Senator Bo Watson, shown with Red Bank City Manager Martin Granum, recognized the city's 75th anniversary
The Red Bank Commission voted 4-1 on Tuesday night on first reading to approve a nine-cent property tax increase.
The final reading is set for Aug. 10.
The rate increases from the rolled-back Certified Tax Rate of $.89 per $100 of assessed valuation to $.98.
The Red Bank Commission in 2023 voted a $.57 property tax increase. That followed an $.11 property tax hike in 2021.
No residents spoke at a public hearing prior to the tax vote.
The vote was 4-1 with Commissioner Jaime Harvey as the only no vote.
A public hearing also took place to rezone property located at 223 Clift View from R-2 Residential that is mostly made up of duplexes to R-3 Residential that will also allow triplexes. The planning commission recommended to approve the rezoning request and the commissioners agreed. That will allow the basement underneath a duplex to be converted into a bedroom. Neither the footprint or the appearance of the building will change, only an expansion of the parking pad.
The commissioners heard a report on a capital outlay note in the amount of $100,000 to be used by the police department with a net interest cost of 4.53 percent. It will be used to purchase two vehicles for the Red Bank Police.
The city also has agreed to authorize an on-call service agreement for parks and recreation support. The agreement is with the Trust for Public Land which will advise the city about the best practices for land management, fundraising to support the public property, and on protecting the parks, trails and green spaces in the city. The cost that was approved for the services is to not exceed $50,000.
Red Bank will also enter into an interlocal agreement with the city of Chattanooga for trail maintenance and to make improvements to the Stringers Ridge trail system which extends through both cities. It will assist in erosion mitigation, stair rebuilding, and drainage improvements among other items. Chattanooga will perform the work and bill Red Bank for its share, not to exceed $10,000.
The city hopes to be awarded the 2026 Placemaking grant from the Greater Chattanooga Realtors. This grant is meant to transform underutilized and blighted spaces into safe, vibrant places. If Red Bank receives the grant, it will be used for the White Oak Dog Park, which needs more shade. Trees cannot be planted there because it is built on top of an old landfill, so it must be shade from artificial structures, officials said. This is a no-match grant of $25,000.
A new training program has been approved for the fire department, to replace the old one that had been used. The program will cost $5,345.
A contract was approved with Big Woody’s Tree Service for the restoration project for the White Oak Park detention pond. The work will be done using American Rescue Plan funds and a water infrastructure grant from TDEC and will not exceed $204,000.
A three-year subscription with Aurigo Software Technologies was approved that will cost $15,000 for each of the three years totaling $45,000. This is an unbudgeted expense. It is software that will be used for capital improvements planning and management.
A tractor will be purchased for the public works department for $166,650 that will be paid for through debt service.
TDOT is doing roadwork to Dayton Boulevard where it goes through the Stringer’s Ridge tunnel from Chattanooga into Red Bank. The city of Red Bank was given the opportunity to weigh in on some of the improvements. The lanes along the road quickly change from two to four then narrow again as the road leaves the tunnel. It is a high collision area where a lot of lane swapping occurs. Red Bank has re=engineered the road coming out of the tunnel to the intersection with Signal Mountain Road. The changes will be made by restriping the existing pavement. It will be painted as three lanes - two for traveling in each direction and a middle lane that will be left as a queuing lane. There will also be changes to the road just north of that intersection so it will coordinate with the new traffic pattern. Red Bank will be responsible for paying $36,800 to stripe that portion, and from there traveling toward the tunnel will be paid by TDOT.
Past commissioner Pete Phillips has been approved to join the city advisory Board of Zoning Appeals.
State Senator Bo Watson joined the meeting to give the city a proclamation recognizing Red Bank’s 70th anniversary. He also presented a state flag to the city which had flown over the Tennessee state capital. In return City Manager Martin Granum gave the senator a “city manager coin,” stamped with a seal of Tennessee surrounded with the words telling the core values of Red Bank.