Oak Ridge Today

Council to consider $11.1 million in construction contracts for Preschool, Senior Center

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A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Thursday will consider $11.1 million in construction contracts for the new Oak Ridge Preschool, Oak Ridge Senior Center, and Scarboro Park improvements.

The contracts could both be awarded to Jenkins and Stiles LLC of Knoxville.

There were four bidders for the Senior Center project and three for the Preschool and Scarboro Park improvements, according to Jacene Phillips, senior project manager for Studio Four Design. Her company recommended both contracts be awarded to Jenkins and Stiles because of cost, but also because the Senior Center could be operating two months earlier under that contract than under any other bid and the Preschool would be complete three days before it would be under the other bids, Phillips said.

Both projects would be funded through general obligation bonds, a type of debt that could be issued in November.

The first contract that could be awarded Thursday is for the construction of the Preschool and improvements to Scarboro Park. The contract would be worth up to about $8.4 million. The Preschool would be built at Scarboro Park. [Read more…]

Council approves initial bond resolution for Preschool, Senior Center

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A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously approved an initial bond resolution of up to $16.5 million to build a new Oak Ridge Preschool and Oak Ridge Senior Center, and redevelop Scarboro Park.

It’s not the final bond resolution for the projects. The initial bond resolution approved in a 7-0 vote on Monday sets a ceiling amount for the debt issuance. A second resolution, a bond issuance resolution, will be brought to City Council, possibly at the October 8 meeting, for the actual bond issuance amount.

The City of Oak Ridge has opened the bidding period for the two projects, which have a total estimated cost of roughly $16 million. That announcement was made Friday.

But the city doesn’t know yet what the actual bids will be. And it’s not clear how steel tariffs might affect the projects, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said. [Read more…]

City Council to consider $16.5 million in bonds for Preschool, Senior Center projects

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A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider whether to issue bonds of up to $16.5 million to build a new Oak Ridge Preschool and Oak Ridge Senior Center, and redevelop Scarboro Park.

The two projects have an estimated cost of roughly $16 million, according to the City Council agenda for Monday. The bond resolution includes about $500,000 extra for the costs of issuing the bonds and for project contingencies.

The Preschool and Scarboro Park improvements have a total estimated cost of about $12.5 million. About $11.1 million of that is for construction.

The Senior Center has a total estimated cost of roughly $3.5 million. About $3.1 million of that is for construction. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge opens bidding for Preschool, Senior Center

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A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio 4 Design)

A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

 

The City of Oak Ridge has opened the bidding period for two major projects: the new Oak Ridge Preschool with Scarboro Park improvements and the new Oak Ridge Senior Center. Interested parties must submit bids before the deadline early next month. Studio Four Design Inc. of Knoxville is the architectural firm chosen to design both buildings.

The new preschool will be a single-story facility of about 33,000 square feet on Carver Avenue. The build site is inside Scarboro Park, a roughly 10-acre parcel, a press release said. The project includes improvements to the adjacent park area such as lighted basketball/tennis courts, a baseball field, a public pavilion, green space, and a walking trail.

The current senior center is temporarily operating out of the Civic Center’s Recreation Building. The new senior center will be built next door, just to the west of the Recreation Center. The single-story, approximately 11,000 square foot facility will overlook part of A.K. Bissell Park. Plans include a large kitchen, craft and exercise rooms, billiards parlor, lounge, and other common space, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge police host Ask an Officer event on Aug. 28

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The Oak Ridge Police Department will offer an educational Ask an Officer session on personal safety at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Tuesday, August 28, at 1 p.m.

You can join Oak Ridge Police Department Sergeant Shannah Newman and Investigator Wendy Zolkowski for this special program sponsored by the Oak Ridge Senior Center, a press release said. This event is open to participants of any age. Everyone is invited to come out and learn how to become safer and more secure in everyday life, the press release said.

A question and answer session will follow the presentation if time allows. There is no cost for the program, but please call the Oak Ridge Senior Center at (865) 425-3999 to reserve a spot.

Council to consider budget with two-cent tax rate increase

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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 on Monday will consider a budget with a proposed two-cent increase in the property tax rate and what would generally be a 2 percent pay increase for employees.

If approved by Council, the tax rate change would be the first increase in years. Oak Ridge Today reported that the budget approved last year was the 10th one in a row without a tax rate increase.

The two-cent increase in the property tax rate, which would raise it to $2.54 per $100 of assessed value, would help fund the bond repayments for the new Oak Ridge Senior Center, Scarboro Park renovation, and Oak Ridge Preschool, and also provide the city some “breathing room,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said. The Senior Center, Scarboro Park, and Preschool projects are expected to cost about $13 million total.

Municipal officials said there has been a $750,000 shortfall in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, in revenues from Roane County. That shortfall is attributed to some sales tax exemptions, and it is believed to mostly be from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the major taxpayer in the Roane County portion of the city. The shortfall affected Oak Ridge this year and has been resolved this year, but the city had to use reserves, which affected money that could be used for capital projects in the next fiscal year, fiscal year 2019, which starts July 1, Watson said. [Read more…]

Updated: Council authorizes final design for Preschool, Senior Center

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Oak Ridge Pre-K School (Image by Studio Four Design via City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge Pre-K School at Scarboro Park (Image by Studio Four Design via City of Oak Ridge)

 

Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. May 15.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday authorized the final designs of the Senior Center and the Preschool and Scarboro Park Renovation. The two projects together could total about $13 million. The Senior Center and Preschool have been on the city’s wish list for a decade or two—or even longer.

Resolutions unanimously approved by City Council on Monday in 7-0 votes authorize Studio Four Design Inc. of Knoxville to proceed to the final construction design of the two projects. One project, the Preschool, would be at Scarboro Park, and the other, the Senior Center, would be at Alvin K. Bissell Park.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told City Council members in May 9 memos that Studio Four Design, led by Jacene Phillips, has achieved 50 percent design on the two projects and reviewed the proposed designs with city, school, and Senior Advisory Board officials and “achieved consensus on design requirements.”

The more expensive of the two projects, the Oak Ridge Preschool and Scarboro Park Renovation, has a current estimated cost of $9,792,674, or close to $10 million.

The Senior Center could cost about $3 million. [Read more…]

Agenda change: No presentation on Preschool, Senior Center tonight

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Agenda change: The Oak Ridge City Council work session tonight (Tuesday, March 20) will not include a presentation or discussion related to the Oak Ridge Preschool project or the Oak Ridge Senior Center.

Both projects had been scheduled to be presented to City Council by Studio Four Design tonight.

“These items were removed in order to provide Studio Four Design representatives additional time to prepare new material for review,” the City of Oak Ridge said in a notice Tuesday morning. “Studio Four Design will be scheduled to present this new material to City Council and city staff at another meeting in the future.” [Read more…]

Council to receive updates on airport, preschool, senior center on Tuesday

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Image from a Billy Stair presentation on the Oak Ridge Airport project to Roane County officials at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.

Image from a Billy Stair presentation on the Oak Ridge Airport project to Roane County officials at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will hear updates on three projects during a special meeting on Tuesday: the proposed Oak Ridge General Aviation Airport, the planned Oak Ridge Preschool, and the planned Oak Ridge Senior Center.

The special meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 20, in the Multipurpose Room at the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane.

The presentation and status report on the proposed airport is scheduled to be given by aviation consultant Billy Stair and Bill Marrison, president of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority. Stair and Marrison gave a status report to Roane County officials in December. The Oak Ridge Airport would be built at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, which is in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge.

The airport presentation in Oak Ridge was initially scheduled for January, but it was rescheduled to Tuesday because of winter weather last month. [Read more…]

Senior Board has public progress meeting on Oak Ridge Senior Center on Thursday

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The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board will hold a progress meeting on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center regarding the new Oak Ridge Senior Center. The proposed design at Alvin K. Bissell Park is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board will have a progress meeting on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center regarding the new Oak Ridge Senior Center. The proposed design at Alvin K. Bissell Park, just west of the Civic Center, is pictured above.

 

The Oak Ridge Senior Advisory Board will have a progress meeting on Thursday, February 15, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center regarding the new Oak Ridge Senior Center.

The Board will meet with representatives of Studio Four Design, the Knoxville-based architecture and design firm selected for the project, to review progress and plans for the new center, a press release said. Board members and all other interested residents are encouraged to attend.

Anyone with questions prior to the meeting should contact Oak Ridge Recreation Manager Linda McGhee at [email protected] or (865) 425-3999.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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New session of free exercise class starts Tuesday at Senior Center

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Pierce Physical Therapy

The Oak Ridge Senior Center, in partnership with Pierce Physical Therapy, will be sponsoring a free exercise class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for anyone age 50 and over.

The program begins on Tuesday, January 9. Participants can attend either an 11 a.m. class or an 11:50 a.m. class.

The Pierce Therapy Exercise Program, or P.E.P. for short, concentrates on strength, balance, and mobility, and it incorporates therapeutic exercise, functional training, and individual exercise modifications, a press release said. [Read more…]

Senior Center offers free guitar lessons

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Guitar Intermediate Class

Free guitar lessons for senior citizens will begin with an orientation class on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, at 10 a.m., at the Oak Ridge Senior Center, which is at the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. This is a picture of a previous intermediate guitar class. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

Free guitar lessons for senior citizens will begin with an orientation class on Friday, January 5, 2018, at 10 a.m., at the Oak Ridge Senior Center.

Regular classes will begin on Friday, January 19, 2018, and are open to area seniors age 50 and older. All levels of guitar players are welcome, a press release said.

Beginner’s lessons start at 9 a.m. with intermediate lessons to follow. Bass guitar lessons are also included. Wendall Cook, who has many years of experience playing and teaching, will conduct the lessons, the press release said. [Read more…]