Secret City Festival announces new concert security measures

June 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

The Secret City Festival will have tighter security at the Friday and Saturday night concerts this year, and visitors could experience a few delays as organizers try to make the shows safer, a press release said.

No backpacks or coolers will be allowed into the concert site, and all bags will be subject to search, the release said.

“In light of recent events, we’re being extra vigilant in our protection of our attendees, staff, and the community during the festival concerts,” Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Secret City to glow with color at Neon Vibe 5K in September

June 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Neon Vibe 5K Oak Ridge

A Neon Vibe 5K will be held at A.K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge on Sept. 21. (Photo courtesy Neon Vibe 5K)

The “Atomic City” will “light up the night” this fall when a brand new event, the Neon Vibe 5K, comes to town.

The 5K is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21, at A.K. Bissell Park. The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau announced the race this week.

The Neon Vibe 5K is an after-dark, fluorescent glow light fun run that will have participants “glowing crazy with color and dancing all night long,” a press release said. Starting with the 5K, participants will run a traditional, non-competitive 3.1-mile course with four UV black light “glow zone” color stations and upbeat dance music set up throughout the route. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Recreation, Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

B&W Y-12 again a premier sponsor of the Secret City Festival

June 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment
B&W Y-12 Secret City Festival Check Presentation

Chuck Spencer, center, B&W Y-12 president and general manager, presents a $25,000 sponsorship check for the Secret City Festival to Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, left, and Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller. (Submitted photo)

B&W Y-12 is returning to the Secret City Festival once again as the premier festival sponsor, a press release said.

“B&W has led the way in Secret City Festival sponsorships both financially and in kind for the past eight years,” the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau said in a Wednesday press release. B&W Y-12 operates the Y-12 National Security Complex for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Chuck Spencer, B&W Y-12 president and general manager, presented a $25,000 festival sponsorship check during a May 28 meeting. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Community, Oak Ridge, Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Council approves no-tax-increase budget that could be amended

May 13, 2013 By 12 Comments
Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday gave initial approval to a budget that does not raise property taxes but could be amended.

Council members Trina Baughn and Chuck Hope proposed amendments that could be considered during a special meeting before second and final reading of the budget on May 28.

The budget presented by City Manager Mark Watson on Monday would give city employees a 1 percent pay raise, cut funding for the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, and change the city’s contract with the Chamber of Commerce. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Council considers budget with no tax increase, less money for Chamber, ORCVB

May 12, 2013 By 3 Comments
Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider a budget that does not raise property taxes but could cut funding for the Chamber of Commerce as well as the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

It would include contracts with economic development consultants Ray Evans and Steve Jones and a 1 percent cost-of-living pay raise for city employees.

Under the budget proposed by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, the property tax rate would stay at $2.39 per $100 of assessed value. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Watson’s budget proposes same tax rate, less funding for Chamber, ORCVB

April 24, 2013 By 5 Comments
Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The budget proposed by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson on Monday would not raise property taxes, but it would slash funding for the Chamber of Commerce, and Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The ORCVB funding could be cut from $410,000 to $300,000, Watson told City Council members during a Monday night work session. The city needs “more heads in beds,” more people staying here and more events, Watson said.

The chamber’s contract with the city is now worth about $260,000. The city could instead use $125,000 for funding of services and projects—sending city officials on recruiting trips, for example—and spend $55,000 on memberships in organizations such as the Roane Alliance and Anderson County Economic Development Association. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Guest column: ORCVB, Chamber funding should be reduced 50-100 percent, festivals outsourced

March 28, 2013 By 31 Comments

Note: This is an edited version of a letter submitted by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn at a March 25 work session.

Mr. Watson and Fellow Council Members:

At our last retreat, I proposed that we each share our specific positions regarding the Economic Diversification Fund. A successful economic development strategy must focus on both retaining and increasing business and residents with a primary goal of establishing a more competitive financial position. For Oak Ridge, that means becoming a more affordable place to live and work. With that in mind, I present my point-by-point response to Mr. Watson’s Eight Point Economic Statement:

1) I support the city manager’s proposal to eliminate this fund and distribute the costs within the general fund if that distribution includes some reduction and/or reallocation of funds to the direct benefit of our taxpayers. Of the $1.4 million we currently spend, I recommend that we attribute half toward a reduction in the property tax rate (the equivalent of 7.7 cents). Such a reduction will benefit every existing and future business and home owner. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Government, Guest Columns, Oak Ridge Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Guest column: The beginning of hopeful change in economic development

February 21, 2013 By 1 Comment

By Pat Fain and Leslie Agron

On a cool Monday evening at a recent Oak Ridge City Council work session, City Manager Mark Watson did something else. He offered the city and the Council a creative and achievable road map to changing the decades-old paradigm that is today’s Oak Ridge. He offered new exciting ideas geared to the 21st century and designed to promote both the fiscal health and the allure of the city.

The focus of the room was total, and one could almost hear the gray cells churning to take it all in. It is really fun to be present at the very beginning of hopeful change. The inertia of the city has been challenged, the status quo has been shaken, and the restlessness of the citizenry has been given a positive direction around which to coalesce.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Guest Columns Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Secret City Festival applications now available online

February 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
World War II Re-enactment

The Secret City Festival in Oak Ridge includes one of the largest World War II re-enactments in the South.

Preparations for the 11th Annual Secret City Festival are under way, and applications are now available online.

Vendors and exhibitors can visit www.SecretCityFestival.com and download an application to become involved in this year’s event, which will take place June 21-22 at A.K. Bissell Park.

Applications are available for arts and crafts, exhibitors, and food vendors.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Government, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Guest column: City needs a return on public spending on Chamber, ORCVB

January 26, 2013 By 4 Comments

By Leslie Agron and Pat Fain

This coming Monday evening, the Oak Ridge City Council and the city manager will hold a work session that has the potential to become the seminal discussion on the future growth and success of Oak Ridge. This discussion will probably begin with the question of the city contracts with the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce ($250,000) and the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau ($400,000) and, unfortunately, it may just end there. If this happens it could be another significant opportunity fumbled.

There are very legitimate reasons to question the continued expenditure of public dollars for the type and quality of results delivered by these two entities. The need for growth of revenue is real. Several years ago, without even a minimal public discussion of what kind of city we want to be in the future, the city and the Chamber entered into a series of open-ended contracts. That produced amorphous and inadequate results. The Chamber can well blame a lack of direction and vision on the city. The city can point to lots of sound and fury and fast food restaurants as being an inadequate answer to long-term financial woes and economic growth needs.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Guest Columns Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Birthday celebration postponed for city historian Bill Wilcox

January 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

A 90th birthday celebration that had been planned for Oak Ridge City Historian Bill Wilcox on Friday afternoon has been postponed due to the potential for bad weather.

“We will reschedule soon, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may create,” according to a statement from the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We want all of our party guests and our guest of honor to stay safe.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , ,

ORCVB releases heritage tour guide

December 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Oak Ridge Heritage Tour Guide

Oak Ridge Heritage Tour Guide

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau has released a new 35-page, pocket-sized printed tour guide about the Secret City. The guide contains a detailed driving tour of heritage sites within the community, along with numerous facts and historic photographs of Oak Ridge from the WWII era. The guide also includes various other information about the city’s tourism attractions and hotels.

“Oak Ridge played such a pivotal role in world affairs. People visit our Welcome Center and want to know what to see and visit. The tour guide will give them a better understanding of the historic WWII sites within our city and an introduction to our attractions and hotels that they can take with them,” said Katy Brown, ORCVB president. “We are very excited to provide this guide for our visitors.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
Next Page»