Citizens Oak Ridge

Petition Reaches 3,000 and Climbing

Press Release
March 12, 2007

Citizens Win Right to Vote on City Expenditure, Petition Keeps Going to Noon Tomorrow

Citizens Oak Ridge turned in the signatures of over 3,000 registered Oak Ridge voters to the City Clerk today.  Registered voters wishing to sign should get their signatures in by tonight or tomorrow morning, as organizers will make a final submittal by 5pm Tuesday.  Volunteers are currently busy gathering petitions from throughout the city.

Citizens Oak Ridge is a newly formed group supporting sound government decision-making.  They will be gathering signatures until Tuesday noon for the petition deadline tomorrow, March 13th, and will hold their final petition open house in the Civic Center Club Room tonight from 7 to 9pm.

The successful petition will require the City to give Oak Ridgers the opportunity to vote on $6 million in City bonds for a proposed shopping center on Pine Ridge.  The submittal today represents nearly a third as many Oak Ridgers as voted in the November 2006 election, and more than 75% of the Oak Ridge voters in the 2005 election.

“This has been an all volunteer effort,” said Bill Schramm, President of Citizens Oak Ridge.  “People have worked hard to have a voice on this expenditure.”  Schramm said that there are well over 200 volunteers gathering signatures, with many people putting in long hours of their personal time.  Many people have called looking for a way to sign and to circulate the petition.

“We are still collecting signatures for the deadline tomorrow,” Schramm said.  “I apologize for those areas that we have not gotten to personally.  It is slow work, gathering signatures one at a time.”

“As the City’s own marketing survey indicated, many citizens are concerned, and there is a high level of distrust regarding the planned expenditure, the City’s approach to the issue, and the advisability of the project itself,” Schramm said.  “Citizens feel strongly that they should have the opportunity to examine the details of the expenditure and to vote on it.”

Following only 6 weeks after the City’s first public discussion of the planned subsidy on January 29th, the petition sends a resounding message to City Council and the City staff. Although the City mounted a strong campaign supporting the expenditure, and has limited opportunities for community reaction, citizens remained resolute in their opposition to fast-tracking the expenditure.

The petition’s success shows the level of discomfort citizens feel with the City’s approach to the issue.  “Many citizens are very uncomfortable with the fast-tracking of a major public expenditure, and with the direction of City dollars toward retail development inconsistent with the City’s own master plan and outside of current retail areas,” Schramm said.  “Many do not share the City’s certainty that the Pine Ridge site is a logical or workable site for a retail center, or that the community can support a new retail area.  There is a widespread sense that a deal like this requires a lot more time and scrutiny, if there is to be City funding in the project.”

Given the strong citizen response, Schramm is hopeful that the City will reconsider its approach to major and unusual expenditures:  This is not the first petition that citizens have mounted to require more input to City funding of real estate deals.  While the City has continued with land and/or funding for the prior projects, they have ultimately proven to be costly and unsuccessful.  “There’s a message there that the City could benefit from – not all deals are worth taking, and sometimes citizen concerns are well-founded.”

Still, the current Council vote – citizen petition cycle is not fun for anyone.  “With petitions, the community has only 20 days and is required to mount a major and unscheduled volunteer effort.  In this case, the community knew nothing of the idea before Council’s January 29th Work Session – clearly not the way to ensure citizen input and review.”

The community’s response underscores the need for an agreed upon process by which the City will consider extraordinary expenditures and ensure their appropriateness and soundness.  The process needs to include strictly maintained objectivity of the City in evaluating proposals, gathering citizen concerns, and following guidelines for negotiating with private parties over the use of City resources and funds.  By taking a promotional role for private development, the City stands to lose its credibility with citizens and to undermine its negotiating position with developers.  It also sends disruptive signals to the real estate and retail markets and can inhibit the development the City seeks.

Citizens Oak Ridge is a newly formed group supporting sound government decision-making.  They will be gathering signatures until Tuesday noon for the petition deadline tomorrow, March 13th, and will hold their final petition open house in the Civic Center Club Room tonight from 7 to 9pm.

Citizens Oak Ridge will hold a final open house event in the Club Room of the Civic Center from 7 to 9pm this evening.  For more information, contact 220-0829 or visit www.citizensoakridge.com.

 

For Further Information, Contact:
Bill Schramm, President
Citizens Oak Ridge
220-0829www.citizensoakridge.com