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Signal Mountain council debates combining tree and recycling committees, tightens expectations for planning commissioners
Summary
Council continued a multi-session review of town code for boards and commissions, discussed folding tree-board duties into a broader environmental advisory board, and set expectations for the Planning Commission to hold an officer election in August or face further action.
The Signal Mountain Town Council spent the bulk of a work session reviewing proposed changes to the town code that govern citizen boards and commissions, including whether to consolidate the tree board and the recycling committee into a single environmental advisory board and how to address chronic attendance and officer-election issues on the Planning Commission.
Council members reviewed sample language (including a Brentwood example) and said the National Arbor Day Foundation's Tree City USA requirements do not necessarily require a separately named tree board; duties can be assigned to a town department or another body. The council agreed it would consult the active tree board and return the subject to a future agenda (members indicated the tree board meeting schedule would allow review in September).
On the Planning Commission, council members expressed frustration that the commission had not elected officers in more than a year and had several meetings without a quorum. Council liaisons (Mayor Elizabeth Baker and Council member Charles Foss) were asked to communicate clear expectations to the planning commissioners and to ensure the commission holds its regular August meeting and an officer election on or near its first meeting of the year. Council discussed adding ordinance language to make officer terms expire on Dec. 31 and to designate the council liaison as interim chair until the commission elects officers at the first meeting of the year.
Councilors debated using "may" versus "shall" in multiple places in the planning-commission language (for example, whether the chair or secretary shall call special meetings), with members asking staff to keep discretionary language where appropriate and to make mandatory the duties the town intends to require. Members also asked staff to identify where code or state law requires specific professional qualifications for particular boards and to report back on whether certain hearing boards (for example, a condemnation board or construction board of adjustments) could be combined with council responsibilities or should remain separate citizens’ boards.
The council reiterated that the MAC (Magnolia/Arts/Community? board in the code) remains suspended during a transition year and that the council will act in that capacity for the near term; staff will continue to develop a job description and transition notes for a future MAC board role. The DRC (Development Review Committee) was noted as meeting professionally and handling cases appropriately. Council also thanked volunteers and organizers for the town’s Fourth of July parade.
Ending: Council directed liaisons and staff to consult active boards (tree board, planning commission), return recommended redlines and statutory checks at a future meeting, and prepare draft ordinance language to clarify officer terms, meeting frequency, attendance tracking, and liaison responsibilities.
