NEWS in brief
Oak Ridge seeks $450,000 grant for Whitaker property by CHRIS BURRITT
OAK RIDGE – For the second time, Oak Ridge is seeking a $450,000 matching state grant to defray costs for expanding Town Park to the Whitaker property. The Town Council voted unanimously during a special called meeting this past Monday, March 29, to apply for the grant from the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF). It also approved the site plan for the Whitaker property. The state agency turned down Oak Ridge’s grant application last year, favoring municipalities across the state that had previously been denied funding, according to Town Manager Bill Bruce.
This time, Oak Ridge leaders hope applying a second time works in their favor. Bruce told the council the town is pursuing the same projects in the new application. The submission also contains letters of support from local civic groups.
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If Oak Ridge wins funding, it would be required to match every dollar it gets from the state. The grant would help cover costs for turning the Whitaker property into an extension of Town Park. In February, Oak Ridge’s council earmarked $855,000 in the fiscal year starting July 1 for the start of improvements.
Town clerk tenders resignation Council votes unanimously to accept resignation and authorize severance package by PATTI STOKES STOKESDALE – Stokesdale Town Council voted unanimously to accept Town Clerk Alisa Houk’s resignation after she tendered it during a special called closed session meeting March 22. The resignation was effective immediately, but Houk agreed to temporarily remain accessible for questions to help ensure continuity of operations at Town Hall. Houk was sworn in as the town’s deputy clerk in March 2017. One year later she was appointed interim finance officer and interim town clerk after then town clerk and finance officer Kim Hemric resigned. Four months later, in July 2018, the council voted 3-2 to remove the
“interim” from Houk’s title and hire her for town clerk and finance officer after advertising the full-time position and receiving over 50 applications. Then counAlisa Houk cil members Bill Jones and Tim Jones said they thought Houk had done a good job under the circumstances, but Bill Jones said he believed the council needed to hire a town clerk with experience in municipal government, and Tim Jones said he had suggested several times Stokesdale hire a non-auditing CPA as finance officer.
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In October of last year, the council voted 4-1 to hire Kimberly Thacker as the town’s finance officer after she had been
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APRIL 1 - 14, 2021
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