Council OKs parking changes, defers water rate increases

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday approved parking ordinance changes that prohibit parking on curbs and sidewalks, among other things, and members also postponed a vote on potentially significant increases in water and sewer rates.

The Council also voted 6-0 to approve $217,000 worth of projects—including additional sidewalks alongside busy roads—that are designed to make Oak Ridge safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. The seven projects will be funded with money collected from citations issued by four local red-light and traffic camera systems.

Council postponed a decision on the water and sewer rate increases until a special meeting tentatively scheduled for April 16. The total monthly water and sewer rate increases could range from 28 percent to 35 percent, depending upon a variety of factors, including the number of total gallons used.

There would be a minimum monthly increase of $7 for the first 2,000 gallons of water and sewer, but the increases could be much larger for bigger customers.

The first phase of the rate increases would go into effect May 1, and the rates would rise again in 2013.

The city staff said the rate increases are necessary in order to maintain adequate cash reserves and also pay for maintenance and capital improvement projects, including those required by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order that requires Oak Ridge to repair all sewer system overflows by 2015. Sewer system repairs will require more than $18 million in borrowed money during the next four years, and fixes to the city’s water system will require an additional $16 million, Oak Ridge Finance Director Janice E. McGinnis wrote in a memo to City Manager Mark S. Watson.

The traffic safety improvements approved by Council on Monday include additional sidewalks, stop bars, and crosswalk pavement markings on Jefferson Avenue, Rutgers Avenue at Manhattan Avenue, and five locations along South Illinois Avenue, including the busy intersection with Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The parking ordinance prohibits vehicles and objects placed inside of them from protruding outside of marked parking spaces, and it clarifies that vehicles must be parked in the same direction as the traffic flow.