Preview: Oak Ridge Town Council meeting, Aug. 3

by CHRIS BURRITT

OAK RIDGE – Oak Ridge Town Council plans to consider approving a $350,000 proposal for the design and installation of the new playground at Heritage Farm Park.

Over the past month, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board reviewed proposals from four playground manufacturing and installation contractors. The board recommended the council approve the hiring of Pittsboro, North Carolina-based Barrs Recreation, according to a July 28 memo by Town Manager Bill Bruce.

The town instructed bidders to incorporate a farm theme and accessibility for disabled children in their proposals for the playground. The board favored Barrs due to its “creative design, inclusive elements, elements for older children, and its supplemental warranty that offers 100% free replacement cost on all warrantied products,” Bruce said.

Barrs Recreation is not affiliated with Greensboro-based BAR Construction Co., the general contractor building the new park on 62 acres at Scoggins and Linville roads behind Town Hall.

Bruce also plans to provide an update on construction of the park. Grading for the parking lot and athletic fields started last month.

In other business, the council plans to consider approving a plan for landscaping the entrance to Town Park, at an estimated cost of $139,810.

OOPS! The photo to the right, which ran on the front cover of our July 6-19 issue, was mistakenly credited to Mike Matzinger, who contributed other photos of the July 4 bike parade in Oak Ridge Town Park. This photo, however, should have been credited to Oak Ridge Town Councilman George McClellan.

Over the summer, town leaders collaborated with Hill Studio, a Roanoke, Virginia-based design firm, to revise the firm’s initial plan for landscaping around the historic Redmon house at Linville Road and Lisa Drive. Some council members said they want fewer shrubs and flowers than proposed by Hill Studio, as well as more varieties such as those that might have been planted by tenant farmers who lived in the house.

The revised plan calls for the planting of magnolia trees, camellia bushes and coneflowers, among numerous varieties. The plan lists the biggest expenses as sidewalks and a parking lot to accommodate visitors to the house, slated for renovation and expansion as the Farmhouse Community Center.

Separately, the council plans to consider approving a proposal for the Piedmont Triad Regional Council (PTRC) to update Oak Ridge’s development ordinance.

Despite periodic updates, “the bulk of the ordinance is over 30 years old,” Bruce wrote in a memo that requested approval of PTRC’s proposal at a cost of $79,500. The agency would “reorganize, streamline, and modernize the Development Ordinance to reflect building trends and best practices in planning and zoning, as well as to improve functionality and user-friendliness,” he said.

The update would also incorporate the town’s village core design guidelines into a proposed overlay zone, according to Bruce.

The council also plans to consider matching Veterans Honor Green donations that totaled $22,400 from April through June.

The council would provide the matching $22,400 from a stateawarded Small Town Development Grant. The second-quarter total would bring to $229,732.24 the amount raised for the veterans’ honor site planned for Heritage Farm Park, according to a July 14 memo from Sandra Smith, assistant town manager and town clerk.

Separately, the council plans to consider appointing Denise Sacks as a full member of the Historic Preservation Commission. It also plans to consider reappointing and staggering the terms of Water Advisory Committee members Erin English, Francis Disney, Brian Hall and Phil McNamara.

want to attend/watch?

The 7 p.m. meeting at Town Hall this Thursday, Aug. 3, is open to the public. The meeting will be livestreamed on the town’s YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.oakridgenc.com.

And they’re off and running

Filing season for November municipal elections closed July 21, with 19 candidates in the race for open seats in Oak Ridge, Summerfield and Stokesdale

by PATTI STOKES

NW GUILFORD – The filing period for mayor and town council candidates in Summerfield, Oak Ridge and Stokesdale closed Friday, July 21, at noon. The following citizens have filed to run in the Nov. 7 municipal elections:

OAK RIDGE

Five candidates have filed for the three open seats on Oak Ridge Town Council. The candidates include current council members George McClellan and Martha Pittman, along with former ...continued on p. 10

Peace of mind all summer

This gated driveway at 7691 Deboe Road in Summerfield leads to a 53-acre estate purchased in June by California technology executive Kirsten Wolberg and her husband, Mark Wolberg. They also purchased an adjacent house at 7686 Deboe Road, giving them ownership of the land surrounding the cul-de-sac at the end of the mile-long road off N.C. 150.

The purchase by the Wolberg Family Living Trust totaled $4.85 million, according to listing agent Deesha Hugosson, of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Yost & Little Realty in Greensboro. In an interview earlier this week, she said she doesn’t know the couple’s plans for the property.

The estate is served by two driveways – one for the 5-bedroom, 6.5-bath house with a gymnasium, steam room, pool and other amenities. The other driveway winds to a more rustic setting with a seven-stall barn, a horse-jumping arena and fenced pastures and a cottage. The adjacent house is more modest at 4,100 square feet.