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The city is back in the soap box derby business again after cutting funding to the event last year due to lack of participation.

The renewed support came upon a motion by Alderman Kurt Glick who pointed out the soap box derby committee has put in a lot of work to bring the annual event back to West Lincoln on May 2.

“They have shown its going to be a viable event so I think it’d be a good time to restore the funding that we took away in the budget,” Glick said.

Hunter Norris spoke in support of the Soap Box Derby and updated the board of mayor and aldermen on the planning of the event.

“We want to revitalize this very important program for young children,” Norris said, noting there are divisions for ages 7-18 and there is a division called super kids for handicapped children to ride with an established driver. “I would really hate for this program to go by the wayside.”

He pointed out the city of Tullahoma supported the event for 25 years and he would like to see that continue.

“A thousand children have participated in this program over 25 years,” he noted, adding there are two world champions from Tullahoma.

He revealed they have recruited six volunteers, all fathers of children who have raced before making it an experienced committee. He also said the derby has become a 501c3 organization so sponsors can use it as a tax write-off. They have a Facebook page called Tullahoma Soap Box Derby Racing. On that page, participants can register and pay for the race.

“We think we have a lot of children who will want to participate this year and a lot of sponsors that will help support us financially,” he said, noting the $1,750 given by the city for last year’s event which was cancelled, will be brought forward to this year’s event. “We would appreciate what you can do with public works to help set up and take down the track (East Lincoln near Ollie’s).”

Joseph Thomasson, who is on the committee for the race, clarified that the derby need the expertise of parks and rec since they have ran the race for many years.

“There’s a lot that goes into getting Lincoln Street ready for the race,” he said, noting he would like to see the city allocate some additional funds to keep parks and rec involved in the race. “We need that partnership to keep this race rolling.”

JP Kraft, director of Parks and Recreation, agreed that it is a very labor intensive program. He revealed the labor for the event carries a $23,000 price tag. He noted it takes 15 public works and 15 parks and rec personnel, most on overtime for 12 hours. He said the day of the race begins at 3 a.m. when they put the tires out that line the track for safety and then the city employees remain there the entire event until they tear it down.

“I had to cancel this event last year because only nine people signed up,” Kraft said, noting he would like to see a minimum limit attached to the event.

Glick agreed, saying if they can provide two full divisions which both have at least 12 participants, then he thinks the event should go forward. “I think we can do better than that,” he said. “I think the first year we had the event we had 30 cars.”

Putting out the word early is an important aspect of getting participation, both the board and committee agreed. Quick pointed out that they could put out the information out all through Area 12 which includes several states.

Alderman Busch Thoma did the numbers and questioned how much the city would be spending.

“If the minimum number is 24 and we are spending $24,000, that’s $1,000 per car and that seems a bit high,” he pointed out.

Alderman Bobbie Wilson disagreed, saying it has been successful in the past. “It’s an incredible draw to the city,” she said.

Glick also argued that basing it merely on participation is not fair. “Are you going to do that with every program we have?” he said. “Because if you are, we’d cut out half the stuff we do.”

Alderman Jerry Mathis chimed in. “This is a great program because it gets your parents and kids involved with each other,” he said.

Mayor Lynn Sebourn he would like to make soap box more of an event. “We could turn it into a marketing piece,” he said, noting there could be things happening at the nearby shopping center parking lot.

Kraft interjected that the issue of making it an event is that the road is closed around the track so only those knowing back ways into the area would be able to gain access.

In the end, Glick suggested the trigger to have the event would be at least 30 participants. He pointed out that each car costs around $1,000 to enter given they have to buy the kit and then mock up the design for competition.

The measure to fund city help in producing the event passed with all but Thoma voting in favor.