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City manager Watson to discuss ‘state of city’ on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will present his annual “State of the City” during Lunch with the League on Tuesday.

The meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Watson has served as Oak Ridge city manager since August 2010. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration and city management from the University of Kansas. In 2019, he received his doctorate degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

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City manager cites top six project list

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson cited a top six project list during his “State of the City” presentation to the League of Women Voters on Tuesday.

The items on the list were installing the synthetic turf on Blankenship Field, to be completed in May, in time for graduation; improving a few intersections, including at Tulane Avenue; making progress on Rails to Trails; finishing the new Friendship Bell pavilion at Alvin K. Bissell Park; adding exhaust systems at Oak Ridge fire stations for the diesel-burning fire trucks; and replacing the Oak Ridge Water Plant.

The new water plant could cost $44 million and be built at the city’s water intake on Melton Hill Lake in south Oak Ridge. It’s probably the largest public works project for the city, Watson said. About half of the city’s water is used by the City of Oak Ridge and the other half is used by U.S. Department of Energy facilities, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex. [Read more…]

City estimates monthly revenue loss for Main Street delay at about $100,000

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Most of Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in this proposed plan from Nov. 29, 2018.

Most of Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in this proposed plan from Nov. 29, 2018.

 

The city has estimated about a $100,000 revenue loss per month for each month that the next phase of the Main Street Oak Ridge project is delayed.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson provided the rough estimate of probable sales tax revenues per month, based on “quick calculations,” to the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board on Monday and League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The project was delayed in January when the Oak Ridge City Council voted 4-3 in its second and final vote to reject a revised plan that had been drafted as the developer, RealtyLink, prepared to welcome a second wave of tenants to the 58-acre site.

It hasn’t been clear since then what might happen next or whether there will still be a second phase.

But on Monday, Watson said he has talked to RealtyLink, and on Tuesday, he said, “I think we will see a re-submittal.” [Read more…]

City manager to discuss ‘State of the City’ on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will discuss the “State of the City” during a lunchtime meeting Tuesday, a press release said.

The annual event will be during “Lunch with the League” on Tuesday, March 5.

Watson has served as Oak Ridge city manager since August 2010. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration in city management from the University of Kansas, the press release said. A second-generation city manager, he served six cities in Texas, Montana, and Arizona before coming to Oak Ridge.

Watson has received numerous awards and honors, and in 2017, was recognized by the International City/County Management Association for a 40-year career in public service, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge mayor to give ‘State of City’ talk at Lunch with League on Tuesday

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Warren Gooch

Warren Gooch (Photo by Savanna Schubert)

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch will give his “State of the City” address at the next Lunch with the League on Tuesday, May 3. The talk is scheduled to start at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Gooch was elected to the Oak Ridge City Council in November 2014 and later selected by Council members to serve as mayor.

Gooch received his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee with high honors, and he has practiced law with the Knoxville firm Kramer Rayson since completing his legal education at the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1977. [Read more…]

Watson to discuss State of the City on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will give his perspective on issues facing the city at the next Lunch with the League on Tuesday, November 3. The program will be held at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, Lunch with the League is open to the public. There is no cost to attend, and reservations are not needed. Box lunches will be available starting at 11:30 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis for $8, or you may bring your own. Coffee and tea are provided.

In August 2010, Watson was selected as the city manager of Oak Ridge after a 30-year career in local government. Prior to coming to Oak Ridge, he served as city manager of six cities in Texas, Montana, and Arizona. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration, a press release said. [Read more…]

Watson to discuss State of the City at Lunch with League on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will discuss the State of the City with the League of Women Voters on Tuesday.

During the annual event, Watson is also expected to give his perspective on issues facing the city, a press release said.

The Tuesday meeting starts at noon Tuesday, October 21, in the Social Hall of the new Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church location at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike (north of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, which is home to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office). [Read more…]

Watson to discuss ‘State of the City’ at Lunch with the League

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will give an update on the state of the city during Lunch with the League on Tuesday.

The meeting starts at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Watson became Oak Ridge city manager in August 2010. He is the chief administrative officer of the city, and his responsibilities include planning, organizing, directing, controlling, and evaluating the operations of the municipal government in order to implement Oak Ridge City Council policies in an effective and economic manner, a press release said. [Read more…]

City manager offers economic optimism, says mall needs to move quickly

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Mark Watson State of the City

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, left, talks to Kay Brookshire and Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan.

Note: This story was updated at 9:50 a.m. Oct. 4.

With a boom in economic activity that includes billions of dollars worth of projects, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark S. Watson offered a dose of optimism about the city’s economic future on Tuesday, and he suggested commercial developments won’t be held up by the owners of the “inactive” Oak Ridge Mall or property owners who set sale prices too high.

Five retailers that might have wanted to locate at the mall are now talking to the developers of a $30 million Kroger Marketplace shopping center planned at the busy intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue, Watson said. He said the city and commercial developers are “going right on around” the privately owned, mostly empty mall, where redevelopment plans have languished for years.

“They’re starting to lose customers,” Watson said during an hour-long lunchtime speech to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. “They’re going to be left holding the bag if they don’t start moving—and moving quickly.”

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Watson discusses Kroger shopping center, Jackson Square on Tuesday

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

During a Tuesday afternoon speech, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will discuss economic challenges, the proposed Kroger shopping center at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue, and the redevelopment of Jackson Square.

Watson’s speech is titled “The State of the City: Past Accomplishments; Future Vision.” It’s scheduled to begin at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

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