Oak Ridge North approves $63K bid for new public works, police department building

Oak Ridge North City Council approved a $63,558 payment to CSB Contractors to begin architecture and construction on the new building for the city Public Works and Police departments at the council's Oct. 23 meeting.

What you need to know

As part of the city's Robinson Road realignment and central Plaza District plans, City Council approved one of the first payments to CSB Contractors for the construction of the relocated public works and police department building. The facility is moving from Robinson Road to Spectrum Way.

Public Works Director James Corn said during the meeting clearing work on the new site was 75% complete, and the contractors wanted to begin ordering materials needed for the project to prevent delays.

Quote of note

“This is payment one; this is covering their bonds and kind of starting the project,” Corn said. “So the next one or two [payments], you may see some larger ones—preorders for materials that might take a while to get. So we can go ahead and get them and store them for us, and we won't have any issues or holdups.”

The exact cost of future payments was not discussed at the meeting, but in June, a $3.46 million bid was awarded for the project.

What’s next

Clearing work is expected to finish by early 2024 pending any poor weather conditions, at which point construction is projected to begin, officials said.