Chuck Hope Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Updated: Council approves Rails to Trails engineering contract

Posted at 12:17 pm May 14, 2018
By John Huotari 1 Comment

The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 10:15 a.m. May 15.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously approved an engineering contract for the Rails to Trails project, which would convert a former CSX railroad into a bicycle and pedestrian pathway.

The consulting contract, worth an estimated $358,317, was awarded to A. Morton Thomas and Associates of Kingsport.

The agreement, approved 7-0, is to provide environmental testing, master planning, design and engineering of the trail, and help with construction bidding, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Director Jon Hetrick told City Manager Mark Watson in a May 4 memo.

There is still much work to be done, including buying the former railroad, and the project might not go out to bid until May 2020, or two years from now, according to a draft timeline presented at the City Council meeting on Monday. And that’s assuming all goes well.

“Design and engineering will provide construction cost estimates and a phasing schedule, along with a basis for negotiating the acquisition of the rail line from CSX Rail,” Hetrick said. “Because the current programmed funding will not cover the entire project cost, the master plan will be used to leverage additional funding for construction from various funding sources, including federal highway and private funds.” [Read more…]

NNSA grants 45-day discussion for Pine Ridge logging, Y-12 power lines

Posted at 5:12 pm December 18, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Dale Christenson, Uranium Processing Facility federal project director, standing at right, talks to Oak Ridge City Council during a non-voting work session in the Jefferson Middle School Library on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. In the background are city staff members and members of the public. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The National Nuclear Security Administration has granted a 45-day discussion period for a project to build a new electrical substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex that could include logging work on top of Pine Ridge.

Oak Ridge officials had requested a 30-day delay of the logging work. City officials have raised concerns about that part of the project because they said they didn’t know about it until a week or two before logging operations were scheduled to start, there has been no public input, and cutting down trees and replacing them with transmission towers on top of the ridge would affect the view in that part of the city, including from two residential neighborhoods, Scarboro and Groves Park Commons. Pine Ridge is between Y-12 and the center of the city.

Oak Ridge officials have also said they don’t know what other options were considered, besides installing the high-voltage power lines on top of Pine Ridge.

The 161-kilovolt power lines will provide electricity to a new electrical substation that will service all of Y-12, but it is being built as a subproject of the Uranium Processing Facility. It would be near UPF on the west side of Y-12. UPF is the largest federal construction project in Tennessee since World War II, and it is expected to be completed by 2025 at a cost of no more than $6.5 billion.

Oak Ridge officials have emphasized that they support the project, but they don’t think the city has been treated as an equal partner on the electrical substation and power line portion of the project.

In a press release Tuesday, the City of Oak Ridge said the electrical substation project would involve clear-cutting 2.1 miles of mature trees along the top of Pine Ridge. The NNSA has delayed that project for 45 days, although some logging activity will still occur during that time. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge faith leaders condemn racism, hatred, ask City Council to do the same

Posted at 11:48 am August 16, 2017
By John Huotari 15 Comments

Reacting to the deadly violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past weekend, Oak Ridge faith leaders on Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, condemned white supremacy, racism, anti-semitism, and other forms of hatred, and they asked the Oak Ridge City Council to adopt a resolution expressing similar sentiments. The statement of condemnation was read by Derrick Hammond, pastor of Oak Valley Baptist Church. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Reacting to the deadly violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past weekend, Oak Ridge faith leaders on Monday condemned white supremacy, racism, anti-semitism, and other forms of hatred, and they asked the Oak Ridge City Council to adopt a resolution expressing similar sentiments.

The statement of condemnation of hatred and racism was read by Derrick Hammond, pastor of Oak Valley Baptist Church, during a Monday evening meeting of the Oak Ridge City Council as 14 other clergy members stood by him in support.

It came two days after a 32-year-old Virginia woman was killed and 19 other people were injured after a car plowed into counter-protesters on the day of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. About two hours after the car crash, two Virginia state troopers who both have East Tennessee ties were killed when their police helicopter crashed and burned; the helicopter had been involved in providing surveillance and information during the day, the Charlottesville Daily Progress reported.

“This past weekend, a 32-year-old young lady by the name of Heather Heyer lost her life, and many others were seriously injured at a Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia,” the Oak Ridge faith leaders said in their statement delivered to City Council on Monday. “The white nationalists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, and other ‘alt-right’ hate groups were gathered in order to ‘take America back.’

“While the kind of hate, bigotry, and white supremacist ideology that we witnessed in Charlottesville is not new to America, this racist minority movement has been emboldened by what they perceive as support for their un-American world view. Their rhetoric and actions threaten the historic progress our ancestors, from many faiths and ethnic backgrounds, have made toward equality for all. It is now our responsibility and privilege to celebrate the rich diversity of our nation and continue their work. [Read more…]

Council approves budget with no tax rate increase

Posted at 1:54 am June 8, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above in December 2016. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge City Council approved a budget with no property tax rate increase on Monday.

If the budget is adopted in a second and final vote next week, it will be the 10th year in a row without a tax rate increase in Oak Ridge.

The Council had been asked to consider a four-cent increase in the property tax rate in order to fund a 2.5 percent pay raise for Oak Ridge Schools teachers and staff. That increase would have pushed the city’s property tax rate to $2.56 per $100 of assessed value. But that request was denied.

Instead, Council voted 4-2 to keep the tax rate at $2.52.

But Council did agree, in another 4-2 vote, to give the schools about $538,000 in additional funding that the city agreed to provide on a recurring basis. That means the city will have to continue to provide that extra money in the funding that it transfers to Oak Ridge Schools each year as part of what is known as maintenance of effort. The city had also given the schools an additional $538,000 last year, but it was on a one-time basis for a digital device initiative that includes convertible laptops for students, among other expenses.

This year, members of the Oak Ridge Board of Education sought to make that $538,000 a recurring part of the school system’s funding, and they wanted to add another $318,000—or about $856,000 total—for the 2.5 percent pay raise for teachers and staff. Council members approved the first part of that request (the recurring $538,000), but not the second (the extra $318,000). [Read more…]

Scarboro skeptical, wants more discussion, but Council picks park for preschool

Posted at 2:56 pm March 29, 2017
By John Huotari 6 Comments

About 100 people turned out for a community meeting on selecting Scarboro Park for the new Oak Ridge Preschool on Thursday, March 23, 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Residents and former residents of the Scarboro neighborhood are divided over whether to build the Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. While some support the project, others are skeptical of the city’s motives and have signed a petition opposing the site. One resident asked for more time for discussion, at least a few more meetings, during a special meeting on Monday.

But the City Council voted 5-1 to select Scarboro Park as the site for the new Oak Ridge Preschool. That vote had been postponed during a regular City Council meeting two weeks ago in order to allow city and school officials to meet with Scarboro residents this past Thursday.

Council members and other officials have portrayed the preschool project as an opportunity, a $10 million investment in the community. City officials have said the site is centrally located, the land is flat and city-owned, and its crime statistics are a bit better than those at the first preferred site, Elm Grove Park.

They have pointed out that Scarboro Park is only a half-mile from the nearest fire station, and most of the park—about 85 percent of it—would still be a park. They said the park is large enough that the 40,000-square-foot preschool could be expanded and could include 20 classrooms. The park could still include the recreational amenities—basketball courts, tennis courts, and a youth-size baseball field—although they might be moved within the park, officials said. [Read more…]

Council postpones vote on preschool site until after Scarboro meeting

Posted at 3:42 pm March 14, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The new preschool could be located at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge or Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, and the city's school board expects to recommend one of the two sites on Monday, Feb. 27, a school official said Friday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new preschool could be located at Scarboro Park in central Oak Ridge, pictured above on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge City Council has postponed a vote on selecting a site for the new Oak Ridge Preschool until after a meeting in Scarboro next week.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education unanimously selected Scarboro Park, off Carver Avenue in central Oak Ridge, as the site for the new preschool in February.

The Council was expected to vote on that site on Monday.

But after hearing from a few people who had questions about the proposed site, Council agreed in a 4-3 vote to defer its site selection until after a March 23 meeting in Scarboro. Council could now vote during a special meeting on March 27.

Besides Scarboro Park, officials had previously looked at two other options. One, Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge, had been identified as the preferred site after a preschool report was published in October 2015. But there has been opposition, including a petition drive, to building the new preschool there. [Read more…]

City, schools could pick preschool site soon

Posted at 1:33 pm February 2, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Elm Grove Park Preschool Conceptual Site Plan Jan 2017 Large

A conceptual site plan for a new preschool at Elm Grove Park on East Tennessee Avenue in east Oak Ridge. Officials said the plan would keep the park and the walking trail. (Image courtesy Studio Four Design/City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge municipal and school officials could start selecting a site for the new preschool as early as this month. There are two options being considered: Elm Grove Park and Scarboro Community Center.

Financing for the project, which would include bonds, could be included in the budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

In the meantime, a petition drive has been started to oppose building the preschool at Elm Grove Park.

The park had previously been announced as the preferred site for the new preschool, which has been on the city’s wish list for many years. Elm Grove Park is a city-owned parcel in east Oak Ridge off East Tennessee Avenue. It’s the site of a former school, it’s relatively flat, and it has city-owned utilities. Also, there aren’t many obstacles that would affect construction, and site borings have already been done, city officials said last week. [Read more…]

Council approves $120,000 for city-owned golf course

Posted at 12:36 pm January 12, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Tennessee Centennial Golf Course is pictured above in Oak Ridge on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed in a 5-2 vote on Monday to provide $120,000 to continue operating the Tennessee Centennial Golf Course, which the city owns in east Oak Ridge off Edgemoor Road.

The request this year was smaller than it was in 2015, when Council approved a $325,000 transfer, but the golf course is still short of money needed to operate, despite all marketing efforts, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told City Council members in a memo before Monday’s meeting.

Most of the $120,000 in funding—or $70,024 of it—will be used for accounts payable. The rest will be used for cash flow and salaries, Watson said.

“The slow winter season now requires funding to pay necessary costs and salaries through the winter quarter (January-March 2017),” Watson said. [Read more…]

City Council to consider $120,000 for golf course

Posted at 1:21 pm January 5, 2017
By John Huotari 15 Comments

The Tennessee Centennial Golf Course is pictured above in east Oak Ridge on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider approving $120,000 to continue operating the Tennessee Centennial Golf Course in east Oak Ridge off Edgemoor Road.

The request comes about one year after Council approved, in a 6-1 vote, a $325,000 transfer for operations at the golf course. About $225,000 of that transfer, a cash infusion, was for outstanding accounts payable, including for expenses that included clothing in the pro shop, a management fee, fertilizer, and irrigation costs. Another $100,000 was operational funding for the winter, including maintenance of the greens.

The request is smaller this year, but the golf course is still short of money needed to operate, despite all marketing efforts, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said in a Wednesday memo to City Council members.

“The slow winter season now requires funding to pay necessary costs and salaries through the winter quarter (January-March 2017),” Watson said.

Most of the $120,000 in funding—or $70,024 of it—would be used for accounts payable. The rest would be used for cash flow and salaries, Watson said. [Read more…]

Council unanimously approves AMSE land transfer

Posted at 8:33 pm December 13, 2016
By John Huotari 2 Comments

The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge. The wide road running vertically at center-right through the aerial photo is South Tulane Avenue. Main Street Oak Ridge is being built on the right side of South Tulane Avenue at the former Oak Ridge Mall. The road running horizontally at bottom is South Illinois Avenue. AMSE is the brown-roofed building at top-center.

Note: This story was last updated at 11 p.m.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the transfer of the American Museum of Science and Energy property. The roughly 17.42 acres will be transferred from the U.S. Department of Energy to the City of Oak Ridge. It could then be transferred in two phases to a company set up by the developer of Main Street Oak Ridge.

Under the agreement, the AMSE missions will be relocated within about one year to 18,000 square feet of space in a two-story building that once housed a Sears store next to JCPenney at Main Street Oak Ridge. That space, once finished, will be provided by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC, a Main Street Oak Ridge company, to the city at no cost for 15 years.

The city will, in turn, sublease the former Sears space to DOE at no charge for 15 years, and it can be used for the public outreach and education missions now conducted at AMSE—as well as for a temporary visitor center for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. That visitor center is now housed at AMSE.
[Read more…]

Gooch re-appointed mayor, Chinn replaces Smith as mayor pro tem

Posted at 8:45 pm December 12, 2016
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Warren Gooch (File photo by Savanna Schubert)

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch has been elected by City Council to a second two-year term as mayor, and City Council member Rick Chinn was appointed mayor pro tem, replacing Ellen Smith.

No other City Council member sought to be appointed mayor, and Gooch, who was first appointed after he was elected in 2014, was unanimously elected by the new City Council.

Smith and Chinn both sought to be appointed mayor pro tem. The mayor pro tem serves as mayor when the mayor is temporarily unavailable. [Read more…]

Smith, Chinn both seek appointment as mayor pro tem

Posted at 2:01 pm December 9, 2016
By John Huotari 4 Comments

oak-ridge-city-council-ellen-smith-sept-14-2015

Ellen Smith (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Smith is seeking appointment to a second two-year term as mayor pro tem on Monday.

But she has a challenger: Rick Chinn.

The mayor pro tem is someone who can carry out the duties of the mayor when the mayor is temporarily unavailable. That includes leading Oak Ridge City Council meetings and serving as the city’s ambassador when the mayor is not available.

In a letter to her fellow city leaders, Smith said she has tried, during her two-year term, to conduct city business in an efficient and respectful manner and to present a positive image for Council and the community, both locally and when representing Oak Ridge outside the city’s borders. [Read more…]