Oak Ridge Today

Letter: Smith asks to be re-appointed as mayor pro tem

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Ellen Smith (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Editor’s note: Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Smith has asked to be appointed to a second two-year term during a Monday, Dec. 12, meeting of the Oak Ridge City Council. Here is a copy of a Dec. 6 letter she wrote to other city leaders.

Dear Fellow City Leaders:

I am writing to request your support and your votes for my candidacy to serve as mayor pro tem for a second two-year term.

The role of the mayor pro tem is to fill in for the mayor when the mayor is not available—particularly to chair meetings of City Council and serve as the “face” or ambassador of the city’s elected leadership when the mayor is unable to do so.

I have endeavored over the past two years to conduct city business in an efficient and respectful manner and to present a positive image for Council and the community, both locally and when representing Oak Ridge outside our city’s borders. [Read more…]

Smith, Chinn both seek appointment as mayor pro tem

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Ellen Smith (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Smith is seeking appointment to a second two-year term as mayor pro tem on Monday.

But she has a challenger: Rick Chinn.

The mayor pro tem is someone who can carry out the duties of the mayor when the mayor is temporarily unavailable. That includes leading Oak Ridge City Council meetings and serving as the city’s ambassador when the mayor is not available.

In a letter to her fellow city leaders, Smith said she has tried, during her two-year term, to conduct city business in an efficient and respectful manner and to present a positive image for Council and the community, both locally and when representing Oak Ridge outside the city’s borders. [Read more…]

New Council members to be sworn in Monday

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Two new members of the Oak Ridge City Council and one incumbent will be sworn in Monday. Two incumbents re-elected to the Oak Ridge Board of Education will also be sworn in.

The two new City Council members are Jim Dodson and Hans Vogel. The incumbent is Chuck Hope.

The two school board members who were re-elected in the November 8 municipal election are Angi Agle and Keys Fillauer. [Read more…]

Letter: Oak Ridge a better place to live, work thanks to Baughn, Hensley

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To the Editor:

Monday night, December 12, 2016, there will be a changing of the guard when two Oak Ridge City Council members “retire.” Both have been instrumental in bringing the dawn of a new day for the city. Neither can be accused of slacking their elected duties. And while their approaches have been different, their mutual goal was to make Oak Ridge the best city it could be. And, in a season of strange electoral occurrences, both chose not to run for re-election even though the odds were they would be voted back into office.

Councilwoman Trina Baughn and I, on occasion, have found ourselves on different sides of an issue or two. However, she has treated me and my ideas with respect. I have not been the exception. I hope I have behaved in the same manner.

In recent history, Trina probably has been the most prepared Council member to discuss the issues at hand. I will not forget her toting a black notebook (or two) holding her “homework” as she took her seat on the dais. In the wrong hands, minutiae can be boring. In Trina’s hands, they were generally irrefutable landmarks supporting her position. Being a person of strong disposition, Mrs. Baughn never wavered when her views were ridiculed or attacked. But she was also willing to compromise when unity was necessary. [Read more…]

Gooch seeks second term as mayor

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Warren Gooch (2016 file photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch is seeking a second two-year term as mayor. Gooch has written a letter to the rest of the seven-member Oak Ridge City Council outlining why he is seeking re-election.

The Oak Ridge City Council is expected to appoint a mayor and mayor pro tem during its next meeting on December 12.

Four City Council members expressed an interest in serving as mayor two years ago, but so far this year, Gooch is the only one who has asked to be appointed.

The Oak Ridge City Council appoints two of its members as mayor and mayor pro tem at a regular meeting after each municipal election—they’re held every two years—and after all newly elected members have been duly qualified, according to the Oak Ridge City Charter. There was a municipal election on November 8 this year. [Read more…]

Letter: Gooch seeks second term as mayor

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Warren Gooch (2016 file photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Editor’s note: Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch is seeking a second two-year term. Here is a December 2 letter he wrote to the rest of the Oak Ridge City Council.

Dear City Council colleagues:

I am seeking re-election for a second term as mayor, and I respectfully ask for your support. Two years ago, I pledged to be a consensus builder and to work with each of you, the Board of Education, and the city staff to restore collegiality, team work, and shared goals for the future. I also committed to actively promote Oak Ridge and our commitment to excellence in our schools, city services, and quality of life. I believe we have made great strides in this regard, and Oak Ridgers have embraced our collective efforts.

Over the last two years, I have worked diligently to delegate responsibilities among the Council and to appoint every member to lead specific initiatives based upon each member’s personal interests and Council’s priorities. Our work has been successful, as evidenced by the development of Main Street Oak Ridge; the establishment of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park; re-development of Jackson Square; new retail, commercial, and industrial investment; the continued development and support of the Land Bank; the successful award of grants from the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Housing Development Agency; the promotion of the Oak Ridge Corridor; the upgrade in our bond rating from AA to AA+; and the addition of the eighth lane to the Melton Lake rowing venue. I am particularly proud of the stronger relationships we have developed with our elected federal, state, and county officials; the Department of Energy; State of Tennessee; and our local Department of Energy contractors. [Read more…]

Proposed DOE waste disposal site to be discussed at Lunch with the League on Tuesday

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Ellen Smith

Ellen Smith

The U.S. Department of Energy’s proposal for a new disposal site for waste from ongoing cleanups, and some concerns that have been raised regarding the DOE proposal, will be the subject of Ellen Smith’s presentation at Lunch with the League on Tuesday.

Lunch with the League is scheduled to start at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, December 6, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Smith is on the staff of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Environmental Sciences Division. She is a member of the Oak Ridge City Council, where she serves are mayor pro tem. [Read more…]

After acquiring more land, Protomet evaluating Oak Ridge for $30 million expansion

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Protomet Corporation is pictured above in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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Jeff Bohanan

Protomet Corporation has purchased about 20 acres of former federal land on Bethel Valley Road in south Oak Ridge, and the company is evaluating that property as one option as it plans for a $30 million expansion that could add 200 jobs over a five-year period.

On Tuesday, Protomet founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bohanan said the company prefers to stay in Oak Ridge, but there is no guarantee. The 19.47-acre parcel on Bethel Valley Road will have to be cut and filled, and drainage will have to be redirected, Bohanan said. It’s not clear yet how much that work might cost.

Protomet needs about 100,000 square feet for its expansion, which was announced in February. Protomet now has 70 workers in a 40,000-square-foot building on eight acres, so the company could more than triple in size.

“The new facility will dramatically increase Protomet’s capacity and capabilities for the customers it serves,” Bohanan said. “We have already started purchasing equipment for the new facility, and some of it is already in use at our current facility.”

Protomet bought the Bethel Valley Road land from the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board for $103,000 on October 20. The property, which was previously owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, is west of Protomet and east of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“This is a big step in our ability to evaluate this site as an option,” Bohanan said. [Read more…]

New water plant could cost more than $40 million

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Building a new water treatment plant in Oak Ridge or rehabilitating the current one could cost between $43.1 million and $46.9 million, according to an evaluation of three alternatives prepared for the city by an engineering company. The three alternatives are show in the image above.

 

Building a new water treatment plant in Oak Ridge or renovating the current one could cost between $43.1 million and $46.9 million, according to an evaluation prepared for the city by an engineering company.

Three alternatives for renovating the existing water plant or building a new one were presented to the Oak Ridge City Council in October in an evaluation by Jacobs Engineering Group. The three options have different impacts on the raw water intake on the Clinch River in south Oak Ridge, an intermediate pump station at the Y-12 National Security Complex between the raw water intake and the existing water treatment plant, and the current 70-year-old plant, which is on Pine Ridge above Y-12.

The first alternative, which could cost $46.5 million, would rehabilitate the existing plant. It would continue to use the raw water intake, the intermediate pump station, and the water plant. It would include work at those three sites, as well as to the two underground lines that feed the water plant.

The rehabilitation would require mechanical and process equipment upgrades, pipeline replacement, electrical improvements, and slope stabilization.

The Jacobs evaluation said the building and basins at the existing plant are in good condition, and the facility works well at 8-12 million gallons per day. It has the two underground lines coming in and three going out, and two storage reservoirs on Pine Ridge, one of three million gallons and the other of four million gallons. [Read more…]

Dodson, Hope, Vogel win City Council seats

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Jim Dodson

Jim Dodson

Jim Dodson, Chuck Hope, and Hans Vogel won the three open seats on Oak Ridge City Council, according to unofficial results in Anderson and Roane counties.

Dodson, a Jefferson Middle School art teacher who has been heavily involved in community and volunteer activities, received a total of 6,902 votes, including 5,957 in Anderson County and 945 in Roane County. He collected the most votes in Anderson County.

Hope, the only incumbent in the race, received 6,040 votes, with 5,016 in Anderson County and 1,024 in Roane County. He was the top vote-getter in Roane County.

Vogel, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory employee who, like Dodson, was making his first run for a City Council seat, earned 4,439 votes, with 3,568 in Anderson County and 871 in Roane County. [Read more…]

Dodson, Hope, Vogel lead in early voting for City Council

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Jim Dodson

 

Note: This story was updated at 9:15 p.m.

Jim Dodson, Chuck Hope, and Hans Vogel lead in early voting in Anderson County for Oak Ridge City Council, according to unofficial results posted on the Anderson County Election Commission website on Tuesday evening.

Dodson, running for City Council for the first time, had 4,088 early votes. Hope, the only incumbent, had 3,398. Vogel, who is also making his first run, received 2,544.

There are three open seats on the seven-member City Council. Two incumbents, Trina Baughn and Charlie Hensley, did not seek re-election.

Dodson, Hope, and Vogel also have a lead in early voting in Roane County, according to unofficial results posted at 8:33 p.m. Tuesday. Hope led with 853 early votes, Dodson had 786, and Vogel had 762. [Read more…]

Letter: Encourages Oak Ridgers to vote for Dodson, her husband

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To the Editor:

I am writing to encourage Oak Ridgers to vote for my husband, Jim Dodson, for City Council. I know I am biased, but I have a unique perspective as to why I think he will make a good council person. Many people may ask, why is a middle school art teacher running for council? What makes him a good candidate? I believe it is precisely because he is a middle school art teacher that he will make a good candidate.

Jim has taught middle school for 30 years. If I had a nickel for every time a teenager or adult called out to him in the grocery store, park, football stadium, church—“Hi, Mr. Dodson”—I would be a rich woman. Most of the time these students/adults go on to tell me that Mr. Dodson is/was their favorite teacher. I believe it is because of two of Jim’s character traits: He is always respectful, and he always strives to be fair.

It’s not always easy showing patience to middle school kids, especially when they are acting out, mouthing off, showing little effort in class, etc. But somehow, according to the kids, “Mr. Dodson never loses his cool.”  Now, more than ever, our world needs candidates who show respect to all (even those whose ideas or comments he doesn’t agree with). Let me be clear, Jim is not a pushover, he is in control of his class, but he rarely has to raise his voice to command control. By showing respect to the kids, he obtains their respect to meet this goal. [Read more…]