The Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit in Oak Ridge in May will feature presentations on advanced manufacturing, clean energy and a nuclear renaissance, and national security and cyber security.
The 2018 TVC National Summit is scheduled from May 29-31 at the New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. It will be hosted by Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch in cooperation with U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann.
Agenda topics include: [Read more…]
H-frame or H tower transmission towers are pictured at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex off Scarboro Road on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was updated at 1 p.m.
The City of Oak Ridge this week provided information on what the power poles on Pine Ridge could look like.
The logging work to install the power line poles, or transmission towers, on top of Pine Ridge has been temporarily delayed for 45 days after Oak Ridge City Council members raised concerns in November and December.
One of the concerns for City Council members has been the potential visual impact the power poles could have on top of Pine Ridge. That prominent ridge in south Oak Ridge separates Y-12 from the center of the city.
So far, the National Nuclear Security Administration and its Uranium Processing Facility Project Office haven’t provided a visual representation of what the transmission towers could look like on top of the ridge.
On Tuesday, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson and Electric Director Jack Suggs provided some visual comparisons to City Council members during a non-voting work session. Watson said a light pole at the city baseball field is about 80 feet. That’s close to the same size as the roughly 79-foot-high power poles expected on Pine Ridge. [Read more…]
Dale Christenson, Uranium Processing Facility federal project director, standing at right, talks to Oak Ridge City Council during a non-voting work session in the Jefferson Middle School Library on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. In the background are city staff members and members of the public. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The National Nuclear Security Administration has granted a 45-day discussion period for a project to build a new electrical substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex that could include logging work on top of Pine Ridge.
Oak Ridge officials had requested a 30-day delay of the logging work. City officials have raised concerns about that part of the project because they said they didn’t know about it until a week or two before logging operations were scheduled to start, there has been no public input, and cutting down trees and replacing them with transmission towers on top of the ridge would affect the view in that part of the city, including from two residential neighborhoods, Scarboro and Groves Park Commons. Pine Ridge is between Y-12 and the center of the city.
Oak Ridge officials have also said they don’t know what other options were considered, besides installing the high-voltage power lines on top of Pine Ridge.
The 161-kilovolt power lines will provide electricity to a new electrical substation that will service all of Y-12, but it is being built as a subproject of the Uranium Processing Facility. It would be near UPF on the west side of Y-12. UPF is the largest federal construction project in Tennessee since World War II, and it is expected to be completed by 2025 at a cost of no more than $6.5 billion.
Oak Ridge officials have emphasized that they support the project, but they don’t think the city has been treated as an equal partner on the electrical substation and power line portion of the project.
In a press release Tuesday, the City of Oak Ridge said the electrical substation project would involve clear-cutting 2.1 miles of mature trees along the top of Pine Ridge. The NNSA has delayed that project for 45 days, although some logging activity will still occur during that time. [Read more…]
The renovation work at Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium could start in January and be complete by June, officials said Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
The renovation work at Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium could start in January and be complete by June, officials said Thursday.
The work will be done with help from a $496,000 state grant and an equal match from the Blankenship Field Revitalization Foundation, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.
“The funds, totaling roughly $1 million, will be used to make a number of upgrades to the facility, including, but not limited to: installation of synthetic turf, concrete walkways, synthetic track, new fencing, signage for the Cedar Hill Greenway trail head, and additional restrooms,” the press release said.
The state grant for the Blankenship Field renovations is from the Local Parks and Recreation Fund, and it has been approved by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
On December 11, Oak Ridge City Council voted to amend an earlier resolution to include all the enhancements specifically outlined within the grant contract. The expected date for project completion is June 1, 2018, the press release said. [Read more…]
Pine Ridge, which separates the Scarboro neighborhood from the Y-12 National Security Complex, is pictured above from the Scarboro Community Center playground. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
The City of Oak Ridge has asked federal officials to consider an option that minimizes the impact of new high-voltage power lines planned on top of Pine Ridge, which is between the center of the city and the Y-12 National Security Complex.
The 161-kilovolt power lines will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The new substation will service all of Y-12, but it is being built as a subproject of the Uranium Processing Facility. It would be near UPF on the west side of Y-12.
Dale Christenson, federal project director for the UPF, presented the project to Oak Ridge City Council during a November 7 work session. Less than a week later, at its November 13 meeting, City Council unanimously approved a letter that requested a postponement of tree-clearing work that is part of the project in order to discuss alternatives. The National Nuclear Security Administration agreed to a two-week delay, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release Monday. Y-12 is an NNSA site.
In order to install the power lines, federal officials plan to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge. The ridge is between Y-12 and two Oak Ridge neighborhoods: Scarboro and Groves Park Commons.
“Several weeks ago, the NNSA advised of proceeding with plans to clear cut 2.1 miles of mature trees and vegetation along the crest of Pine Ridge,” the city’s press release said. “More than 30 79-foot Tennessee Valley Authority transmission towers will be erected along the top of the ridge after clear cutting occurs. Although DOE has been planning this initiative for at least two years, the city has not been engaged in the process or studying electrical options for serving the new Uranium Processing Facility.” [Read more…]
An overall view of the proposed renovation of Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium. (File image from April 2015)
Accepting a state grant of $480,000 for Blankenship Field, primarily for synthetic turf, means that the facilities must be open to the public.
But there could be exceptions for previously scheduled events that are coordinated through the Oak Ridge school system.
Keeping the facilities open is part of an operational agreement with Oak Ridge Schools that was amended in a 7-0 vote by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, November 13.
“The important thing is that it’s just not locked up,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told City Council during that meeting. Residents have to be able to use the property.
Watson said there will be a bathroom available, and the facilities will be open sunrise to sunset. There could be field rentals, Watson said. [Read more…]
A sign showing some of the stores at Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)
The City of Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will kick off the holiday shopping season with a special event called “Shop Oak Ridge†at Main Street Oak Ridge on Tuesday.
The event will begin at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, November 21, under the tent at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre mixed use retail development that replaced the Oak Ridge Mall, a press release said. The property was sold to RealtyLink in June 2016, and demolition of the former mall began in July 2016. Less than a year later, it had been replaced with a new concept and new stores, the press release said.
Businesses that have opened locations in Main Street Oak Ridge include: [Read more…]
A letter unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, asks federal officials to postpone a project to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge, pictured above from South Illinois Avenue in south Oak Ridge, for 161-kilovolt power lines that will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
A letter unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday asks federal officials to postpone a project to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge for 161-kilovolt power lines that will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
Among the City Council concerns: They only recently learned of the project, they don’t know what other options were considered, and they are worried about the visual impact of 79-foot transmission towers being located on top of Pine Ridge. Also, Council members said, there has been no public discussion about the project until two weeks before the logging operation was scheduled to start on Thursday, November 16.
The clearing work is part of a project to build a new substation at Y-12. It will replace an existing substation that is “nearing the end of its service life,” according to information presented to City Council and some community members. The tree removal will allow the 161-kilovolt power lines to be installed in the cleared area. The area to be cleared is on top of the ridge, about 2.1 miles long, and it will support a right-of-way that is about 100 feet wide. The electrical line would run from east to west on Pine Ridge, according to a report to City Council from Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. All of the work would be on U.S. Department of Energy property, officials said.
The new substation will service all of Y-12, but it is being built as a subproject of the Uranium Processing Facility. It would be near UPF on the west side of Y-12. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kansas University City Managers and Trainees Alumni Organization (KUCIMAT) on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017, during a banquet at the International City/County Management Association Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas. (Submitted photo)
Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kansas University City Managers and Trainees Alumni Organization (KUCIMAT) on Sunday, October 22, during a banquet at the International City/County Management Association Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, a press release said.
The KU Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals who have, through cumulative career achievements and successes, furthered the purpose of the KUCIMAT organization, the press release said. As stated in his nomination for the award, written by his son Kevin Watson, “Mark’s passion for local government combined with his strong leadership and commitment to mentoring the next generation of managers made him an ideal candidate.â€
Speaking about the award, Watson said: “I was deeply surprised and honored that my fellow city managers from across the nation and United Kingdom had recognized me for my work. Members of my family, a number of friends, and many of my past interns, who are now practicing city managers, were there honoring me with their attendance.â€
Watson is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration in city management, the press release said. Watson was selected as city manager of Oak Ridge in August 2010 after a 30-year career in local government. He is a second-generation city manager and has served in that capacity since 1981, the press release said. Before arriving in Oak Ridge, Watson served as city manager to six cities in Texas, Montana, and Arizona. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, seated at right, and UCOR President and Project Manager Ken Rueter, also seated, sign a license that allows UCOR, the federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, to start construction of the K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned Fire Station Number Four at East Tennessee Technology Park on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. Also pictured standing is Jay Mullis, acting manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. (DOE photo by Lynn Freeny)
Construction of the K-25 History Center could start early next year on the second floor of Oak Ridge Fire Station Number Four at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. Officials celebrated with a signing ceremony and tours of the future home of the history center on Thursday. Here are photos from that event. [Read more…]
Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian and city historian, announces a book published posthumously that was written by Bill Wilcox, a former city historian, former technical director at K-25 and Y-12, and a passionate advocate for historic preservation, including of the former K-25 site. Smith announced the book at a ceremony unveiling plans for a K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned fire station at K-25, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
He was a passionate advocate for preserving Oak Ridge’s history.
He was known for his bow ties and captivating storytelling. He once led the effort to save the former K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge, or at least part of it.
Now the legacy of Bill Wilcox will live on at the K-25 History Center.
Construction on the history center could start early next year on the second floor of Oak Ridge Fire Station Number Four. That fire station, previously transferred to the city, is on the south side of the former K-25 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge.
Officials preparing for the construction of the history center gave tours of its future home at the fire station on Thursday. The tours followed a lunchtime celebration that featured tributes to Wilcox and included speeches and presentations by U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge officials, and federal contractors and historic preservation advocates. Wilcox was hailed as the “father of K-25 historic preservation.â€
“He would have been really proud,†said Ray Smith, Wilcox’s friend and Y-12 National Security Complex historian and city historian. “His legacy lives on.†[Read more…]
A rendering of the K-25 History Center at the Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4 at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)
A celebratory event on Thursday will formally launch a project to commemorate the history of the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a uranium-enrichment site that was once known as K-25 and built to help make the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.
Thursday’s celebration will be followed by a public tour from 2 to 4 p.m.
Co-sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge, the event is part of the city’s 75th Anniversary celebration. It will feature a walk-through of the future home of the K-25 History Center, which will be located in the city’s Fire Station Number 4 at the East Tennessee Technology Park. The U.S. Department of Energy and URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR, DOE’s lead cleanup contractor, will unveil plans and the layout for the History Center before construction starts, a press release said.
Large graphics placed throughout the building will provide the visitor a preview of the finished center, the press release said. [Read more…]
