The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will discuss a site plan for the planned storage facility at Main Street Oak Ridge and apartments on Emory Valley Road on Thursday.
The storage facility would be built along Rutgers Avenue in the area between JCPenney and Walmart. The apartments would be at 689 Emory Valley Road.
Also on the agenda are a master plan and subarea plan amendment for The Preserve at Clinch River, Subarea G.
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Canceled last year, the postponed Secret City Festival is scheduled for September this year.
Normally held in June, the Secret City Festival was canceled last year a few months after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
This year’s festival is scheduled for September 24 and 25 in Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge. Organizers said it will feature two days of music, food, history, science, and more. Details of the festival haven’t been announced yet.
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The City of Oak Ridge said it has received a $500,000 contribution from the UT-Battelle Development Corporation to help with the planned airport at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.
The contribution is meant to provide funding that can be used to secure state and/or federal grants that require a local funding match, a city press release said.
Thomas Zacharia, president and chief executive officer of UT-Battelle and director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Jeff Smith, president of UT-Battelle Development Corporation, presented the contribution to Oak Ridge City Council at its March 8 meeting. Smith is also vice chair of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority.
“I believe the presence of a new airport will be a key differentiator for this community because it supports existing trends so clearly: The airport will make Oak Ridge more attractive to companies and professionals interested in low-cost, high-quality communities with easy access to other cities,” Zacharia said, according to the press release.
[Read more…]The Tennessee Valley Authority will temporarily lower Melton Hill Reservoir two to four feet to help property owners with their annual spring-cleaning activities, a press release said.
From Saturday, March 20, through Saturday, March 28, TVA will hold the reservoir between 790 and 792 feet to support dock repairs, shoreline stabilization, and litter pick up, the press release said.
TVA will return Melton Hill to its normal winter elevation of 794 feet by April 1.
[Read more…]The citywide household trash pickup program will start Monday, April 5. Household trash, old appliances, and minor remodeling materials will be picked up, a press release said.
A schedule is below. The city said its collection efforts will follow the schedule as closely as possible.
“Residents have always been very cooperative and we ask for their continued cooperation this year by following a few guidelines,” the city said in the press release.
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The Oak Ridge City Council will discuss a special recreation district, which could allow a motorsports park, among other potential uses, during a meeting this evening.
The special recreation district is being considered as a zoning ordinance amendment. The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission has recommended it, but the City Council has not approved it.
A motorsports park has been proposed at the Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. The proposal has both supporters and detractors.
The zoning ordinance amendment would not endorse that specific proposal. Instead, it would create a new zoning district, the special recreation district, which could be used for large-scale recreation and entertainment developments.
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Freda Player-Peters
Freda Player-Peters, the new executive director of Emerge Tennessee, will discuss the candidate training organization’s new programs at the Monday, March 15, meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club. The virtual meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom.
Emerge Tennessee aims to increase the number of Democratic women leaders from diverse backgrounds in public office through recruitment, training, and networking. Participants learn about public speaking, fundraising, campaign strategy, voter contact, and media and messaging from a team of experts who have worked on successful campaigns, a press release said.
Player-Peters was political director of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 205 from 2010 to 2018. She was responsible for all lobbying, advocacy, and electoral efforts for Local 205 in Tennessee and served on the International Public Division Leadership Board. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge League of Women Voters will have its second Breakfast with the Legislators of the year on Monday.
The breakfast is scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Monday, March 22. The meeting will be virtual, and it’s open to the public.
Tennessee senators Randy McNally and Ken Yager and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee have been invited to share an update about the current session of the Tennessee General Assembly, a press release said.
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After a year of the coronavirus pandemic and renovations to the building, Oak Ridge Public Library will re-open on March 29. The library will re-open in two phases, the city said in a press release.
The first phase, from March 29 through May 29, will allow patrons to browse the main library and Children’s Room, use public computers, and enjoy the newly renovated library space, the press release said. Library hours will be limited to Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Curbside pickup will continue during this first phase. Curbside hours, however, will change to Monday through Saturday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., the press release said.
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Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs has been promoted to deputy city manager. He will start his new job Monday, March 8.
In his new position, Suggs will help with several projects, including the new water plant, economic development projects, computer software, and the transfer of the Oak Ridge Airport project, the city said in a press release.
Suggs’ promotion will allow other potential leaders to advance, most immediately in the Oak Ridge Electric Department, the press release said. Ardo Ba, who is currently the department’s electric operations manager, will serve as interim electric director.
“The city is fortunate to have someone with a unique set of engineering, business, and operations knowledge and experience who is able to step up,” Suggs said of Ba. “I am confident that I am leaving the department in capable hands.”
Suggs joined the City of Oak Ridge in 1989 as assistant director of public works after having served in related professional positions in Texas. He began serving as electric director in 1991.
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By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
Roane State Community College played a crucial role in an experiment to get high-speed Internet to rural communities currently lacking what’s become an essential component of modern life.
It’s an effort to bridge the digital divide in Roane County, where about 30 percent of households lack access to robust, affordable broadband internet.
That includes some 6,000 students who must have internet access for online learning.
Internet access “is paramount in current situations such as COVID-19 and the remote learning requirements it presents,” said Egon Hillermann. He’s the director of ROANEnet, an organization that advocates for improving high-speed internet access.
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The parking lots at Melton Lake Park will be closed to the public during a regatta next week.
The regatta, the 2021 Oak Ridge Louisville Cardinal Invitational Regatta, is scheduled on Saturday, March 13, and Sunday, March 14. It’s hosted by the City of Oak Ridge in partnership with the Oak Ridge Rowing Association, a press release said.
It’s an invitation-only event, and it will feature elite college women’s rowing teams who will compete in one of the first events of the season, the press release said.
To comply with ACC and Big 10 COVID-19 guidelines, this is a “no spectator” event, the press release said. As a result, the parking lots at Melton Lake Park will be closed to the public during the regatta, the release said.
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