Attorney Curtis Bowe has been selected as the new judge for Collegedale.
Four-term Collegedale City Judge Kevin Wilson passed away in December. Qualifications for a new judge includes that they must have been a resident of the city for one year and must have lived in Tennessee for five years preceding his election. That decision was made by the Tennessee Supreme Court in March 2025 and is based on the state’s constitution.
The city advertised the job and received just three applications and two of them were not eligible because they did not live in Collegedale. The third is attorney Bowe who meets the qualifications. However, some on the city’s commission had reservations because he has served as a reserve officer in the city in the past, when he participated in a case that they felt he should have had no involvement with.
Another applicant for the judge position would have to qualify by March 10 and a special election would have to be held. That left the city with few options. Commissioner Tim Johnson said one of those would be to take all criminal and state cases downtown to Chattanooga. The city would have to pay to do that and the Collegedale court would be on a schedule set by Hamilton County.
The other choice was to move forward with Mr. Bowe. Commissioner Debbie Baker said she believes he has the integrity to separate himself from the other Collegedale officers. A vote approved Mr. Bowe, who will serve as city judge until the next election in 2030.
City Attorney Sam Elliott was asked to help change the city resident requirement since there are many small cities in Tennessee that do not have a qualified person residing in that city. The attorney will draft a letter asking the city’s state legislators to look into that issue. Currently three cities in Hamilton County are being affected by this new law - Red Bank and East Ridge along with Collegedale.
Mayor Morty Lloyd was given authority by the commissioners to execute an interlocal agreement between Collegedale and the city of Chattanooga regarding adjusting boundaries at 8883 Old Lee Highway in Ooltewah. The location is a parking lot and is adjacent to a Chick Fil-A restaurant. That 2.76-acre parcel was created after building I-75 Exit 11 after 2001. It created right-of-way that had not been contemplated when the municipal boundaries and urban growth boundaries between Chattanooga and Collegedale were set.
The request comes from the developer, and the two cities decided to adjust their boundaries and place the property within the boundary of Collegedale, rather than have the property deannexed by Chattanooga. In return, Chattanooga will be paid the equivalent of three years of property tax and the local option sales tax if a business is ever built there that generates sales tax and property tax. This tax payment will not include sales tax from the Chick Fil-A restaurant.
Collegedale has participated with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Tree Planting grant rograms, for three years. March 18 will mark the fourth year. and that date will also serve as the city’s official Arbor Day. A proclamation from the Arbor Day Foundation will be adopted followed by a ceremonial tree planting. The March 18 event will be coordinated with the Department of Agriculture, Pubic Works, Parks and Recreation and the city.
Art student Laurissa Mancia won the competition in Collegedale for development of a new logo to be used on various signs and documents associated with the city. At Monday night’s commission meeting approval was given to enter into a contract with the artist. She asked for the city to allow 30 days to make any requested changes to the design.
And at the recommendation of new City Manager Jon Holmes, the commissioners approved a new procedure for meetings, that adds a consent agenda, where routine items can be voted on together and without discussion. Any item that a commissioner wants clarification of can be removed from the consent agenda for discussion.
City Manager Holmes has been working in Collegedale for about 30 days. He said one of he first things he noticed was that there is a lot of interest in Collegedale from developers and builders. He invited Mark Mamantov, a public finance lawyer, to talk to the commissioners about a new tool that is available for developers and builders. That is a “real estate infrastructure special assessment district.”
The city first would have to create an Industrial Development District (IDD) which would be the organization that is responsible if a development fails, not the city. This implements annual charges for a new house that sells for $450,000 of about $1.200 per year, or $100 per month, for a piece of property that would be used to build a house that would sell for $450,000. This assessment would be paid in addition to a property tax bill. That extra $100 assessment per month would be for the length of the mortgage, typically for 30 years. The developer would use the money to build public infrastructure directly related to the development such as sewers, roads and drainage systems.
Attorney Mamantov said this process benefits the developer and is intended to be used as an incentive to encourage building housing. Selling more of the $450,000 houses would increase the inventory of lower priced houses in the $250,000-$300.000 price range when people move into the new more expensive houses. In the future, the city will have continuing discussions about this.