Oak Ridge Today

Company closes deal on Alexander Inn, plans to use for assisted living center

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Alexander Inn

Plans call for converting the Alexander Inn, formerly known as The Guest House, into an assisted living center.

It’s been in the works for months, and officials announced on Tuesday that a local company has purchased the historic but rundown Alexander Inn.

Family Pride Corp. plans to convert the vacant two-story hotel into an assisted living center.

The sale was announced by the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance, a key player in the project. A press release said the agreement announced Tuesday includes a preservation easement with ETPA that will ensure the building is protected forever. [Read more…]

Watson’s budget proposes same tax rate, less funding for Chamber, ORCVB

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The budget proposed by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson on Monday would not raise property taxes, but it would slash funding for the Chamber of Commerce, and Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The ORCVB funding could be cut from $410,000 to $300,000, Watson told City Council members during a Monday night work session. The city needs “more heads in beds,” more people staying here and more events, Watson said.

The chamber’s contract with the city is now worth about $260,000. The city could instead use $125,000 for funding of services and projects—sending city officials on recruiting trips, for example—and spend $55,000 on memberships in organizations such as the Roane Alliance and Anderson County Economic Development Association. [Read more…]

City manager to present budget tonight

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The city manager will present his proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 during a work session at 7 p.m. today in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

The budget presentation had earlier been scheduled for May 6, but it has been changed due to scheduling conflicts, a city press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge hires former Clinton city manager as industrial, commercial recruiter

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Steve Jones

Steve Jones

Former Clinton City Manager Steve Jones has been hired by the City of Oak Ridge to provide economic development support services, with a particular emphasis on industrial and commercial recruitment.

The term of the support services agreement is April through October 2013. Jones will be paid $3,500 per month and will report to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson.

“Steve was extremely successful as a recruiter during his 10-year tenure as city manager of Clinton,” Watson said. “With the advent of the Uranium Processing Facility project and the upswing in industrial activity in the region, the city will benefit from having a professional business developer focusing everyday on opportunities for Oak Ridge. I look forward to having Steve representing us at the regional and state levels.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge to fly flags at half-staff Friday, Saturday to remember fallen soldier

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Flags at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building and city facilities will be flown at half-staff from noon Friday until sunset Saturday in honor of a solider killed in Afghanistan last week, City Manager Mark Watson said.

Funeral services for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Michael Ward, 24, start at 10 a.m. Saturday at Weatherford Mortuary in Oak Ridge. Ward’s mother lives in Oak Ridge, and he attended Oak Ridge High School before enlisting in the Army at 17. [Read more…]

New China Palace still open on waterfront, moving to Central Avenue this summer

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New China Palace Restaurant

The New China Palace on Melton Lake Drive has been granted a three-month lease extension, and the restaurant will be open on the city’s waterfront through May. The restaurant plans to re-open on Central Avenue by July.

The New China Palace restaurant will be open on the Oak Ridge waterfront through May, and the new owner plans to open in a new place on Central Avenue by July.

In a letter last June, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told the restaurant’s former owners Chung-Nan Chou and Fu-Li Chou that the city would not renew the lease when it expired in February.

But the new owner Cheng Ping Ren said the city gave the restaurant a three-month lease extension on the waterfront site on Melton Lake Drive. It expires May 31. [Read more…]

Council approves Protomet tax break, ends recycling rewards program

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A five-year, 100 percent tax break for parts manufacturer Protomet was approved in a 4-1 vote by the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday.

The tax break could be used to help Protomet more than double the size of its 15,000-square-foot plant in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park, consolidate operations with a Blount County facility, and add 20-30 workers.

Also Monday, the City Council agreed in a voice vote, with no objections, to end the RecycleBank Reward Program and determine later what to do with the savings of $0.84 per household per month. The savings are expected to add up to about $124,000 each year. [Read more…]

Council to consider tax incentives for Protomet, ending recycling rewards

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In a cost-cutting move, the Oak Ridge City Council tonight will consider ending the rewards part of the city’s recycling program.

Ending those rewards, which can be redeemed for discounts at local businesses, could save about $124,000, city officials said.

Also tonight, the City Council will consider approving a five-year, 100 percent tax break for Protomet. The incentive could help the parts manufacturer more than double the size of its plant on Larson Drive in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park and add 20-30 workers. [Read more…]

Planned for years, new railroad museum will not be built at Heritage Center

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Southern Appalachia Railway Museum Building

A plan for the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum that had been proposed at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site. (Submitted image)

Note: This story was updated at 10:13 a.m.

A railroad museum that has been planned for years at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, will not be built due to budget constraints, officials said Monday.

The lowest qualified bid for the 3,315-square-foot facility came in at nearly $1 million, or about 26 percent more than expected, a press release said.

The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee’s Heritage Center LLC and the Southern Appalachian Railway Museum determined this week that the cost was too high, the press release said. [Read more…]

Workers, volunteers celebrate animal shelter renovations

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Oak Ridge Animal Shelter Lobby

Workers and volunteers celebrate renovations at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter during an open house Monday.

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter has a new exam room and a renovated surgery room.

It also has new paint, hospital-grade flooring, and a more inviting lobby area with a lower front desk and an animal adoption room.

The renovations, which included cleaning and electrical work, started in January. Except for the flooring, the work was done by the Oak Ridge municipal staff.

City workers and animal rescue volunteers celebrated with an open house Monday. They said the shelter seems more pleasant and inviting now, and the animals seem less stressed. [Read more…]

Guest column: ORCVB, Chamber funding should be reduced 50-100 percent, festivals outsourced

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Note: This is an edited version of a letter submitted by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn at a March 25 work session.

Mr. Watson and Fellow Council Members:

At our last retreat, I proposed that we each share our specific positions regarding the Economic Diversification Fund. A successful economic development strategy must focus on both retaining and increasing business and residents with a primary goal of establishing a more competitive financial position. For Oak Ridge, that means becoming a more affordable place to live and work. With that in mind, I present my point-by-point response to Mr. Watson’s Eight Point Economic Statement:

1) I support the city manager’s proposal to eliminate this fund and distribute the costs within the general fund if that distribution includes some reduction and/or reallocation of funds to the direct benefit of our taxpayers. Of the $1.4 million we currently spend, I recommend that we attribute half toward a reduction in the property tax rate (the equivalent of 7.7 cents). Such a reduction will benefit every existing and future business and home owner. [Read more…]

Protomet could use tax break to double plant size, add workers

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A tax break recommended by an Oak Ridge board on Monday could help a parts manufacturer more than double the size of its plant and add 20-30 workers, an executive said.

The Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board endorsed the five-year, 100 percent property tax break for Protomet—which makes marine, automotive, and homeland security equipment—in a special meeting Monday.

But Oak Ridge City Council member Anne Garcia Garland suggested there could be some opposition later. She said residents want to know why Protomet, which has become successful with the help of one tax abatement, should receive another. [Read more…]