When it comes to the future and what it holds in store for the next generation I’m concerned. Very concerned.
When my kids get older will our street be as safe to play in as it is now? When my grandchildren start elementary school will they feel safe walking to the bus? Will they go to kindergarten class without passing though metal detectors and having their brand new backpack searched?
The answers come from perspective.
When I see kids playing a pickup game of touch football I feel warm and blessed to live in a place where such magical innocence is still possible. When I watch the news and hear of another shooting my hopes are dashed and a sense of dread looms.
My perception, and that of my friends and neighbors, is that over time crime has gotten worse in East Ridge. We’ve had more shooting incidents in the last five months of this year than we had during an entire year in the past.
Sadly, I have met multiple people who moved from East Ridge because they felt crime had taken up residence in their neighborhoods. I know a business owner currently looking to leave our community because she feels she can no longer wait for things to turn around and needs to move to a more economically viable area.
This type of flight from our community needs to be stopped and reversed. That will not happen unless people feel safe and comfortable living and conducting business in East Ridge.
I can’t help but wonder as Chattanooga cracks down on its violent crime and cleans up its streets where those criminals will migrate to? Do the underlying factors that allowed for this issue to take root in Chattanooga exist in East Ridge? Most importantly, I wonder why no one else is asking these questions?
The focus the last few years by city leaders has been on economic development. Applicants for the city manager position were questioned to find out how much experience the candidate had with economic development. Unless you have been hiding under a rock somewhere lately, I’m sure your familiar with the Boarder Region Act and how it’s legislation is, as Mayor Brent Lambert has stated, going to lead us into an economic boom. It is an exciting time to be a resident and see these changes as they blossom around us.
I know economic development isn’t easy. It takes a lot of work. There is a steady stream of constant issues facing our council. For instance, the road project has come in over original estimates and Phase II of the project will require the city to issue a bond to raise the funds. Further complicating things is the fact that until the WWTA manages to fix the Area 10 sewer lines, development in the area is restricted. Meaning the road we just built at a cost just shy of $2 million may not be utilized to its full potential.
Those problems are important and they require careful thought and planning. The key is to not lose sight of the reasons why the city exists … the citizens.
East Ridge is and has always has been at its heart a community. A most contentedly located place for people to come together and raise their families. A city is thus formed as all cities are for reasons of economic scale. It’s easier and cheaper for a centrally organized entity to provide security, fire protection, sanitation than it is for each individuals to provide it for themselves. These basic city services are the entire reason for the city existing.
We need to make sure the needs of the community are addressed and considered and balanced against the need for continued economic development.
The first order is making sure the police department is adequately staffed and funded. That they have the tools and manpower they need to fight crime and quickly close cases. With the influx of people produced by the economic boom, will come additional crime. This means a need for more officers, more cars, a greater presence.
The same is true for the fire department. With more property to protect we need to make sure the department has what is required to continue to provide the same great service it always has.
If the budget doesn’t allow for this then it needs to be adjusted.
The next step is probably the hardest: We need to look at our city with a critical eye and figure out how we got here and from there form a plan to get back.
A handful of depressed areas in our city has been used to paint an unflattering picture of the entire community with a broad brush. The city needs to consider working with civic-minded groups to help homeowners in these areas improve their properties.
A landlord and rental inspection ordinance needs to be put in place. Absentee landlords cannot be allowed to collect rents while not maintaining or improving their property. Failure to maintain rental property should come at the risk of severe fines. Homeowners living in our community should not suffer from a loss in value to their property or live in a blighted neighborhood because rental investment property was allowed to decline into a state of disrepair and become an eyesore.
This is a very important year as we will have at least one available city council seat with no incumbent in this year’s election as Councilman Denny Manning has reached his term limit of 12 years. Depending on what Vice Mayor Gravitt decides, there could possibly be two seats.
As an electorate it’s going to be important to avoid the temptation of turning back to the same names with the same ideas that helped us get to the point we are at. It’s time to find candidates that can provide a new perspective. Candidates that are intelligent and can comprehend the problems at hand and work to help find “outside the box” solutions we need to solve these problems. Most importantly, we need candidates who put the city first and are willing to accept the input and ideas of others.
We need someone who can balance the needs of economic development and continue the wheel of progress on that front, while not losing site of citizens that chose to make this community their home. Someone who will fight to ensure the current problems in Chattanooga do not become the future problems of East Ridge. Someone who understands that it’s just as important that people choose to make East Ridge their home as it is for businesse to do the same.
If we continue to elect the same type of people we always have we will continue to get the same result.
Of course, in the meantime I want to encourage everyone to contact the council members and remind them that this city exists to serve its citizens. Let them know that while economic development is an important focus, we must not lose sight of ensuring that this community remains a safe and good place to live, work, and raise a family.
Work within your own neighborhood and see what can be done to help improve your street. Help an elderly neighbor with their loose mailbox. Gather a group to help people on your block repair and paint their fences. If we work together as a community there isn’t anything we can’t accomplish.
