In February, the Oak Ridge City Council approved the borrowing of $18 million in low-interest state loans to help pay for a $23 million project to fix the municipal sewer system.
On Wednesday, Tennessee officials announced that the loans had been approved. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will lay off some employees, and its support corporation, the Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, will become dormant.
Its funding has been cut, and the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is laying off some employees, an official said Monday.
It will be a smaller organization, and the Chamber’s support corporation, the Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, will become dormant, its work absorbed by the Chamber, said Parker Hardy, president and chief executive officer of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.
Hardy declined to name the employees who will be laid off or say how many workers might be affected, although he said the information could be shared later. [Read more…]
Protomet breaks ground Friday on a $6.25 million expansion in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park. Pictured above from left are Operations Director Andrew Jenkins and Engineering Director Matt Reid of Protomet; LeRoy Thompson, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development regional director; Protomet President Jeff Bohanan; Sherry Browder, Oak Ridge Economic Partnership chair; Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan; and David Wilson, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board chair.
Protomet Corp. broke ground on Friday on a $6.25 million expansion of its manufacturing facility in Bethel Valley Industrial Park, allowing the company to more than double its space, consolidate operations with a Blount County facility, and expand production.
The expanded facility, which could be complete by the end of the year, will have more than 40,000 square feet, and it will bring more than 30 jobs to Oak Ridge, a press release said. It is the second multi-million dollar investment at the company’s Oak Ridge site. [Read more…]
By Pat Fain and Leslie Agron
Today Oak Ridge has a default housing policy that begins and ends with two modest grants from Housing and Urban Development consisting of objectives decided internally by city staff. Input from the public has been minimal at best, despite HUD requirements to hold public input meetings. These were held, minimally advertised and sparsely attended. In the past, these objectives were then approved by Oak Ridge City Council without holding Council work sessions to discuss real needs or creative solutions for those needs.
This year and this month, Council will begin an open and (hopefully) far-reaching discussion for a well-thought-out response to community concerns and the need to protect the tax base of the city from further erosion resulting from the deterioration of a significant portion of the housing built before 1945. This paper is to offer ideas and alternate thinking as the City Council proceeds to contemplate the path ahead. [Read more…]
A tree fell on a vacant Delaware Avenue home during a severe Monday night storm. (Photo by Brad Jones)
A strong storm that blew through Oak Ridge on Monday knocked two trees down onto homes. One fell onto a firefighter’s house and caused several thousand dollars worth of damage, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.
Firefighters also responded to a call from a woman who called 911 and said she thought she had been struck by lightning during the 7 p.m. storm.
“Upon arrival, the fire department found her in the living room of her home complaining of chest pain,” Kerley said. “She stated she was standing looking out the window when lighting hit in front of her, and she began experiencing chest pain. She was transported to Methodist Medical Center for evaluation.” [Read more…]
Protomet Corp. is having a June 14 groundbreaking ceremony for a $6.25 million expansion that will more than double the size of its current manufacturing space.
The expansion will add 30 jobs to Protomet, and it is the second multi-million dollar investment in the company’s Oak Ridge facility, a press release said. [Read more…]
B&W Y-12 General Manager Chuck Spencer, center, presents a $25,000 check to Oak Ridge officials for the Secret City Festival this month during a City Council meeting last week. (Submitted photo)
B&W Y-12 President and General Manager Chuck Spencer presented a check for $25,000 to Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and Vice Mayor Jane Miller during a City Council meeting last week.
B&W Y-12 has been a premier sponsor of the Secret City Festival for the past eight years, a press release said.
[Read more…]
To the Editor:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Oak Ridge City Council who voted in favor of donating a city-owned lot to Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County (HFHAC). The board of directors, staff, and volunteers of HFHAC are incredibly excited and grateful to have the opportunity to partner with the City of Oak Ridge on our next building project.
We consider this a historic opportunity for community building through a true public-private partnership. As the City of Oak Ridge takes over blighted properties, HFHAC would like to offer our assistance at returning them to a taxable status. In 2011, Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County homeowners combined paid over $115,000 in city and county property taxes, supporting crucial services. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday rejected a request to reimburse the school system about $36,000 for repairs to this 13-foot sinkhole under the Oak Ridge High School soccer field.
The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday rejected a request to use red light camera money to reimburse the school system $36,000 for sinkhole repairs made in April at the Oak Ridge High School soccer field.
Council also agreed to transfer a small burned-out lot on Hillside Road to Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County and rejected a proposal to lower the property tax rate by one cent.
Asked about the sinkhole repair reimbursement on Tuesday, Oak Ridge Schools Interim Superintendent Bob Smallridge said the school system, which expects revenues to fall by about $1 million and is cutting 18 positions, has a tight budget. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge City Council will consider the municipal budget, which is not expected to raise property taxes, during a second and final reading Tuesday evening.
The Oak Ridge City Council has approved a budget that does not raise the property tax rate in the fiscal year that starts July 1.
The budget provides $50,000 more for the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce than Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson had requested, and it gives city employees a 1 percent pay raise.
Council members deferred a request from the Oak Ridge Board of Education to match $50,000 in spending for one of two new school resource officers at Jefferson and Robertsville middle schools. City officials estimated the cost per SRO is about double the school system’s request, or more than $100,000 per year per officer, when the cost of a police car is included. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge City Council will consider the municipal budget, which is not expected to raise property taxes, during a second and final reading Tuesday evening.
The Oak Ridge City Council will consider the municipal budget on second and final reading tonight.
If approved, the budget would not raise property taxes, but it would give employees a 1 percent pay raise and add another $50,000 for the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce contract.
Tonight’s meeting also includes a presentation of the Oak Ridge Schools’ budget, which was approved on second and final reading on Thursday. [Read more…]
Federal funds to Oak Ridge Schools could be cut five percent starting July 1 under the so-called sequester, and that’s led to staff reductions in the special education program.
Four positions would be cut at Oak Ridge High School and three elementary schools—Glenwood, Linden, and Willow Brook—under a budget approved by school board members on second and final reading Thursday. Two of the reductions would result in job losses. One is a teaching assistant position at Linden, and the other is a teaching assistant job at Oak Ridge High School.
Parents with children in the program have said they are concerned about how the students might struggle if they don’t continue to get the one-on-one help they need. [Read more…]
