Committee focuses on Signal Mountain's appearance

Lena Givens Park, at Signal Mountain Boulevard and Mississippi Avenue, is one of the areas of focus for the Town Beautification Committee.
Lena Givens Park, at Signal Mountain Boulevard and Mississippi Avenue, is one of the areas of focus for the Town Beautification Committee.
photo Lena Givens Park, at Signal Mountain Boulevard and Mississippi Avenue, is one of the areas of focus for the Town Beautification Committee.
photo The Town Beautification Committee is labeling trees identified in local parks, such as this white oak in Lena Givens Park, in the hopes of eventually acquiring arboretum status for the town.
photo The Town Beautification Committee is sprucing up the trail that runs the length of Lena Givens Park at Signal Mountain Boulevard and Mississippi Avenue.

While Signal Mountain could hardly be described as unsightly, the town is making an ongoing effort to improve upon its appearance that citizens will likely notice over the course of 2017.

Established in 2015, the Town Beautification Committee is coordinating with the Parks Board and Centennial Beautification Committee to work on the appearance of the smaller pocket parks around town.

The committee is composed of six members, including Marilyn Garner, Kim Fookes, Edna Clemons, Judy Nowlin and Lois Baird, said Chairwoman Linda Kelley. It is also assisted by numerous volunteers, such as members of the Mountain Stewards, Kelley said.

The idea for the committee came about during a tree giveaway at the Signal Mountain Recycle Center on Arbor Day of 2015, when Kelley started talking to Councilman Bob Spalding about bringing back Sparkle Day. Last May, the town and the Signal Mountain Lions Club sponsored the event, during which volunteers picked up trash in various areas on the mountain and then gathered in Althaus Park for food and awards.

Around the same time, the Beautification Committee was formed, with the goal of sprucing up the town's park areas, said Kelley. With the help of volunteers, the group began cleaning up Lena Givens Park at Signal Mountain Boulevard and Mississippi Avenue.

"It's right at the top of the mountain, so it's one of the first things people see," Kelley said, as to why they chose that park to begin their work.

In the process, she said, workers found beautiful hostas and a young blooming buckeye tree along the trail that runs from one end of the park to the other. They plan to enhance the azaleas and rhododendrons already there, she said, and may ask local nurseries and landscapers assist with the design.

In the future, the committee plans to make improvements to other small parks, such as Memorial Park at Timberlinks Drive and James Boulevard, as well as make improvements to the area around Town Hall and plant more dogwood trees throughout the town.

Another goal of the committee is to give the town more festive flair during the holidays.

"From a personal standpoint, I wouldn't argue we could do a little more celebration-wise, at least at the front to complement the train," said Dick Gee, the committee's liaison on the Town Council.

They would like to add lighting or decorations to the poles on Taft Highway from the stoplight on through the rest of town, as well as more decorations in the shopping centers. They've discussed putting lights on the big tree at Adams Square Park at Ridgeway Avenue and Carlin Street, which the town has done in the past.

"It's a wonderful sight going up the mountain to see it decorated for Christmas," Kelley said, adding that they may decorate small trees in some of the town's pocket parks as well.

The committee would also like to bring back a "Yard of the Month" sign, similar to the one a local garden club previously bestowed upon residents with particularly nice yards.

Kelley said the group can always use more volunteers, and would like feedback from the community on what others would like to see in the town.

"We have a lot of different people who have moved up here who probably have some good suggestions, and we want them to weigh in and let us know," she said.

The committee plans to set up an email address on and add information to the town website at signalmountaintn.gov, but in the meantime anyone interested in giving input or volunteering may leave a text or voicemail for Kelley at 298-2655.

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