work session Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Updated: Council approves $800,000 contract for synthetic turf at Blankenship

Posted at 6:00 pm June 20, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium are pictured above on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was published at 4:15 p.m. June 19 and updated at 6 p.m. June 20.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday approved a $800,000 contract to buy and install synthetic turf at Blankenship Field.

Council approved the contract in 5-0 vote during a special meeting Tuesday evening in the Multipurpose Room in the Central Services Complex in central Oak Ridge.

The contract was awarded to Field Turf USA Inc. of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. The company has a regional office in Calhoun, Georgia.

The contract says the purchase and installation of the synthetic turf are not to exceed $800,000. [Read more…]

Council to discuss Rails to Trails, school resource officer program

Posted at 11:39 pm April 13, 2018
By John Huotari 2 Comments

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

The Oak Ridge City Council will discuss a part of the Rails to Trails program, which could convert a former railway in central Oak Ridge into a bicycle and pedestrian greenway, and the current status of the city’s school resource officer program on Tuesday.

The discussion of the design and acquisition process for the CSX Railroad railway, which is no longer being used, will be led by Jon Hetrick, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks director, and representatives from Morton, Thomas, and Associates of Kingsport, Tennessee.

The discussion of the current status of the city’s school resource officer program will be led by Oak Ridge Police Chief James Akagi. [Read more…]

Agenda change: No presentation on Preschool, Senior Center tonight

Posted at 9:57 am March 20, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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 review Preschool, Senior Center, Water Plant projects Tuesday

Posted at 11:34 am March 19, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge City Council will review the Oak Ridge Preschool and Senior Center projects, and receive a briefing on the Water Plant project, during a work session on Tuesday.

The work session is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, in the Multi-Purpose Room in the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane, behind the Hobby Lobby shopping center.

The reviews of the Preschool and Senior Center projects are scheduled to be presented by Jacene Phillips of Studio Four Design. [Read more…]

Council, school board work session has been rescheduled

Posted at 1:48 pm January 16, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The joint work session between the Oak Ridge Board of Education and Oak Ridge City Council that had been scheduled for this evening has been canceled due to snow and winter weather, and it has been rescheduled for Tuesday, January 23.

Among the items to be discussed are the Oak Ridge Preschool project, proposed general aviation airport, and electrical substation project at the Y-12 National Security Complex. [Read more…]

Council, school board to discuss school issues, airport, Y-12 substation

Posted at 11:30 am January 11, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge City Council and Oak Ridge Board of Education will discuss school issues and receive a briefing and update on the proposed general aviation airport and electrical substation project at the Y-12 National Security Complex during a joint work session on Tuesday, January 16.

The work session will start at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the school library at Robertsville Middle School. Those who attend should use the main front entrance of the building, located at 245 Robertsville Road, to access the library, a press release said.

“A number of school issues will be discussed by City Council and the Board of Education during the work session,” the press release said. “The agenda also includes a briefing on the proposed general aviation airport in Oak Ridge and an update on the Y-12 electrical substation project public meeting. There will be time for an informal neighborhood discussion with City Council members during the meeting as well.” [Read more…]

Council work session on Tuesday will be at Jefferson Middle School

Posted at 10:39 am November 6, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The date and location of the Oak Ridge City Council’s monthly work session has been changed for November. The new date is Tuesday, November 7, and the new venue is Jefferson Middle School, located at 200 Fairbanks Road. The meeting will still begin at 6 p.m.

The change of location is part of an ongoing effort to encourage community engagement. The suggestion was brought up during one of the recent Oak Ridge City Blueprint open house meetings organized by the Community Development Department, a press release said.

Work sessions are non-voting meetings of City Council and do not typically include a public comment period. However, this meeting will include an opportunity for informal conversation with City Council members and municipal staff, the press release said. [Read more…]

Council to discuss General Sessions Court, legislative updates

Posted at 3:40 pm March 26, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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

The Oak Ridge City Council is scheduled to discuss a project to relocate the Anderson County General Sessions Court from a private building on Bus Terminal Road to a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road during a work session on Monday evening.

Council is also scheduled to receive a legislative update and possibly discuss issues of interest to Oak Ridge, including bills related to the Industrial Development Board, school financing bills, and other bills of interest to cities.

The work session will follow a special meeting scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Monday, March 27, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. The one item on the special meeting agenda is a vote on whether to build the new preschool at Scarboro Park. [Read more…]

City Council, DOE manager to discuss relations, hiring, housing; water rates also on agenda

Posted at 1:30 pm September 19, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Kenneth R. Tarcza (Photo courtesy DOE Oak Ridge Office)

Some members of the Oak Ridge City Council and some residents have had a few concerns related to the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, including whether the DOE sites are doing enough to encourage new employees to live in Oak Ridge and whether DOE is paying enough on its payments in lieu of taxes to the City of Oak Ridge.

A more recent concern is whether DOE is paying enough for water supplied by the city to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, which are both federal sites.

On Tuesday, the Oak Ridge City Council could discuss these issues as it meets in a non-voting work session with Kenneth R. Tarcza, manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Operations. The work session, which is open to the public, starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane (behind the Kmart shopping center).

Among the DOE-related items on the agenda are a discussion and review of city-DOE relations, local hiring for DOE projects, housing, and “other related issues.” [Read more…]

Council to discuss city marketing, eighth rowing lane, housing, Main Street

Posted at 11:38 am July 16, 2016
By John Huotari 8 Comments

Officials and referees monitor races on the seven-lane rowing course at the 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday will discuss city marketing, the potential eighth lane at the rowing course, housing, and Main Street Oak Ridge.

The issues will be discussed during a non-voting work session of the Oak Ridge City Council at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 19, in the Multipurpose Room of the Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane, which is behind the Kmart shopping center.

There are other agenda items that could also be discussed: pending U.S. Department of Energy projects and public comment requests, and updates on the Oak Ridge Senior Center and Friendship Bell.

The report on visitation marketing will be presented by Marc DeRose, executive director of Explore Oak Ridge (the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau). [Read more…]

Backyard chickens, Centennial Golf Course among items for Council work session

Posted at 2:24 pm May 17, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge City Council is expected to discuss backyard chickens, Centennial Golf Course, and Anderson County General Sessions Court during a non-voting work session on Tuesday, May 17, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A change in city ordinances that would allow backyard chickens is on the agenda for an Oak Ridge City Council work session tonight (Tuesday, May 17). Also on the agenda during the non-voting work session are options for the city-owned Centennial Golf Course and an update on the relocation of Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II.

The work session starts at 6 p.m. in the Central Services Complex Multipurpose Room on Woodbury Lane, which is behind the Kmart shopping center.

The City Council approved the backyard chicken ordinance in the first of two readings on Monday, May 9. There could be amendments to the ordinance on second and final reading in June. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Land Bank hosting neighborhood strategy work session

Posted at 4:10 pm October 27, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Land Bank Corporation is hosting a strategy work session November 6 to focus on partnerships and “collaborative efforts to improve and promote our Oak Ridge neighborhoods,” a press release said. The work session is from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday, November 6, at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

Agenda items include demonstrated successes, a small group exercise, and a group discussion.

For reservations, contact Alicia Bailey at the City of Oak Ridge at (865) 425-3531 or by email at [email protected] by Wednesday, November 4.