by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the March 26 meeting, the Monteagle Town Council unanimously voted to appoint Ron Terrill to fill the alderman seat vacated by Chris Ladd. Ladd, who recently married and moved to Tracy City, sent a letter to the council announcing his resignation. Terrill also chairs the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Codes Enforcement officer Earl Geary said he’d given 30-day notice on a “nonconforming RV parked behind the Mexican restaurant.” According to Geary, employees spent the night there if they worked early the next day. He observed what appeared to be the hose for the septic system lying on the ground.

Vice Mayor Jessica Blalock asked about the church on Layne Ave. “The roof has completely caved in,” Blalock said. Geary said he’d had difficulty determining who owned the property. “The lady who told me she bought it said she didn’t have the money to tear the structure down,” Geary explained. Geary said the city could tear the building down and put a lien on the property for the demolition cost, but they could encounter difficulty recapturing the expense.

Reporting on the cost of installing two playground sets at Harton Park, Blalock said she received a quote for $7,342 and the other companies she contacted insisted “they couldn’t beat that.” Blalock is also investigating whether to surface the area beneath the playground sets with wood mulch or rubber mulch. Wood mulch costs less, but deteriorates and requires frequent replacement, Blalock said. Rubber mulch costs more but would never need replaced. In response to suggestions to use sand or pea gravel for mulch, Blalock said dogs and cats urinating and defecating in sand posed a problem. Pea gravel could result in injuries to children who fell.

“State regulations require five inches of mulch beneath the younger kids playground and eight inches beneath the higher playground set for older kids,” Blalock said.

Another cost versus durability issue arose in the discussion about the need for road resurfacing on Laurel Lake Drive. Mayor David Sampley said he requested quotes in the fall, but received no replies. “The tar and chip surface there now isn’t thick enough,” Sampley insisted, but he didn’t recommend paving the road. “There’s so much construction there, it would just be torn up.”

Sampley speculated the contractors he contacted wanted “higher dollar paving jobs. They don’t want to do tar and chip.”

He also pointed to budget restrictions, with only $75,000 allocated to road repair in the current year’s budget. Franklin County advised him paving cost $100,000 per mile, with a mile and half needing resurfaced on Laurel Lake Drive.

A resident asked why the city repaired the parking lot in front of the Subway restaurant. Sampley explained the repaired area was on the city right of way. Sampley sympathized with the need for resurfacing on Laurel Lake Drive, calling the road condition “awful.”

“We want to do the whole road out there, not just patch holes,” Sampley said.

He plans to increase the amount for road repair in next year’s budget.

“There are four roads in absolutely horrible condition,” Blalock said.

In other business, the council approved a resolution authorizing disposal of surplus property including a fire truck, three pickup trucks, and other miscellaneous equipment. The property will be listed for sale on the government surplus auction site GovDeals.

The council also approved the fire department’s request to purchase three sets of turnout gear, cost $3,000 each. The department intends to purchase turnout gear “on a rotating basis, so we don’t break the bank,” said fire fighter Jeremy Blalock, reporting on the department’s behalf.

The council also approve on second reading an ordinance updating the Building Codes regulations to the 2012 standard and a request to rezone a tract of land from residential to commercial to accommodate a mulch business.