Tonight’s Special Meeting & Work Session Info – Your Input Encouraged

Hello! I’m a little behind having just returned from vacation, but I wanted to make you all aware of a few developments.

I will post the full details of the June 10^th meeting later this week, but one of the outcomes was that we deferred approving millions of dollars in no-bid contracts. Six of those items had time constraints and have been put on an agenda for a special meeting tonight (6p.m. at the Central Services Complex). You can read the full agenda here, but in brief they are as follows:

1. $713,000 fuel contract
2. $450,000 water plant chemicals
3. $179,000 life and disability insurance
4. $1.24 million property, liability and worker’s comp insurance
5. $84,000 maintenance contract on one of our communication systems
6. $130,000 3 separate contracts for telecom/I.T./internet — all of these are in mid-contract

I feel comfortable approving 4 of the 6 (see detailed justifications within the agenda packet). Not so much on two. Your feedback is encouraged. How do you, the taxpayer, feel about the city not bidding these items out?

We’ll have a work session following the special meeting to “discuss and review material associated with Housing and the development of a strategic housing policy for the City of Oak Ridge… Topics are established, but not limited to housing related discussion including:

• Past Housing Reports
• “Not in Our City” initiatives of 2012
• Community Development Block Grant Program
• Housing Acquisition Activities
• Land Bank
• Legislation

This will be a very critical discussion that may prove to have significant impact on our future. Citizen participation is critical. I encourage you to attend if you are able as this meeting will not be videotaped and meeting minutes will be very basic.

As always, thanks for allowing me to serve you!

Regards,

Trina