The Oak Ridge Town Council approved a security fence around the Heritage Farm Park maintenance building, authorized drainage repairs at the Farmhouse Community Center, and approved continued work on the Redmond House renovation despite a sharply worded objection from one council member concerned about escalating costs.

Staff told the council that Seager's Fence Company submitted the low quote to install roughly 450 linear feet of 6-foot-high, black vinyl-coated chain link fencing, including gates, to improve security and safety around the park maintenance building. The project was budgeted in the current fiscal year at $21,000; Seager's bid was $19,196. The council voted in favor of awarding the fence contract.

On drainage, staff presented three similar proposals to address ponding around the Farmhouse Community Center. Staff said nine contractors were contacted and three bids received; staff recommended Piedmont Site Works because the apparent low bid omitted a crucial saw-cut concrete repair that would be necessary and because Piedmont has a track record repairing a drainage issue at Heritage Farm Park. The staff recommendation was for Piedmont Site Works at $27,750. Council discussed the project as a remedy to a site-work disconnect and approved the Piedmont contract.

A separate discussion focused on the Redmond House renovation and the broader Heritage Farm Park project. Council records and speakers at the meeting outlined a sequence of estimates and approvals dating to March 2022. Staff and council members cited prior allocations and bids: March 2022 allocation $200,000; June 2022 estimate $455,000; March 2023 acceptance of a Barr bid at $630,000; and later figures discussed by council members that placed the current project total near $955,000. Council member comments included a detailed accounting of components that some council members said raised the total: house renovation costs, architectural plans and construction administration, septic, furnishings, and elements of the town park entrance master plan. One council member emphasized that $380,000 in grant funding had been received and said that, when applied, it reduced the out-of-pocket total to roughly $397,000 as presented during discussion.

The debate produced a clear split: one council member said the project had become a “boondoggle” and announced they would vote against further funding, saying renovation costs per square foot were far higher than recent local construction; other council members defended the work as preserving a historic house, enabling fuller use of the town-owned asset, and unlocking park improvements. Council ultimately approved the motion on the floor by a 4–1 vote.

Speakers on the record included town staff presenting the fence and drainage proposals, a council member who said, “I will not vote to keep funding this boondoggle,” and other council members who argued the house has deep community roots and hosting events already demonstrates public value. The article distinguishes staff recommendations and formal votes from expression of opinion by individual council members.

Approved contract amounts recorded in the meeting packet and on the record included: Seager's Fence Company bid $19,196 (budgeted $21,000), Piedmont Site Works recommended bid $27,750, and previously discussed renovation-related figures as noted above.

Council directed staff to proceed with the approved contracts and to continue monitoring and reporting project costs; the record shows staff has contacted the architectural firm to identify the disconnects identified during the drainage work and to clarify outstanding scope items for the Redmond House project.