The following is a synopsis of the “Meet the Mayor” event at Local Coffee of East Ridge on May 11.
City Manager Hiring:
As you know Mr. Dorsey started this past Monday, May 6th. We are very happy and excited to have Mr. Dorsey as our City Manager. We have had a very interactive week and looking forward to may more in the future. I believe Chris will be a great fit and asset to our city.
Waverly Motel
East Ridge Housing Commission members voted to temporarily close the doors to the Waverly Motel during an emergency meeting earlier this week. The violations that county inspectors found ranged from faulty or missing smoke detectors to expired fire extinguishers, electrical and plumping problems. In addition, between Jan. 1 and May 8, police have been called to the motel 91 times. Representatives from the Waverly have been requested to appear at the next regular scheduled Housing Commission meeting on Monday, May 13th for an update on any repairs completed, but the motel won’t be allowed to reopen until East Ridge’s housing official reinspects it and confirms that all violations have been rectified.
Update: Waverly was reopened Monday, May 13th. They have rectified all code violations and in addition the Health Department passed them as well. We will continually monitor the motel and bring them back to the Housing Commission when/if any additional or reoccurring violations occur.
Since they are a motel they are not regulated by the extended stay ordinances. City ordinances related to motels do not allow residents to stay over 30 days.
Question: concerning whether or not the extended stay ordnance placed a limit to the number of extended stay properties in the City.UPDATE: There was not limitation of the number of extended stay properties within East Ridge.
Red Wolves Professional Soccer Club
On Thursday, the Council passed a resolution to approve a development agreement for “Red Wolves Professional Stadium Area”. There are two separate developments being planned.
- Training facility/stadium that is planned to be in Camp Jordan.
- Professional Soccer stadium and mixed-use businesses, hotels, convention space, business offices, condos and apartments.
The training facility will be a $1.2 to $1.5 million world-class practice facility on five acres where the Weldon Osborne Stadium sits. Those facilities will include a 2,000-seat stadium, an updated field, locker rooms and offices for the team.
The Professional Soccer stadium development area on the west side of I-75 will create about 1,200 jobs and account for millions of dollars annually in sales tax revenue.
Property tax revenue
| Property Address | Expected Appraised Value (100%) | Assessed Value (App.Value)(40%) | Annual City Property Taxes [Assessed Value/100] x 1.3381 |
| HWY I 75 | $125,000,000.00 | $50,000,000.00 | $669,050.00 |
| 6739 Ringgold Road | $450,000.00 | $180,000.00 | $2,408.58 |
| Total | $671,458.58 |
Local Option Sales Tax
| Property Address | Local Option** | $2M | $20M | $30M | $35M |
| HWY I 75 | 1.1250 | $225,000.00 | $337,500.00 | $393,750.00 | |
| 6739 Ringgold Road | 1.1250 | $22,500.00 | $22,500.00 | $22,500.00 | $22,500.00 |
| Total | $247,500.00 | $360,000.00 | $416,250.00 |
Border Region Sales Tax
| Property Address | Border Region** | $2M | $20M | $30M | $35M |
| HWY I 75 | 4.1250 | $825,000.00 | $1,237,500.00 | $1,443,750.00 | |
| 6739 Ringgold Road | 4.1250 | $82,500.00 | $82,500.00 | $82,500.00 | $82,500.00 |
| 3% retained by City | $2,475.00 | $27,225.00 | $39,600.00 | $45,787.50 | |
| 97% retained by RW | $80,025.00 | $800,250.00 | $1,280,400.00 | $1,480,462.50 |
Hotel Motel Tax
| Room Numbers | Hotel/Motel Tax | 20,000 | 25,000 | 30,000 |
| 250 | 4.0000 | $200,000.00 | $250,000.00 | $300,000.00 |
| 367 | 4.0000 | $293,600.00 | $367,000.00 | $440,400.00 |
| Total Projections | Tax Revenue per Year |
| Low | $814,133.58 |
| Medium | $1,176,637.50 |
| High | $1,573,896.08 |
Citizens asked if the storm water runoff plans can/will be available to the public to review or a public meeting to review.
Candlewood Suites
On Thursday, the Council also passed a resolutionto approve a development agreement for the Candlewood Suites development. This is not what we have been experiencing with an extended stay hotel. Candlewood Suites is an IHG (Intercontinental Hotel Group) which also owns Holiday Inn and Crown Plaza.
Property tax revenue
| Expected Appraised Value (100%) | Assessed Value (App.Value)(40%) | Annual City Property Taxes [Assessed Value/100] x 1.3381 |
| $11,500,000.00 | $4,600,000.00 | $61,552.60 |
Hotel Motel Tax
| Room Numbers | Hotel/Motel Tax | 20,000 | 25,000 | 30,000 |
| 83 | 4.0000 | $66,400.00 | $83,000.00 | $99,600.00 |
| Total Projections | Tax Revenue per Year |
| Low | $97,176.30 |
| Medium | $144,552.60 |
| High | $161,152.00 |
Question: concerning a new additional extended stay hotel being approved by the IDB and the Council unanimously with an incentive agreement (60 Candlewood Suites/40 East Ridge) split of Border Regions generated sales tax. Candlewood Suites is an extended Inter-Continental Hotel Group (Holiday Inn & Crown Plaza family) and a 4-star hotel and not the same type of extended stay we currently have in East Ridge. I requested that to receive their Border Regions incentive the hotel had to remain a Candlewood Suites or an equivalent hotel brand/flag. For a comparison the potential TownPlace Suites with a water park however, TownPlace Suites is also an extended stay hotel the citizens were ok with.
Camp Jordan
As you may have noticed we have had several change orders within the renovation project. Even with all the change orders we are still under the authorized budget of 2.3 million. We have removed some scope but added in other items that were needed more or was necessary due to unforeseen issues.
A citizen asked about the change of the stop signs in Camp Jordan at the walk paths. The reason was the stop signs were put up incorrectly and were out of compliance with Tennessee State Code. The U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration manual and Tennessee State Law states that Yield for Pedestrians signs are correct for crosswalks. Stop signs are for designated highway intersections but not crosswalks.With this being said, a driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk. We have also added additional signage on Camp Jordan Parkway and on the walk paths to ensure the safety of the pedestrians.
Question: are speed humps an option to slow down cars? Mr. Dorsey stated that we belong to the Tennessee Municipal League Risk Management Pool and they consider speed humps as an inherent defect in the road and they discourage cities to use them. The city could be held liable for vehicle or pedestrian (i.e. bike riders) accidents. It was then asked if rumble strips could be utilized instead of speed humps?
The results of the S. Seminole Dr at Bennett Rd STOP Study were asked about. The results have determined a concern with ditch. The city is planning on installing a guardrail at this site. Bids already taken.
Street cut issues were mentioned. I have mentioned previously that we need to capture a street cut log and proactively monitor these cuts to ensure we reengage the company that performed the cut to repair before a year has passed. They are obligated for any repairs within a year of the cut. We should revisit each cut approximately 9 to 10 months after the cut to ensure the cut is repaired if there are issues otherwise it is the cities responsibility after 12 months.
A citizen mentioned a huge hole at 3200 Castle Ave with barricades for at least two months. The city is taking steps to repair the hole.
Question about the hiring of a new Police Chief. Chris stated he has already reached out to MTAS and their Police Consultant and will be starting the process. Before Chris starts, he needs to know how the police dept operates and the purpose of the Police Department and what methods to follow. Do we want a more community-oriented department or more crime suppression? What methods work best for East Ridge? We want a person to help in the methods and areas we desire but need to determine these first.
Now with the hiring of our new City Manager, we can begin the engagement with MTAS and work on scheduling the strategic planning workshops for the creation of our City Vision & Mission Statement. The benefit we have with Mr. Dorsey is the fact he has participated in this process before which will be a benefit for East Ridge.
Tennis Courts
We have determined that the removal of the trees that line the fencing should occur prior to the clearing, cleaning and resurfacing of the tennis courts. We are working on the removal of these trees.
Recent activities
Friday, May 3rd – Armed Forces Day: East Ridge JROTC proudly represented our city by marching in the parade. In addition, we had two Motorcycle Officers that rode in the parade.
Tuesday, May 7th – Local Prayer Breakfast: I attended a very powerful prayer breakfast where Sherman Smith provided the message.
Tuesday, May 7th – East Ridge Institute of Building and Design assembled at Camp Jordan for the Problem Based Learning Project. Students placed their own designed and constructed duck and bat boxes in Camp Jordan Park area. Also, they had a Construction Olympics Competition with nail driving, board sawing, wheelbarrow race and survey stake driving events.
Many students were provided their completion of OSHA 10 certification.
This is a great program and many thanks to all the students, teachers and other sponsors.
Wednesday, May 8th– Wally’s 30 Year Celebration: Glen Meadows and Wally’s have been a staple in our city for three decades. Wally’s has provided exceptional food and great service to our community. We congratulated Glen with a proclamation designating May 8th as Wally’s Day in East Ridge.
Thursday, May 9th – East Ridge High School Senior Day: I attended a great program and witnessed anexcellent student body being recognized. There were an unbelievable number of scholarships presented to our East Ridge students. Scholarships from fixed dollar amounts to full complete 4-year scholarships. One example of the achievement of the students is where Chattanooga State awarded (eight) more scholarships to East Ridge then any other Hamilton County School.
Upcoming events
Saturday, May 18th 10 am – 2 pm: Spring N2 Safety presented by Emergency Services/First Responders. A safety event for all ages. Activities include Seatbelt Crash Simulator, Fatal Vision Goggles driving course, ERPD K9, Children’s Car Seat check-up, Fire Safety information, ERFD Mascot – Fire Pup, bouncy house, concession and more!
Saturday, May 18th 5 pm – 9 pm: Art in the Key of Jazz hosted by Local Coffee of East Ridge. Admission is free and will feature Kevin Roberts (Jazz Combo) and Marguerite Anderson (Gallery Show).
Saturday, May 25th11am – 3pm: East Ridge Optimist Club Annual BBQ Fundraiser at Camp Jordan Pavilion. This is a great organization and great fundraiser that benefits our youth and community!!
Chris Dorsey
Greeting and introduction from Chris. Chris mentions being a Hamilton County resident since 2005, also has a lot of knowledge of how government works.
Bullet points from discussion:
- Chris met with all the Department heads Monday morning and they are on the ball.
- Has already seen that we have a great bunch of employees.
- Indicates they already have plans and goals to accomplish and initiative to get things done and move forward.
- Already been looking over the budget prior to his start date.
- One handicap this year is he will not have the prior knowledge of past budgets but working to become familiar with the departments and how they tick. However, has been working the Mr. Custer and Mrs. Qualls.
- Stated we will not raise taxes this year.
- Chris stressed we are a service-oriented organization and our budget consists of 60% or more personnel, so it is important we take care of our employees.
- Chris will present future budget a bit differently with goals objectives, mission of departmental accomplishments and updates with measurable items. This will take some time and unable to implement for this year’s budget.
- Chris’s background is a UT grad with a BS and MS in Public Administration with background specifically with budget and finance. He likes working in government. Grew up in Memphis and worked for them 18 years in various roles. Budget manager for them with a 300-million-dollar budget.
- Plans to have the budget presentation in the beginning of June.
- Goal is to stay around for quite a while.
- Very important we provide the services the citizens need.
Citizens questions:
- Request to separate the Parks budget. Chris likes to have roll ups, and this should provide the overall view the Parks complete budget.
- How open are you to citizens? Chris is very open and is open to citizens. Just asks that you reach out prior to dropping by. Chris is often out and about as a City Manager checking on departments seeing how things are progressing.
- A citizen commented they liked Chris’s response on how he wants to understand how the police department operates within the city and his plans to fill the Chief of Police position instead of just hiring an individual.
_ Mayor Brian Williams
