by David Stanley
Our city urgently needs to market Oak Ridge to the local U.S. Department of Energy workforce. That workforce brings a billion dollar payroll into East Tennessee each year. Unfortunately, the Oak Ridge economy sees very little of this money.
Over the last two decades, the erosion of DOE residency has cost the City of Oak Ridge a great deal of payroll. The problem looks even worse when one considers the concurrent payroll increase of our city’s competition. For example, over those two decades the gap between the annual Oak Ridge and Knox County DOE payrolls grew by $130 million dollars. That’s just the growth in the gap. The total gap in DOE payroll between Oak Ridge and Knox County is now approximately $270 million dollars per year.
No wonder Turkey Creek and so many new housing developments have gone over there. That’s where the DOE payroll went!
The situation becomes even more intriguing when one considers that the Anderson and Knox County payrolls were much closer two decades ago. In 1993, the gap in DOE payroll between the two counties was only $68 million per year. Now that gap has nearly tripled, to $200 million per year.
Today, new DOE workers enter a workforce where 84 percent of their co-workers do not live in Oak Ridge. The main picture these new workers get of our city comes from the competition. Most do not even talk to an Oak Ridge realtor before making a housing decision. They simply go elsewhere to live—mainly Farragut.
The DOE numbers show that it would take only a 5.5 percent residency increase to boost the Oak Ridge economy by $60 million dollars per year or $300 million over a five-year period. That would provide valuable new revenue to finance our schools and maintain our wonderful Oak Ridge city experience.
Oak Ridge has an important competitive advantage, since the city is located right next to the DOE plants. Our top-flight schools, beautiful parks and greenways, and rich cultural activities make this a wonderful place for families.
In addition, the recession, high cost of gasoline, and the congestion on the Pellisippi Parkway make Oak Ridge a more desirable place to live.
Anderson County has made this issue a priority. The Oak Ridge City Council should do likewise. They need a fresh approach. Now is the time to sell Oak Ridge.
David Stanley is an Oak Ridge surgeon and candidate for the Oak Ridge City Council.
Paul says
This guest column piece makes an important point about what we need to do. Now lets talk about HOW to do it. We need to rethink what would make our community attractive to the young individuals and families who come to work here. The National Association of Realtors is one organization that does repeated surveys on what homeowners and residences want. (http://www.realtor.org/reports/2011-community-preference-survey). It is clear that attractive communities must be safe, clean, and have good schools. But premier communities, those that are magnets for young people, are “livable”: with mixed developments within walking range of shops, restaurants and social amenities, and places to meet. They have an attractive downtown that is dedicated to pedestrians, bikers, and shoppers rather than automobiles.
Amazingly, these same livability/walkability attributes are what could make Oak Ridge a mecca for retirees. We have largely followed the old suburban/small city model with sprawling parking lots at malls and strip-malls filled with (or in our case devoid of) cars, and many new neighborhoods built without even sidewalks. We are making some progress on downtown sidewalks. Our new goal could be making the entire city-center from the Civic Center, through “downtown” (!) to Jackson Square a strolling paradise, connected to adjacent neighborhoods by feeder paths. We need to slow traffic down on the turnpike and adjacent arterial streets rather than speed it up which just helps the traffic race through to Turkey Creek and other destinations. We want people passing through to slow down and say, “Hey, this looks pretty pleasant. Let’s stop and look around.” Right now pedestrian and bicyclists must truly risk their lives just to cross the Turnpike or Illinois avenue. There is much to do. But we may look forward to a day when revitalized center-city housing like Woodland and around Jackson square becomes the most desirable in the city, because it offers a whole new lifestyle wth ready access to downtown parks, theaters, shops and restaurants. We have a long way to go, but this direction makes sense for social, economic, environmental, and even health reasons. But recent history suggests the alternative is slow decline while other communities flourish. Thank you.
Skirnir Hamilton says
I will say for my family who just moved to Oak Ridge in November 2012, the lack of walking and biking areas was a big part of why we had a hard time finding a place to live. WE wound up moving to the Emory Valley Road area where we have the bike trail and such, but much of the city, even when it has sidewalk is rather crappy sidewalk. Almost like the city is afraid to spend any money.
Of course, we also had a number of other things that made us almost not move to Oak Ridge.
1. Real estate agent who only wanted to show us Turkey Creek or Knoxville.
2. School system that thinks that anyone who transfers in should get down on their knees and thank the gods that they can go to a school such as Oak Ridge.
If we hadn’t been told so many times how good the school system is, we probably would not have insisted on Oak Ridge. And, so far, we are not praising the school system.
Sam Hopwood says
Oh my gosh… You are being critical of Oak Ridge’s Sacred Cow…. God’ll gitcha for that… 🙂
Sidebar to Mike and Angi: The devil made me post this, but I will try to do better!! 🙂
David A. Vudragovich says
If you do not mind, was your agent an Oak Ridge agent, Anderson County based or from Knox county? And did someone direct them to you or did you just pick them?
I ask because I am familiar with many HR people from the Lab/Plant and at the local HR meetings they seem happy to refer an Oak Ridge agent.
Thanks
Skirnir Hamilton says
We were referred to an agent by the relocation company that the lab hires. The agent was based in Farragut I believe. He didn’t seem overly willing to help us or know Oak Ridge very well.
Peter Scheffler says
Welcome to Oak Ridge! I’m interested in knowing where you would have moved if you hadn’t picked Oak Ridge.
Skirnir Hamilton says
We had put down an offer on a house in Turkey Creek, but after talking to the school about transferring in mid year, and a home owner who wanted more than we wanted to offer, it fell through. Loved the bikeability of where the home was in Turkey Creek and walking. Was a nice home, asking for too much though. And the schools weren’t any more welcoming than Oak Ridge school district was/is.
Peter Scheffler says
Thanks for the nice comment! The actions you support would go a long way toward making us really deserve the platinum sustainability rating we recently got from the consultants. Another good source of ideas is a new book I’m reading, Walkable City–How Downtown Can Save America, One Step At A Time, by Jeff Speck. Unfortunately, Books-a-Million doesn’t have it in stock, but if you aren’t in a hurry, you can order it instead of ordering from Amazon or going to Knoxville. Of course, it still won’t be a pleasant walk to the store.
Oak Ridgers promoting our community, let’s try to be more civil to those sharing their reasons why they prefer living elsewhere. How we relate to potential new residents can be more important than how much money they save or spend.
johnhuotari says
Paul,
Thank you for your comments.
I think there are people who are interested in improving conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians in Oak Ridge, and I wondered if you might be interested in working with them. I wanted to let you know that, given your interest, there could be an opportunity to serve on a city board or commission that deals with some of these issues, possibly including the Planning Commission, Traffic Safety Advisory Board, or Recreation and Parks Advisory Board. You can find more information here: http://www.oakridgetn.gov/department/CityClerk/Boards-%26-Commissions/Vacancies
The city does have a bicycle and pedestrian plan and has improved some sidewalks and intersections using red light camera money and is working on improving others. (For example, see this story: http://oakridgetoday.com/2013/08/28/council-approves-pedestrian-safety-projects-chamber-contract/).
I have lived in Boulder and Denver, Colorado, and they both have areas that are very friendly for bikers and walkers. In Boulder, I used my bike at least as often or probably more often than my car. It was easy to get around on bike paths, and there were bike racks everywhere. As I recall, certain shopping districts in Denver use measures like short sections of brick-paved roads to slow down traffic and make the area more walkable. And, as I recall, those areas were always bustling with restaurant and retail business.
John
Skirnir Hamilton says
I did look over a bit of the pedestrian/bike plan a few months ago and was glad to see that some improvements were being made, as I do read the articles here all the time, trying to get to know my new community. I could see myself getting involved in a local biking/walking committee of some sort, but other than being a walker/biker, don’t really have qualifications.
KTen says
As a new resident to Oak Ridge, I think one of the things that is missing is great architecture. The strip mall vibe is not welcoming. How about embrace a 50’s vibe…something, anything. Locally owned shops, restaurants, identity is needed…in my opinion.
Dave Smith says
I “voted up” your comment because you are spot on.
For too long there has been a blatant disregard for public art and quality architecture in Oak Ridge. And I could really get going on the indifference to curb appeal in many Oak Ridge neighborhoods. And I mean “curb” appeal. There are many streets where yard and tree debris has piled up along the curb to the extent that there is a thicket of weeds growing along the edge of the street.
Joshua Hamilton says
Maybe if the housing wasn’t so over appraised for taxing, we might get more buyers in our area. I got my house for 80k, worth about 95k, tax apprases at 137k. Couldn’t hope to get that for my house if it was plated in gold :p
Harold says
The city has nothing to do with property tax appraisals.
chip says
My realtor also advised us not to purchase in Oak Ridge and we ended up purchasing in Hardin Valley. Oak Ridge has higher taxes, drugs/crime, the schools are not that great, and they have those red light speed cameras. A couple of my coworkers boycott Oak Ridge just because of the speed traps.
Dave Smith says
chip, are you and your coworkers giving thought to quitting your jobs in OR? There must be plenty of good jobs to chose from there in HV, where there is no crime, the speed limits are unenforced, and you get same-day response from the Karns Volunteer Fire Department.
Oh, and one more thing, I’d think twice about taking any information at face value from a real estate agent. As a group, real estate agents have a reputation for honesty and integrity that lies somewhere between that of building contractors and labor union leaders.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/112264/Nurses-Shine-While-Bankers-Slump-Ethics-Ratings.aspx
David A. Vudragovich says
On a poking fun note, you know those cameras only catch people who are breaking the law or committing the crime of speeding, right?
On a serious note, John Huotari, I thought the crime rate was going down over the last two years. Am I mistaken? Do you have any current information?
Dave Smith says
David, a couple of years ago the Memphis Commercial-Appeal newspaper put online the database of handgun carry permit (HCP) holders in Tennessee. For the fun of it I used the database to ascertain the number of HCP holders by zip code for cities in the Knoxville metropolitan area. Much to my surprise I discovered that the Farragut zip code appeared to have one of the highest numbers of HCP holders per capita among the cities surrounding Knoxville. I was not surprised to find that Oak Ridge had the lowest number of HCP holders per capita. Despite the rhetoric of some about the “crime” in Oak Ridge it has been my observation during nearly 30 years here that most Oak Ridgers are not the least concerned about being robbed or attacked while going about their daily activities in Oak Ridge. I think that Farragut is probably an equally safe town but perhaps perception belies reality. To wit, a few months ago a Farragut councilman proposed that their town should require all its citizens to own a handgun!
I know this comment might seem to be off-topic, but I think it does pertain to the general discussion of “selling Oak Ridge.”
David A. Vudragovich says
Thanks Dave. It is amazing what is online and I never thought about using that in making a decision on where I would live but I am sure it makes a difference to some people.
TJ Garland says
Maybe there is more crime here because the bad guys knownthat Oak Ridgers are not armed.
Harold Clark says
Except for the fact that there isn’t significantly more crime in OR.
johnhuotari says
Dave,
Yes, there has been a reported drop in crime in both Oak Ridge and Anderson County during the past two years.
Here’s a link to a story on the drop in crime in Oak Ridge: http://oakridgetoday.com/2013/05/02/proactive-policing-officer-visibility-neighborhood-watch-help-reduce-crime-chief-says/
Here’s a link to a story on the drop in crime in Anderson County: http://oakridgetoday.com/2013/05/15/crime-down-25-percent-in-anderson-county-in-two-years-sheriff-says/
Thank you,
John
Andrew says
The utility rates are driving my family and I out of Oak Ridge. We are currently saving to buy a home. I work at ORNL. The rapid increase in utility rates has pretty much pushed any thought of living here out of my mind. I was born and raised here, but its time to go. The only new things built in Oak ridge are eateries. We have enough of them. The schools are ok, but definitely not worth staying.
Harold says
Ignorance is bliss, isn’t it. You maybe should look up the KUB water and sewer rates before you make such “factual” statements. As to what is being built in Oak Ridge, I guess you’ve missed the new Weigel’s, Aldi, Holiday Inn, Hibbett’s Sports, and that big hole in the ground at the Turnpike and Illinois. The messages from both Andrew and Chip sound like sock puppet messages from one of our resident OR haters.
Joshua Hamilton says
its not the electric, its the sewer. For what i’ll spend on sewer rates from now to 2019, i could have paid to have a septic system installed. 5 acres in Powell taxed at $550 a year. My 3/4 acre here is $1700 a year. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up here, born and raised, and have lived elsewhere. I really love it here, but at the same time, I can see how this town has declined in the past 15 years, and I really hope we can turn this place around. If I didn’t have good faith in Oak Ridge, I wouldn’t have bought here. I can tell you for a fact rent for a pretty nice house is way cheaper in Chattanooga than here. Same amount of rent here gets you on highland ave.
Harold says
Maybe you should check the rest of the costs that go with living in Powell, like higher insurance rates, your fire subscription, if you can even get one, the response time from the sheriff,etc. If you don’t want to live here, then by all means feel free to leave. I doubt anyone will stop you. As to the rent in Chattanooga, good luck with the commute.
Andrew says
Harold, you should actually go check. KUB charges 1.1 cent less per kilowatt hour.
Harold says
Oh, wow, even if true, that’s all of about $!0+ a month. You’ll spend that in just a few days to pay for gas if you live in Knoxville and work in Oak Ridge. But the recent increase in “utilities” has been in water and sewer rates, not electric.
David A. Vudragovich says
Referencing the Mall article from the other day, do we only want employees from Y12 and ORNL?
Don’t we want/prefer the people who will work at the mall to live in O.R. instead of commuting? (we have lots of rentals and houses more in that pay range. New housing takes time, money and risk. Let’s use our current assets)
Look at Eagle Bend Industrial Park. From my involvement with the Anderson Chamber I have met some people who say that a majority of the employees live in Lake City.
They commute 30+/- miles one way. $3.25+/- a gallon each way (let’s call it $6.00 round trip to keep it easy on the math). $30 a week, $120ish a month.
I am told the price of living is not that different in Lake City as opposed to parts of East Anderson county. BUT the people already live there.
So the question is how do you (or someone) entice those employees to move? Leave their friends, their school district, outlay the money upfront closer to an established job (yes I am making assumptions but follow me).
All they have to do is rent the Uhaul and pay for gas…I am sure you can do it for less than $500…ignoring first and last month rent (paid up front before you get your money from your prior land lord) utility deposit, etc.
But if you make the change, your financial break even is less than 5 months.
If they cut their drive time in half, they can have over an extra 100 hours a year to spend with family, yard work etc. on top of the gas savings and less wear and tear on their vehicle!
I think Oak Ridge needs to focus on how do you get people who commute here to move here given our current housing? (I am in favor of low hanging fruit and think Oak Ridge is not in a position to chase the bigger fish right now, my opinion)
johnhuotari says
I want to welcome the new commenters. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today and participating in the discussion.
I also want to remind you and/or let you know that we ask those who comment here to use their real names, including last name (I have updated guideline No. 1 in the Comment Policy above to include last name).
I apologize for the delayed response, but I’ve been out of town the past few days and unable to moderate comments as closely as I normally would. Thank you for your comments, as well as your understanding and patience.
John
Jeff Ryman says
My family lived in Oak Ridge for 22 years when I worked at ORNL. We never even considered living anywhere else because we liked the green areas and walking trails, the sense of history from the Manhattan Project, and the pace of life there. Former co-workers originally from out of state who lived elsewhere (e.g., Farragut) complained about the tax rates in Oak Ridge but I’m not sure they really saved money in those days when commuting costs were considered. Others who lived in Kingston, Clinton, Harriman, etc. tended to have grown up there or have a spouse who grew up there.
Sitting on the outside looking in (and considering a return for retirement because we still like Oak Ridge) I see two major issues both for us and for new employees moving to the area. The infrastructure, particularly water and sewer, was neglected for so long that the cost to fix it in a timely manner is hitting people hard. There is still not much selection in retail shops. If the Kroger Marketplace and the Woodland build are successful, and finally, if the latest attempt at renovating downtown happens (don’t hold your breath), it might improve to the level it was 20 years ago. However, that may still leave a number of empty locations. This will be the fourth location for Kroger that I can personally remember. I will say that the available choice of places to eat has greatly improved since 1978.
Those who want to live in or near Oak Ridge will have to carefully evaluate the costs of living within the city versus living in the county and paying extra for fire protection, insurance, library fees, school tuition (if you want your kids in Oak Ridge), etc.
I wish the city well, but I’m not completely optimistic at this point that new employees can be attracted.
JoAnn says
When our family was about to be relocated here in 1994, we could not even get a realtor to call us back. It was very frustrating; however, we did arrive and eventually bought property in Anderson County, where yes, the taxes are much less than the city’s. When the people continue to tell you that property taxes are the highest in the area, with city plus county, please listen. How can you expect to attract permanent residents to Oak Ridge when it seems that you aren’t being realistic about costs to own property there.
Sam Hopwood says
If Dr. Stanley’s figures are correct, you are in the 84% who work in Oak Ridge and perceive that there are more advantages to living in the surrounding areas than in Oak Ridge. That is a bitter pill for some in Oak Ridge to swallow, but the truth hurts sometimes. Many city and school employees also work here and live elsewhere.
Thank you for your comments.
Harold Clark says
So since you seem so unhappy in OR, why aren’t you “taking advantage of living in the surrounding area”?
Sam Hopwood says
Somehow I knew you or Dave would be the first to reply…. 🙂 I am happy as all getout to live in OR. My little abode has been paid for for years so my budget allows me to pay OR’s taxes and excessive utility charges without too much trouble. But Harold, that’s not true for the 84% who work here and live in the surrounding areas. I realize that is tough to swallow but so be it. BTW I will be leaving on an extended holiday in MauiI, my favorite place in the whole wide world so I will not be giving you heartburn again untill 2014.
Be nice to Santa this year……. 🙂
Harold Clark says
You say that you are happy, but you sure don’t act like it. Maybe you should try harder to not be so negative about the place where you are so happy to live.
Levi D. Smith says
The biggest problem I currently have with Oak Ridge (aside from the speed cams) is people dumping their junk cars in front of my house. Currently, there’s two there which are tagged in Mogan and Knox County. It would be nice if the city just got rid of on street parking, unless the owner of the property in front of the road requests it.