Council approves appointments, land actions, grants and contracts; defers Anne Street right‑of‑way

The Chattanooga City Council on Jan. 7 approved a slate of resolutions, contracts and appointments covering property matters, grants and routine city purchases, and deferred one right‑of‑way abandonment for two weeks.

Key actions approved by voice vote included appointments to city boards, a building renaming, leases that continue head‑start operations at city parcels, HOME funds for two affordable home builds, an increase to emergency rental assistance grant funding, and multiple public‑works contract actions. The council also approved acceptance of a $120,000 subaward tied to the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative and authorized staff to pursue federal and state grant opportunities related to public‑health and clean‑diesel reductions.

Votes at a glance (as recorded in meeting audio):

- 8b — Unopened right of way in the 300 block of Anne Street: deferred to Jan. 21. (Motion to defer carried.)

- 8c — Abandonment of unopened right of way in the 7400 block of Sanyan Lane: approved, subject to conditions as detailed on attached maps.

- 9a — Appointment of William Bowles III to the Old Sports Authority Board (term Jan. 8, 2025–Jan. 7, 2031): confirmed.

- 9b — Resolution renaming the Family Justice Center to the Dr. Carol B. Burrows Family Justice Center: approved; family members were present for recognition.

- 9c–9i — A package of economic‑development items: approved. These included donation agreements to accept multiple small parcels (intended to add to the city’s urban ecology preserve), one‑year option renewals with the Hamilton County Board of Education to continue Head Start operations at specified parcels (each at the nominal amount of $1), and two HOME fund awards of up to $195,000 each to the Chattanooga Community Housing Development Organization (CCHDO) to construct affordable homeownership units at 724 and 729 North Highland Park Avenue.

- 9h — Amendment to Resolution No. 32222 to increase Emergency Rental Assistance and Eviction Prevention Program (ERAEPP) grant funds from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency from $929,600 to $1,140,000 for rapid rehousing and homelessness prevention: approved.

- 9j — Authorized payment of a fifth‑year arbitrage rebate to the U.S. Treasury related to General Obligation Bonds Series 2019A and 2019B in the amount of $524,095.49: approved.

- 9k — Authorization to accept a Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities (BASC) subaward with Johns Hopkins University for Chattanooga’s innovation team, not to exceed $120,000 (no city match): approved.

- 9k–9s — Multiple mayoral board appointments and reappointments (historic zoning commission; Hamilton County Board of Equalization; boards of plumbing and gas examiners; construction board of adjustment and appeals): confirmed as presented.

- 9t–9v — Public‑works and wastewater contracts: awarded/approved. Notably, a concession stand and ventilation contract at Summit Softball was awarded to Jay Brennan Construction Inc. ($377,285.93 plus contingency); Economic Development Office improvements awarded to Bolt Builders LLC ($61,081 plus contingency); and a blanket paving and concrete repair contract with TNT Concrete LLC was extended and increased for three months with a contract increase described in the meeting as raising the amount from $2,500,000 to $3,100,000 (a $600,000 increase).

- 9w — Resolution to enter subrecipient agreements for youth and community violence prevention teams: withdrawn after staff said the city did not receive the grant.

- 9x & 9y — Approved a set of subrecipient agreements tied to a Bureau of Justice Assistance FY24 Office of Justice Programs grant (total $356,429) to support stakeholder work with the city’s violence interruption program; and authorized the city to apply for an EPA Diesel Emissions Reduction (RDE) grant administered via the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition with a request amount not to exceed $255,000 and an indicated cost share not to exceed $1,320,000: approved.

- Purchases: Council approved four purchase recommendations: an increase of $25,952 for equipment at the Wood Recycling Center fueling station (new contract $312,073); a $100,000 increase for fleet vehicle maintenance (new annual estimate $200,000); a $1,000,000 increase to replace traffic signal equipment (new annual estimate $2,000,000); and a final renewal for sewer video/sonar inspection services with an annual estimated cost of $750,000.

Most items were approved by voice vote with council members saying “aye” and no opposed votes recorded in the meeting audio excerpt. Several items were processed as grouped motions (for example, 9c–9i and 9k–9s) and were approved as packages.

The council did not publish roll‑call vote tallies in the audio for most items in the provided transcript excerpt; motions were recorded as approved by voice vote unless noted otherwise.