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Council to discuss fatal police shooting, Gateway Project

Posted at 11:02 am February 16, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge of a proposed sign along South Illinois Avenue/Pellissippi Parkway (State Route 62)

The Oak Ridge City Council this evening will discuss a fatal police shooting in August and this week’s public meetings about a planned sign at the city entrance on South Illinois Avenue/Pellissippi Parkway (State Route 62).

The Council will meet online in a non-voting work session at 6 p.m. today (Tuesday, February 16).

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Gateway Project, Oak Ridge City Council, police shooting, sign

Council to consider zoning district that could allow motorsports park

Posted at 1:58 pm February 8, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Horizon-Center-Motorsports-Track-6-Feb-11-2020
Part of the site where a motorsports park could be built on the back side of Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider a zoning ordinance amendment that could allow a motorsports park.

A motorsports park has been proposed at the Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. The proposal has both supporters and detractors.

The zoning ordinance amendment being considered by Council at 7 p.m. Monday, February 8, does not endorse that specific proposal. Instead, it would create a new zoning district, the special recreation district, which could be used for large-scale recreation and entertainment developments.

A motorsports park would be one of the permitted uses in the new zoning district, if it is approved. Other permitted uses would be an amphitheater, athletic facility, fairground, amusement park, and zoo.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Slider Tagged With: Horizon Center, motorsports park, Oak Ridge City Council, zoning ordinance

City interested in historic preservation grant

Posted at 2:10 pm February 7, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The City of Oak Ridge is pursuing a historic preservation grant that could be used to study priority historic areas and focus on preservation, the removal of blight, and the expansion of the tax base.

If awarded, the grant from the Tennessee Historical Commission could be worth up to $15,000. It would require a 40 percent local match.

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider accepting the grant, if it is awarded, during its regular meeting on Monday.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, History, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: historic preservation grant, Oak Ridge City Council, Tennessee Historical Commission

Construction of new water plant could start in May, be complete next year

Posted at 1:04 pm February 7, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An image showing the interior of the proposed new 16-million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant at the City of Oak Ridge water intake on the Clinch River south of Bethel Valley Road. (Image courtesy of Jacobs Engineering Group and the City of Oak Ridge)

Construction of the new water plant at the city’s water intake on the Clinch River could start in May and be complete in December 2022, according to a proposed schedule presented to Oak Ridge City Council.

The Council on Monday will consider a construction administration contract for the new water plant, which would be south of Bethel Valley Road. It would be able to treat 16 million gallons of water per day.

If approved Monday, the professional engineering services agreement would be with Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. of Knoxville. The contract would be valued at up to about $1.88 million. It would be for construction administration and observation of the construction of the new water treatment plant and a main transmission line.

Approval of the agreement with Jacobs Engineering on Monday could be contingent upon the city’s ability to use Drinking Water State Revolving Funding, which is pending approval, according to the resolution to be considered by Council.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Slider Tagged With: City of Oak Ridge, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge City Council, water plant, water treatment plant

Council to consider accepting airport grants

Posted at 1:10 pm January 19, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

This is an aerial image of a layout plan for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport at the Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority)

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider accepting grants for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport on Tuesday.

The airport would be built along Highway 58 on the south side of the Heritage Center, the former K-25 site.

Council will meet online to consider accepting the airport grants in a special session at 6 p.m. Tuesday, January 19. You can watch the meeting here.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Slider Tagged With: airport grants, Oak Ridge airport, Oak Ridge City Council

Oak Ridge Council to meet online Monday

Posted at 11:44 am January 6, 2021
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge City Council will meet electronically on Monday, rather than in-person, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Monday.

Council members will be able to participate by video and audio conferencing. It will be streamed online on the city’s website and broadcast on Comcast Channel 12.

The city asked residents to watch the meeting online or on television because of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s executive orders that limit public gatherings to help prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

“Meeting electronically and limiting in-person access to the meeting is necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare in light of COVID-19,” the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: COVID-19, meeting, Oak Ridge City Council

Council asked to urge COVID precautions; 14 city employees have tested positive

Posted at 1:34 pm November 9, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Fourteen city employees have had COVID-19 and 32 people have had to quarantine due to potential exposure since the pandemic began in March, and the Oak Ridge City Council will consider a resolution this evening that asks people to wear a mask, wash their hands frequently, avoid crowds, and maintain a distance from people outside their household.

All of the infected municipal employees have recovered, the City of Oak Ridge said in a brief statement in response to questions on Monday. The positive test results have been since March. It wasn’t immediately clear if the infections have been spaced out over time or if they have been clustered in any months.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson has recommended the precautions, according to a resolution that City Council will consider during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, November 9.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: City of Oak Ridge, COVID-19, face masks, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge City Council

Updated: Dodson, Hammond, Hope re-elected to City Council

Posted at 9:07 pm November 3, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Jim Dodson

Note: This story was last updated at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 8.

Oak Ridge City Council members Jim Dodson, Derrick Hammond, and Chuck Hope were re-elected Tuesday.

They had one challenger, Edward Jackson Jr.

Oak Ridge Board of Education members Angi Agle and Keys Fillauer were also re-elected.

In the City Council election, Dodson received the most votes, 8,253, in Anderson County. He received the second-most votes in Roane County, 1,499. He had a total of 9,752 votes in the two counties, giving him the most total votes of any candidate and 852 more than the second-place finisher.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: 2020 Election, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Chuck Hope, Derrick Hammond, Edward Jackson Jr., election, Jim Dodson, Oak Ridge City Council

Council approves $175,000 settlement with Billy Casper Golf Management

Posted at 7:30 am October 22, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Centennial Golf Course is pictured above in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge City Council last week approved a $175,000 settlement to resolve a dispute between the city and Billy Casper Golf Management over the termination of the agreement to manage Centennial Golf Course.

The city owns the golf course, which is in east Oak Ridge. The city notified Billy Casper Golf Management in October 2017 that it was going to terminate the management agreement “for cause,” Oak Ridge City Attorney Ken Krushenski said in a memo to Council. But Billy Casper Golf Management contested the termination of the agreement, and the company’s attorney claimed that the city owed more than $520,000 in termination fees, Krushenski said.

The two sides negotiated, and the management company accepted the city’s offer of $175,000 to settle all claims, Krushenski said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Recreation, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: Billy Casper Golf Management, Centennial Golf Course, Ken Krushenski, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge City Council

Smith estimates 600-700 COVID cases in Oak Ridge zip code

Posted at 1:19 pm October 21, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Image courtesy Ellen Smith

Oak Ridge City Council member Ellen Smith has estimated there could have been between 600 to 700 cases of COVID-19 in the city’s main zip code through October 14.

Oak Ridge’s main zip code is 37830.

The Tennessee Department of Health does not publish the number of COVID-19 cases by city or zip code. It does publish the number of COVID-19 cases by county, and it publishes trend maps by zip code, although it doesn’t give the precise number of cases per zip code.

Smith has analyzed the data and the maps to come up what she calls her best-guess estimate: 600 to 700 cases. That’s a bit more than 2 percent of the city’s population.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: COVID-19, Ellen Smith, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge City Council, Tennessee Department of Health

Sewer testing finds significant increase in COVID particles in east plant

Posted at 12:31 pm October 21, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A chart by the Oak Ridge Public Works Department shows the results of testing wastewater for COVID-19. The particles per liter have increased significantly in the east plant during the past week, putting it in the red zone for uncontrolled transmission. The east plant is the area generally east of New York Avenue and north of Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The most recent testing for evidence of COVID-19 in the city’s sewer system documented a significant increase in particles per liter in the east plant, putting that area in a red zone for uncontrolled transmission.

The east plant is the area generally east of New York Avenue and north of Oak Ridge Turnpike.

In the last test, the east plant was up to 2.4 million positive genetic particles per liter. That was an increase of almost 35 times from the prior weekly test result of 69,000 positive genetic particles per liter, according to information provided by Oak Ridge Public Works Director Shira McWaters at a City Council work session on Tuesday evening.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, Health, Oak Ridge, Slider Tagged With: City Council, COVID-19, Geosyntec Consultants, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge City Council, Patrick Berge, sewer system, sewer testing, Shira McWaters, Sirem

Drive-by campaign rally for Hammond is today

Posted at 9:03 am October 10, 2020
By Kay Brookshire Leave a Comment

Derrick Hammond

Friends of the Reverend Derrick Hammond, who is seeking re-election to Oak Ridge City Council, are hosting a drive-by campaign rally outdoors at Jackson Square from 1-3 p.m. today (Saturday, October 10).

Residents are invited to drive by to show their support for Hammond at the event, remaining in their cars to maintain social distance while observing health guidelines during the pandemic, a press release said. Supporters will have the opportunity to volunteer to sign post cards for Hammond, to request a yard sign, and to make a campaign contribution. Music will be provided by The Missing Goats as people drive by.

Hammond, who has served as pastor of Oak Valley Baptist Church since 2014, was appointed to City Council to fill a vacancy in 2018 and elected to the seat in a special election later that year. He is heavily engaged in community activities and organizations, and he has worked tirelessly to keep the faith and nonprofit communities informed about and engaged in community conversations, especially during the pandemic, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2020 Election, Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: campaign rally, Derrick Hammond, Oak Ridge City Council

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Classifieds

Public Notice: Comment period extended for Draft EA for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

EXTENSION OF THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING … [Read More...]

Public Notice: Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Lithium Production Facility at Y-12

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING FACILITY AT THE Y-12 … [Read More...]

Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment for the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC) (DOE/EA-2144), Finding of No Significant Impact, and Wetland Statement of Findings

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

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