Oak Ridge Today

Council to review Preschool, Senior Center, Water Plant projects Tuesday

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The Oak Ridge City Council will review the Oak Ridge Preschool and Senior Center projects, and receive a briefing on the Water Plant project, during a work session on Tuesday.

The work session is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, in the Multi-Purpose Room in the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane, behind the Hobby Lobby shopping center.

The reviews of the Preschool and Senior Center projects are scheduled to be presented by Jacene Phillips of Studio Four Design. [Read more…]

Plan for former AMSE property shows possible grocery, tire store, retail/restaurant

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Image from Oak Ridge Community Development Department's staff report for TN Oak Ridge Illinois PUD Final Master Plan, to be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, March 8, 2018. This image shows the types of businesses that could locate on the 7.4-acre site.

Image from Oak Ridge Community Development Department’s staff report for TN Oak Ridge Illinois PUD Final Master Plan, to be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, March 8, 2018. This image shows the location and types of businesses that could locate on the 7.4-acre site.

 

A final master plan for about 7.4 acres south of the American Museum of Science and Energy shows possible businesses that could include a grocery or retail store of about 55,000 square feet and smaller businesses that could include a tire store and retail/restaurant.

The businesses would be on former AMSE property that is now vacant land at the intersection of South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue.

The final master plan for the planned unit development, or PUD, will be considered during a special meeting of the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday. The special meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 8, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. A work session will follow at 6 p.m. [Read more…]

City code could require animal shelters to protect against cold, dampness

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

A change to the Oak Ridge city code that will be considered Monday would require doghouses and shelters for outdoor animals to provide insulation and protection against cold and dampness.

Current city code requires access to a barn, doghouse, or other shelter “sufficient to protect the animal from the elements.”

But new language could be added to that section: “Doghouses and similar shelters shall be made of durable materials with a solid, moisture-proof floor, and must contain clean bedding material consisting of hay, straw, cedar shavings, or the equivalent to provide insulation and protection against cold and dampness.”

There have been concerns raised by residents, especially during cold winter weather, about keeping outdoor animals or pets safe and protected from freezing and below-freezing temperatures. It wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday night if those concerns led to the proposed code change.

The amended city code would require the approval of the Oak Ridge City Council, which meets at 7 p.m. Monday, March 12, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. The change would be done through an ordinance, which requires City Council to approve it in two separate meetings, usually two monthly meetings. [Read more…]

Planning Commission to consider final master plan for property south of AMSE

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Image from Oak Ridge Community Development Department's staff report for TN Oak Ridge Illinois PUD Final Master Plan, to be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, March 8, 2018. This image shows the location and types of businesses that could locate on the 7.4-acre site.

Image from Oak Ridge Community Development Department’s staff report for TN Oak Ridge Illinois PUD Final Master Plan, to be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, March 8, 2018. This image shows the location and types of businesses that could locate on the 7.4-acre site.

 

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday will consider a final master plan for about seven acres of land south of the American Museum of Science and Energy, property that was once part of the museum site.

During Thursday’s special meeting, the Planning Commission is scheduled to consider a final master plan for a planned unit development, or PUD, for the 7.4 acres, which is at the intersection of South Tulane Avenue and South Illinois Avenue.

The plan is to be submitted by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC, a company affiliated with RealtyLink, which is developing Main Street Oak Ridge at the former Oak Ridge Mall. A copy of the PUD final master plan wasn’t available Monday afternoon.

The special meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 8, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. A work session will follow at 6 p.m. [Read more…]

Council to receive updates on airport, preschool, senior center on Tuesday

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Image from a Billy Stair presentation on the Oak Ridge Airport project to Roane County officials at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.

Image from a Billy Stair presentation on the Oak Ridge Airport project to Roane County officials at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will hear updates on three projects during a special meeting on Tuesday: the proposed Oak Ridge General Aviation Airport, the planned Oak Ridge Preschool, and the planned Oak Ridge Senior Center.

The special meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 20, in the Multipurpose Room at the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane.

The presentation and status report on the proposed airport is scheduled to be given by aviation consultant Billy Stair and Bill Marrison, president of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority. Stair and Marrison gave a status report to Roane County officials in December. The Oak Ridge Airport would be built at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, which is in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge.

The airport presentation in Oak Ridge was initially scheduled for January, but it was rescheduled to Tuesday because of winter weather last month. [Read more…]

Council has special meeting today to consider contracts for water line, pool repairs

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The Oak Ridge City Council has a special meeting at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, to consider two contracts, one for water line repair and the other for pool repair. The water line repair is an emergency repair to a 24-inch feed that is considered critical for Oak Ridge National Laboratory and passes through the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The Oak Ridge City Council has a special meeting at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, to consider two contracts, one for water line repair and the other for pool repair. The water line repair is an emergency repair to a 24-inch feed that is considered critical for Oak Ridge National Laboratory and passes through the Y-12 National Security Complex.

 

The Oak Ridge City Council has a special meeting at 4 p.m. today (Friday, February 16) to consider two contracts, one for water line repair and the other for pool repair. The water line repair is an emergency repair to a 24-inch feed that is considered critical for Oak Ridge National Laboratory and passes through the Y-12 National Security Complex.

If approved, the water line repair contract would be valued at roughly $100,000, and it would be awarded to Hurst Excavating LLC of Knoxville. The project would replace about 400 feet of the 24-inch water line, which is along Bear Creek Road inside the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The project is a joint effort between the City of Oak Ridge and the U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Public Works Director Shira A. McWaters said in a February 15 memo to City Manager Mark Watson. The city-DOE water contract specifies that repairs are to be shared 50/50, McWaters said.

The cast iron water line runs from east to west from the city’s water treatment plant, which is on Pine Ridge at Y-12, to Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The line failed January 29. It is part of the infrastructure that was transferred to the city in May 2000, when the city assumed ownership and began operating the water treatment plant, which had previously been owned by DOE. [Read more…]

Little River Band will headline Secret City Festival concert in June

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Secret City Festival Logo Web

The Little River Band will headline the Secret City Festival concert on Friday night, June 8, organizers said Monday.

The headliner was announced during the Oak Ridge City Council meeting.

The Little River Band had multi-platinum albums in the 1970s and 1980s and chart-topping hits that included “Reminiscing,” “Cool Change,” “Lonesome Loser,” “The Night Owls,” “Take It Easy on Me,” “Help Is on Its Way,” “Happy Anniversary,” “We Two,” “Man on Your Mind,” “The Other Guy,” and “It’s a Long Way There,” according to its website. [Read more…]

Council to consider Blankenship design agreement, money for relocated court

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The renovation work at Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium could start in January and be complete by June, officials said Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018, will consider an in-kind design agreement for renovation work at Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider an in-kind design agreement for renovation work at Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium and $70,000 in funding for renovations for Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, which is moving to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road.

The Blankenship Field design contract would be awarded to Barge Design Solutions of Knoxville. It would be an in-kind donation to the project, valued at up to $50,000, and used to help meet the requirement to have matching funds for a Local Park and Recreation Fund grant awarded to the city by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. That $496,000 grant required a 50 percent local match, which is to come from the Blankenship Field Revitalization Foundation.

The Barge Design Solutions work would include surveying, civil engineering, landscape design, permitting, and construction administration.

The roughly $1 million project is called the Oak Ridge Blankenship Field Renovation and Trailhead Improvement Project. [Read more…]

NNSA has information session on Y-12, UPF, electrical substation on Wednesday

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H-frame or H tower transmission towers are pictured at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex off Scarboro Road on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

H-frame or H tower transmission towers are pictured at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex off Scarboro Road on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The National Nuclear Security Administration will have an information session on Wednesday about the Y-12 National Security Complex, the Uranium Processing Facility construction project, and the work to replace the electrical substation at Y-12.

The information session was scheduled after Oak Ridge officials raised concerns in November and December about the power lines proposed on top of Pine Ridge as part of the electrical substation project. Pine Ridge separates Y-12 from the center of the city, and Oak Ridge officials have said they had not received adequate notice of the power line project and didn’t know what other options had been considered. They also expressed concerns about the lack of public input and the visual impact of building power lines and installing transmission towers on top of the ridge. As of December, Oak Ridge City Council members said they hadn’t seen a visual representation of what the power lines could look like. [Read more…]

Council, school board work session has been rescheduled

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The joint work session between the Oak Ridge Board of Education and Oak Ridge City Council that had been scheduled for this evening has been canceled due to snow and winter weather, and it has been rescheduled for Tuesday, January 23.

Among the items to be discussed are the Oak Ridge Preschool project, proposed general aviation airport, and electrical substation project at the Y-12 National Security Complex. [Read more…]

Presentation on Oak Ridge Airport scheduled for Tuesday

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Image from a Billy Stair presentation on the Oak Ridge Airport project to Roane County officials at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.

Image from a Billy Stair presentation on the Oak Ridge Airport project to Roane County officials at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.

 

A presentation that will provide information about the status of the Oak Ridge General Aviation Airport project has been scheduled for Tuesday evening.

The presentation is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 16, in the Robertsville Middle School Library. It’s part of a joint work session between the Oak Ridge City Council and Oak Ridge Board of Education that will begin at 6 p.m.

The airport presentation will be given by Billy Stair, aviation consultant, and Bill Marrison, president of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority. In December, Stair gave a presentation about the airport to Roane County officials.

After that meeting, Oak Ridge Today reported that Tennessee officials have appropriated $15 million that could be used for the proposed airport at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. The appropriation, which is pending approval of the Oak Ridge Airport by the Federal Aviation Administration, would be enough to cover about 33 percent to 38 percent of the current estimated project cost of $40 million to $45 million. [Read more…]

Council, school board to discuss school issues, airport, Y-12 substation

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The Oak Ridge City Council and Oak Ridge Board of Education will discuss school issues and receive a briefing and update on the proposed general aviation airport and electrical substation project at the Y-12 National Security Complex during a joint work session on Tuesday, January 16.

The work session will start at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the school library at Robertsville Middle School. Those who attend should use the main front entrance of the building, located at 245 Robertsville Road, to access the library, a press release said.

“A number of school issues will be discussed by City Council and the Board of Education during the work session,” the press release said. “The agenda also includes a briefing on the proposed general aviation airport in Oak Ridge and an update on the Y-12 electrical substation project public meeting. There will be time for an informal neighborhood discussion with City Council members during the meeting as well.” [Read more…]