Oak Ridge Today

Council approves budget with no tax increase, more money for schools

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Note: This story was updated at 1:15 p.m. June 16.

The Oak Ridge City Council approved a budget on Monday that does not include a property tax rate increase, but it does include more money for schools. The budget anticipates increases in the trash fee and water and sewer rates.

It was the second and final vote on the budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The first vote, or reading, was Monday, June 6.

The property tax rate will stay at $2.52 per $100 of assessed value. It’s the ninth year in a row without a property tax rate increase by the city, although the tax rate had to be adjusted last year after five-year reappraisals.

The budget, which has about $22.8 million in the general fund, includes a 3 percent pay adjustment that will move municipal employees along their pay scales, helping to separate those who have worked for the city for a while from those who have just started. [Read more…]

Hope seeks re-election to City Council

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Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope Jr. is seeking re-election to Oak Ridge City Council in the November 8 election.

In a press release, Hope said he wants to continue representing the city in such things as the Energy Communities Alliance, which recently took him to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. Department of Energy officials and federal legislators.

“We want to make sure that our legislators are current on issues that matter most to Oak Ridgers,” Hope said.

During the visit, Hope and Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson met with David Klaus, under secretary for management and performance at DOE headquarters. They discussed Oak Ridge’s status in the Manhattan Project National Historical Park and water treatment plant upgrades.

Hope said he is known for his community involvement and support. He served on the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors, and the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board before being appointed to Council. Hope was selected by a council majority in July 2011 to fill a vacated City Council seat, and he successfully ran for election in 2012. (Hope actually won twice in 2012, first winning a three-month term in a special election in August and then getting elected to a four-year term in a regular municipal election in November.) [Read more…]

Council agrees to negotiate on AMSE property for Main Street; DOE wants to dispose of museum

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The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge. The wide road running vertically at center-right through the aerial photo is South Tulane Avenue. The proposed Main Street Oak Ridge would be on the right side of South Tulane Avenue at the former Oak Ridge Mall. The road running horizontally at bottom is South Illinois Avenue. AMSE is the brown-roofed building at top-center.

The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge. The wide road running vertically at center-right through the aerial photo is South Tulane Avenue. The proposed Main Street Oak Ridge would be on the right side of South Tulane Avenue at the former Oak Ridge Mall. The road running horizontally at bottom is South Illinois Avenue. AMSE is the brown-roofed building at top-center.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m. June 16.

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed Monday to allow the city manager to negotiate with federal officials and the company redeveloping the former Oak Ridge Mall for the transfer of the American Museum of Science and Energy property—if the federal government wants to get rid of it.

And it appears that the federal government does want to dispose of the museum. The U.S. Department of Energy has asked the federal General Services Administration, which disposes of federal property, for help with that process, said Claire Sinclair of Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office Public Affairs. GSA took on that role last week.

But the transfer of federal property such as AMSE usually takes a few years, Sinclair said, and if a new use were proposed for the museum property, adequate public notice would be given. ORNL manages AMSE for DOE.

In the meantime, AMSE is expected to continue operating, officials said.

Under the resolution approved by Council on Monday, the 17.12 acres of federal property at the AMSE site could be transferred to the city. Or RealtyLink, the company redeveloping the mall, could negotiate directly with federal officials. The U.S. Department of Energy owns the museum, and it would work on any proposed transfer through the General Services Administration. [Read more…]

DOE sites provided $1.5 million in funding for AMSE in FY 2015

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AMSE Community Meeting Audience

The auditorium at the American Science and Energy Museum in Oak Ridge was nearly full during a community meeting to discuss AMSE’s future in July 2014. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Three U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge provided $1.5 million in funding for the American Museum of Science and Energy in Fiscal Year 2015, an official said Monday.

The funding varies each year, and the funding for Fiscal Year 2016, the current fiscal year, hasn’t been determined, said Claire Sinclair, a spokesperson in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office Public Affairs. ORNL manages AMSE for DOE, which owns the museum.

In FY 2015, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex each contributed $630,000 to AMSE, and the East Tennessee Technology Park provided $240,000. That’s a major portion of AMSE funding, the museum says on its website. (AMSE also has memberships, and the museum charges for admission.)

Questions about the future of AMSE have been raised as the Oak Ridge City Council considers a resolution on how the city would like the land transferred, if the DOE and General Services Administration decide to dispose of the property at some point in the future. [Read more…]

Council to consider rejecting bids for eighth rowing lane

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SIRA-Regatta-April-17-2016-6

Two bids to add an eighth lane to the Oak Ridge rowing course came in much higher than city officials were prepared to spend, and City Council will consider rejecting the bids during a meeting on Monday, June 13, 2016. Above, officials and referees used Oak Ridge Rowing Association boats to monitor the races on the seven-lane course at the 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The city has received two bids on a project to add an eighth rowing lane at the Oak Ridge Marina, and both were significantly higher than what city officials were prepared to spend. So, the Oak Ridge City Council will consider rejecting the two bids during its meeting tonight (Monday, June 13).

The city has received a $250,000 state grant for the proposed eighth lane. The city planned to contribute $150,000, and City Manager Mark Watson had solicited more money from other agencies that would benefit from the rowing course improvements. That meant there was enough money available to fund a project of about $560,000, which is close to a targeted estimate that Watson gave City Council members in March.

But since then, the city has received two bids. The high bid of $2.14 million was from Wright Brothers Construction. The low bid of $1.74 million was from Simpson Construction.

Both bids are “totally out of line with projected estimates,” Watson said in a June 8 memo to City Council. [Read more…]

AMSE: Transfer of federal property usually takes few years, public notice would be given

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AMSE Sign

The American Museum of Science and Energy is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Sara Wise)

 

AMSE over-sized, operationally challenged, spokesperson says

The transfer of federal property such as the American Museum of Science and Energy usually takes a few years, and if a new use were proposed for the AMSE property, adequate public notice would be given, an official said Monday.

There has been no public announcement that the federal government wants to get rid of the 17.12 acres of federal property that includes AMSE.

But the Oak Ridge City Council will consider a resolution tonight (Monday, June 13) that would allow City Manager Mark Watson to negotiate with the U.S. Department of Energy and General Services Administration, as well as the company redeveloping the former Oak Ridge Mall, for the property transfer. The GSA is responsible for disposing of federal property.

RealtyLink, the company redeveloping the 58-acre mall site, has said that any redevelopment of the AMSE property that competes with its project, known as Main Street Oak Ridge, would be devastating to its efforts to provide the city a much-needed, quality, retail-centered mixed-use town center. RealtyLink said it must be able to control the redevelopment of the AMSE property. [Read more…]

Chamber supports AMSE land transfer resolution

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AMSE-Manhattan-Project-Park-Nov-12-2015

The American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on November 15, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 8:50 a.m. June 14.

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce supports a resolution that would allow the city manager to negotiate with business executives and federal officials to transfer about 17 acres of federal property at the American Museum of Science and Energy to help Main Street Oak Ridge, the project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider the land transfer resolution during a meeting tonight (Monday, June 13). Under that resolution, the 17.12 acres could either be transferred to the city or to RealtyLink, the company redeveloping the mall. The transfer would also include 1.87 acres of city-owned land that are on the north, south, and west sides of the AMSE property.

On Friday, Chamber of Commerce President Parker Hardy said the Chamber supports the land transfer resolution.

“It’s entirely consistent with our overall support for the Main Street Oak Ridge project,” Hardy said. “This has been a long time getting here, and we’re proud to lend our support.” [Read more…]

Main Street: Ready to close by end of June, AMSE property the one remaining hurdle

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The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge.

The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge. The wide road running vertically at center-right through the aerial photo is South Tulane Avenue. The proposed Main Street Oak Ridge would be on the right side of South Tulane Avenue at the former Oak Ridge Mall. The road running horizontally at bottom is South Illinois Avenue. AMSE is the brown-roofed building at top-center.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8 p.m. June 13.

RealtyLink, the developer that has proposed redeveloping the former Oak Ridge Mall, says it is ready to close on the roughly 60-acre site by the end of June and start construction immediately, but there is one last hurdle: The company is concerned about any redevelopment of the property across the street at the American Museum of Science and Energy that could compete with its proposed project, known as Main Street Oak Ridge.

So, RealtyLink has asked that, if the federal government wants to dispose of the AMSE property at some point in the future, the city would negotiate with the U.S. Department of Energy through the General Services Administration to either have the property transferred to the city, or allow RealtyLink to negotiate directly with DOE and GSA for a property transfer.

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider a resolution allowing the city manager to start the negotiations, should they become necessary, during a meeting on Monday, June 13.

So far, DOE and GSA have not publicly announced plans to dispose of the 17.12 acres in and around AMSE. But there have been public discussions about what to do with the property during the past 15 years or so. DOE has said it is not in the museum business. [Read more…]

School board has special meeting Monday to consider one-time spending approved by city

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Oak Ridge Schools School Administration Building

The Oak Ridge Board of Education will have a special meeting on Monday to consider approving $538,048 worth of one-time spending that was approved by the Oak Ridge City Council this past Monday (May 6).

If the Tennessee Department of Education agrees, the extra money, which had been requested by Oak Ridge Schools and the BOE, would not be part of the city’s annual “maintenance of effort” for the schools, a level of funding that can’t be reduced.

Most of the $538,048, or $425,000, would be used in the next fiscal year for principal and interest payments for a four-year technology lease that began in fiscal year 2016, the current fiscal year. That lease funded the purchase of convertible laptops for grade levels 5-8, supporting what is known as a 1:1 initiative and part of Access Oak Ridge.

The other $113,048 would be used for building improvements: [Read more…]

Council approves budget with no tax increase, more money for schools

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Note: This story was last updated at 12:15 a.m.

The Oak Ridge City Council approved a budget on Monday that does not include a property tax rate increase, but it does include more money for schools and it anticipates increases in the trash fee and water and sewer rates.

The budget passed in a 6-1 vote in the first of two readings this month. The second and final reading is Monday, June 13.

Council rejected one motion to lower the $2.52 property tax rate by 4.4 cents and another to take away the additional $538,048 requested by Oak Ridge Schools and put it into the capital fund instead.

The budget does not increase the property tax rate for the ninth year in a row. After five-year reappraisals last year, the rate is now set at $2.52 per $100 of assessed value.

As approved on first reading Monday, the budget includes a 3 percent pay adjustment that will move municipal employees along their pay scales, helping to separate those who have worked for the city for a while from those who have just started. The school budget, which was approved by the Oak Ridge Board of Education in May, also includes 3 percent salary increases. [Read more…]

Opinion: A tale of three cities

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By Trina Baughn

As we delve into what could be the last city budget I work on as a council member, I reflect upon both the state of the city and my contributions thus far. I could boast that, during my tenure, no property taxes were raised, and we’ve reduced total debt levels. However, those claims would be misleading given that council has so steeply expanded their reach into your pocket by other means. In fact, council is considering doing that very thing, yet again, with this budget. More on that in a moment.

Property taxes and debt paint only a partial picture of a city’s financial health. While both are very important, consideration must be given to their utility and return on investment. For many years, I have published in-depth analyses of some of the major expenditures that have brought us to the point we are today, such as:

  • How you were sold a $40 million high school that will, in the end, cost you over $126 million.
  • The fact that the city, not the EPA, was at fault for your water and sewer rates doubling in only a few short years, thereby incurring $33 million worth of debt on top of  the $24 million we’d already spent to avoid the EPA mandate.
  • An accounting of the $10 million you’ve paid on a golf course you were assured would pay for itself but hasn’t and won’t for many more years to come, if ever.
  • Your annual $175,000 subsidy (compare to Farragut, which only spends $15,000) of a Chamber of Commerce that is largely made up of nonprofits, government organizations, and non-Oak Ridge businesses that regularly pressure council to increase your property taxes.
  • Frequent disclosures of excessive, non-essential spending such as a $275,000 parking lot, a $1 million fountain, a $300,000 bathroom and much, much more.
  • How crony capitalism has run amuck, forcing you to offset the extensive corporate welfare the city doles out on your behalf.
  • Demonstrating that you are likely overpaying for your trash services with Waste Connections, which is charging less in communities where they had to compete.
  • Reminding you of the broken promises of Partners for Progress, which cost you $15 million on the failed Rarity Ridge/Horizon Center development 16 years ago and warning of similar pitfalls in the $13 million mall TIF (tax increment financing).
  • And, because half of your property taxes fund our schools, I frequently challenged our superintendent and school board when they would demand more of your money on the grounds that, in spite of being the one of the most heavily funded systems in the state, much of your money is not making it into the classroom where it belongs.

Some will view the above examples through a different lens if they rely upon what they see around town. We have certainly seen an uptick in eateries, and we can all appreciate the aesthetic value of some of the new developments. Those new developments have, however, displaced some pre-existing businesses, leaving us with an abundance of vacant properties. [Read more…]

Dodson—teacher, community leader—running for City Council

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Jim Dodson

Jim Dodson

Jim Dodson, an Oak Ridge art teacher and community leader, has announced that he will be a candidate for Oak Ridge City Council in the November 8 election.

Dodson, a teacher with Oak Ridge Schools for 29 years, has a strong record of community service and leadership on several civic boards and organizations, a press release said.

“I will definitely work alongside my Oak Ridge and East Tennessee neighbors for a better quality of life in our community,” Dodson said. “I hope to give our residents a voice on City Council and continue to promote excellent educational opportunities for all our kids and young adults.

“I will also continue to help recruit businesses and families to Oak Ridge as the place to relocate. I look forward to working as an Oak Ridge City Council member to maintain and improve all city services while providing safe and thriving neighborhoods. It’s my vision that what Oak Ridge has to offer should not be a secret anymore.” [Read more…]