Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge officials reconsider residential rental inspections

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Rental Property in Manhattan District Overlay

Rental properties in the Manhattan District Overlay could be registered and regularly inspected under a proposal being considered by Oak Ridge officials. The rental properties are pictured in red above. (Image courtesy of Oak Ridge city staff)

Oak Ridge officials are reconsidering a proposal that would allow them to inspect rental homes as part of a program to combat property blight and substandard housing.

It’s been considered before and the Oak Ridge City Council has approved an ordinance establishing the program, but it’s never been implemented, Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin said Monday.

Now, the city staff has proposed expanding the program from the Highland View neighborhood to the larger Manhattan District Overlay, which includes Highland View and a swath of properties north of Oak Ridge Turnpike from East Drive in east Oak Ridge to Bryn Mawr Circle in west Oak Ridge. The MDO also includes properties in the Woodland, Scarboro, and Burnham Woods neighborhoods. [Read more…]

In unusual move, Council removes Beer Board member

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The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday took the unusual step of removing a member of the city’s beer board after two members said he had been disruptive and argumentative, and turned what had been smooth-running and efficient meetings into “veritable circuses.”

The disruptive behavior of Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board member Pedro Otaduy had caused at least two board members to consider resigning, which would cripple the board’s ability to act, City Manager Mark Watson said. [Read more…]

ORCVB budget cut: No layoffs, focusing on more events, weekend stays

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Secret City Festival Kickoff 2012

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau is one of three organizations that present the annual Secret City Festival. ORCVB President Katy Brown is pictured above, fifth from right, at the opening ceremonies for the 2012 festival along with other state and local officials.

Its budget has been cut 25 percent, but there will be no layoffs at the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Instead, the four-person staff will focus on attracting more weekend visitors to the Secret City and bringing in more events, possibly including those that generate fees. The organization could “own more events,” ORCVB President Katy Brown said, and rely on more grassroots efforts. That could include using more social media and travel writers.

“It’s going to be a shift,” Brown said Monday after the Oak Ridge City Council approved—in a voice vote with no opposition—a new one-year $300,000 contract for the ORCVB, the city’s main tourism organization. The funding is down from $410,000 last year. [Read more…]

Baughn criticizes school officials, school supporters fire back

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Oak Ridge Schools Press Conference Crowd

Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn, third from right, and Oak Ridge High School Acting Principal David Bryant, left, and Superintendent Bruce Borchers, second from left, attend a Monday afternoon press conference at the high school where education officials rebutted Baughn’s allegations that there is a “culture of terror” in the schools, drugs are rampant, and students are at risk of being assaulted.

Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn fired the first shot, writing a letter critical of education officials and alleging that the city’s schools have a “culture of terror,” drugs are rampant, and students are at risk of being assaulted.

On Monday, school supporters and students fired back in a barrage that started with an afternoon press conference at Oak Ridge High School and ended at a City Council meeting.

During the Council meeting, Chuck Agle, who serves on the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission and is the husband of school board member Angi Agle, asked council members to express their disapproval by censuring Baughn. To imply that Oak Ridge Schools widely tolerate wrongdoing is wrong, Agle said. [Read more…]

Police chief declines to comment on use of his memo in Baughn’s letter

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

A memo he wrote in May was used by an Oak Ridge City Council member who wrote a controversial letter that has sparked a heated, week-long debate about drugs and violence in the city’s schools.

But Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi declined to elaborate on the memo on Monday—or discuss how it was used in the letter published last week by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn. Her letter, which also relied on conversations with current and former school staff members and parents of students, alleged drugs are rampant in many schools, children are at risk of being assaulted, and a “culture of terror” has saturated the system.

Asked for his views on the letter, which was sent to new superintendent Bruce Borchers, Akagi said he couldn’t comment. [Read more…]

Guest column: City, school officials need to unify, not splinter

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Note: This is copy of a column summarized by Oak Ridge Board of Education member Dan DiGregorio at a Monday night City Council meeting. DiGregorio had earlier sent a similar column to Oak Ridge Today in response to questions about a letter written by City Council member Trina Baughn that sparked a fiery debate this past week over drugs and violence in Oak Ridge Schools.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion, and each has the right to express that opinion. I, too, have the right to express opinions. I agree with my opinion about what I just wrote.

Within the Oak Ridge City Council and School Board there are 12 elected officials—all of whom were elected by the same citizens. But, we were elected to do two different jobs. We should not be stepping on each other’s toes. Both elected bodies are accountable to the citizens of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Debate erupts over drugs, violence in Oak Ridge schools

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Oak Ridge Schools Press Conference

Keys Fillauer, Oak Ridge Board of Education chair, left, and Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan reject allegations by City Council member Trina Baughn that, among other things, there is a “culture of terror” in Oak Ridge Schools and students are at risk.

The fiery debate erupted last week, with one Oak Ridge City Council member alleging drugs are rampant in many schools, students are at risk of being assaulted, and a culture of terror has saturated the school system.

It continued this week, with two school officials and the city’s mayor holding a press conference at the Oak Ridge High School to rebut the allegations. They were joined by a throng of several dozen administrators, officials, and teachers.

Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn sparked the debate last week in a letter to new school superintendent Bruce Borchers, who started June 18. Baughn told Borchers that countless parents, school staff, and students have shared stories with her that paint a picture of an “inner-city school system run amuck.”

“I’ve heard so many stories of assaults occurring at the middle schools and high school that I am heartbroken,” Baughn said.

But a half-dozen other local officials—including City Council members, school board members, and teachers—said they haven’t heard many complaints, if any, from parents regarding drugs and assaults in Oak Ridge Schools. They called some of Baughn’s claims inaccurate, exaggerated, or untrue. [Read more…]

City, education officials to respond today to Baughn letter on schools

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Oak Ridge municipal and school officials will have a 2 p.m. press conference today to respond to a recent letter written by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn to new superintendent Bruce Borchers.

The press conference will include Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and Oak Ridge School Board Chairman Keys Fillauer. It will be held in the lobby of Oak Ridge High School at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

‘Culture of terror’ in Oak Ridge schools, Council member says; not true, education leader says

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Note: This is a copy of a letter that Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn sent to new Oak Ridge Schools superintendent Bruce Borchers. It is followed by a response from Steve Reddick, who teaches American history to eighth-grade students at Jefferson Middle School and is co-president of the Oak Ridge Education Association.

Here is the letter from Baughn to Borchers:

Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

Dr. Borchers,

Shortly after the Sandy Hook tragedy, Oak Ridge city and school officials began discussing the need to shore up security within our schools. Your Board of Education (BOE) immediately demanded the city provide an officer in every school while simultaneously declining our police chief’s offer to conduct the risk assessment needed to identify facility and policy vulnerabilities. Our police department has also repeatedly offered to provide safety/emergency training to your staff. All of those offers have been declined by members of your administration.

Seven months later, we have made very little progress. At the center of it all is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was initially drafted months ago to address the lack of cooperation by school administrators and their frequent interference with requisite police work. I am told that school attorneys refuse to agree with the parameters that, at their very core, enable our officers to uphold the law and maintain the safety and security of the public.

The incidents that have led to the need for this MOU are disturbing and give me reason to fear that the original emphasis of protecting our children from external threats is less of a need than that of protecting them from internal threats. [Read more…]

Council considers smaller ORCVB contract

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The Oak Ridge City Council has already agreed to cut funding for the city’s main tourism organization by 25 percent under the budget approved in May.

On Monday, Council members will officially consider a one-year contract for the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau that would set funding at a maximum of $300,000, down from $410,000 last year. [Read more…]

Council asked to remove Beer Board member

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Alleging that one of its members is disruptive, a city board has taken the unusual step of asking city officials to remove him.

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider the request to remove Pedro Otaduy from the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board during a Monday evening meeting. Council appoints Beer Board members, and it is the only body that can remove them. [Read more…]

Council to discuss electronic signs, land banks, mall partnership

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Rivers Total Car Care Electronic Sign

The Oak Ridge City Council will discuss proposed changes to the city’s electronic sign ordinance during a Monday evening work session. Pictured above is Toney Stevens of Rivers Total Car Care, who has participated in the discussion.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will discuss a proposed ordinance that would prohibit animated video and scrolling messages on electronic signs.

Council will also discuss economic development options related to a public-private partnership on Oak Ridge Mall properties, and commercial and industrial areas of the city.

During a non-voting work session Monday night, Council will also hear a presentation on land bank legislation. The work session starts at 7 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room at the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane. [Read more…]