Looking to reach more people and gather potential signatures for the incorporation of a new city in northeast Hamilton County to be called Hamilton, the Friends of Hamilton is partnering with the Highway 58 Fire Department for Spring Fest May 12.
The event will be held at the old Snow Hill Elementary School site at 9100 Snow Hill Road in Ooltewah. Admission to the festival is free and the day’s activities will include classic cars, bluegrass bands, food, inflatables, kids activities and fire engine tours. Food will include Dude’s custom-made barbecue, hamburgers, hot dogs and ice cream.
All proceeds from the event will be split evenly between the two organizations and donations are appreciated, said FOH spokesperson Brendan Jennings.
“We’ve been doing this from the beginning on a shoestring budget,” he said. “We thought this would be a fun, family-oriented way to bring the community together to eat some good food, play some good music, show off some cars and let them listen to what we’re doing.”
A mini town hall meeting will be held at 3 p.m. in the facility’s auditorium to give area residents an opportunity to review plans for the proposed city of Hamilton and ask questions.
The Friends of Hamilton aim to incorporate the area from Mahan Gap Road to the Bradley County line and from Meigs County south to the Tennessee River into a new city. In order to get the city’s incorporation on the November ballot, the group needs approximately 3,000 signatures by August and is halfway to that goal. If incorporated, the Highway 58 Fire Department will provide fire service to the new municipality.
“In addition to enjoying great music and barbecue, we’ll have an opportunity to share information about incorporation and why it’s important,” said Jennings. “We want to give the people of the area all an opportunity to retain their voice in local government. Over the last 50 years what we have learned or should have learned is that the further away the government gets from the people, the more bureaucratic it becomes.”
According to Jennings, preliminary work is being completed on a four-lane highway from Highway 60 that stretches from Cleveland to Dayton and from Highway 58 to Cleveland.
“This is going to bring more business to Birchwood,” he said. “The more development and more money are going to attract any mayor of Chattanooga who can annex.”
After Spring Fest, Jennings said Friends of Hamilton plans to increase canvassing and the process of collecting signatures.
Residents who wish to find out more about the plan can visit Friends OfHamilton.org, “like” Friends of Hamilton on Facebook or access the FOH YouTube Channel to see video presentations, interviews and a previous town hall meeting held in Birchwood. The service plan is listed under the “Petition” page.