Signal Mountain has spent $1 million to rebuilt a section of James Boulevard that is .21 miles long and nobody is happy with it. Old trolley tracks were left in that section of the road to represent a part of the community’s history. City officials and residents complain about how bumpy the new road is, how many cracks are in it and about concrete that was left on the trolley tracks. Mayor Dan Landrum said people are relieved when their car leaves the new section and gets to the old asphalt. The engineer agreed that, were he the buyer, he would not be happy with the road.
The project was engineered by CTI Engineering and was built by Thomas Brothers Construction. At the Monday night council meeting a representative from CTI told the council that an additional $82,000 was needed to cover unanticipated cost associated with the road replacement.
He said that at the beginning of the construction last November the workers got into a “quagmire” when they began removing old pavement. This was a surprise he said, because from earlier work installing lines under the road, they expected to find a solid base. Instead, they found soft, wet material under the old pavement. One option was to dig out this soft soil fill it with rock and build a new base, but how deep they would need to dig was unknown. The second recommendation from the engineers was used, which was “cement soil stabilization.” Old dirt was removed and that was mixed with cement and packed in place. It would form the road bed when it set up. There were no additional costs for the city to use this method. The westbound, lane that leads into Alexian was built this way, and this is the lane where most of the problems are.
The same was found on the other side of the road as construction began on the lane leaving Alexian heading east, when solid rock had been expected. The soft material continued farther than engineers had anticipated and so the same method was used to stabilize that lane of the road. "It was beyond our control," said the engineer. Rock was found right next to the soft material in some areas.
The mayor said as just one example of a problem about smoothness, he measured a 7/8” dip in a span six feet long, when the TDOT standards is 4/10th of an inch between a 10-foot span. Also, there are many cracks in it, he said. Expansion joints were built in, said the engineer, and additional cuts were used in some areas where the rails were tied together hoping to prevent cracking. Now they are checking on firms that grind concrete to smooth it; however, there is a fear that might cause parts of the concrete to break loose.
As for the concrete residue that was left on the rails, the council was told that it is expected that car traffic will wear it off.
A meeting of city officials, CTI engineers and the contractors, Thomas Brothers Construction, will be held next week to discuss the best options.
The council voted to authorize the additional funds after Town Manager Boyd Veal said that if the project is not completed, final payment will not be made. The road work has a one-year warranty and, when it kicks in, is a judgment call.
A vote on how to pay for a new HVAC system in the auditorium/theater of the former Signal Mountain Elementary School building was tabled until more council members were present. The Signal Mountain Elementary Preservation Fund has asked the town to pay for it and the amount will later be reimbursed as money is raised by the organization. The original estimate for the work was $50,000, which has now increased to $60,000. That much of a change will require an engineering review cost in the amount of $7,650. The council was told that some equipment costs will be reduced, which may off-set some of the additional engineering expenses.
A unanimous vote approved a strategic plan for the Mountain Arts Community Center (MACC).
Discussion took place about amending the city’s beer code to bring it up to date. Some suggestions were to reduce the number of seats requirement for an establishment to get a beer license and drop the requirement that meals must be served where beer is sold. The percentage of alcohol in many beers today are nine percent, not five percent which is specified in the city’s beer code. Rules need to be standardized for selling beer in the MACC and library, so these non-profit organizations could hold fundraisers with beer, it was stated. Another idea is to be able to include a beer in the sale price of a ticket to an event, which is aimed at fundraisers. It was suggested that the council members read Franklin, Tn.’s beer code because that city allows events with alcohol to be held on public property.
The 2019-2020 budget was amended. This will include money for projects that were in the budget last year that were not completed but were carried over into the new year’s budget. It also accounts for donations and grants that have been received. This amendment will allow the money to be spent, but the expenditures will still need to be approved by the council. The city manager was given approval to apply for the Driver Safety Grant Public Entity Partners.
The council fulfilled its obligation to review its debt service. There will be an attempt to hold debt service to 25 percent of operating expenditures.