Oak Ridge Today

Council agrees to negotiate on AMSE property for Main Street; DOE wants to dispose of museum

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The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge. The wide road running vertically at center-right through the aerial photo is South Tulane Avenue. The proposed Main Street Oak Ridge would be on the right side of South Tulane Avenue at the former Oak Ridge Mall. The road running horizontally at bottom is South Illinois Avenue. AMSE is the brown-roofed building at top-center.

The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge. The wide road running vertically at center-right through the aerial photo is South Tulane Avenue. The proposed Main Street Oak Ridge would be on the right side of South Tulane Avenue at the former Oak Ridge Mall. The road running horizontally at bottom is South Illinois Avenue. AMSE is the brown-roofed building at top-center.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m. June 16.

The Oak Ridge City Council agreed Monday to allow the city manager to negotiate with federal officials and the company redeveloping the former Oak Ridge Mall for the transfer of the American Museum of Science and Energy property—if the federal government wants to get rid of it.

And it appears that the federal government does want to dispose of the museum. The U.S. Department of Energy has asked the federal General Services Administration, which disposes of federal property, for help with that process, said Claire Sinclair of Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office Public Affairs. GSA took on that role last week.

But the transfer of federal property such as AMSE usually takes a few years, Sinclair said, and if a new use were proposed for the museum property, adequate public notice would be given. ORNL manages AMSE for DOE.

In the meantime, AMSE is expected to continue operating, officials said.

Under the resolution approved by Council on Monday, the 17.12 acres of federal property at the AMSE site could be transferred to the city. Or RealtyLink, the company redeveloping the mall, could negotiate directly with federal officials. The U.S. Department of Energy owns the museum, and it would work on any proposed transfer through the General Services Administration. [Read more…]

Council approves budget with no tax increase, more money for schools

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Note: This story was last updated at 12:15 a.m.

The Oak Ridge City Council approved a budget on Monday that does not include a property tax rate increase, but it does include more money for schools and it anticipates increases in the trash fee and water and sewer rates.

The budget passed in a 6-1 vote in the first of two readings this month. The second and final reading is Monday, June 13.

Council rejected one motion to lower the $2.52 property tax rate by 4.4 cents and another to take away the additional $538,048 requested by Oak Ridge Schools and put it into the capital fund instead.

The budget does not increase the property tax rate for the ninth year in a row. After five-year reappraisals last year, the rate is now set at $2.52 per $100 of assessed value.

As approved on first reading Monday, the budget includes a 3 percent pay adjustment that will move municipal employees along their pay scales, helping to separate those who have worked for the city for a while from those who have just started. The school budget, which was approved by the Oak Ridge Board of Education in May, also includes 3 percent salary increases. [Read more…]

Opinion: A tale of three cities

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By Trina Baughn

As we delve into what could be the last city budget I work on as a council member, I reflect upon both the state of the city and my contributions thus far. I could boast that, during my tenure, no property taxes were raised, and we’ve reduced total debt levels. However, those claims would be misleading given that council has so steeply expanded their reach into your pocket by other means. In fact, council is considering doing that very thing, yet again, with this budget. More on that in a moment.

Property taxes and debt paint only a partial picture of a city’s financial health. While both are very important, consideration must be given to their utility and return on investment. For many years, I have published in-depth analyses of some of the major expenditures that have brought us to the point we are today, such as:

  • How you were sold a $40 million high school that will, in the end, cost you over $126 million.
  • The fact that the city, not the EPA, was at fault for your water and sewer rates doubling in only a few short years, thereby incurring $33 million worth of debt on top of  the $24 million we’d already spent to avoid the EPA mandate.
  • An accounting of the $10 million you’ve paid on a golf course you were assured would pay for itself but hasn’t and won’t for many more years to come, if ever.
  • Your annual $175,000 subsidy (compare to Farragut, which only spends $15,000) of a Chamber of Commerce that is largely made up of nonprofits, government organizations, and non-Oak Ridge businesses that regularly pressure council to increase your property taxes.
  • Frequent disclosures of excessive, non-essential spending such as a $275,000 parking lot, a $1 million fountain, a $300,000 bathroom and much, much more.
  • How crony capitalism has run amuck, forcing you to offset the extensive corporate welfare the city doles out on your behalf.
  • Demonstrating that you are likely overpaying for your trash services with Waste Connections, which is charging less in communities where they had to compete.
  • Reminding you of the broken promises of Partners for Progress, which cost you $15 million on the failed Rarity Ridge/Horizon Center development 16 years ago and warning of similar pitfalls in the $13 million mall TIF (tax increment financing).
  • And, because half of your property taxes fund our schools, I frequently challenged our superintendent and school board when they would demand more of your money on the grounds that, in spite of being the one of the most heavily funded systems in the state, much of your money is not making it into the classroom where it belongs.

Some will view the above examples through a different lens if they rely upon what they see around town. We have certainly seen an uptick in eateries, and we can all appreciate the aesthetic value of some of the new developments. Those new developments have, however, displaced some pre-existing businesses, leaving us with an abundance of vacant properties. [Read more…]

ORHS junior running for City Council, wants to represent youth

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Mark Lenoir

Mark LeNoir, right, a junior at Oak Ridge High School, is running for Oak Ridge City Council in November. (Submitted photo)

 

A 17-year-old junior at Oak Ridge High School is running for Oak Ridge City Council, and he said he wants to represent the city’s youth on the seven-member body.

Mark LeNoir, the first candidate to publicly announce a City Council campaign this year, at least to Oak Ridge Today, will turn 18 on October 5, about one month before the November 8 election.

On Wednesday, LeNoir said he kicked off his campaign a few weeks ago at a banquet for Youth Leadership of Oak Ridge at the DoubleTree Hotel.

“My biggest thing is that there is a lot of unrepresented youth in this town,” LeNoir said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “It’s kind of stayed on the same path for the last 20 years. I want to get change happening.”

LeNoir said he wants more cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, including possibly having the city take over the American Museum of Science and Energy, or AMSE, and Clark Center Park. [Read more…]

Council could consider backyard chicken ordinance in May

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Mark-Watson-and-Kayla-Wyatt-April-19-2016

Pictured above during an Oak Ridge City Council work session on Tuesday, April 19, 2016, are Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, left, and Kayla Wyatt, an advocate for allowing a small number of hens at Oak Ridge homes. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 3:30 p.m.

The Oak Ridge City Council could consider a backyard chicken ordinance in May. If adopted, the ordinance could allow residents to have a small number of chickens, maybe up to a half-dozen hens, in places where they’re not allowed now.

Council is expected to use a Knoxville ordinance as a model. Knoxville allows domesticated chickens under an ordinance approved in 2010. An annual $25 permit is required to keep the birds, up to six chickens (hens only) are allowed, and they must be kept in a fenced enclosure at all times. They are for personal use only, and the slaughtering of chickens is prohibited.

Knoxville also requires a $50 fee for a building permit for the fenced enclosure and for a required henhouse, which must be covered and predator-resistant.

The Oak Ridge City Council could conceivably have several options in May: adopt the Knoxville ordinance without any changes, adopt a modified version of it, reject it, or defer it or send it to the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission for further review. Planning Commission can’t accept it or reject it but can recommend that Council do so.

Oak Ridge officials have considered allowing backyard chickens before. In April 2010, the Oak Ridge City Council voted 4-3 against a resolution that would have kept alive a previous proposal. Two current Council members, Charlie Hensley and Ellen Smith, voted in favor of referring the proposal to the Planning Commission, which could have then consulted with interested residents and other city boards. The rejected resolution also would have directed former Interim City Manager Gary Cinder to draft an ordinance to amend the city code. [Read more…]

Redflex proposes new handheld laser device that could be used to catch speeders, traffic violators

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Redflex-LIDAR-April-19-2016

A representative of Redflex Traffic Systems gives a brief presentation on a new laser-technology traffic detection system that includes video and can measure the speed of vehicles and the distance between vehicles. Charlie Buckels, southeast U.S. sales manager for Redflex, gave the presentation during an Oak Ridge City Council work session on Tuesday evening, April 19, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Redflex Traffic Systems, the company that once had unmanned, pole-mounted red-light and speed enforcement cameras in Oak Ridge, has a new handheld system that it says could be used to help make roads safer as the city tries to slow down speeding drivers. But the use of the devices hasn’t been approved yet, and one Oak Ridge City Council member expressed her strong opposition on Tuesday.

The new handheld LIDAR devices include a camera, and they can capture traffic violations on video. They use a laser technology to measure vehicle speeds and distances between vehicles, said Charlie Buckels, southeast U.S. sales manager for Redflex. LIDAR stands for light detection and ranging.

Buckels said the handheld devices could be used for both civil and criminal violations. In some cases, such as for speeding, police officers could use the devices and the evidence they collect to issue civil citations that could be mailed to the registered owners of violating vehicles. In those cases, officers wouldn’t have to stop the violators, Buckels said.

But in other cases—when a car is driving excessively fast or swerving, for example—police officers could pull vehicles over, Buckels said.

City officials said they have been discussing drivers traveling too fast on roadways in the city, including those coming into town on South Illinois Avenue in the morning and trying to get to work on time. Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said three City Council members have asked him to take action to combat speeding, and he’s had concerns himself about traffic on Illinois Avenue. Other roads cited by city officials Tuesday included Oak Ridge Turnpike, Robertsville Road, Melton Lake Drive, and Tennessee Avenue. [Read more…]

City approves water contract extension for Y-12, ORNL, but DOE rates questioned

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Oak-Ridge-Water-Treatment-Plant-2009-1

The Oak Ridge Water Treatment Plant is pictured on Pine Ridge above the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9 a.m. March 30.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday approved a one-year, $2.1 million contract extension for water supplied to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, but a few members questioned whether the U.S. Department of Energy is paying a fair rate.

The one-year extension is expected to give the city time to have a qualified third-party engineering firm study the city’s aging water plant on Pine Ridge above Y-12, consider what is needed, and develop options that could help Oak Ridge decide whether to renovate the 70-year-old facility—or build a new one at a new site.

City officials said bringing the existing plant up to code could cost $16 million or more. It was transferred to the city from DOE in 2000, more than 15 years ago. Officials declined to estimate how much it could cost to build a new one, although it’s also said to be in the multi-million-dollar range.

Among the challenges at the water plant now are a leak of 3,000 gallons per day. The city staff is not sure where the leak originates or whether the water that is leaking has already been treated, and so far they haven’t been able to stop the leak. [Read more…]

Letter: Appreciates city reps listening to concerns, thankful for ‘Adopt a Shelter Pet Month’

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To the Editor:

While walking my dogs this evening, I took a minute to reflect on how appreciative I am to have representatives in Oak Ridge city government that listened to my concerns and immediately took action to correct some problems that I raised.

Several months ago, I emailed City Council, the Oak Ridge Police Department, and the city manager expressing concern about streetlights being out in Hendrix Creek, speeding cars on Hendrix Drive, and a need for sidewalks so residents can safely enjoy their neighborhood without being hit by a passing car. I was astonished to receive several emails the following day indicating that my concerns were heard and that the issues raised would be addressed.

Mayor Warren Gooch connected me with the Public Works Department who had the bulbs changed and streetlights functioning within a day or two. Councilmen Charlie Hensley and Kelly Callison and Councilwoman Trina Baughn and Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Smith responded with concern for the sidewalks and indicated that they were going to look into the issues that were expressed. [Read more…]

Presidential primaries on March 1; property assessor unopposed

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John K. Alley Jr.

John K. Alley Jr.

The presidential primary and county primaries are March 1 in Tennessee. While there are expected to be several choices for president in both of the party’s primaries—they’re part of the so-called “SEC primaries”—there are no contests in the Anderson County primary, where Republican John K. Alley Jr. is running unopposed for a second four-year term.

Other Anderson County offices such as mayor, sheriff, and commissioner are on a different cycle, so they won’t be subject to an election until 2018.

The Anderson County Elections Commission said this month that the March 1 ballots haven’t been finalized yet.

The state primary and county general election is August 4. [Read more…]

Rationalists representative tells Council it shouldn’t invoke deities at meetings

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Aleta-Ledendecker-Oak-Ridge-City-Council-Invocation-Jan-11-2015

Aleta Ledendecker, secretary of Rationalists of East Tennessee, told the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, that no gods should be invoked at the openings of their meetings, and the Council should recognize that secular authority in government is not only sufficient but preferable. (Image from City of Oak Ridge video)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3:34 p.m.

A member of Rationalists of East Tennessee told the Oak Ridge City Council that no gods should be invoked at the openings of their meetings, and the Council should recognize that secular authority in government is not only sufficient but preferable.

“In honor of separation of church and state, no deities need to nor should be invoked at the openings of your meetings,” said Aleta Ledendecker, secretary of Rationalists of East Tennessee. “Doing so gives the appearance if not actual governmental preference to one group of citizens over others.”

It was an unusual invocation. They are generally led by local pastors, ministers, or reverends of various faiths. The secular Monday night invocation by Ledendecker has apparently caused some backlash.

“The City Council is a civic body, not a religious one, so should recognize that secular authority in government is not only sufficient but preferable,” Ledendecker said. [Read more…]

Normally not controversial, this proclamation, recognizing the sanctity of human life, was

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Oak Ridge City Council on July 27, 2015

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, approved a proclamation that recognizes Sunday, January 17, as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Ellen Smith, third from right, cast the only vote against the proclamation, saying it was a controversial political statement. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 7:48 a.m. Jan. 13.

Proclamations by the Oak Ridge City Council are normally not controversial, but one that passed on Monday was. It was perceived by some as a controversial political statement that entered the abortion debate.

The proclamation recognizes Sunday, January 17, as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. It says Tennessee residents “aspire to honor the dignity and worth of every person and to defend the sacredness of each human life.” Also, the proclamation says Tennessee residents care for “society’s weakest and most vulnerable, including the infirm, the elderly, and the unborn,” and no person shall be deprived of his life, liberty, or property.

The question of what rights to grant to the unborn or fetuses can be controversial because of the impact they might have on abortion rights. There is also considerable debate about when life begins.

Tim-Stallings

Tim Stallings

Tim Stallings, executive director of Choices Resource Center in Oak Ridge, requested the City Council proclamation, and he did not think it weighed in on the political debate.

“It’s not just about the unborn,” Stallings said. “It’s about people with infirmities, the elderly.”

He said the day started with former President Ronald Reagan and has been recognized by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam. Reagan established National Sanctity of Human Life Day on Sunday, January 22, 1984, the 11th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the still-controversial Supreme Court decision that granted women the right to an abortion in 1973.

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is on the third Sunday in January, near the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. [Read more…]

City manager evals: Mostly meets, exceeds expectations; one Council member asks for resignation

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Note: This story was last updated at 11:25 a.m.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson has mostly met or exceeded expectations while performing his job, and a 2 percent pay raise and one-year contract extension could be considered on Monday, according to evaluations by six City Council members and the chair of an evaluation committee.

But one City Council member, Trina Baughn, said Watson needs improvement in all 30 areas that she rated, and she asked the city manager to consider voluntarily resigning.

“I don’t plan to resign,” Watson said in December. “Hopefully, we can continue to improve upon relationships.”

The city manager was rated in surveys submitted by six of the seven City Council members. The results were reviewed by the City Manager Evaluation Committee, which is chaired by Council member Charlie Hensley. [Read more…]