Why is CROET closing? Mission accomplished, two-time chairman Bradshaw says
The decision to close the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET) was made solely because its board of directors believed the 30-year-old group had accomplished its mission, according to a news release about a podcast on the subject.
David Bradshaw, two-time CROET chairman and former Oak Ridge mayor, told host Michael Butler on the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast that now is “exactly the right time” to undertake the orderly, planned closing of the community organization.
He said the decision was right for Oak Ridge, but should not reflect on the continuing work of other community resource organizations at U.S. Department of Energy sites around the country.
CROET announced in August that it would close in 2025. Its signature accomplish includes transforming the former K-25 uranium enrichment property into a fully-functioning industrial park and projects to support the planned Oak Ridge general aviation airport.
“This is exactly the right time to undertake an orderly close-out of CROET activities,” Bradshaw said. “We’re in very good shape. We have a strong board. Our financial condition is strong. We’ve come a long way down the road on the mission we set out to do.”
Bradshaw said the CROET board decided to use its assets and resources to push completion of the mission.
“Our mission was specific,” he added. “We’ve done a good job, and we’re almost there. We just want to finish and celebrate.”
Also speaking on the podast, Seth Kirshenberg, executive director of the Energy Communities Alliance in Washington, D.C., said each community reuse organization in the DOE complex was created due to the downsizing of DOE activities at the end of the Cold War.
“The CROs were originally designed to deal with job losses, but they have evolved differently over the years,” Kirshenberg said.
He specifically cited the CRO at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina, which has promoted innovative workforce development initiatives aimed at ensuring SRS has an adequate supply of workers in the years ahead.
“This is critical to the success of the site’s mission in the future,” Kirshenberg said.
The Gone Fission Nuclear Report (www.gonefissionpodcast.com) covers news from the DOE’s Environmental Management program. The podcast is ranked in the Top 100 in Apple’s Business News category which contains over 2,000 podcasts. This week’s episode featuring CROET can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts-p1-I8d_c&t=1974s.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Why is CROET closing? Mission accomplished, two-time chairman says
