City of Trenton Addresses School Crosswalks, Park Vandalism, and Food Vendor Difficulties
By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor
The April 8th meeting of the City of Trenton approved funding for crosswalks, approved Sunday distilled spirit sales, addressed vandalism and improvements at Jenkins Park, and discussed difficulties in finding mobile food vendors for events in Dade County and Trenton.
The commission approved use of SPLOST funds to install pedestrian crosswalks and signs near Dade Elementary School. The topic was previously discussed at the March 2023 city meeting, and the project is now moving forward.
Alex Case (mayor) mentioned seeing children who walk to school, crossing roads where drivers speed. He said, “Every morning, I drop my granddaughter off and [cars fly] up First Street, and I cannot turn out of John Street, but what bothers me most is the kids that are walking.”
The relevant documents were not available on the city’s Simbli board at the time of the meeting nor were they shown in the meeting, but April Keith (city clerk) later confirmed with the Sentinel that the total cost is $5,550.
Following up from last month’s discussion of Sunday sales of distilled spirits, the commission voted to move forward with adjusting the ordinances to allow liquor to be sold after noon on Sundays. The city is simultaneously capping the number of liquor stores in the city to two.
Sam Patel (owner of Trenton Liquors) attended the meeting and explained that he and Vic Barot (owner of Vic’s Wine and Spirits) only want to be open on Sundays that fall on holiday weekends, so they would be satisfied if the city only approved such situations. However, for the sake of simplicity and consistency, the commission voted to allow liquor sales on all Sundays.
Case read the police report. In March, the Trenton Police Department answered 247 calls for service, conducted 1,681 business checks, responded to four animal complaint calls, seven domestic disturbance calls, five trespassing calls, 11 suspicious person/activity calls, and worked 20 traffic crashes. From 64 traffic stops, 74 citations were issued.
Mike Norris (police commissioner) reported that he’s received complaints about speeding on McKaig Road. He said that officers have been posted near McKaig which has helped reduce speeding. Monda Wooten (street commissioner) noted that she’s also heard complaints, but she said, “I was told that we couldn’t actually write tickets up there because it wasn’t commissioned.”
Norris responded, “It’s not on our radar license, but we can, instead of writing a radar speed violation, we can write too fast for conditions.”
Norris then asked what the city’s ordinance says about living in motorhomes. Case explained that you can’t have two residences on one lot.
Terry Powell (parks/animal control commissioner) addressed vandalism at Jenkins Park again. (The March 2023 meeting previously mentioned the problem.) He reported that the Trenton City Police arrested and charged three individuals for vandalism. Case urged citizens to call 911 if they notice any suspicious activity or witness vandalism, explaining that it has cost the city (i.e. taxpayers) significantly to repair these damages.
Lucretia Houts (fire and utility commissioner) reported that the Trenton Fire Department answered 102 calls in March, nine of which were fire related and 59 of which were canceled en route.
Wooten reported that the street department cleaned up trash along Sunset Drive, collecting 34 bags. She thanked the city court for supplying community service workers to help with this cleanup.
Case reported that they are still working on the Downtown Development Authority. He also noted that with the new finance system in place, City Hall can now accept debit and credit card payments.
Lynn Arp (youth education coordinator at the library) gave the library report in place of Mindy Haworth. She noted that Songbirds Foundation in Chattanooga donated four guitars to the library which are housed in the recording studio. Guitars are available to use in the recording studio; simply inquire at the front desk. Arp said the library hopes to eventually have guitar teachers available through the library.
During Sandy White’s report on the Alliance for Dade, she announced that Hoppy’s Outfitters plans to open at the end of the month. The outdoor supply store will be located in the portion of Gross Shopping Center where KWN News Now was previously located.
During Citizens Participation, Ryan Faircloth asked about food vendors. He explained that the organizers of Mingle on the Square had run into issues when seeking food trucks for the event, and they asked him to ask the city commission about it. He explained that quality food vendors in Georgia are generally located in Dalton and beyond, while food vendors in Chattanooga are licensed for Tennessee–not Georgia. Vendors generally find one-off events in Dade County to not be worth the required Georgia food license process and fees.
Kristen Bradford with the Dade County Health Department later explained to the Sentinel that vendors from Tennessee wanting to go through the mobile vendor process must also have a base of operation in Georgia. Otherwise, they must go through the temporary vendor process, which includes a $100 fee and a day-of inspection by Bradford before they can begin serving.
Mobile vendors licensed in Georgia do not have to pay any additional fees aside from what they’ve already paid for the state license. Bradford noted that in Dade County, there are only two mobile vendors: an ice cream truck and Jefferson’s food truck.
The 1945 Fair ran into these issues, and as a solution, the city became a sponsor of the event (since it is held on city property). At this meeting, the city voted to again sponsor this year’s 1945 Fair. Keith explained later to the Sentinel that this means the city will ensure that vendors meet all health department requirements which allows vendors to skip getting individual Georgia licenses.
Because Mingle on the Square happens on county property (Veterans Memorial Park), the city cannot help with it, but Case noted that the county may be willing to enter a similar sponsorship for that event.
Faircloth inquired about events held on private property, but neither the city nor county can act as sponsors for non-government owned property. Faircloth explained that he’s had difficulty finding food trucks for Elvis Night at The Groovy Nomad. Case concluded by saying they could talk more about it later on.
Also during Citizens Participation, Cody Doyle asked about the possibility of adding baby-changing stations to the Jenkins Park restrooms. Referring back to the vandalism issues, he also asked for an update on adding security cameras to the park.
Case said the city is getting a quote for the same security cameras used at City Hall (noting that the county is also adding these cameras to the Dade County Sports Complex) and it will be a SPLOST-funded project.
Powell said the parks department measured the restrooms and found that there’s not enough room to walk through the women’s restroom when the changing station is in use. (This is not an issue in the men’s.) Case noted that he’s seen them in tight spaces and that they’re for temporary use, remaining folded the majority of the time. The following day, Keith confirmed that two changing tables were ordered and expected to arrive on April 10th.
