Oak Ridge Today

Current status of city facilities due to COVID

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Oak Ridge officials continue to ask residents to conduct municipal business over the phone and by phone when possible because of COVID-19.

On Wednesday, the City of Oak Ridge released an update about city facilities as the world continues to be affected by the pandemic.

The city said it is supporting the Tennessee Pledge of the state government. You can refer to State of Tennessee websites for updates and advice on precautions to be taken by particular businesses, a press release said.

City facilities will continue to be operated as below as precautions and security matters are considered for the safety of employees, and social distancing for customers, the press release said. Visitors may receive a temperature scan and be asked about their current health, the press release said. You can call the city manager’s office or department offices on the city’s website for more information.

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Municipal Building, playgrounds remain closed; greenways, parks open

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The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Municipal Building remains closed to the public but is moving to a public check-in area where visitors can be escorted to secured areas of the building, City Manager Mark Watson said in an update Tuesday.

Playgrounds and basketball courts remain closed. Disinfection options are being reviewed for limited open times, the update said.

The Oak Ridge Public Library will begin curbside delivery of library materials beginning in mid-May, the update said.

Oak Ridge City Court is working to resume in-person hearings on May 11 with COVID-19 precautions, the update said. COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly. It has caused a global pandemic.

The city manager’s update said there is planning for a phased re-opening of the Oak Ridge Senior Center.

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City Hall, Library, Rec Center closing

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The Oak Ridge Municipal Building will be closed starting Monday, and the Public Library and Recreation Center will close Saturday evening (tomorrow, March 21). Those were among the changes announced Friday by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here is the latest update, which includes changes from an announcement earlier this week. The public health situation can change rapidly, so any of the following conditions could change.

MUNICIPAL BUILDING

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Oak Ridge Business Office to be temporarily relocated

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Oak Ridge Utilities Business Office Exterior
Oak Ridge Utilities Business Office (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Utilities Business Office will temporarily relocate to the Oak Ridge Civic Center for about four months to allow workers to renovate the office to improve safety and efficiency, a press release said.

The Utilities Business Office is where Oak Ridge residents can pay utility bills and city taxes.

The temporary relocation, which will start Monday, October 7, was announced by the Oak Ridge Electric Department.

“The move is due to planned renovations of the UBO that are needed to increase efficiency and safety,” the press release said. “The affected offices are normally located inside the Oak Ridge Municipal Building at 200 South Tulane Avenue. Signs will be posted to direct patrons to the temporary offices.”

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Council to consider Main Street, apartment plans

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The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider changes to the plan for Main Street Oak Ridge and a plan that would allow apartments at the former American Museum of Science and Energy site on South Tulane Avenue.

The meeting will start at 7 p.m. Monday, January 14, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. You can see the agenda here.

The changes to the Main Street Oak Ridge plan are being considered as RealtyLink, the developer, prepares to welcome a second wave of tenants to the 58-acre site. Council approved changes on first reading in December and will consider them on second and final reading tonight (Monday, January 14).

The apartment proposal requires a rezoning and the approval of a planned unit development plan.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Reminder: Planning Commission, City Council meet to discuss Main Street, Phase 2

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The access road from this roundabout to Rutgers Avenue, pictured above on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, could be closed and a retail store built here as part of phase two under a revised master plan for Main Street Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The access road from this roundabout to Rutgers Avenue, pictured above on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, could be closed and a retail store built here as part of phase two under a revised master plan for Main Street Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A reminder: Oak Ridge officials will meet this evening to discuss proposed revisions to the plan for the second phase of Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

It will be a joint work session between the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission and Oak Ridge City Council. The meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. today (Thursday, November 8) in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue.

City officials hope to make progress and help produce a good plan, although they don’t expect to vote on anything today.

Oak Ridge officials have had concerns about the proposed revisions to the master plan for Main Street as the developer, RealtyLink, prepares to welcome a second wave of tenants. The Planning Commission postponed a vote on the revised master plan and requested today’s work session during a meeting on Thursday, October 18. [Read more…]

City, schools to present budgets to City Council on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

 

City and school officials will present their fiscal year 2019 budgets to Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Tuesday.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education budget, which has already been approved by the school board, will be presented by Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers and Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer. The city has typically provided a little less than 30 percent of the school system’s funding.

The proposed municipal budget will be presented by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. [Read more…]

UT MBA team to present Rails to Trails study findings

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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, which could be converted into a bike and pedestrian greenway, is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A team of graduate students from the University of Tennessee’s Master of Business Administration program will present recommendations next week to the City of Oak Ridge from a recent project that focused on how the city can promote its proposed Rails to Trails program.

The presentation, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, will be in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom on South Tulane Avenue. It is open to the public.

The Rails to Trails project in Oak Ridge would convert about 4.85 miles of unused CSX railroad into a pedestrian and bicycle trail. The city has received a $1.2 million grant for the project and approved a $1.5 million contract with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, but there is still much work to be done, including acquiring the property and designing and building the trail. Officials suggest it could be several years at least before the project is completed.

The former railroad starts at Elza Gate Park at Melton Lake Drive in east Oak Ridge, runs past the Emory Heights neighborhood and Jefferson Middle School, crosses Emory Valley Road near Hank’s Market, and then continues through the Hendrix Creek neighborhood along Lafayette Drive before ending near South Illinois Avenue, Scarboro Road, and the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The study of the Rails to Trails program took the group of four MBA students about seven weeks to complete, a press release said. [Read more…]

City code could require animal shelters to protect against cold, dampness

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James T. Akagi

James T. Akagi

A change to the Oak Ridge city code that will be considered Monday would require doghouses and shelters for outdoor animals to provide insulation and protection against cold and dampness.

Current city code requires access to a barn, doghouse, or other shelter “sufficient to protect the animal from the elements.”

But new language could be added to that section: “Doghouses and similar shelters shall be made of durable materials with a solid, moisture-proof floor, and must contain clean bedding material consisting of hay, straw, cedar shavings, or the equivalent to provide insulation and protection against cold and dampness.”

There have been concerns raised by residents, especially during cold winter weather, about keeping outdoor animals or pets safe and protected from freezing and below-freezing temperatures. It wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday night if those concerns led to the proposed code change.

The amended city code would require the approval of the Oak Ridge City Council, which meets at 7 p.m. Monday, March 12, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. The change would be done through an ordinance, which requires City Council to approve it in two separate meetings, usually two monthly meetings. [Read more…]

Planning Commission to consider final master plan for property south of AMSE

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Image from Oak Ridge Community Development Department's staff report for TN Oak Ridge Illinois PUD Final Master Plan, to be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, March 8, 2018. This image shows the location and types of businesses that could locate on the 7.4-acre site.

Image from Oak Ridge Community Development Department’s staff report for TN Oak Ridge Illinois PUD Final Master Plan, to be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, March 8, 2018. This image shows the location and types of businesses that could locate on the 7.4-acre site.

 

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday will consider a final master plan for about seven acres of land south of the American Museum of Science and Energy, property that was once part of the museum site.

During Thursday’s special meeting, the Planning Commission is scheduled to consider a final master plan for a planned unit development, or PUD, for the 7.4 acres, which is at the intersection of South Tulane Avenue and South Illinois Avenue.

The plan is to be submitted by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC, a company affiliated with RealtyLink, which is developing Main Street Oak Ridge at the former Oak Ridge Mall. A copy of the PUD final master plan wasn’t available Monday afternoon.

The special meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 8, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. A work session will follow at 6 p.m. [Read more…]

Taco Bell could be built on current site of General Sessions Court

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A Taco Bell restaurant could be built on the property that now houses Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, at the intersection of Bus Terminal Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike. A rezoning has been requested for the 1.1-acre site by Tacala TN Corporation of Vestavia Hills, Alabama. The rezoning request will be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

A Taco Bell restaurant could be built on the property that now houses Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, at the intersection of Bus Terminal Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike. A rezoning has been requested for the 1.1-acre site by Tacala TN Corporation of Vestavia Hills, Alabama. The rezoning request will be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

 

A Taco Bell restaurant could be built on the property that now houses Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, at the intersection of Bus Terminal Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike.

A rezoning has been requested for the 1.1-acre site by Tacala TN Corporation of Vestavia Hills, Alabama. The rezoning would change the property from an O-2 Office District to a B-2 General Business District.

The development plan calls for a Taco Bell fast-food restaurant with a drive-through on the property, according to a rezoning request that will be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, December 14, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

It’s not clear if the existing building, which once housed the city’s police station and later the Oak Ridge Utility District, would remain. Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, has been there since January 2009, but the court is moving to a county-owned building that once housed the Oak Ridge Senior Center on Emory Valley Road. [Read more…]

Council to consider $14.3 million debt resolution Tuesday

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oak-ridge-city-council-december-2016

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

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider a $14.3 million initial debt resolution in a special meeting on Tuesday.

The debt could include about $5.87 million for projects known as ESCO Projects that appear to be related to energy-efficiency projects in the city and its school system; $4.1 million for software, including for financial management and utility billing; $3.4 million for a replacement and upgrade of the radio system used primarily by the city’s police and fire departments; and $1 million mostly for design and engineering costs for the Oak Ridge Preschool and Senior Center.

If it’s adopted, the initial debt resolution, which calls for issuing up to $14.3 million in general obligation bonds, will be published in the newspaper. That will start a 20-day period in which at least 10 percent of registered voters in Oak Ridge can petition for a referendum on issuing the debt.

The bond resolution for issuing the debt would come before City Council for possible adoption at a regular meeting on Monday, October 9. [Read more…]