Oak Ridge Today

One injured after driver allegedly runs stop sign, hits city truck, report says

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Hillside Road and Pennsylvania Avenue Crash on Oct. 16, 2015

A 22-year-old Oak Ridge man was taken by an ambulance to a Knoxville hospital after he allegedly ran a stop sign and hit a city-owned pickup truck at Hillside Road and Pennsylvania Avenue on Friday, Oct. 16, 2015, authorities said. (Photo courtesy Kevin Rice)

 

A 22-year-old Oak Ridge man was taken by ambulance to a Knoxville hospital after he allegedly ran a stop sign and hit a city-owned pickup truck on Friday, authorities said.

Nathan D. Benvenuto was driving east on Hillside Road in a 1991 GMC compact utility vehicle when he ran the stop sign at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue at about 11:26 a.m. Friday, an Oak Ridge Police Department report said.

Benvenuto’s vehicle collided with a 2012 Ford pickup truck owned by the City of Oak Ridge and driven by Timothy Lynn Ward, 46, also of Oak Ridge. Ward was driving southbound on Pennsylvania Avenue at the time of the crash.

“(Benvenuto’s vehicle) did not stop for the stop sign on Hillside Road at Pennsylvania Avenue and entered the intersection in front of (the pickup truck driven by Ward), which did not have time to stop and collided with (Benvenuto’s vehicle),” said the crash report, written by ORPD Officer Daniel Freytag. [Read more…]

Council to consider amending mall plan, inviting DOE to discuss travel practices

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Oak Ridge Mall

The Oak Ridge City Center, which could be redeveloped as a multi-use town center known as Main Street, is pictured above. Also known as the former Oak Ridge Mall, the L-shaped building is at center. The white building at center left is Walmart, and it is not part of the proposed redevelopment. Neither is the white building at center top, the Tinseltown Theater. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:35 p.m.

During a special meeting Tuesday, the Oak Ridge City Council will consider amending the economic impact plan for the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall. The change is being considered primarily because the master developer has changed.

The amendment to the economic impact plan, which also includes a date change, will be considered a day earlier, on Monday, October 19, by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and Anderson County Commission.

The Industrial Development Board has a public hearing and special meeting on the $13 million tax increment financing, or TIF, for the redevelopment and an amendment to the economic impact plan at 3:45 p.m. Monday, October 19, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Training Room. The County Commission is expected to consider the amendment in a meeting that starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. [Read more…]

City Council to discuss housing, infrastructure at Oct. 24 retreat

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Oak Ridge City Council on July 27, 2015

The Oak Ridge City Council will discuss housing and capital infrastructure planning during a retreat on Saturday, October 24. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will discuss housing and capital infrastructure planning during a retreat on Saturday, October 24.

The retreat is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. October 24 at the MCLinc Conference Facility at Heritage Center, 200 Heritage Boulevard. That’s 2010 Highway 58, Building K-1000.

Christina Kloker Younger of C.K. Young Creative Planning Systems will help lead the meeting, a notice said.

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See copy of ORPD review by MTAS here

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The Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee presented its report on the six-month review of the Oak Ridge Police Department in a 20-page report presented to the Oak Ridge City Council in a special work session on Thursday. See a copy of the MTAS report here.

MTAS-Review-ORPD-Oct-15-2015-Page-1 MTAS-Review-ORPD-Oct-15-2015-Page-2 [Read more…]

Pay cited most often as reason for ORPD turnover, low morale, MTAS report says

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Margaret Norris and Rex Barton of MTAS on Oct. 15, 2015

Margaret Norris, left, and Rex Barton of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee deliver the results of a six-month review of the Oak Ridge Police Department to City Council on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m. Oct. 16.

It probably wasn’t the explanation that many expected, but pay was cited most often as the reason for turnover and low morale in the Oak Ridge Police Department, according to a report released Thursday.

Some have pinned most of the blame for the department’s woes—or perceived woes, depending upon your perspective—on Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi, and they had called for an investigation of the chief earlier this year on several different fronts.

Among those pressing for an investigation was Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn. She and others had raised questions about the chief’s temperament, including whether he has outbursts and is vindictive, and what Baughn suggested is a high turnover rate.

But the City Council instead approved a review of the ORPD that focused on morale, turnover, and administrative policies. In March, Council hired the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee to conduct the six-month review, which was first proposed by Council member Kelly Callison. MTAS presented its findings in a 20-page report presented to the Oak Ridge City Council in a special work session on Thursday.

The report identified a primary culprit familiar to many workers: pay. But as officers have pointed out, they, unlike most other workers, face danger on a daily basis.

Most of those interviewed by MTAS thought that ORPD salaries are not suitable for retaining good employees, MTAS consultant Rex Barton told Council members Thursday. Whatever raises have been given in the past few years have been outstripped by the rise in the cost of benefits, Barton said.

[Read more…]

City Council, BOE have joint work session on preschool on Oct. 20

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education and City Council have a joint work session on Tuesday, October 20, to hear an update on plans for the Oak Ridge Preschool.

The work session starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Municipal Building Courtroom. The two boards will receive an update from the Joint City/Schools Preschool Building Committee.

Applications available for city boards, commissions

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City of Oak Ridge Seal

The Oak Ridge City Clerk’s Office is currently accepting applications from interested citizens to serve as a member of a board and commission as part of the city’s end-of-year election.

This year’s application process is similar to previous years in that interested residents must complete a 2015 Boards and Commissions Application available on the City Clerk’s departmental website or by visiting www.oakridgetn.gov/online/cityclerk/bcelections.

Applicants may also attach additional documents that includes cover letters, references, and resumes to their application. The application allows residents to choose and rank their top three board choices for membership consideration.

Paper editions of the online application are also available in the City Clerk’s Office located in Room Number 109 in the Municipal Building.

Currently, the city is recruiting membership for 16 boards and commissions that include: [Read more…]

Legal Aid Society Community Award honors Anderson County Juvenile Court

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Oak Ridge Community Award and Anderson County Juvenile Court

Picture above from left to right are April Seiber (ACJC Lead Youth Services Officer), Sandy Slater (ACJC Youth Services Officer), Betsy Hunt (Judge Hunt’s wife), Judge Brian J. Hunt, Angie Perez (ACJC Judicial Assistant), Denise Casteel (ACJC Youth Services Officer), and Elizabeth Risner (ACJC Youth Services Officer). Not shown: Andrew Williams (ACJC Youth Services Officer) (Submitted photo)

 

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands’ Oak Ridge office honored Anderson County Juvenile Court Judge Brian J. Hunt and the staff of the Anderson County Juvenile Court with its inaugural Community Award at a reception on Tuesday, October 6, at CapitalMark Bank and Trust in Oak Ridge.

Legal Aid Society’s Community Award honors individuals and/or organizations in the community for their leadership and compassion in supporting the nonprofit law firm’s mission, a press release said.

More than 60 people, including Representative Kent Calfee, Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark, former Mayor David Bradshaw (who hosted the event as President of CapitalMark Bank and Trust in Oak Ridge), United Way of Anderson County Executive Director Naomi Asher, and Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson celebrated Judge Hunt and the Anderson County Juvenile Court, or ACJC, for partnering with Legal Aid Society to advance access to justice among our region’s youth. [Read more…]

Mayor Frank wants to serve as chair of AC Commission, sit with legislative body at meetings

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank wants to serve as chair of the County Commission, and she’s asked to be considered as a candidate in September 2016.

In an October 14 letter, Frank also asked commissioners to sit with them during meetings.

The proposals could be considered by the Anderson County Commission on Monday.

If she were commission chair, Frank said, she would have to surrender her veto power. She would have a non-voting position, but she would be able to cast a vote to break a tie.

“While this may seem a shocking proposal at first, I think we can look back over the history of Anderson County and see that the county mayor as chairman—or county executive or judge as the position used to be called—was an effective structure,” Frank said. [Read more…]

Some minor changes, but Main Street project still expected to open for Christmas 2016

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Main Street Oak Ridge Belk on March 2, 2015

Construction for the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall could start first near the Belk store, the city’s retail consultant said this month. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

There have been some minor changes to the plans, but the new developer at Main Street Oak Ridge still plans to open the retail-driven, mixed-use development by the Christmas 2016 holiday season, the city’s retail consultant said last week.

RealtyLink, the new South Carolina-based developer, took over as master developer in September, replacing Crosland Southeast, the firm that had led the redevelopment effort for more than two years.

Oak Ridge retail consultant Ray Evans said RealtyLink has a good relationship with Crosland, a North Carolina-based company.

“They have essentially picked up where Crosland left off,” Evans said.

RealtyLink has plans for about 60,000 more square feet of retail than Crosland did, giving the project a total of about 460,000 square feet of retail, including in the two remaining anchors, Belk and JCPenney. [Read more…]

County officials to ask for one-year extension on expiring courthouse lease

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Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller

First elected in August, Judge Roger Miller, left, is pictured in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge before a bond hearing this summer. (2015 file photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today) 

 

CLINTON—Anderson County officials could ask for a one-year extension of the lease on the General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. The current lease expires at the end of the year, on December 31.

The county has an option to renew the lease for five years from January 1, 2016, through the end of 2021, but it’s not clear if officials want to do that. There are questions about whether they want to keep a courthouse in Oak Ridge, particularly if the City of Oak Ridge is not providing financial support. But if Division II court does stay in Oak Ridge, there is a question about whether it should remain at the current location at the former Oak Ridge Utility District building on Bus Terminal Road.

Officials have limited time, about 80 days, to weigh the alternatives before the lease expires, and there are holidays in the meantime, said Anderson County Commissioner Mark Alderson, who made a motion to seek a one-year lease extension during an Operations Committee meeting on Monday. The committee unanimously approved that proposal on a voice vote. [Read more…]

Report: Electronic monitoring program has saved $700,000

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PSI Reading Program

Anderson County General Sessions Judge Don Layton is pictured above at left and Chad McNabb, director of PSI Probation, is pictured at right. (File photo)

 

CLINTON—The Anderson County Electronic Monitoring Program has saved $714,090 since it started in May 2011, officials said Monday.

One hundred twenty-one defendants have participated in the monitoring program since it started, said Chad McNabb, director of PSI Probation in Clinton.

“Since the last update, the program has continued to operate at a high success rate while both saving taxpayer money and keeping the alleged victims of domestic violence safe,” McNabb said.

He said 78 defendants have served their sentences on house arrest, serving a total of 5,771 days.

“At an estimated cost of $65 per day to incarcerate an inmate, that saves the taxpayers of Anderson County $375,1150,” McNabb said. [Read more…]