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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.03.20 Newsletter City Manager • Mark A. Rohloff City Hall, 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1130 Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130 920.236.5002 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us DATE: April 3, 2020 TO: Honorable Mayor and Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager SUBJECT: Weekly Newsletter 1. ANNUAL BRIDGE MAINTENANCE: The Winnebago County Highway Department and Wisconsin Department of Transportation have scheduled the annual spring bridge maintenance for the bridges over the Fox River in Oshkosh. Given the current closure of the Oshkosh Avenue Bridge, all annual maintenance work will be completed with only lane restrictions, rather than utilizing short- term closures as normal. The schedule is subject to change due to weather conditions, but is currently:  7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday, April 6th: Main Street Bridge  7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 7th: Oregon Street Bridge  7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 8th: Wisconsin Street Bridge On Wednesday, April 15th, all three bridges are scheduled to have their annual inspections completed. The Main Street Bridge’s inspection is anticipated to start around 9:00 a.m., the Oregon Street Bridge’s around 11:00 a.m., and the Wisconsin Street Bridge’s around 2:00 p.m. Expect the right lane to be closed in each direction during these inspections. 2. START OF CONSTRUCTION SEASON: The City of Oshkosh would like to notify residents that construction of one of the 2020 street reconstruction projects is beginning. The general contractor for the Oregon Street Project is PTS Contractors, Inc. (PTS). PTS plans to close Oregon Street and start construction on April 13, 2020. Advanced warning signs will be placed seven (7) days prior to the closure. Oregon Street is being reconstructed from West 21st Avenue to the Glatz Creek Bridge and a sanitary sewer interceptor with street patching will be installed from the Glatz Creek Bridge through the West 28th Avenue intersection. The work will include concrete paving, grading, sidewalk and driveways, storm sewer, sanitary sewer, water main, and their associated laterals. This contract is expected to last through November 2020. If you wish to sign up for e-mailed construction updates for Contract 20-05, please send a blank e- mail to contract2005-subscribe@lists.ci.oshkosh.wi.us. You will receive an e-mail stating your subscription request has been received. You must reply to the message within five (5) days to complete the subscription. If you have any questions, please contact Construction Management Supervisor, Mike Blank. 4/3/2020 Weekly Newsletter 2 3. SPECIAL EVENTS UPDATE: All Council approved special events for the month of April have been cancelled. The Special Events staff continues to be in constant communication with organizers of events scheduled in May. Although some of the May event organizers have already cancelled or postponed their events, others are planning to make their final decisions by mid-April. While discussing options with the organizers, they have expressed that if the “Safer at Home” order is further extended, they understand the need to cancel or reschedule their event for a later date. If the order is lifted, they understand that they may still have to alter the logistics of any in-person gathering to include social distancing or other added precautions. Some have even discussed hosting virtual events. The decisions of how to move forward will be dependent on the coming weeks and what restrictions and guidelines will be provided by local, state and federal authorities. The Special Events staff is also working on contacting event organizers to discuss alternatives for events scheduled in June, should the need arise. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Kathy Snell at (920) 232-5304. 4. GO TRANSIT CONTINUES: GO Transit continues to operate as an essential service for those who need it. We have taken several extra steps to help keep our drivers and riders safe. GO Transit contracted with their cleaning service for additional deep cleaning of the buses and extra cleaning of high touch services at the GO Transit offices and downtown transit center. This is above and behind the “normal” cleaning each night. The maintenance staff is also disinfecting the buses daily. Each bus operator is equipped with hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes for their use throughout the day. As you may already know, we have closed the heated downtown shelter, encouraged people to only ride if needed, posted signage on every bus regarding social distancing and have asked for passengers to board via the front door and exit the rear. Operators are encouraged to help passengers understand social distancing procedures on the buses. Additionally, monthly pass holders are allowed to board via the back door. As expected, there has been a significant drop in ridership; however this essential service is operating for those that need it while GO Transit takes precautions to keep our employees and riders safe. If you have any questions about GO Transit, please contact Transportation Director, Jim Collins. 5. BUSINESS RESOURCES ON CITY WEBSITE: City staff created a list of resources for businesses that are being negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic right now. A link to the resources is located on the City’s COVID-19 webpage and on the city’s DevelopOshkosh.com website. Staff will regularly update these resources as new options become available. Staff continues to coordinate resources with our community partners and participates in daily calls to stay up to date with the latest programs available to businesses. Please contact Economic Development Services Manager, Kelly Nieforth with any questions. 6. TEMPORARY SIGN ORDINANCE MODIFICATION AND SELECT CERTIFIED SURVEY MAPS: In order to aid businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Oshkosh should allow businesses increased opportunity and flexibility with temporary signage code modifications. Community Development has implemented two temporary changes to enforcement of the sign code. 4/3/2020 Weekly Newsletter 3  First, allow business to exceed the currently allowed 33% maximum sign coverage per window.  Second, allow business one temporary sign, banner or sandwich board and waive the permit fee and application process for those temporary signs. Community Development believes these temporary changes can help business during these difficult and stressful times. In response to the Common Council’s guidelines that agendas for Commission meetings be limited to matters requiring action reasonably necessary for response to the emergency or reasonably necessary for continuity of services, Community Development is also proposing to temporarily allow Community Development Staff be allowed to administratively approve select Certified Survey Maps (CSM’s). This will allow us to continue efficiently serving property owners within the City of Oshkosh, while minimizing the potential delays and adhering to the above referenced Council guidelines. Wisconsin Statute does not require Plan Commission or City Council approve for select types of CSM’s: the statues specifically outline the requirements for these types of CSM’s. Further, both the state statue and local ordinance include requirements for action within a defined number of days once an application has been filled. Examples of administratively approved CSM’s are those that combine lots, split parcel or move lot lines between neighbors. CSM’s with right of way dedication or easements would still be review by Plan Commission and City Council. Please contact Planning Services Manager, Mark Lyons, at (920) 236-5059 or mlyons@ci.oshkosh.wi.us if you have any questions or concerns. 7. MINI MURAL PROJECT 2020: The Public Arts and Beautification Committee would like to announce the upcoming public arts initiative happening in downtown Oshkosh. The mini mural project is an art installation that will be located on a variety of exterior walls on private property in downtown Oshkosh. The goal is to display 30 pieces of art created by local artists. With the permission of the property owner, vinyl printed sheets will be adhered to the approved walls. The original work of local artists will be digitally printed onto vinyl sheets displaying their work. The vinyl material is durable, weather resistant and can be easily removed, if needed, without damaging the wall surface. We will be using a high end material designed for clean removal from surfaces. The Public Arts and Beautification Committee has partnered with Art City Wraps to install the art free of cost to property owners. Mimicking a gallery experience, the works of art will be displayed at eye level with a separate plaque denoting the artist’s information. This project is organized by a group of partners including Art City Wraps, Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation. The following states the project goals:  Goal 1: Introduce more art into downtown Oshkosh.  Goal 2: Create an opportunity for local artists to showcase their work.  Goal 3: Increase visits to downtown Oshkosh. The call for artists has been released which encourages artists to apply for consideration by providing a selection of their existing pieces in digital format. Artist applications are due at the end of April 2020. In May, the review team will curate the gallery by selecting art pieces for this project. June 6, 2020 is the anticipate launch date where the art will be available for public view. Property owners 4/3/2020 Weekly Newsletter 4 have been approached with the request of volunteering their exterior walls for the uses of this project. It is free to property owners, but they must agree to leave the art up for a minimum of three years. The organizing team does not anticipate delays for this project related to COVID-19. In contrast to many other projects that have been cancelled or delayed, this should not be impacted because it does not requires any gatherings of people and can be installed by one person while practicing safety recommendations. We hope that accomplishing this project on schedule will result in spreading a bit of joy during these uncertain times. Please contact me, Alexa Naudziunas, at (920) 236-5126 or anaudziunas@ci.oshkosh.wi.us if you have any questions or concerns. 8. PRELIMINARY 2020 CENSUS RESPONSE RATES: Census Day was April 1st and it is no surprise that the City of Oshkosh and State of Wisconsin continues the tradition of high response rates replying to the Census questionnaires mailed to every household in March. Preliminary numbers show Wisconsin tied for first in the nation with a 46.4% response rate while locally, the City of Oshkosh’s preliminary response is 50.0%. Approximately half of the respondents utilized online or mobile apps, a first for the Census. For more information visit https://2020census.gov/en/response- rates.html. With the Covid-19 outbreak, the Census Bureau has delayed field operations until mid-April and will continue to monitor the situation and adjust accordingly. This is why it is crucial for citizens to self- report which will help keep communities safe. The Census Bureau will continue outreach efforts via texting, social media and email. The more people that self-respond means fewer on-site visits by census takers. If you have not yet responded, please do. It only takes a few minutes to respond online. If you have any questions, please contact Associate Planner Jeffrey Nau. 9. CITIZEN COVID-19 INFORMATION SITE: Staff has set up a web link for the public to get centralized information regarding city issues related to helping other agencies prevent spread of the Covid-19 virus, as well as how we are also responding in terms of our continuity of services: https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/covid19.aspx. 10. ATTACHED REPORTS & UPDATES: Weekly Museum Board Memo. 11. MEETING MINUTES FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: All meeting minutes are uploaded to the website upon approval. Please follow the link below for the most updated information & meeting minutes: https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/BoardsAndCommissions 12. UPCOMING MEETINGS: I will be available on a limited basis throughout the week, splitting my time between City Hall and being “on call” for the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). If you have any questions, please contact me.