Tom Beehan Archives - Page 3 of 9

Gooch elected mayor, Smith mayor pro tem

Posted at 8:50 pm November 24, 2014
By John Huotari 1 Comment

The new Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above. From right they are new member Kelly Callison, continuing member Charlie Hensley, new members Rick Chinn and Warren Gooch, continuing members Chuck Hope and Trina Baughn, and new member Ellen Smith. Council members are elected in staggered terms, so Baughn, Hensley, and Hope won’t be up for election until 2016. Callison, Chinn, Gooch, and Smith won their seats in the November 4 municipal election.

Note: This story was last updated at 9 a.m. Nov. 25.

New Oak Ridge City Council member Warren Gooch has been appointed mayor, and returning City Council member Ellen Smith has been elected mayor pro tem.

The two were appointed to serve two-year terms by the seven-member Oak Ridge City Council during a Monday night meeting, the first after the November 4 municipal election.

It’s the first elected office for Gooch, a lawyer, although he previously ran for Anderson County mayor in August 2012. Gooch was the top vote-getter in the November 4 municipal election, and he is the city’s 10th mayor, according to City Council member Chuck Hope, who also sought to be mayor.

“I do think our best days are ahead of us,” Gooch said after two members switched votes and cast ballots for him, breaking an impasse that had lasted through five rounds of voting. “Great things happen here every day, and they have for 70 years.” [Read more…]

Four City Council members say they’d like to be mayor

Posted at 12:31 pm November 18, 2014
By John Huotari 4 Comments

Note: This story was updated at 3:03 p.m.

Four members of the new Oak Ridge City Council that starts Monday have announced that they would like to be mayor. One would like to also be considered for mayor pro tem.

The seven-member City Council, which has four new members, will appoint a mayor and mayor pro tem during its Monday night meeting. The City Council picks two of its members to serve as mayor and mayor pro tem after each municipal election every two years.

In letters to Council, current member Chuck Hope said he is interested in serving as mayor and so did City Council members-elect Rick Chinn and Warren Gooch.

Former City Council member Ellen Smith, who regained a seat in the November 4 election after an election loss two years ago, said she would like to be considered for mayor or mayor pro tem. Under the City Charter, the mayor pro tem presides at meetings when the mayor is absent or temporarily disabled. [Read more…]

City Council winners: Gooch, Chinn, Callison, and Smith

Posted at 11:58 pm November 4, 2014
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Five Oak Ridge City Council Candidate 2014

Three of the four candidates elected to the Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday are pictured above during a September forum. Warren Gooch, second from left, was the top vote-getter, finishing ahead of Rick Chinn, second from right, and Kelly Callison, right. Incumbent Anne Garcia Garland, center, was not re-elected. Candidate Gary Love is also pictured.

Note: This story was updated at 1:28 a.m. Nov. 5.

Three newcomers and a former member were elected to the Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday. The winners were Warren Gooch, Rick Chinn, Kelly Callison, and Ellen Smith.

There were four seats available, and two incumbents—Anne Garcia Garland and David Mosby—were unseated. Two other incumbents—Mayor Tom Beehan and Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller—did not seek re-election, meaning a majority of the seven-member body will be new.

“It’s clearly a transitional election,” said Gooch, a lawyer and the top vote-getter. [Read more…]

2014 Election: Interest in mayor position, mall redevelopment, better ties with BOE

Posted at 1:06 am November 3, 2014
By John Huotari 7 Comments

Nine of the 10 Oak Ridge City Council candidates are pictured above. From right, they are Kelly Callison, Rick Chinn, incumbent Anne Garcia Garland, Warren Gooch, Gary Love, incumbent David Mosby, Pedro Otaduy, former Council member Ellen Smith, and Eric Tobler. Not pictured is Aditya “Doc” Savara.

A majority of the Oak Ridge City Council candidates said they would consider running for mayor or vice mayor if elected on Tuesday, and almost all supported the incentives recommended for the proposed redevelopers of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The candidates were mixed on whether to bring back red-light cameras, and most seemed to think the city’s property tax rate is about right, in light of current budget needs.

Asked to grade the current Council as leaders, the candidates handed out grades ranging from “A” to “F.”

In a series of recent forums, the candidates generally advocated for better communication between the City Council and Oak Ridge Board of Education and, for the most part, seemed to be in favor of taking over Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge, although their approvals would hinge on factors such as cost and property restrictions.

There are 10 candidates running for four seats on the seven-member Council in Tuesday’s election. Two of the incumbents—Anne Garcia Garland and David Mosby—are seeking re-election—and two others—Mayor Tom Beehan and Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller—are not.

Many consider it a critical election, with a business boom under way and major projects on the horizon, including the proposed redevelopment of the mall and the planned $6.5 billion Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex.

The new Council is expected to elect a new mayor and mayor pro tem (like a vice mayor) during its next meeting after Tuesday’s election.

Here is a look at some of what the candidates said during the recent forums. [Read more…]

Mall project clears critical hurdle Monday

Posted at 3:03 pm September 30, 2014
By John Huotari 13 Comments

Tim Sittema

Council, IDB approve TIF extension, grant, roadway work

The proposed redevelopment of the Oak Ridge mall cleared a critical hurdle on Monday when city officials agreed to extend a property tax agreement for the 59-acre project, authorize $2 million in roadway and other infrastructure work, and offer a $500,000 grant if some federal funding is not approved.

Officials described the proposed redevelopment, named Main Street Oak Ridge, as an $80 million project that could fill a “hole in the heart” of Oak Ridge, bring new retail life to the city’s downtown, and build a lasting legacy.

Monday’s moves were meant to reduce the risk for four local lenders that could combine to offer $13 million in loans to part of the redevelopment under a tax increment financing, or TIF, agreement. That incentive would use new property tax revenues generated at the mall site and 120 surrounding acres included in the TIF area to repay those loans. Officials said the loans could be repaid in 18 years, according to financial models.

David Bradshaw

But in two separate special meetings on Monday, the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and Oak Ridge City Council agreed to extend the TIF term from 20 years to 30. That extra 10 years is meant to act as a “shock absorber” and help make sure that the banks are repaid if there is a “glitch” in the project that would push the repayment past the previously approved 20-year term, officials said.

“This is not a ‘home run’ project for us as financial institutions,” said David R. Bradshaw, Oak Ridge president of CapitalMark Bank and Trust, one of the financial institutions that could participate. But, he added, “It is the right thing to do for the community.” [Read more…]

Video: Mayor, school officials accept ice bucket challenge

Posted at 11:56 am August 25, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Jefferson Middle School

Oak Ridge municipal and school officials accepted the ALS ice bucket challenge after cross country practice at Jefferson Middle School on Friday.

Those who accepted the challenge included Cross Country Coach Steve Reddick, Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers, Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak, JMS Principal Phil Cox, Vice Principal Mike Haygood, and Oak Ridge Schools teachers John Smith, Jacqueline Whitaker, Chris Layton, and Scott Linn.

The ice buckets were administered by “several lucky team members” of the cross country squad, the JMS PTO said.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (known as ALS and Lou Gehrig’s Disease) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. For more information, please see the ALS Association website.

Here is a video by Heather Hartman, JMS PTO president: [Read more…]

Mayor, superintendent, others participating in JMS ice bucket challenge

Posted at 7:32 pm August 21, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge on Wednesday afternoon. He then challenged Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Director Paul Alivisatos, and Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan to do the same. Afterward, Mason said the experience was “bracing.” (Photos by Carlos Jones)

ORNL Director Mason took the challenge Wednesday

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers are participating in an ice bucket challenge at Jefferson Middle School on Friday.

Members of the JMS cross country team will administer the ice buckets.

“You are no doubt aware of the social media-fed phenomenon sweeping the nation in the past couple of weeks: the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge,” coach and JMS teacher Steve Reddick said. “As of today, the challenge has raised $41 million. Many of us have received challenges from friends and foes alike, and we’ve decided to stage a Mega-Ice Bucket Challenge at 4:15 p.m. after cross country practice tomorrow (Friday).” [Read more…]

Nineteen candidates for Oak Ridge City Council, School Board

Posted at 12:33 pm August 21, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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

Ten candidates have qualified to run for Oak Ridge City Council in the November 4 municipal election, and there are nine candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education—a total of 19 candidates.

It’s the largest field of candidates in recent memory, and it’s not immediately clear when, or if, there has been a field as large.

The deadline to qualify as a candidate in this fall’s municipal elections in Anderson County was noon Thursday.

There is a mix of incumbents and newcomers in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Rocky Top (Lake City), Norris, and Oliver Springs.

Oak Ridge

In Oak Ridge, two incumbents, including Mayor Tom Beehan and Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller, are not seeking re-election. Meanwhile, the other two incumbents whose terms expire this November, Anne Garcia Garland and David Mosby, are running for another four-year term.

In addition to Garcia Garland and Mosby, the other Oak Ridge City Council candidates are:

Kelly Callison,
R.G. “Rick” Chinn,
Warren L. Gooch,
Gary L. Love,
Pedro J. Otaduy,
Aditya “Doc” Savara,
Ellen D. Smith, and
Eric Tobler.

[Read more…]

Mayor Beehan won’t seek re-election to City Council

Posted at 1:44 pm August 20, 2014
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, left, is pictured above earlier this month with Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade at Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab and Kitchen. Beehan will not seek re-election to Oak Ridge City Council in November.

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, who has served on the City Council since 2001, will not seek re-election in November.

Beehan said he has been considering whether to run “for some time,” and he announced his decision to not seek re-election on Wednesday. Before making the decision, Beehan said, he wanted to be sure that quality candidates with a vision for the city’s future were ready to run.

“It’s clear that there are candidates who have the vision and ability to serve the community on City Council,” Beehan said in a press release. “I have enjoyed serving Oak Ridge as mayor and as a City Council member, but I think it is time for new leadership to take a fresh look at moving Oak Ridge forward.”

Beehan said he has spent 20 years as an elected official in local government in Oak Ridge and in Covington, Kentucky—before his family moved to Oak Ridge.

“I consider this a retirement from public service as an elected official, but I plan to continue to be engaged in community activities,” Beehan said. [Read more…]

Thursday deadline to qualify for municipal elections across Anderson County

Posted at 1:59 pm August 15, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Thursday is the deadline to qualify for municipal elections across Anderson County, and so far, there appears to be a mix of incumbents and newcomers in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Rocky Top (Lake City), Norris, and Oliver Springs.

Eleven people, including the four incumbents, have expressed an interest in running for four seats on Oak Ridge City Council in November, and seven candidates have qualified so far.

Meanwhile, three people, including one incumbent, have qualified to run for three seats on the Oak Ridge Board of Education. A total of nine potential candidates, including the three who have qualified, have picked up petitions to run for Oak Ridge school board.

The November 4 election is the last in a series of three elections this year. The deadline to qualify is noon Thursday, August 21. A candidate needs 25 verified signatures on a nomination petition to qualify.

Those who have qualified to run for Oak Ridge City Council are: [Read more…]

Community considers future of AMSE as Congress debates Manhattan Project park

Posted at 5:09 pm July 25, 2014
By Sara Wise Leave a Comment

During Thursday’s community meeting at AMSE, David Moore, left, said a few words about his background after being introduced by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, right. (Photos by Sara Wise)

The American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation teamed up with the City of Oak Ridge on Thursday to host the first of four community meetings meant to allow the community to have some input into the future of the museum, and how it might fit into the proposed Manhattan Project National Historical Park.

The first meeting was at the museum on Thursday night. It began with presentations that focused on providing information to help audience members make informed suggestions about the museum.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Communication Director David Keim was among those who made presentations. He said that the museum attracted 71,500 visitors in 2013 and received $1.6 million in federal funding.

Keim explained why AMSE’s contract with Enterprise Advisory Services Inc. was allowed to run out June 30. [Read more…]

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