Oak Ridge Today

Council to consider more funding, contract for Blankenship Field parking lot

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Blankenship Field Parking Lot

The lower parking lot at Blankenship Field, which is used for football games and high school graduation.

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider increasing the amount of money to be used for parking lot work at Blankenship Field, and members will also consider awarding a contract for the project during a meeting tonight (Monday, June 1).

The City Council agreed in May 2014 to use $180,000 in traffic camera money for improvements to the lower parking lot at Blankenship Field, which is used for football games and high school graduation.

Council agreed to increase that amount to a maximum of $250,000 in July 2014, Oak Ridge Public Works Director Gary Cinder said in a May 26 memo to City Manager Mark Watson.

But the work could cost $264,791, according to a proposed contract from Rogers Group Inc. of Oak Ridge that the Council will consider tonight. [Read more…]

City to use traffic camera money for parking lot work at Blankenship Field

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Red-light Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed last week to use $180,000 in traffic camera money for improvements to the lower parking at Blankenship Field.

 

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed last week in a 5-2 vote to use $180,000 in traffic camera money for improvements to the lower parking lot at Blankenship Field, which is used for football games and high school graduation.

The request from Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan was reviewed at a City Council work session on April 28.

The work could include resurfacing work at the lower parking lot and access to the lower levels and visitors bleachers under the American with Disabilities Act. The project has been reviewed by the city staff, and it could include resurfacing, ADA improvements, handicapped parking, and new pavement and striping.

The work would complement a project to replace the demolished visitors bleachers at Blankenship Field, a $455,000 project that was unanimously approved by the Oak Ridge Board of Education in March. The bleachers had been deemed unsafe, and school officials are hoping to replace them before the first home football game on Aug. 29. The school board agreed to use the school system’s fund balance to pay for the replacement bleachers. [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…]