Board approves parking-lot MOU, capital projects, architect selection and lease renewals

Hamilton County Board of Education members voted on several consent and action items, approving a parking-lot memorandum of understanding with First Christian Church, a bond-funded capital projects and fiscal year 2025 budget amendment, the selection of Franklin Architects for North River Elementary, and a one-year option to renew leases with the city of Chattanooga for three Head Start sites.

The board approved a parking lot use agreement requested by First Christian Church for a fee the transcript records as "$75100" for the year; Dr. Robertson described the lot as adjacent to Tommy Brown near UTC's campus and said the fee is budgeted under operations. "We're just asking for approval of the agreement, that the church requested," Dr. Robertson said.

The board also approved a bond-funded capital projects package and a fiscal year 2025 budget amendment after a motion by Mister Connor. Connor referenced recently completed work supported by ARPA funds at a Chattanooga-area charter school and said the funds would support school improvements including new chairs and other capital needs. The motion passed on roll call.

For North River Elementary, the board approved a recommendation from the selection committee to appoint Franklin Architects as the project architect and authorized staff to negotiate a contract and return it to the board. "All we're doing is approving the the architect. We're we're not approving a contract or anything beyond that," Chairman Smith said before the vote.

Separately, the board exercised one-year options to renew leases with the city of Chattanooga for the Avondale, Cedar Hill and Daisy Head Start sites. A recusal was noted on the record for one board member in relation to that item; the chairman announced the vote result as "10 in favor with 1 abstention." The recusal had been entered before the roll call.

Votes at a glance: - Parking lot use agreement with First Christian Church: motion to approve (mover: not specified; seconder: not specified). Roll call recorded: Missus Black — yes; Mister Connor — yes; Mister Doherty — yes; Mister Groan — yes; Missus Hadden — yes; Missus Jones — yes; Mister King — yes; Missus Schaefer — yes; Mister Slater — yes; Miss Thomas — yes; Chairman Smith — yes. Outcome: approved. - Bond-funded capital projects and FY25 budget amendment: motion to approve by Mister Connor; second not specified. Roll call recorded unanimous yes. Outcome: approved. - North River Elementary architect selection (Franklin Architects): motion to approve (mover: not specified; second: not specified). Roll call recorded unanimous yes. Outcome: approved; staff to return with negotiated contract. - One-year lease renewals (Avondale, Cedar Hill, Daisy Head Start sites) with the city of Chattanooga: motion to exercise one-year options (mover: not specified; second: not specified). Roll call result: 10 in favor, 1 abstention (recusal noted). Outcome: approved; recusal recorded in minutes.

The board chair and staff clarified that approving the architect opens negotiations for a contract to be brought back for approval at a future meeting, and that the capital package includes previously set-aside funds for specific building needs discussed later in the meeting. The transcript records discussion about existing HVAC needs at Orchard Knob and a separate $31,000,000 package for urgent HVAC work across the district; staff said a report on Orchard Knob's HVAC needs is expected within about four to six weeks before committing a $6 million allocation earmarked for that building.

The board did not vote on the Orchard Knob HVAC report at this meeting; staff described the architect approvals and budget amendment votes as enabling next steps in project design and contracting.