Council to consider Preschool paint, special events task force

 

The Oak Ridge City Council tonight will consider using $150,000 in red-light camera money to repair the lead-based paint on the city’s Preschool, providing what officials hope will be a temporary fix while they develop a plan to permanently repair, replace, or move the Preschool.

Officials say the building needs to be renovated or vacated for the Head Start program to receive federal funding in the 2015-2016 school year. They are hopeful that their plan to fix the lead-based paint on the decades-old home of the Preschool on New York Avenue by August 3 will satisfy federal officials. A remediation plan could be submitted to federal officials and Anderson County education officials by March 4.

On January 26, the Oak Ridge Board of Education recommended a few first steps that could have children in a new building next year. In addition to asking the city to repair the lead-based paint, the BOE unanimously recommended a new committee be formed to help lay the groundwork for moving into a new preschool by the 2016-2017 school year.

The Oak Ridge Schools Preschool and Robert J. Smallridge School Administration Building is owned by the city, and the municipal staff would lead the repair project.

The Preschool is used by about 200 students, including those in the Head Start program.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told City Council members that an inspection last year by the health and safety manager of Anderson County Head Start found flaking lead-based paint on the building’s exterior.

The U.S. government has prohibited the production and use of lead-based paint since the late 1970s. But existing lead-based paint that remains on buildings may be sealed or removed, particularly on public buildings or buildings that are recipients of federal funds, such as Head Start, Watson said.

He said there were no findings inside the building, so it’s only the exterior that needs to be addressed under the inspection. Fixing the lead-based paint before the 2015-2016 school year would be done in compliance with the guidelines and procedures of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Watson said.

In a related resolution tonight, the City Council will consider showing that it intends to support the development of replacement options and solutions for the Preschool and SAB.

Several options have been considered, including repairing the current building, constructing a new facility, leasing a new home for the preschool (or using a lease-purchase option), and splitting up the Preschool among the city’s elementary schools. The last option has been largely ruled out.

Officials say the 70-year-old Preschool and SAB Building, built as a temporary structure during World War II and once known as Pine Valley School, has about reached the end of its useful life.

“It meets standards, but is faced with predicted upgrades and maintenance costs in the foreseeable future,” Watson said in a memo to Council. “It has also been discussed for over 10 years now with the Oak Ridge Capital Improvements Program, an annual requirement of the Planning Commission and the Council.”

Bob Eby, who is now BOE vice chair and had served earlier on the School Board, said the discussion stretches back to at least the mid-1980s.

The second resolution to be considered by City Council tonight could endorse the BOE recommendation. In addition to what’s already been mentioned, that proposal would consider buying the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce building for school administration offices and remodel the G Building at Oak Ridge High School.

Watson outlined what he thinks the goals of the joint city/schools committee should be, and he suggested including certain staff members as well as a City Council member.

Anderson County officials apply for Head Start funding on behalf of Oak Ridge. That funding amounts to about $600,000 per year, or roughly 40 percent of the Preschool budget.

In other business tonight (Monday, February 9), the City Council will consider creating a Special Events Advisory Task Force. That new group would make recommendations to the City Council on planning, funding, and executing all special events managed, supported, or sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge.

“As demand increases for more local entertainment and health activities in the city, increasing demands are being made upon the finite Recreation and Parks and Public Works departmental resources,” Watson told Council.

The task force could include one member appointed by each City Council members along with ex officio representation from the American Museum of Science and Energy, Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Recreation and Parks Advisory Board. Staff support would be provided through Recreation and Parks Department Director Jon Hetrick.

Watson has proposed that the task force meet at least once a month for six month starting in February 2015 and produce a written report to City Council in August 2015. The report could be finalized in September, and the task force could be dissolved once the final report is received, Watson said.

Tonight’s Oak Ridge City Council meeting starts at 7 p.m. See the agenda here.