The Collegedale Airport has been making updates and improvements and they continue. The city commissioners on Monday made decisions for increasing safety with the approval to buy and install a Ceilometer. It will cost $60,431, including labor to install it.
Mayor Morty Lloyd, who is a pilot that uses the airport, told the commissioners that it is a critical piece of safety equipment that will decrease the risk of an accident. Money to buy it will come from money that has already been put aside for airport work. The equipment will tell pilots how low the ceilings are at the runway, which is already situated in a valley surrounded by mountains.
Property that holds a storage building for the airport is located at the corner of Apison Pike and Bess Moore Road. The property that is less than a quarter acre would be prime real estate for development, said Mayor Lloyd, but it was bought years ago when it became available for an attractive price, said Commissioner Tim Johnson. At the time, the commissioners thought it might be needed for parking in the future. Instead a small maintenance building for the airport was erected there and it has been used for storage of equipment such as lawnmowers. Now the building, which is described as just a shed, needs to be relocated on the property to conform to current permitting and stormwater regulations.
City Manager Wayon Hines told the commissioners that it was less expensive to replace the building than it would be to take it down and relocate it on the lot. But site development for a new building will require an engineering design that will cost $35,000. Although there are several engineers employed by the city of Collegedale, including City Manager Hines, none of them have the time to do this design and have it finished by the deadline that has been given. Commissioner Laura Howse was surprised by the high cost and that engineering the property would cost more than the cost of the new building. The city manager said he could find another engineer who could match the price but more than likely not have it finished when the city needs it.
After a lengthy discussion, Mayor Lloyd said he is also shocked at the price of eggs and of cars and made a motion to approve the proposed engineering cost. The final vote was three for and Commissioner Howse and Vice Mayor Tonya Sadler voting against.
The council gave unanimous approval to rezone the PRO building property from AG, Agricultural to MUTC, Mixed Use Town Center. The city’s Parks and Recreation building currently is on that .55- acre site at 5070 Ooltewah Ringgold Road. When the city started to put a sign on the building, it was realized that zoning needed to be changed to allow the sign. MUTC is the zoning that most closely aligns with the current and adjacent uses. The zoning change was approved by the council on Monday.
Commissioner Howse has organized an event to benefit the community, “Storm Awareness Day.” It will be held Wednesday, Feb. 26, from 3-7 p.m. at The Commons. Hamilton County Emergency Management will be there to program weather radios. People can bring their own, even if they are old, and Ace Hardware will be there with new ones to sell if they are needed. There will also be a nursing club from Southern Adventist present to help people become medically aware and will have some health screenings available and free to the public.
The financial report for January shows that at 58 percent of the way through the year, Collegedale has received 45 percent of its expected revenue and spent 66 percent of expected expenditures. Both local sales tax and property tax are one percent higher than at the same time the year before.