Mayor Brent Lambert administers the oath of office to new ERPD Officer David Chambers, left, as Chief J.R. Reed looks on, Thursday night during the City Council meeting.

The East Ridge City Council continued to struggle with two issues _ staffing in the city’s codes enforcement department and a state grant for parks and recreation _ at its regular meeting Thursday night at City Hall.

A discussion of hiring a codes enforcement officer, which had been tabled from the previous meeting, resulted in no action being taken other than Mayor Brent Lambert suggesting a workshop be held at some point in the near future to discuss staffing problems throughout city departments. The proposal to hire someone in codes enforcement to replace an employee who had been moved to a position in administration remained tabled with a 3-2 vote, with Councilmen Larry Sewell and Denny Manning casting the two no votes.

A resolution to spend an additional $5,000 for a land survey at Camp Jordan to meet the requirements of a state grant for parks and recreation was tabled after a 20-minute discussion where confusion reigned. Amanda Miller, the city’s ad-hoc grant coordinator, explained to the council that the $200,000 grant the city had received some two years ago _ originally slated to build a park on the then-city owned property where Walmart now sits _ has evolved and been scaled back. The new plan called for a half-court basketball court, one tennis court, minus any fencing, sorely needed restrooms, a dog park and a modest walking track. The city would match the state’s $100,000 contribution.

Vice Mayor Marc Gravitt asked if Miller and Parks & Recreation Director Stump Martin were asking for additional money? If so, why didn’t the money come out of the Parks & Recreation budget? Martin said that in actuality he didn’t necessarily need a basketball court or a tennis court at the park. The restrooms, however, were much needed.

Mayor Lambert asked why the city couldn’t just decline the approved grant and just build the restrooms and a dog park with the city’s own money?

“This should be a real consideration,” Lambert said. “It seems to me like we’re trying to drive a square peg into a round hole.”

The Mayor wanted to know if the city turned the money down would it hurt its future chances of getting grant money. The answer from Miller and Martin was, not necessarily.

In the end, Miller said she would ask the state what parts of the project could be omitted before the city officially declined the grant, and the issue was tabled until that information could be garnered.

The Council heard from representatives from the technology company eBryIT, about much-needed upgrades to the city’s internet technology infrastructure. A three-phase project to modernize cabling and connections, switching and wireless hardware for security purposes and a new server for the city’s computers was proposed with a price tag of about $40,000. 

The current server is running at about 75 percent capacity, one of the representatives said, and the addition of 25 new laptops in police cars would push it dangerously close to capacity.

Mayor Lambert said he wanted to have the issue on the agenda for the next meeting to discuss funding the project.

Mayor Lambert once again brought up the issue of the city’s zip code of 37412. He said that there was a mistake made when the U.S. Postal Service assigned the zip code some 40 years ago. The 37412 zip code “defaults” to Chattanooga with East Ridge given the status of “acceptable alternative.” Lambert held up a copy of the Chattanooga Times Free Press’s Sunday edition of “real estate transactions.” He said that Red Bank, Soddy-Daisy and Ooltewah, which have separate zip codes, has its real estate listings broken out separately. East Ridge’s is lumped into Chattanooga’s.

Lambert said it gives someone doing a search on the internet the wrong idea about the housing market in East Ridge and economic development here in general.

“I would like an opportunity to explore what we can do to get it changed,” he said. The Council gave Lambert its blessing to do just that.

Police Chief J.R. Reed helped Mayor Lambert administer the oath of office to the city’s newest police officer, David Chambers. “It never gets old,” Lambert commented as he asked Officer Chambers to raise his right hand and take the oath.

Harry Mackey, the president of the East Ridge Optimist Club came before the Council to thank the city for helping out in some of the club’s events last year, including a fishing rodeo for kids at Dickert Pond at Camp Jordan and a car show it held at the city’s arena.  Mackey recited a list of things the Optimists had done last year, including a Christmas dinner for Orange Grove, a 911 appreciation dinner for first responders and an oratorical contest for the hearing impaired.

Mackey asked the Council to authorize the organization’s use once again in the coming year for the fishing rodeo and the car show at the park. That request was granted.

During the “communications from citizens” portion of the meeting, Jim Bethune asked for an update on the city’s No. 2 Fire Hall, which is to be built on land near its former site on the outskirts of Camp Jordan.

Interim City Manager Mike Williams, who is also the Fire Chief, told Bethune that he had met with the architect Wednesday and there had been much “back and forth.” Chief Williams said there must be additional site work on the property (about $250,000) before anything gets started. The plan is to use the material from the dismantled fire hall and add a third bay. He said there is no timetable for completion and expects the total cost to be about $1 million.

“This is our house,” Williams said. “It’s like if you build a house, you want it done right.”

Williams also said that the city’s new fire truck is in town but the department has yet to take possession.

Mayor Lambert told the Council that he had spoken with a representative from UT’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service, who has extended an offer to assist the city in selecting its new City Manager. Fifty-six people have applied for the position, records show. The representative told Lambert that MTAS is willing to rank the applicants to help with the process. 

Lambert said that MTAS would not make any decisions concerning those who have applied. The Council deemed it a good idea and Lambert said he would inform MTAS.