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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.01.20 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: May 1, 2020 TO: Honorable Mayor and Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager SUBJECT: Weekly Newsletter 1. JACKSON STREET CORRIDOR AND SAFETY STUDY UPDATE: The Planning Services Division is in the process of developing a Multimodal Traffic Safety and Quality of Life Study from Church Avenue to Murdock Avenue (Area 1) and a corridor plan to guide lane use and mobility development from Murdock Avenue to Interstate 41 (Area 2).  Area 1 - Church Avenue to Murdock Avenue - serves an urbanized, residential area featuring older historic homes located near several community parks and schools.  Area 2 - Murdock Avenue to the Interstate 41 interchange - provides access to a wide range of residential, commercial, and industrial properties. Ayres Associates and RDG Planning & Design are facilitating the planning process in collaboration with the City of Oshkosh. The most recent public information meeting was held on March 4th at Oaklawn School. The purpose of the March meeting was to review public comments from the first public information meeting held in December, 2019 and review transportation improvement options for Area 1 and development options in Area 2. The consultant reviewed three different street alternatives for Area 1; one was minimal change keeping the roadway the same, while the other two alternatives included variations of a roadway reconfiguration incorporating two drive lanes and one center turn lane. Nearly 30 residents attended and offered comments and opinions to the consultants. Staff continues to meet with the consultants to review and refine the alternatives and to plan for the final public meetings. The project is still planned to be finished in spring 2020. Staff had originally established a meeting schedule that included another public information meeting in May, 2020. This May meeting will be delayed as a result of emergency orders. Staff plans to monitor the situation and hold the third and final public information meeting as soon as possible. The refinement of the street and development alternatives have continued on schedule. In the meantime, public input is always welcome and still available via email or phone. Contact Associate Planner Alexa Naudziunas at anaudziunas@ci.oshkosh.wi.us if you have any questions. You can also visit the plan webpage (link below) for more information: https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/PlanningServices/JacksonStreetCorridorPlan/Default.aspx 5/1/2020 Weekly Newsletter 2 2. GO TRANSIT PROVIDES ESSENTIAL RIDES: GO Transit continues to provide essential service to the citizens of Oshkosh. Riders are encouraged to follow CDC guidelines by staying home if sick, washing hands, practicing social distancing, covering their face, and only taking essential rides. Essential rides are trips to and from work, medical appointments and to do essential shopping. Regular service and fares have been maintained to allow for social distancing and encourage essential rides only. Please follow GO Transit’s Facebook page for up to date content. If you have any questions about GO Transit, please contact Transportation Director, Jim Collins 3. GO BEFORE YOU GO: Park restrooms remain closed – in accordance with the closure of park playgrounds by the Governor’s Order, park restrooms will remain closed as well. Citizens are encouraged to use the parks for walking, biking, and hiking during this time to help fight against mental health issues like depression, anxiety and stress. Getting outside and visiting your local parks is a great way to improve your mental health. Citizens are reminded to go to the bathroom before leaving home and to always carry hand sanitizer. The weather looks great this weekend; get out and enjoy it! 4. TEAM SPORTS NOT PERMITTED AT THIS TIME: Use of city baseball/softball fields – the Parks Department has been in contact with the various user groups that typically utilize ball fields in city parks for practices and games. In a typical year, schedules for each facility have already been completed and distributed. However, due to COVID-19 and the Governor’s Safer at Home Order, team sports are not permitted at this time. Parks Department staff have been doing the annual spring maintenance of fields as well as completing some projects that were required on various fields anticipating that organizations will eventually be allowed to utilize the fields this summer. When field use is allowed will be based upon the Governor’s Order as well as the Badger Bounce Back Plan which details when specific activities as well as group sizes will be allowed. Similarly, basketball, tennis, and pickle ball courts remain closed to lower public health risks. We will continue to communicate with the user groups as more information becomes available and we will be prepared to schedule the necessary fields for them. For further information, feel free to contact Parks Director, Ray Maurer, at 236-5080. 5. LIBRARY CONTINUES TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY: Oshkosh Public Library started offering curbside service on April 24, per the state’s Safer at Home order. Response has been overwhelming! On Monday and Tuesday alone, library staff pulled more than 5,000 items from the shelves to be bagged for curbside pickup. Here is how it works:  Place your holds. Call 236-5205 to request materials (limit five items to keep phone calls short), or place holds through the catalog (standard limits apply). Phones are staffed during regular business hours.  Schedule a time for pickup. We’ll give you a call when your items are ready. Arrange an appointment for pickup at that time. 5/1/2020 Weekly Newsletter 3  Follow the signs. Drive to your assigned pickup stall and call the number on the sign to let us know you’ve arrived. Alternate arrangements will be made if you don’t have a vehicle or cell phone.  Collect your items. A staff member will bring out a cart with your checked-out materials and place it in front of your stall. You also have the option of opening your trunk for items to be placed inside. Please be sure to maintain social distancing. Complete details about curbside service is available at https://conta.cc/2yx2xNg. The library building remains closed but OPL continues to serve the community and has many ways to help the public stay connected. Library staff is here to answer questions, help with information resources and offer digital services for reading, learning and entertainment via our website or convenient, easy-to-use apps.  Library materials checked out before the building closed will not be due until we reopen. No fines will be assessed and library cards will not expire while we are closed.  Staff is available to answer questions and provide information via email, chat, or phone at 236-5203 (Public Services); 236-5205 (Information Services); 236-5208 (Children’s & Family Outreach).  Apply for a library card online to check out materials or start using our digital resources.  Borrow eBooks and audiobooks via Overdrive using the Libby app, or with Hoopla.  Stream music, movies and TV shows with Hoopla. We’ve increased the borrowing limit to 10 items per month.  Learn a language online with Mango Languages or take a class for personal or professional growth with Gale Courses.  Take the Washington Avenue Historic Tour online, powered by Vamonde, and learn about the history of this neoclassical historic district in the early 1900s from the comfort and safety of your home.  We’ve expanded access to resources that help you research your family history. Now use Ancestry at home and access the entire collection of Newspaper ARCHIVE.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch storytimes with your children, find Wonderlab projects, watch our Librarian Learns local history series or get information about using the library.  Follow us on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to stay connected to library resources and services. Subscribe to our eNewsletter for monthly updates. 5/1/2020 Weekly Newsletter 4 The library is also working in partnership with other city departments to serve the community in some unexpected ways. Using OPL’s 3D printer, library staff made face shields for the Oshkosh Fire Department; helped to process absentee ballots at City Hall and staff the library polling place on Election Day; and continues to provide research assistance for the Emergency Operations Center. 6. BALDWIN RECOGNIZES CONCERN OVER DEPORTATION: Attached is a letter my office received from Senator Tammy Baldwin in response to Council’s Resolution 20-101 “Expressing Concern over Possible Federal Action to Deport Hmong and Lao Residents” filed on March 10, 2020. 7. COVID-19 RESOURCE LINKS AND INFORMATION:  Citizen Covid-19 Information Site https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/covid19.aspx.  Centers for Disease Control And Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/  Wisconsin Department Of Health Services https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/  Winnebago County Public Health Department https://www.co.winnebago.wi.us/health/divisions-program-areas/communicable- disease/covid-19-coronavirus/wchd-covid-19-situation 8. ATTACHED REPORTS & UPDATES: The weekly Museum Board Memo and GO Transit new website announcement. 9. 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 10. UPCOMING MEETINGS: I will be available on a limited basis, splitting my time between City Hall and being “on call” for the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). If you have any questions, please contact me. One meeting of note: On Thursday at 8:00 AM, Finance Director VanGompel and I will be “attending” the virtual meeting of the County’s Personnel and Finance Committee to speak in support of Council’s resolution to request Winnebago County to allow us to waive interest and penalties for late property tax installments. If any Council member is interested in attending please contact me for sign on information.