Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge receives $2.9 million grant from TVA for Energy Makeover

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The City of Oak Ridge has been selected for a $2.9 million grant from the Tennessee Valley Authority that will “undoubtedly change the lives of people living in legacy Oak Ridge homes by helping them save money on their utility bills,” officials said Friday.

This grant is part of TVA’s Extreme Energy Makeover project and will allow the start of an unprecedented revitalization of the legacy homes in the Oak Ridge community and provide assistance to those that need it the most, a press release said.

“The City of Oak Ridge is honored to be selected for participation and award for use in the Extreme Energy Makeover program, which will be used to encourage use of the legacy housing of the city when it was a ‘Secret City,’” City Manager Mark Watson said. “This investment will demonstrate our housing’s continued value for residents for years to come. As historical housing, our demonstration project has shown that electrical usage can be substantially reduced creating a ‘win-win’ for our residents, TVA, and the Oak Ridge electrical system alike. We look forward to the challenge and partnership with TVA to become a model for the entire TVA service region.” [Read more…]

RealtyLink replaces Crosland Southeast as Main Street developer

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Oak Ridge Mall

The Oak Ridge City Center, which could be redeveloped as a multi-use town center known as Main Street, is pictured above. Also known as the former Oak Ridge Mall, the L-shaped building is at center. The white building at center left is Walmart, and it is not part of the proposed redevelopment. Neither is the white building at center top, the Tinseltown Theater. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:51 p.m.

RealtyLink, a South Carolina real estate development firm, will replace Crosland Southeast as the master developer of the 60-acre Main Street town center project in Oak Ridge, the property owners said Monday.

RealtyLink is based in Greenville, South Carolina.

“RealtyLink first showed interest in the project as early as 2012,” said Steve Arnsdorff, the chief manager for Oak Ridge City Center LLC, the current owners of the property. “We are delighted that they have had continuing interest and are now able to assume the position of the previous developer.”

RealtyLink currently has nearly two million square feet of space in various stages of development including The River Landing, a 16-acre retail project on Winfield Dunn Parkway in Sevierville. In addition to Greenville, South Carolina, RealtyLink has offices in Charleston, South Carolina; Birmingham, Alabama; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. [Read more…]

Five years and $17 million later, city satisfies EPA Clean Water order

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Emory Valley Road Sewer System Holding Tanks

Workers assemble a sewer system holding tank near Emory Valley Road on Wednesday afternoon, April 1, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Five years and $17 million later, Oak Ridge has satisfied a federal administrative order that required the city to repair all sewer system overflows by the end of this month, officials announced Wednesday.

Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said he has received a “closure letter” from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stating the City’s Administrative Order pursuant to the Clean Water Act has been fulfilled, a press release said. The letter, signed by James Giattina, director the Water Protection Division at EPA’s regional office in Atlanta, states that the EPA Region 4 “has determined that the city has satisfied the requirements of the referenced order and hereby closes the order.”

In 2010, the EPA filed an administrative order against the city for excess “Inflow and Infiltration” affecting the wastewater collection lines within the city’s primary service areas. The EPA considered the reported system overflows and piped overflows to be a violation of the Clean Water Act, the press release said. The administrative order contained various program requirements to eliminate the overflows, ensure adequate capacity system wide, and to develop a formal management, operation, and maintenance program, or MOM.

“I am pleased to report that the challenge of the EPA administrative order charged against our city is over!” Watson said. “We have received written confirmation that we have done a substantial job in addressing the findings of the Environmental Protection Agency against Oak Ridge. The order is now closed and we can begin to maintain a consistent and ongoing maintenance effort of this important sewage infrastructure for the community.” [Read more…]

ORPD officer, a former Vandy standout, terminated as statutory rape allegation investigated

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ORPD Cassen Garrison

Witnesses said ORPD Officer Cassen Garrison used his hands to break out a back window of an Emory Valley Center van and rescue a client from the back of it after a May 12, 2015, crash at Northwestern and North Purdue avenues. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:25 a.m. Aug. 18.

A probationary Oak Ridge police officer who once played football for Vanderbilt University and the Kansas City Chiefs has been investigated, terminated, and will be prosecuted for allegations of statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl and other charges, authorities said Monday.

The victim’s stepfather, who was in custody at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, made an allegation that the officer, Cassen Jackson-Garrison, 30, had engaged in inappropriate contact with his stepdaughter, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said in a press release. The allegation was made to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputy investigator at the jail.

Clark said Garrison was one of two officers who met the victim when he responded to the victim’s home in connection with a domestic violence complaint. The victim’s stepfather was arrested because of that complaint and remains jailed at the ACDF, Clark said. [Read more…]

Frustration increases, Council not pleased as Jackson Square work stretches into fall

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Jackson Square Parking Lot Meeting

Oak Ridge municipal staff members and Mayor Warren Gooch met with Jackson Square merchants at Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab and Kitchen on Wednesday, July 29, to discuss the $1 million parking lot renovation, which is not yet finished but could be “substantially complete” by Sept. 15. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

One merchant said he’s lost more than $100,000 in sales. Another said she had to close her business. And a third has posted signs that express frustration with the pace of construction at Jackson Square.

At one time, there was hope that the $1 million parking lot renovation at Jackson Square would be complete by the Lavender Festival in mid-June. But that didn’t happen. Now, the latest construction schedule estimates that it will be “substantially complete” by September 15—in time for Taste of Anderson County—but not finished until the end of October.

Officials have said the primary delay has been with the interactive fountain that will be installed in the center of Jackson Square. It still hasn’t arrived, and officials have said it could take four weeks to install. On Monday, the contractor and her attorney said the fountain could arrive in Oak Ridge on Wednesday.

Even business owners who had an optimistic outlook earlier have lost their patience with the project, which is mostly funded with a state grant. Their primary frustrations: The work has taken much longer than expected, the schedule keeps getting extended, and there have been too many days when, they say, they’ve seen no signs of work. In the meantime, the parking lot in front of their stores was closed for months, and they believe that the construction fencing and orange barrels drove away some potential customers.

“Why can’t they finish this?” asked Jonathan Goldstein of The String Workshop.

“We’ve been nice long enough,” said Dean Russell, owner of Dean’s Restaurant and Bakery.

“I think our frustration is how many days we’ve seen nothing happening as our customer base declines,” said Steve Seivers, who has a law practice in the square, the city’s original town center.

On Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council joined the chorus of frustration. [Read more…]

City budget raises trash fee, provides more for city infrastructure

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Oak Ridge City Council on July 28, 2015

The Oak Ridge City Council raised the trash pickup fee by $3.50 during a special budget meeting on Monday, July 27, 2015, and the Council set aside an extra $260,000 for capital projects such as buildings and schools. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today) 

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:05 a.m. July 28.

There will be a $3.50 increase in the monthly trash fee, and more money—$260,000—will be reserved for capital projects such as buildings and schools, while city officials are not expected to change the new property tax rate provided by the state after five-year reappraisals completed this year.

The trash fee will increase from $7 to $10.50 per month. That change is expected to provide another $335,000 per year in revenue.

The new tax rate—state officials call it a tax-neutral rate—is $2.52 per $100 of assessed value. It was approved in the first of two readings by the Oak Ridge City Council during a three-hour special meeting on Monday. The second reading hasn’t been scheduled yet, but the meeting is expected soon. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge may not increase tax rate above reappraisal change

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Oak Ridge City Council 2014

The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above in 2014. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Property tax rates are already expected to go up in local cities and counties because of an unprecedented drop in property assessments.

And additional increases have been approved or are anticipated in budgets that have already passed in Anderson County, Clinton, Oliver Springs, Roane County, and Rocky Top.

Oak Ridge could be the exception. The city could see an increase in the certified tax rate (state officials call it a tax-neutral rate) from $2.39 per $100 of assessed value to $2.52.

So far, no Oak Ridge City Council members have publicly endorsed raising taxes beyond the change in the tax-neutral rate required by the five-year reappraisals completed this year.

Four City Council members, a majority of the seven-member body, said during a budget work session on Tuesday that they will support the $2.52 tax-neutral rate or that it’s important to stay at that rate for now, until they have more information. [Read more…]

Roane reappraisals show 3.47 percent assessment drop; OR tax rate calculated at $2.52

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Jason Mumpower

Jason Mumpower

Note: This story was last updated at 5 p.m.

Roane County properties showed an overall 3.47 percent drop in assessed values in the five-year reappraisal process taken over by state officials this year, and the tax-neutral property tax rate in the City of Oak Ridge has been calculated at $2.52, the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office announced Thursday.

The tax-neutral rate is up from the current $2.39 per $100 of assessed value, a 13-cent increase.

Separately, the Oak Ridge City Council has been asked to consider a tax rate increase of up to eight cents, with a one-cent increase requested by the municipal staff and a seven-cent increase requested by the Oak Ridge Board of Education. The one-cent increase would help maintain city services and allow for a 2 percent pay raise for city employees, and the seven-cent increase would help cover a deficit and add money for salaries and staff, including a 3 percent pay raise.

Any tax increase, if approved by city officials, would be in addition to the tax-neutral rate calculated by the state. Each additional cent on the property tax rate generates about another $90,000 in revenue. A one-cent increase would cost the owner of a $145,000 house another $3.63 per year. An eight-cent increase could cost that homeowner another $29 per year. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge upgrades courtroom media equipment for City Council meetings

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

With help from a contractor, the City of Oak Ridge has upgraded the media equipment in the Municipal Building Courtroom to provide a better viewing experience during televised City Council meetings.

The city contracted with M&M Productions USA of Oak Ridge in June to help with the broadcast upgrades, a press release said. Part of the upgrade included permanently mounting pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ) high-definition, robotic cameras that would “provide for better viewing angles of City Council, city staff, and audience members during televised City Council meetings,” the release said.

This recent broadcasting upgrade further complements the audio and City Council voting equipment improvements that were completed in 2014 as a result of deteriorating equipment and Courtroom needs, the release said.

“The PTZ cameras provide for better area coverage and greater detail of City Council meetings,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said. “Additionally, there have been several broadcast efficiencies experienced with all of the media upgrades, not to mention that the upgraded equipment has added to the professional composition of the City Council meetings and the Courtroom.” [Read more…]

Merchants frustrated with progress at Jackson Square; protest sign posted

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Jackson Square Parking Lot Renovations Sign

There has been some frustration among merchants at Jackson Square about not being able to use the partially paved parking lot while they wait for renovations to be completed. This protest sign saying “Free Our Parking Lot!!” was posted on Wednesday.

 

Merchants have grown frustrated with the pace of renovations at Jackson Square, and on Wednesday a protest sign was posted. “Free Our Parking Lot!” said the sign, which has since been removed.

For now, the parking lot inside Jackson Square remains closed off behind construction fencing as work continues on a $1 million renovation mostly funded by a state grant awarded in 2012.

But merchants wonder why they can’t use the parking lot since it was used for the Lavender Festival on June 20.

Compounding their frustration is the closure of the lower parking lot at Blankenship Field. It’s one of two lots on the north side of Broadway Avenue and Jackson Square. Employees at nearby businesses who used to park in the Blankenship Field lot are now using the second lot, the one used by the Farmers Market, reducing the parking spaces available there, one merchant said.

The Blankenship Field work, which was approved by the Oak Ridge City Council in June, is also causing concern for the Farmers Market. The Farmer Market’s vendors set up in the second parking lot on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, and they now don’t have parking available at either the Blankenship Field lot or inside the Jackson Square lot. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge recognized as 2015 Playful City USA community

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Oak Ridge Playful City

241 communities exhibiting playability to be recognized

Oak Ridge is being honored with a 2015 Playful City USA designation for the fourth time. In partnership with the Humana Foundation, KaBOOM! is honoring cities, towns, and counties across the country for making their communities more playable. Oak Ridge was selected again this year because of the commitment to excellence in all parks, greenways, and play-spaces, a press release said.

“Several years ago, we embarked on an effort to make our city have more fun,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said. “The structured activities have brought our community together and allowed new avenues of play to be by our children and our ‘adult children.'”

Neighborhood play spaces, city-wide play days, and fun special events are all ways in which these communities are appealing to residents, and attracting and retaining residents. [Read more…]

Independence Day Fireworks Celebration at A.K. Bissell Park

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July 4, 2012 Fireworks

The Independence Day fireworks show in Oak Ridge has been scheduled for 10 p.m. Saturday, July 4, at A.K. Bissell Park. (Photo by Charles Samuels)

 

The fireworks display sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge will begin at 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 4. The display will be shot from A.K. Bissell Park.

The fireworks will be accompanied by music played live on-site by Merle 96.7 FM. Radio host Jack Ryan will be transmitting live from the park beginning at 6 p.m. and will conclude the live broadcast with a patriotic medley as the fireworks are shot.

The countdown to the fireworks begins at 9:30 p.m. Listeners can tune their radios to 96.7 Merle FM and enjoy the show.

The Oak Ridge Community Band will perform its annual Fourth of July concert at the A.K. Bissell Park Pavilion beginning at 7:30 p.m. [Read more…]