Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Land Bank hosting neighborhood strategy work session

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Partnership Strategy Agenda Flyer Nov. 6, 2015

The Oak Ridge Land Bank Corporation is hosting a strategy work session November 6 to focus on partnerships and “collaborative efforts to improve and promote our Oak Ridge neighborhoods,” a press release said. The work session is from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday, November 6, at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

Agenda items include demonstrated successes, a small group exercise, and a group discussion.

For reservations, contact Alicia Bailey at the City of Oak Ridge at (865) 425-3531 or by email at abailey@oakridgetn.gov by Wednesday, November 4.

Watson to discuss State of the City on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will give his perspective on issues facing the city at the next Lunch with the League on Tuesday, November 3. The program will be held at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, Lunch with the League is open to the public. There is no cost to attend, and reservations are not needed. Box lunches will be available starting at 11:30 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis for $8, or you may bring your own. Coffee and tea are provided.

In August 2010, Watson was selected as the city manager of Oak Ridge after a 30-year career in local government. Prior to coming to Oak Ridge, he served as city manager of six cities in Texas, Montana, and Arizona. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration, a press release said. [Read more…]

Haw Ridge Park, greenways to be closed during TWRA hunts

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City of Oak Ridge SealHaw Ridge Park and the North Boundary and Gallaher Bend greenways will be closed for hunts in the Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area on several dates starting this weekend, the City of Oak Ridge said.  The closure on Haw Ridge includes the portion of Melton Lake Greenway through the park, from the lake to the parking lot on Edgemoor Road.

The hunts will take place on the following dates:

  • October 31-November 1
  • November 14-15
  • December 12-13

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge recruits for Secret City Festival board, Oak Ridge Corridor committee

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

By Oak Ridge City Manager Mark S. Watson

The City is Oak Ridge is currently recruiting members for a new committee and the inaugural Board of Directors for a forthcoming 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

At the September 14, 2015, City Council meeting, the City Council approved a series of resolutions based on recommendations of the Special Events Advisory Task Force to provide recommendations on planning, funding review, and execution of all special events managed or supported by the City. Based on previous City Council discussions on special events, the Special Events Advisory Task Force prioritized its focus on the Secret City Festival, an award-winning, two-day summer event that has been hosted in the City of Oak Ridge for nearly 14 years. The purpose of the nonprofit that is to be established is to assume the responsibility of implementing changes to the Secret City Festival/Celebration and other local events. The goal of the organization will be to become self-sustaining within five years (2020). [Read more…]

Oak Ridge personal, property tax payments due Oct. 30

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City of Oak Ridge Seal

Friday is the due date for paying real property taxes in Oak Ridge without penalty. All of this year’s property tax bills have been mailed and should have been delivered to property owners, a press release said.

Taxes go to support the operation of many city services—from street maintenance to the library. The police and fire departments, refuse removal and disposal, recreation and parks and many other city activities are all supported by the property tax, the press release said. A portion of the tax also goes to support the Oak Ridge school system.

The city staff said a relatively small number of property owners may not receive a tax notice. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge to celebrate new Manhattan Project Park on Nov. 12

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Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz

Oak Ridge will have two community events on November 12 to celebrate the establishment of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. That proposal has been in the works for years to commemorate the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

The legislation authorizing the park was signed into law in December 2014, and it designated sites in Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington as a new three-site national park.

The Oak Ridge City Council has designated the week of November 9-15 as
“The Manhattan Project National Historical Park Week.”

Events have been scheduled at Oak Ridge High School and in Historic Jackson Square on Thursday, November 12, two days after a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. The two Oak Ridge events will celebrate the establishment of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. [Read more…]

DOE, Interior to sign agreement for Manhattan Project Park on Nov. 10

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K-25 Building Aerial View

Now demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building, pictured above, was once used to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. Located in west Oak Ridge, the site could become part of a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. There is a separate effort to preserve the site’s history; that work could be incorporated into the new park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

 

The U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Department of Energy will sign an agreement on Tuesday, November 10, that establishes the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge.

The memorandum of agreement, or MOA, will be signed by federal officials that Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C.

Besides Oak Ridge, the park will include Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington. [Read more…]

Democratic women host discussion on climate change on Monday

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Ellen Smith

Ellen Smith

Climate change will be the focus of a panel discussion presented by the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club at 6 p.m. Monday, October 26. The discussion will be at the Clinton Community Center, which is at 101 South Hicks Street in Clinton. Panel members will be Ellen Faby, Jo Ann Garrett, Jan Newsome, and Ellen Smith.

Mary Headrick, a retired physician who was a Democratic candidate for the Third Congressional District, will facilitate the discussion, which will focus on protecting the environment and the effects of climate change on health.  A question-and-answer session will follow presentations by the panelists.

Those attending are invited to bring a pot luck item to share. Beverages will be provided. [Read more…]

New preschool could cost $7.5 million; Elm Grove Park a proposed site

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Shirley Raines Presentation to Oak Ridge City Council on Oct. 20, 2015

Shirley C. Raines, citizen representative and chair of a preschool planning committee, presents a report to Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education members during a joint work session on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A new preschool for Oak Ridge Schools could cost $7.5 million, and Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge is among the sites where the new 20-classroom facility could be built, a planning committee said in a report released Tuesday.

A new preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years. The Joint City/Schools Preschool Planning Committee said the existing building on New York Avenue needs significant repairs, and renovations could cost about $7.5 million, or about as much as it would cost to construct a new facility.

The Preschool Planning Committee, which has nine members and three non-voting members, estimated that the new 40,000-square-foot facility could cost $6.3 million to build. There would be an additional $1.2 million in expenses for infrastructure, architects, and other fees, and an in-depth analysis by design and construction firms, pushing the total to $7.5 million, according to a summary presented by citizen representative and committee chair Shirley C. Raines during a joint Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education work session on Tuesday. [Read more…]

City accepting applications for first special events board

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Secret City Festival World War II Re-enactment 2015

A Flak 88 firing during a Battle of Normandy re-enactment at the 2015 Secret City Festival in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Rob Welton)

 

Election notice: The City Clerk’s Office is accepting resumes and letters of interests from members of the public who want to serve on the inaugural board of directors for a new nonprofit organization that will be responsible for implementing the expanded Secret City Festival/Celebration.

City Council will select eight remaining members of the 14-member board. Six members of the board of directors have been designated from the former Special Events Advisory Task Force, and those representatives include Ben Arnold, Mike Brown, Judi Gray, Kate Groover, Ray Smith, and Michelle Ward.

The election for this committee is scheduled to occur at the November 16, 2015, City Council meeting. [Read more…]

City accepting applications for Oak Ridge Corridor Initiative Committee

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Pellissippi Parkway

The Pellissippi Parkway is an important link between Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and Blount County. (Photo courtesy Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission)

Election notice: The City Clerk’s Office is accepting resumes and letters of interest from members of the public who are interested in serving on a recently established five-member Oak Ridge Corridor Initiative Committee.

The committee was established by City Council on October 12, 2015, to study the economic, regional, and marketable benefits of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander’s proposal to rename the four-lane highway from the Knoxville airport to Oak Ridge the “Oak Ridge Corridor.” It’s now known as Pellissippi Parkway.

Council member Rick Chinn has been selected as one of the five members to chair the committee.

The committee shall report its findings to the City Council by May 31, 2016. [Read more…]

Mall demolition could start end of Nov., eight new stores could open by Christmas 2016

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Sears at Oak Ridge City Center

Demolition work at the former Oak Ridge Mall could start at the end of November at the former Sears store, and eight new stores could open at the redeveloped 60-acre site by Christmas 2016, officials said Monday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 6:55 p.m.

Demolition work at the former Oak Ridge Mall could start at the end of November at the former Sears store, and eight new stores could open at the redeveloped 60-acre site by Christmas 2016, officials said Monday.

RealtyLink, the new master developer announced in September, has been looking at the mostly vacant shopping center in the heart of Oak Ridge since 2009. They replace Crosland Southeast, which had been working on the $80 million redevelopment project for more than two years.

RealtyLink, which is based in Greenville, South Carolina, hopes to close on the property, which is now owned by Oak Ridge City Center LLC, at the end of November.

A demolition permit has already been issued, but it’s not in RealtyLink’s name. [Read more…]