Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge City Council approves $13 million tax financing for mall redevelopment

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Oak Ridge Mall

The Oak Ridge City Council voted 6-0 on Monday to approve a $13 million proposal to use new property tax revenues to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall. The L-shaped mall is pictured at center above. The white-roofed building at center left is Walmart and the one at center top is the Cinemark Tinseltown theater.

The Oak Ridge City Council voted 6-0 on Monday to approve a $13 million proposal to use new property tax revenues to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall.

There was one abstention. The near-unanimous approval by Council continues a string of successes for the proposed redevelopment.

Known as tax increment financing, or a TIF, the proposal approved by Council on Monday had already been unanimously endorsed by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and the Anderson County operations and budgets committees. It will next be considered by the Anderson County Commission on Monday, Nov. 18. [Read more…]

Council approves 10 percent pay raise for city manager

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Note: This story was updated at 10:10 a.m. Nov. 12.

After two attempts to give him smaller raises failed, the Oak Ridge City Council voted 4-3 on Monday to award City Manager Mark Watson a 10 percent salary increase.

Council rejected two separate proposals to lower the pay raise to 4 percent and 1 percent, the same salary hike given to other city employees this year.

The 10 percent increase raises Watson’s pay from just under $137,000 to $150,321.60, and it is effective Aug. 8, 2013.

The salary boost, which has generated much opposition online, had been recommended by a three-member City Manager Evaluation Committee. The committee had compared Watson’s pay to other city managers across Tennessee and in other U.S. Department of Energy cities. The recommended raise would keep Watson’s pay competitive, and it was based on his performance during his three years in Oak Ridge and evaluations by the seven City Council members, committee chair Chuck Hope said. [Read more…]

Y-12 emergency services director to discuss plant activities Tuesday

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A Tuesday lunch meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Oak Ridge will feature the director of emergency services at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The meeting starts at noon, and the presentation by  Jason M. Hatfield will begin at 12:10 p.m. It’s in the smaller meeting room of the Golden Oak Grill Buffet on 401 South Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge. Hatfield will talk about Y-12 activities, a press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge recruiting residents for Land Bank board

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Oak Ridge is now accepting applications from residents who want to serve on the board of directors of the new Oak Ridge Land Bank Corp.

The board will have seven directors, and one of those will be an Oak Ridge City Council member. All directors must be residents and taxpayers in the City of Oak Ridge, a press release said. Preference may be given for applicants in the following fields: banking, real estate, and legal. [Read more…]

Apply for city boards, commissions by Friday

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The deadline to apply for openings on Oak Ridge city boards and commissions is Friday.

The city began recruiting for the positions on Oct. 1. There are roughly 46 expiring or vacant terms on various boards and commissions, a press release said. [Read more…]

Children’s Museum reopens Waterworks Exhibit

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TVA Group Exhibit Display

Tennessee Valley Authority staff members, who designed graphics showing TVA’s role on the Tennessee River and displaying river safety information, join TVA board member Neil McBride, center, and others who helped renovate the exhibit. Laura Smith, with TVA, holds the plaque thanking TVA for its many contributions to the exhibit. (Submitted photos)

Children are once again splashing water as they send wooden tugboats down river in the TVA Waterworks Exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. The exhibit recently reopened with some new additions that highlight learning through play.

In addition to operating small locks and dams in a flume donated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, children now may climb aboard a child-sized tugboat for an imaginary trip down the Tennessee River. After boarding, children may walk around the deck before entering the pilot house and crews’ quarters of the red, white, and blue tugboat, a small-scale replica of Ingram Marine Group’s working tugboats. [Read more…]

Council member Hope explains proposed pay raise for city manager

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Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

A proposed 10 percent pay raise for the Oak Ridge city manager will make his pay more competitive with the average salary for top municipal officials, a council member said last week.

The salary increase for City Manager Mark Watson was recommended by a three-member City Council committee after his pay was compared to other city managers across Tennessee and in other U.S. Department of Energy cities across the country, said Chuck Hope, chair of the City Manager Evaluation Committee. The committee, which includes Vice Mayor Jane Miller and Council member Charlie Hensley, also considered the responses to questionnaires sent out to all seven Council members, asking them to rate Watson’s performance in five categories.

“This is just an adjustment of his base pay to get him more competitive,” Hope said. It takes the average city manager’s salary in Tennessee into account as well as the market conditions that might have to be considered if Oak Ridge had to replace Watson. [Read more…]

Mall TIF sailing through approval process, goes to Oak Ridge City Council tonight

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Oak Ridge Mall Concept Plan Featured

The proposal to use tax increment financing to help with the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall, pictured above in a concept plan, has easily sailed through the approval process so far, and the project faces a crucial vote at tonight’s Oak Ridge City Council meeting.

The proposal to use tax increment financing to help with the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall has easily sailed through the approval process so far, and the project faces a crucial vote at tonight’s Oak Ridge City Council meeting.

The Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and Anderson County operations and budget committees have already unanimously endorsed the tax increment financing, or TIF. The agreement could be worth $13 million and last 20 years, and it would allow new property tax revenues generated at the site to be used to help pay for development costs.

The redevelopment of the mostly empty mall, where ambitious revamping plans have languished for years, has been proposed by Crosland Southeast, a North Carolina company relatively new to this project. Under the tax financing agreement, new property taxes collected in the TIF district could be used to reimburse Crosland Southeast for certain expenses associated with the project. [Read more…]

Reminder: Veterans Day parade in Clinton tonight

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2013 Anderson County Veterans Day ParadeThe 7th Annual Anderson County Veterans Day Parade will be held at 6 p.m. today (Monday, Nov. 11) in downtown Clinton.

This year’s theme is “Showing Our County’s Veterans We Care.”

The parade will start on Market Street in Clinton and move toward Main Street, passing in front of the Anderson County Courthouse.

Immediately after the parade, there will be a ceremony celebrating veterans featuring a “mini-concert” by local favorites Russ and Becky Jeffers in the Ritz Theater. [Read more…]

Two AC properties receive East Tennessee Preservation Awards

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The Hemlocks in Anderson County

The Hemlocks in Anderson County is pictured above. (Photos courtesy East Tennessee Preservation Alliance)

Two Anderson County properties were among a dozen that received East Tennessee Preservation Awards on Friday.

The two properties are The Hemlocks and 101 West Norris, the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance said in a press release Monday.

The awards presentation on Friday at the Chilhowee Club in Maryville was part of the fifth annual East Tennessee Preservation Conference, which focused on preservation and economic development.

Accepting an award on behalf of The Hemlocks were Susan and Marianne Fowler, and receiving the award for 101 West Norris were Regina and Jeff Merritt. The Hemlocks is at 1135 Old Lake City Highway in Clinton, and the West Norris home is at 101 West Norris Ave. in Norris. [Read more…]

Free admission, meals for veterans, military on Veterans Day

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The Museum of Appalachia is offering free admission to veterans and active-duty military today, Veterans Day, and many restaurants and stores are offering free meals and discounts.

“We appreciate those who risk their lives for our country,” said Elaine Meyer, president of the Museum of Appalachia. “This is one way to recognize these people and show that we appreciate the sacrifices they’ve made.”

The deals offered to veterans and stores and restaurants is included in a list forwarded by Anderson County Commissioner Steve Mead and Mary Murphy, the county commission’s chief deputy. It’s available here: Veterans Day Deals 2013. [Read more…]

ORNL retiree Claud Pugh inducted into NC State Hall of Fame

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Claud Pugh

Claud Pugh

Claud Pugh, a retired program manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was scheduled to be inducted into North Carolina State University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Hall of Fame on Nov. 1.

At ORNL, Pugh served as director of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission program office, was head of the Engineering Technology Division’s pressure vessel technology section, directed the NRC-sponsored heavy-section steel technology program, and held various research and project management positions in programs sponsored by the NRC and DOE. [Read more…]