Although I am tired of talking about the Crestpointe issue, it’s important to note some observations about the financial aspects of the Crestpointe proposal and some potential alternatives.
City estimates of Crestpointe finances (see http://www.cortn.org/summit/summit-crestpoint.pdf) show a net yearly gain to the city (including our schools) of $511,389 for the first year of operation. This assumes, [...]
Posts from ‘March, 2007’
Dollars and sense
Cultural literacy and Oak Ridge
In less than 24 hours, I experienced two events that illustrate some of things that people value in this community.
Tuesday evening’s staged reading of the one-act drama “Remembering Miss Meitner” at the American Museum of Science and Energy attracted a diverse crowd. We came to see some accomplished local actors tell a story that is [...]
Clearing up some errors and misrepresentations
At Monday night’s City Council meeting, I asked several questions and made several comments about the action that Council was about to take regarding the Crestpointe proposal (more about those points later).
Mayor David Bradshaw challenged opponents of Crestpointe, who believe with me that Oak Ridge can and should do better, to find and present viable [...]
Senior Alert: Don’t get stranded with a Medicare Advantage plan
I’m too young for Medicare, and my elderly family members don’t live in the local area, so I’m no expert on this matter, but I do want to pass along this “word to the wise”…
Covenant Health (the operators of Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, Fort Sanders, and several other major Knoxville-area hospitals) will no [...]
Petition campaign is successful!
The frenetic effort to collect signatures from 10% of Oak Ridge’s voters is drawing to an end. As the Oak Ridger reported today, as of Friday the campaign had 2,400 signatures on hand — probably more than enough to force a referendum, which requires about 2,000 validated signatures. On Monday, a total of 3,172 signatures [...]
Crestpointe is not the only retail option in town
I have been telling people that I know we need more retail in town – to enhance residents’ quality of life and to increase sales tax revenues – but that I believe Oak Ridge can and should do better than accept the problematic Crestpointe proposal.
We can do better. Better options are starting to emerge. [...]
An exciting future for K-25
There was an air of excitement at Thursday evening’s meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association (ORHPA). Professional museum consultants who have been working with the Partnership for K-25 Preservation, the local Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, and the national Atomic Heritage Foundation unveiled their concepts for making part of the [...]
Pondering the meaning of “commitment”
Yesterday’s Oak Ridger carried a front page story headlined Mayor ‘committed’ to $65M retail center. The article reports on an interview in which Mayor David Bradshaw said that he believes in the Crespointe project and is concerned about the City’s need to draft a contractual agreement with the developer that will protect the city’s interests.
However, [...]
Petitions, referenda, and voter registration
Oak Ridge is in the midst of the 20-day drive to collect enough petition signatures to force a referendum on the proposed bond issue for the Crestpointe shopping center.
As a general rule, I don’t think that voters should be able to insist on voting on individual financial decisions by elected officials. (At the February 19th [...]
City meeting calendars and agendas
Kudos to City of Oak Ridge staff for the recent inauguration of expanded online publicity of city business.
The city website now includes a comprehensive calendar of meetings (including City Council, its committees, and appointed boards) at http://www.cortn.org/calendar/CurrentMonth.htm. Meanwhile, Council work session agendas have joined Council meeting agendas, minutes, and videos at [...]