In late summer, DOE notified the City of Oak Ridge its intention to declare Clark Center Park excess property. It is now expected that DOE will declare the 80-acre property on the shore of Melton Hill Lake to be excess to the agency's needs, then allow the National Park Service (NPS) to offer it to the city through the Federal Lands to Parks Program. The future use of the property would be limited to recreation, and NPS would enforce the use restriction. Two sticking points are 1) the funding to support operation of the park, and 2) DOE’s requirement that the park property be transferred with deed restrictions that limit use to recreational use.
The City would like to accept ownership with DOE financial support and no deed restrictions. AFORR supports preservation of Clark Center Park as a recreational facility with recreation use deed restrictions in place.
Questions to be answered include:
1) What kinds of recreation will be allowed under the NPS restriction? Changes that have been suggested include the addition of camping or a marina.
2) Where can the city find the money to pay for park maintenance and operation? DOE reports spending $300,000 a year. The city cost would be less (more like $200,000), but it's still expensive. Various kinds of user fees and commercial concessions have been suggested.
3) How will city operation of Clark Center Park affect adjacent Freels and Gallaher Bends (parts of the Three Bend Area of the Oak Ridge Reservation)?