Oak Ridge Today

$1.3 million project will rebuild ORHS track

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An image by Cope Architecture of Knoxville showing what the rebuilt Ben Martin Track will look like at Oak Ridge High School.

 

A $1.3 million project is under way to rebuild the Ben Martin Track at Oak Ridge High School by June. The asphalt base of the eight-lane track dates back to the 1950s, the rubber surface is washing away, and holes are visible in the disintegrating and patched lanes. The pole vault has been unusable since 2017, and track coaches and athletes from other schools have recently declined to compete in Oak Ridge because of the conditions.

That is expected to change with the new renovated facility, which could host large invitational, sectional, and college track meets. The renovation project will rebuild the asphalt base of the track, add a new rubberized surface, and replace underground utilities. All field events except pole vault will move to the infield. Shot put and discus rings will be on the north end of the football practice field, while long jump and triple jump will be along the straight section of track nearest the bleachers. The pole vault will remain on the south side of the track, but it will move to the west end near the field house.

“This is a first phase of what we hope to be a larger project long-term,” Allen Thacker, Oak Ridge Schools supervisor of maintenance and operations, told the Oak Ridge Board of Education in October. “This is foundational.”

The project has been talked about “behind the scenes” for a handful of years, and there has been intense planning for about two years, according to those involved.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

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An image by Cope Architecture of Knoxville showing what the rebuilt Ben Martin Track will look like at Oak Ridge High School.

A $1.3 million project is under way to rebuild the Ben Martin Track at Oak Ridge High School by June. The asphalt base of the eight-lane track dates back to the 1950s, the rubber surface is washing away, and holes are visible in the disintegrating and patched lanes. The pole vault has been unusable since 2017, and track coaches and athletes from other schools have recently declined to compete in Oak Ridge because of the conditions.

That is expected to change with the new renovated facility, which could host large invitational, sectional, and college track meets, according to those involved. The renovation project will rebuild the asphalt base of the track, add a new rubberized surface, and replace underground utilities. All field events except pole vault will move to the infield. Shot put and discus rings will be on the north end of the football practice field, while long jump and triple jump will be along the straight section of track nearest the bleachers. The pole vault will remain on the south side of the track, but it will move to the west end near the field house.


An image by Cope Architecture of Knoxville showing what the rebuilt Ben Martin Track will look like at Oak Ridge High School.

 

A $1.3 million project is under way to rebuild the Ben Martin Track at Oak Ridge High School by June. The asphalt base of the eight-lane track dates back to the 1950s, the rubber surface is washing away, and holes are visible in the disintegrating and patched lanes. The pole vault has been unusable since 2017, and track coaches and athletes from other schools have recently declined to compete in Oak Ridge because of the conditions.

That is expected to change with the new renovated facility, which could host large invitational, sectional, and college track meets. The renovation project will rebuild the asphalt base of the track, add a new rubberized surface, and replace underground utilities. All field events except pole vault will move to the infield. Shot put and discus rings will be on the north end of the football practice field, while long jump and triple jump will be along the straight section of track nearest the bleachers. The pole vault will remain on the south side of the track, but it will move to the west end near the field house.

“This is a first phase of what we hope to be a larger project long-term,” Allen Thacker, Oak Ridge Schools supervisor of maintenance and operations, told the Oak Ridge Board of Education in October. “This is foundational.”

The project has been talked about “behind the scenes” for a handful of years, and there has been intense planning for about two years, according to those involved.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Geothermal well system leaking under ORHS soccer field

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The geothermal well system is leaking under the soccer field at Oak Ridge High School, requiring emergency repairs to prevent classroom heat pumps from shutting down, school officials said.

“Recently, we lost a section of the geothermal wellfield to leaks in the well system that would require extensive exploratory excavation to locate and repair the leaks,” said Allen Thacker, Oak Ridge Schools maintenance and operations supervisor. “This option is not possible due to the location of the wellfield under the soccer field and the extensive cost of excavation and replacement of field damage. The wellfield is now operating at below 80 percent capacity, and the need for the cooling tower to be the primary source of water cooling is imperative to prevent shutdown of the classroom heat pumps.”

Thacker said the heat pumps serve all of the Learning Center, most of Comprehensive Studies, part of the Wellness Center, Visual Arts, and administration areas.

[Read more…]

Bat infestation cleaned from high school during summer

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A bat infestation was cleaned from a third floor ceiling of Oak Ridge High School this summer, school officials said.

Five live bats and more than 20 dead bats were removed, according to Allen Thacker, maintenance and operations supervisor for Oak Ridge Schools.

Maintenance workers had learned of the possible infestation on June 5, Thacker said. A pest control contractor said the infestation was contained in a third floor level of a 1994 addition.

The contractor said the bats were a common brown bat that migrates though the area, and the bats were most likely part of a larger colony that moved through the area, leaving a small group of sick or weakened bats behind.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge receives Blankenship Field grant, primarily for synthetic turf

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Blankenship Field Overall Plan

An overall view of the proposed renovation of Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium. (File image from April 2015)

 

Oak Ridge has received a state grant of just under $500,000 that will be used primarily for synthetic turf at Blankenship Field. But it is also expected to help pay for track improvements, upgraded restrooms, fencing between the football field and track, and improvements to the Cedar Hill trailhead behind the visitors bleachers at Jack Armstrong Stadium, city officials said Thursday.

The Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant requires a 50 percent match. The match is supposed to be provided by the nonprofit Blankenship Field Revitalization Foundation, and it can be a mix of cash and in-kind contributions, although the precise percentage of each—cash versus in-kind contributions—isn’t clear yet. The foundation has been chaired by Tennessee Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally.

Officials expect to know more after four of them—City Manager Mark Watson, City Council member Rick Chinn, Recreation and Parks Director Jon Hetrick, and Allen Thacker of Oak Ridge Schools—attend mandatory grant training in Nashville in February.

After that, the Oak Ridge City Council could accept the grant, possibly as early as the February 13 meeting. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge school board has March 3 retreat

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education will discuss a range of issues including legal matters, the budget, and facilities during a March 3 retreat.

The retreat is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thursday, March 3, in the Oak Ridge Schools School Administration Building conference room.

Here is the agenda: [Read more…]

City, Schools Preschool Building Planning Committee to meet April 9

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Oak Ridge Preschool and School Administration Building

The Oak Ridge City Council has agreed to use $150,000 in unspent red-light camera to repair the lead-based paint on the Oak Ridge Schools Preschool and Robert J. Smallridge School Administration Building on New York Avenue. Officials say the building needs to be renovated or vacated for the Head Start program to receive funding in the 2015-2016 school year. (File photo)

 

The new joint city-school committee that could lay the groundwork for a new preschool by the 2016-2017 school year will meet on Thursday, April 9.

The meeting of the Joint City/Schools Preschool Building Planning Committee will start at 1:30 p.m. April 9 in the School Administration Building conference room.

Members of the committee are Charlsey Cofer, Keys Fillauer, Bruce Borchers, Lee Ann Shelton, Jessica Hill, Allen Thacker, Mark Watson, Janice McGinnis, Ellen Smith, Shirley Raines, Pat Fallon, and Jon Hetrick.

The joint city-schools committee for the Preschool was endorsed earlier this year. For now, officials have agreed to use $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. The city-school committee could work to determine space needs, develop an affordable finance plan, develop a project timetable, and make a public education plan.

School Board could make Preschool recommendation tonight

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Charlsey Cofer and Oak Ridge City Council and School Board

Principal Charlsey Cofer, left, discusses the Oak Ridge Schools Preschool with Oak Ridge City Council members and City Manager Mark Watson, seated at table, during a Jan. 15 work session with the Oak Ridge Board of Education.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:25 p.m.

It’s been on the city’s wish list for decades, but city and school officials now appear closer to finding a solution to repairing or replacing the city’s preschool.

Officials said they’ve “kicked the can down the road” for years, but the discussion gained urgency after lead-based paint was found on the exterior of the 70-year-old building during a routine inspection in the spring of 2014. It could cost up to $150,000 to make repairs. Officials have characterized that as a Band-Aid or “last investment.”

“We’re going to have make a decision now, unfortunately, because of the paint,” said Keys Fillauer, Oak Ridge Board of Education chair. “The bottom line is: How are we going to pay for this?” [Read more…]

BOE, City Council to tour possible new preschool building

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161 Mitchell Road

The Oak Ridge Board of Education and City Council will tour this building at 161 Mitchell Road on Thursday afternoon. It’s a possible new home for the Oak Ridge Preschool.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education and City Council will tour a building on Mitchell Road on Thursday afternoon that could be a new home for the Preschool.

Built as a temporary building, the current Preschool on New York Avenue is 70 years old and in need of repairs.

A new School Administration Building and Preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years. But now education officials say the Preschool has to be renovated or vacated by next year in order for the school system to continue to receive federal Head Start funding.

They’ve recommended a long-term lease for the Preschool, with an option to purchase. Oak Ridge Schools has also recommended buying the Chamber of Commerce building for a new School Administration Building and remodeling the G Building at Oak Ridge High School to accommodate administration support services, a “better defined” Alternative School program, and the ROTC program. [Read more…]

Repairs needed, school system considers three options for Preschool

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Oak Ridge Preschool and School Administration Building

The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider three options for the Oak Ridge Schools Preschool on New York Avenue during a Monday night meeting. The building—which has lead paint that needs to be repaired, replaced, and painted, among other things—has to be renovated or vacated for the Head Start program to receive funding in the 2015-2016 school year.

 

It’s 70 years old and in need of repairs. Federal officials want it renovated or vacated by next year in order for the school system to continue to receive Head Start funding.

So, on Monday, the Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider what to do about the Oak Ridge Preschool, a building on New York Avenue that’s been on the repair wish list for years.

The school board will consider three options:

  • stay in the building and renovate it;
  • move the Preschool and its roughly 200 students to a different site, possibly by leasing space;
  • move the Preschool classes and split them up among the elementary schools.

There is one option that is not on the table, school officials said Thursday.

“We have no intention…of shutting down the Preschool in any form or fashion,” said Chris Marczak, Oak Ridge Schools assistant superintendent. [Read more…]

School board approves Blankenship bleacher replacement

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Blankenship Field Visitors Bleachers

Deemed to be unsafe, the visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field have been de, and replacing them could cost more than $500,000.

Note: This story was updated at 9:15 a.m. March 25.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday unanimously approved a $455,000 project to replace the visitor bleachers at Blankenship Field. The bleachers had been deemed unsafe, and they have already been demolished.

School officials are hoping to replace them before the first home football game on Aug. 29. In a unanimous voice vote Monday, the school board agreed to use the school system’s fund balance to pay for the replacement bleachers.

Board members plan to ask city officials for additional help to finish part of the project, including a $69,000 handicapped ramp with switchbacks from the city-owned parking lot below the field up to the city-owned field, which is at Jack Armstrong Stadium in central Oak Ridge. The ramp could be built when the city renovates the parking lot. [Read more…]

Low bid on Blankenship bleachers: $524,000

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Blankenship Field Visitors Bleachers

Deemed to be unsafe, the visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field have been removed, and replacing them could cost more than $500,000.

The low bid on the bleacher replacement project at Blankenship Field came in at $523,940, a school official said Friday.

The bid on the project to replace the demolished visitor bleachers includes grading work and a handicap sidewalk at Jack Armstrong Stadium. Proposals were accepted through Friday. The recommended proposal from Dant Clayton Corp. of Louisville, Ky., will be considered by the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday.

Allen Thacker, Oak Ridge Schools maintenance and operations supervisor, said the project could cost another $40,000 if the Wildcat Crossing stairs on the home side of the field are reconditioned. That would make the total cost $563,940. It was the lowest of two qualified bids.

Thacker said funding for the project has not yet been identified. It’s been discussed at several recent meetings of the Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education. Municipal and education officials have said options include city funding, school funding, a mix of the two, and donations. Earlier this month, School Board Chair Keys Fillauer told City Council that a funding decision could be made Monday. [Read more…]

Schools seek bids to replace demolished Blankenship bleachers

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Blankenship Field Visitors Bleachers

Declared unsafe, the visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field have been removed, and the project to replace them has been put out for bids.

The visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field have been demolished, and the Oak Ridge Schools are scurrying to replace them by the start of the high school football season this fall.

Project bids are being accepted through March 21, although it’s not clear yet who will pay for the new bleachers and other improvements at Jack Armstrong Stadium. The bids could be considered by the Oak Ridge Board of Education on March 24.

The board could also make a funding decision then, School Board Chair Keys Fillauer told Oak Ridge City Council members during a Monday night meeting. There are a range of options that include city funding, school funding, and donations, among others. [Read more…]