could adjust the interest rate of the loan in 2024. The current council now must deal with the decision that was made by that previous council that would mean a significant cost increase to the town. After the last payment of that loan which matures Oct. 1, 2024, the principal amount will be $2,131,000.
The council determined that it is in the best interests of the town to prepay the outstanding loan on Oct. 13, 2024 and issue and sell General Obligation Refunding Bonds to prepay the outstanding debt, not to exceed $2,137,392.
The rates received from the bank for the bonds anticipated the rate cut that took place last week, however the interest rate was lowered more than had been expected. If the city had decided not to approve the loan on Tuesday night, hoping to adjust the rate lower, there would have been penalties and fees to pay because of a missed deadline. Acting City Manager Matt Justice told the council that conditions in the new loan will allow the note to be restructured at any time without penalties. The motion to issue the bonds passed with the council having the ability to review the rate in 12-18 months.
The town received $2,883,516 in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, also known as the COVID-19 Stimulus Package. Rules for using this money include that it all must be allocated by the end of 2024 and the work completed by 2026, or else the money will have to be returned. Creating Signal Mountain’s plan for the money is a priority before a new council is elected in November, and discussions took place at the workshop meeting Tuesday about the best way to spend it.
Originally, the money was for use specifically for water infrastructure, said Mr. Justice. Signal Mountain has already completed many water projects earlier than expected. If the ARPA money is used for things that have already been completed, said Mayor Charles Poss, that would free-up money from the city’s other funds, such as the general or stormwater funds. No matter where the money comes from, he said, the city had received $2.5 million that prevented having to increase property taxes. The task for the council now is to determine what the actual costs of projects will be so that the town’s plan is to not spend less that the $2.5 million, otherwise that unused money would have to be returned.
The council discussed projects including both needs and wants. The wish list of projects to use the remainder of the money includes building sidewalks in Old Town, speed reduction signs in the Thrasher Elementary School zone, replacing/repairing the filtration system in the town swimming pool, doing a road survey to prioritize street work that is needed, replacing bathrooms at all of the town’s parks and public spaces, building an accessible playground, building/repairing tennis courts and replacing two HVAC units in the town hall building, in addition to multiple stormwater projects that are already completed.
Some of the projects discussed individually, included the traffic problem at Thrasher Elementary School. Police Chief Mike Williams has unsuccessfully been looking for a solution. The problem at many schools is speeding vehicles but at Thrasher, the problem is congestion of both cars and walkers. He tried to get help from the Hamilton County Sherriff's Department, which already has officers on the mountain in the form of school resource officers, but was told that the SROs are not allowed to leave the school buildings and volunteers cannot be used unless they are trained. The wall of cars that park along the sides of the streets waiting to pick up children obstructs line of sight for drivers and walkers and forces kids to walk in the road. Studies have shown that increasing the length of the school zone makes cars speed up, he was told. Rerouting traffic to avoid James Boulevard was another idea, that some people already use. And having the schools educate the children about safety could also be a help.
Other suggestions to increase safety in the school zone included adding No Parking signs and flashing speed signs that can record data and flashing cross-walk signs. Some people may be unaware they are in a school zone, and putting rumble strips on the road might call attention to that and to the speed signs. Carpooling could help reduce the number of cars, as would riding the school bus; however it was noted that some parents are reluctant to send their kids to school as early as the busses would pick them up.
Mayor Poss said that Hamilton County should help if there are costs to implement safety plans. Councilman Andrew Gardner said it should not be entirely up to the town to take care of the problem of school traffic since children from Walden and the unincorporated county also attend the schools that are located in the town. All entities involved will be invited to the next work session to find a solution.
The swimming pool is an important town asset that needs a lot of work. Public Works Director Wesley Stokes said that the chlorination system was replaced this summer, but because of the extensive leaks, he estimated that 1,000 gallons were lost every day. That caused the chemicals to be unbalanced and more chemicals had to be added constantly. The imbalance is causing the pool liner to leach calcium that has resulted in flaking stucco. When the filtering system is repaired, it is expected to increase pressure in the system possibly causing more leaks. And currently leaks are coming from the pipes and the filters, as if a faucet is turned on, he said, adding that is what happens when maintenance is deferred.
Mayor Poss asked that a comprehensive evaluation and a dye test be done on the pool before the council commits to spend $200,000 to repair the filtration system.
Public Works Director Stokes gave an update about building new sidewalks in Old Town, that has been discussed for many years. Presently he is waiting for a contract extension from TDOT for the grant that will help build a portion of the sidewalks and ASA Engineering is working on right-of-way plans.
Playcore has a matching grant program that the Signal Mountain could take advantage of for building the accessible playground that the city would like to have, said Mr. Stokes. And he is aware of another grant that could match every dollar that is raised to build it.
The Humane Educational Society takes care of animal control issues in Signal Mountain. At a recent meeting town officials were told to expect a 30 percent increase in costs of the service next year. The same will be true for all the other towns that use HES. Currently Signal Mountain pays $9,900 annually, or $825 each month. The increase will bring the price up to about $12,000 annually. Until the meeting, Mayor Poss said the city believed there had only been eight animals taken to HES from the city in three years. In reality there were 120 reports in 2024 above the number of calls in 2023. HES is being asked to provide quarterly reports to inform the city of what has been done. The next budget will include the requested increase and Hamilton County will cover the remaining amount this year. Private contributions may make a difference in what the cities will pay next year.