Looking back at ‘doing things together’
Mark Watson stepping down as Oak Ridge city manager May 5
MARK WATSON
In an interview with the Courier News, Watson said he’s served in the position since Aug. 9, 2010.
“I think this is an exciting town with a lot of potential,” he said when asked about what he’d say to future leaders of Oak Ridge.
“You’re dealing with the future of America, the future of community.”
While in general the elected members of Oak Ridge City Council made the final decisions during his tenure, Watson and his staff carried out their orders and made recommendations to City Council for years.
He told the Courier News that his role was similar to that of the coach of a high school team, while City Council was more like that of a school superintendent.
“I run the offense, run the defense and try to make things happen within the community,” he said.
“The relationships have been much stronger than they were,” he said regarding connections Oak Ridge has with other cities and Anderson County as he leaves.
“We’re doing things together.”
It’s been quite a tenure for Watson, with many changes and more on the way.
During his time in the position, Watson said, the city built a new preschool and Senior Center.
The American Museum of Science and Energy moved, and apartments went up in its old location.
New shopping centers popped up at the former Oak Ridge Mall site on Illinois Avenue, with Panera and Aldi, and toward the west revolving around a new Kroger.
The city put new water and sewer infrastructure in place.
A rowing course expanded. Multiple parks saw renovations. New turf covered Blankenship Field, and Wildcat fans also saw it gain new parking and other renovations.
A conference center is now on its way, next to the newly renovated library.
In a telephone interview, he listed a future new water treatment plant as his favorite accomplishment. He also spoke of other little-noticed improvements, such as air conditioning for Anderson County’s General Sessions Court and a new sewer unit for the Garden Ridge Nursery area.
Watson said the city staff should take credit for the private commercial development that occurred during his time.
Possibly the highest profile of these developments was the Main Street Oak Ridge project at the former indoor Oak Ridge Mall site.
“I think the city staff had a tremendous role in addressing that,” he said.
He credited the city with using tax-increment financing to encourage businesses to move in. More controversially, he spoke positively about doing a land swap to move the American Museum of Science and Energy to its new, smaller location, allowing forthe new apartments.
Watson defended the city’s role in helping the Department of Energy with that land transfer, saying that federal organization would not have supported the cost of running a larger museum.
With the shopping center that currently supports Aubrey’s, Aldi and Panera, Watson said the city approved moving a road and putting in traffic lights, amid some opposition. He said these moves helped make the center successful.
“We got a lot of griping about that,” he said. “But I think it’s really worked out well.”
Watson said the eighth rowing lane had attracted more crew championships to the city than had come in earlier years.
“The eighth lane was a project that was talked about,” he said. “That’s what we tend to do is talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. We don’t have to talk about it anymore.”
However, Watson said he wished he could have seen more happen with development of a downtown area along Wilson Street.
“To be a modern city in today’s environment you have to be faster and more efficient to get these projects done,” he said.
A development idea that failed during Watson’s time was a motorsports park. The developer was considering moving to Oak Ridge, but later switched to Cumberland County after the Department of Energy requested an environmental study and some citizens and politicians complained.
Some Oak Ridge City Council members criticized Watson’s handling of the issue, saying he promoted the motorsports park falsely as a research facility rather than a recreational attraction as the developer intended. Watson said he stands by his promotion of the project.
“Council always has the final choice in anything,” he said. “We have an obligation to bring projects forward to council for resolution. If I had taken the racetrack project and kept it hidden, then I would have been hiding it from the community.”
During Watson’s tenure, complaints from Oak Ridge Police Department officers about Chief James Akagi led to his resignation and replacement by the current chief, Robin Smith.
Also, toward the end of Watson’s tenure a group of city employees including first responders asked for higher pay
“Decisions were made; you’re always going to have ups and downs with city staff and conflicts between management styles,” he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic was another issue that hit during his time.
“The city of Oak Ridge was totally prepared and ready to move forward on addressing COVID-19 when it came about,” he said, adding the city did its own tests for signs of the virus in the city’s sewers.
He said, however, that the state of Tennessee limited the actions the city could take.
“This is a good city and I think it will have many good things that will happen to it,” he said.
“And I guess since I have stayed here, it’s my city.”
Although he’s worked and lived in many other cities, Watson said he’s planning to stay in Oak Ridge even after retiring.
“Why do people think I’m moving?” he said. “No, I’m not moving ... I’m staying here.”
He said he planned to give occasional lectures on public administration “as kind of a sideline,” but also plans to spend time fly fishing and reading.