The Oak Ridge City Council will appoint a mayor and vice mayor on Monday, one month after the Nov. 6 election.
Council will also consider hiring a full-time veterinarian at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter and approving a pair of $17,000 demolition contracts for two city-owned homes.
The current mayor, Tom Beehan, and vice mayor, Jane Miller, have both asked to be appointed to a third two-year term. In Oak Ridge, the mayor and vice mayor—officially called mayor pro tem—are also council members, and they are appointed after each municipal election.
There has been some public opposition to re-appointing Beehan as mayor. It has been led by new Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn.
But it’s not yet clear what a majority of the other council members think of Baughn’s request for the mayor to drop his mayoral bid and consider resigning from council altogether.
No other council members have publicly announced an interest in becoming mayor or vice mayor.
At the animal shelter, the Oak Ridge Police Department has recommended hiring Matt Jinks to work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday each week, examining animals, spaying and neutering those that are adopted, and administering rabies vaccinations, among other things. Jinks would also train the city’s animal control employees on animal care and health, order medical supplies, and help the shelter get a clinic license, Oak Ridge Police Chief James T. Akagi said in a memo to City Manager Mark S. Watson.
Jinks would be paid $2,500 per month and receive extra compensation of $45 for each adopted animal that is spayed or neutered. His contract would end June 30, 2013, but it could include five one-year renewal options.
The demolition contracts could be awarded to First Place Finish Inc. of Oak Ridge and apply to two city-owned homes, one at 112-114 Wade Lane and the other at 214 Waltham Place. The total value of the two contracts is $34,781.
The city purchased the Wade Lane home in June through the Housing and Urban Development’s Economic Development Initiative Voluntary Acquisition Program.
“In accordance to federal funding regulations, abatement and demolition is required because the estimated cost of repair exceeds 50 percent of the structure’s appraised value,” Oak Ridge Housing Specialist Matthew W. Widner wrote in a Nov. 26 memo. “All associated costs of this project are eligible for federal reimbursement.”
Oak Ridge purchased the Waltham Place home in May “through the use of the diversified Highland View Housing Fund by the Voluntary Acquisition Program.” The Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals declared this dwelling unfit for human occupation and use and ordered it demolished, Widner said.
Monday’s City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.
See the agenda here.
See the Dec. 10 meeting notice on our events calendar if you need directions.
