Oak Ridge Today

County Commissioners to tour new home of Oak Ridge courtroom Tuesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Anderson County could renovate the former Oak Ridge Senior Center, which was once housed in this part of a building owned by Anderson County on Emory Valley Road, and use the space for Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Anderson County is renovating the former Oak Ridge Senior Center, which was once housed in this part of a building owned by Anderson County on Emory Valley Road, and plans to use the space for Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Anderson County Commission on Tuesday will walk through and discuss renovations that are part of the project to relocate Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, from a privately owned building on Bus Terminal Road to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

The public meeting is at 4 p.m. Tuesday, December 12, at the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center, a county-owned building at 728 Emory Valley Road. Parts of that building complex have been home to the Oak Ridge Senior Center, satellite offices of the Anderson County Clerk and Anderson County Trustee, Emory Valley Center, and The ARC Anderson County.

The Oak Ridge Senior Center has temporarily moved from that building to the Oak Ridge Civic Center until a new senior center can be built at Alvin K. Bissell Park.

The new General Sessions courtroom at the county-owned building will be in the big room where the pool and billiard tables used to be at the Oak Ridge Senior Center. [Read more…]

City Council agrees to give $30K per year for five years to General Sessions Court

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Anderson-County-General-Sessions-Court-Interior-Oak-Ridge-Nov-19-2015

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed on Monday, April 10, 2017, to contribute $30,000 per year for five years to continue operating Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. The interior of the current courthouse on Bus Terminal Road is pictured above. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed on Monday to contribute $30,000 per year for five years to continue operating Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

The money will be used for court operations and capital costs for Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge.

Council approved the funding in a 6-0 vote, with Council member Hans Vogel absent.

The city and the Oak Ridge City Council have supporting having the General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge since it started in 1993, according to City Manager Mark Watson.

“We believe that it is important to have that here,” Watson said. “It does save us a little bit of time.” [Read more…]

County Commission approves 18-month lease for General Sessions Court

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Anderson-County-General-Sessions-Court-Exterior-Nov-19-2015

The seven-year lease on the Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, on Bus Terminal Road in Oak Ridge expires Dec. 31, 2015, but the Anderson County Commission on Thursday agreed to an 18-month lease to keep the courthouse where it is now. That will give county officials time to consider options for where to locate the courthouse. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:50 p.m. Dec. 18.

CLINTON—With no other alternative lined up yet, the Anderson County Commission on Thursday agreed to an 18-month lease for the Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. That will keep the courthouse at its current home until mid-2017, giving county officials time to consider where to locate the General Sessions Court, Division II.

The courthouse is used by police officers in Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, and Rocky Top, among other agencies and businesses.

The current seven-year lease expires at the end of the year, and officials have been trying to determine since October whether to keep the courthouse where it is now, find a new location in Oak Ridge, or move the Division II court to Clinton, where Division I is located.

County commissioners approved the 18-month lease at a rate of $5,500 per month during a Thursday evening meeting. The lease, which was approved 12-2, will not include a warehouse building used by the county at the courthouse site on Bus Terminal Road. [Read more…]

Options for county courthouse in Oak Ridge: Extend lease, stay put, move to govt. building

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Anderson-County-General-Sessions-Court-Exterior-Nov-19-2015

The lease on Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, on Bus Terminal Road in Oak Ridge expires Dec. 31, but officials will ask for a one-year lease extension while courthouse options are considered. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—Several alternative locations have been proposed, including a city-owned building at A.K. Bissell Park and a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road, but for now, the Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge could remain at a privately owned building on Bus Terminal Road.

Once housed at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building, the General Sessions, Division II, courthouse has been on Bus Terminal Road since January 2009.

But the lease expires December 31.

On Monday, November 16, the Anderson County Commission voted 15-0 on a voice vote to ask for a one-year lease extension with no penalty and to work with Oak Ridge to share courthouse costs.

“That year buys us time to look at all the options,” said County Commissioner Myron Iwanski, who represents District 8, which includes Emory Valley, Woodland, and Hendrix Creek. [Read more…]

County officials to ask for one-year extension on expiring courthouse lease

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller

First elected in August, Judge Roger Miller, left, is pictured in Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge before a bond hearing this summer. (2015 file photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today) 

 

CLINTON—Anderson County officials could ask for a one-year extension of the lease on the General Sessions Court, Division II, in Oak Ridge. The current lease expires at the end of the year, on December 31.

The county has an option to renew the lease for five years from January 1, 2016, through the end of 2021, but it’s not clear if officials want to do that. There are questions about whether they want to keep a courthouse in Oak Ridge, particularly if the City of Oak Ridge is not providing financial support. But if Division II court does stay in Oak Ridge, there is a question about whether it should remain at the current location at the former Oak Ridge Utility District building on Bus Terminal Road.

Officials have limited time, about 80 days, to weigh the alternatives before the lease expires, and there are holidays in the meantime, said Anderson County Commissioner Mark Alderson, who made a motion to seek a one-year lease extension during an Operations Committee meeting on Monday. The committee unanimously approved that proposal on a voice vote. [Read more…]