Due to confusion caused by incomplete information issued by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), City of Oak Ridge leaders would like to make sure it’s clear that the $57.5 million contract the agency executed with Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) for uranium purification and conversion would move the work to a site in Erwin, Tennessee.

On Feb. 26, 2021, City of Oak Ridge officials received an email from NNSA notifying them that NNSA was publishing an Advanced Notice of Award to issue a 3-year, sole-source contract with Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) for the final design and demonstration of highly-enriched uranium (HEU) conversion and purification capabilities at the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12). The information was subsequently provided in a press release issued by NNSA on March 1, 2021.

The information provided by NNSA in both the email and press release implied the contract work would be performed at Y-12, omitting the fact that the work would be conducted 125 miles away from Oak Ridge – in Erwin, Tennessee.

When the City asked NNSA for a clarification, NNSA responded that the confusion “was an error” on their part and that “the NFS work will not be taking place at Y-12.”

To provide a better understanding for workers and the community, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson requested via email to NNSA’s Intergovernmental Affairs Specialist on March 3 that NNSA issue a correction or updated release to those who received the Feb. 26 distribution.

The request went on to state: “In addition, the NNSA press release issued on March 1 makes no mention that the work will be performed off-site. This oversight needs to be corrected as well. We believe this is important and relevant information that should be provided to stakeholders and the public.”

That request was not acknowledged nor responded to.

“It is deeply concerning that the release issued by NNSA misrepresented the contract work as being at Y-12. We remain strongly against pushing this through just hours before a new Secretary and executive team were confirmed,” Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch said. “Chemical processing of uranium has been one of the core capabilities of Y-12, and it is clear that this work could and should continue to be performed at Y-12 where the highly skilled workforce and taxpayer-funded security measures are already in place.”

NNSA staff has sought to assure the City that this contract will not cause a reduction in Y-12 employment, but NNSA has not given the City any further explanation to confirm these statements.

Pending the results of Phase 1, NNSA said it will determine if a Phase 2 contract will be awarded for HEU conversion and purification.

The City of Oak Ridge is proud to announce Electric Director Jack Suggs has been promoted to Deputy City Manager.

Suggs’ transition will allow for the internal growth of some of the City’s potential leaders, most immediately in the Electric Department. Ardo Ba, who is currently the department’s Electric Operations Manager, will serve as Interim Electric Director.

“The City is fortunate to have someone with a unique set of engineering, business and operations knowledge and experience who is able to step up,” Suggs said of Ba. “I am confident that I am leaving the Department in capable hands.”

Suggs joined the City of Oak Ridge in 1989 as Assistant Director of Public Works after having served in related professional positions in Texas. He moved to the role of Electric Director in 1991.

“I have been honored to serve the Oak Ridge community as part of the City’s leadership team for many years. During that time, I have developed meaningful initiatives and been entrusted with many projects both inside and outside of the Electric Department. Using this experience as a base, I look forward to working with the City Manager in addressing the wider organizational needs of the community, both project-based and programmatic,” Suggs said.

In his new role, Suggs will be able to work and facilitate several ongoing projects involving the City, including computer software implementation, a new water plant, economic development projects and the transfer of the Airport project.

“Jack and I have had a strong working relationship over the last 10 years, and I have always admired his professionalism and problem-solving skills,” said Oak Ridge City Manager Dr. Mark Watson. “With the growing workload the City is facing, having Jack in this new position will be beneficial to the community.”

Suggs’ history with the City as an effective, strategic planner and manager, supplements his experience with organizational management and supervision, measurement of employee performance, and the legal aspects of personnel administration.

“Jack is an energetic and involved leader and will, without a doubt, engage in many improvements in the City in the next 2 to 3 years,” Watson said.

His first day in the new role was March 8, 2021.