East Ridge city fathers said yes on a new hire and no on a grant.
During its regular meeting on Thursday night, the City Council moved to create an additional position in its short-staffed Codes Enforcement Department and agreed to decline a $100,000 state parks and recreation grant earmarked for tennis and basketball courts.
For months the council has grappled with both issues that on first glance seem straightforward but as it turned out were anything but.
In recent meetings, hiring an additional person in Codes Enforcement became bogged down after it was explained that an employee from the department was reassigned to a job as receptionist at City Hall. In previous council meetings, the move was characterized as a disciplinary one by Interim City Manager Mike Williams. The long-time employee, Williams said, did not pass at least one test to get a certification relevant to her job. It was further explained that the employee received a reduction in pay when reassigned, but was still being paid about $39,000 a year to “answer the phone,” in the words of Vice Mayor Marc Gravitt.
During Thursday’s meeting, Mayor Brent Lambert quickly made a motion to “create a position of codes inspector.” That motion was seconded by Councilman Denny Manning.
Councilman Jacky Cagle responded by saying “I thought we were creating a position in administration.” The person who held the receptionist’s job prior to the codes enforcement employee being demoted and assuming that job, was reassigned to “administration,” assisting the Human Resource and Finance Department. There was no open position for her to assume, she was just reassigned by the Interim City Manager.
This prompted Mayor Lambert to say, “I don’t know how that other conversation gets worked out.” He made note of the fact that the measure to hire a person in Codes Enforcement _ which has two employees along with the Chief Building Official _ had been tabled twice. Lambert said that “technically” there is no open position in codes enforcement because the reassigned employee is still being paid from that department’s budget.
“I’ll be flat honest, I’m totally circumventing that discussion,” Lambert said.
The measure passed unanimously.
The Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant had been applied for in 2014. The $100,000 grant, which the city would be required to match, was originally earmarked for use at the city’s Monroe Street property, the site of the city’s old swimming pool. The grant was to be used to build tennis and basketball courts, a dog park, walking track and restroom facilities.
The city sold the Monroe Street property to developers and is now the site of the Walmart Neighborhood Market. City staff then worked with state officials to have the grant earmarked for similar but more modest construction of those facilities at Camp Jordan Park. The state agreed to allow the money to be used there.
But, when the state required the Camp Jordan building sites to be surveyed at an additional cost to the city of $5,000, the council began to backtrack.
On Thursday the board decided to decline the grant entirely. City staffer Amanda Miller explained that the city never actually received any of the $100,000 state grant money. As the city spent money for the project it would have been reimbursed by the state. However, the city was obligated for $4,000 in administrative fees to the Southeast Development District for administering the grant up to this point, and $2,840 to an engineering company for the work it had done.
In a separate measure, the council moved to not reapply for the state grant this year _ the deadline would have been in late April _ but to wait until the next round in 2018. It was discussed that the city may pursue the maximum grant figure of $500,000 (with a match from the city) in 2018.
The council passed a resolution to accept a bid from the information technology firm eBryIT to upgrade its computer server infrastructure. At the last meeting eBryIT, a longtime city vendor, made a proposal to do the upgrades in three phases totaling about $40,000. The board balked at the proposal because the work had not been let for bid.
As it turned out, eBryIT was the only firm to bid on the job. The bid came in at $37,810 as a result of the firm designating the work a “government project.”
Mayor Lambert asked that the council discuss Phase II of the Exit 1 interchange project. The projected cost of $2 million will be shared by TDOT, Hamilton County and the City, with TDOT committing $1 million and the city and county committing $500,000 each. Mayor Lambert noted that the project is likely to cost much more.
Mayor Lambert asked that the council approve a measure allowing the city to put out a request for qualifications from engineering firms for design work. That measure passed unanimously.
Lambert then asked Finance Director Dianne Qualls to brief the board on the city’s debt. Qualls said the city’s current debt is $6.6 million. The city’s debt limit is $17 million. She said East Ridge’s Moody’s rating is still good and the city should have no problem in issuing bonds for future work.
Vice Mayor Gravitt asked Qualls to inquire about borrowing money from local banks and determine what interest rates may be available commercially. Gravitt said that certain “upfront costs” on issuing bonds can add to the costs of borrowing.
The council agreed to move forward on taking bids for new synthetic turf for indoor soccer inside Camp Jordan Arena. The existing turf is 16 years old. The city would trade out the old turf as part of the bid. The funds to pay for the $60,000 expense would come out of the 2016-17 budget.
Police Chief J.R. Reed told the council that a local Elks Lodge wanted to donate $10,000 to the city to acquire a new police dog and ballistic vest for the animal. Chief Reed said the deal is being finalized and he would have updated information at the next council meeting.
It was determined that the council meeting on March 24 would be moved to the following Thursday, March 31, as the March 24 date conflicts with Hamilton County Schools Spring Break.
