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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.29.20 Newsletter DATE: May 29, 2020 TO: Honorable Mayor and Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager SUBJECT: Weekly Newsletter 1. STAFF TO SEEK COUNCIL DIRECTION ON SUMMER BLOCK PARTIES: As the summer months draw near we are anticipating an increase in the number of Block Party requests from residents and neighborhood associations. As Council is aware, our special event ordinance permits block parties as approved by Council, and no fee is charged to the block party sponsors in order to promote social interaction within Oshkosh neighborhoods. Last year the City Council approved 15 Block Party requests. Of those, 8 had anticipated attendance of 50 or more and 2 had anticipated attendance of 100 or more. Block Party requests may encompass the closure of city street(s) to allow neighboring residents to gather at each other’s residences as well as in the right-of-way. Many incorporate additional activities, including picnics, yard/street/sidewalk games, and even interactive activities such as bounce houses. Unlike Special Events, there is not a sponsoring organization who takes on the responsibility of ensuring that best practices for safety are monitored. This monitoring will be of greater concern with CDC recommendations to maintain social distancing during this COVID-19 emergency. Because of these concerns, staff feels that Council direction is needed on permitting block parties this summer. Staff will be placing an item on the June 9 agenda for council direction to determine if staff should process block party requests for the summer 2020 season. In the meantime, if you have any questions in advance of us placing this on the council agenda, please contact me. 2. WEC TO MAIL ABSENTEE VOTER REQUEST FORMS FOR NOVEMBER ELECTION: At the May 27 Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) meeting, the Commission passed two motions that impact the City of Oshkosh and the upcoming 2020 elections. In the first action, the WEC directed its staff to administer a CARES Act sub–grant to local elections officials with a base grant of $200.00 and an additional $1.10 per registered voter. This would yield approximately $38,700 to the City of Oshkosh. In the second action, the Commission directed its staff to prepare a mailing to all voters without an active absentee request on file. This would allow registered voters to request an absentee ballot for the November election. No action would be taken by the WEC for the August primary. This proposal includes having 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 the completed absentee applications being returned to WEC staff and data entered by WEC staff for approval/denial by municipal clerks. This would save a significant amount of local staff time entering absentee voter data into the system. With these recent decisions, Deputy Clerk Joeckel communicated with WEC explaining that Council directed Clerk staff to mail absentee ballot request applications to all registered voters in the City of Oshkosh for the August 11, 2020 Partisan Primary and November 3, 2020 Presidential elections. WEC’s suggestion was that the City of Oshkosh’s mailing should include the November request. However, in doing so the City would incur the cost of the mailing and data entry responsibilities. If we chose not to do the mailing for the August election, the WEC would assume all responsibilities and costs for the November mailing. City Clerk Ubrig is requesting that Council take another look at how her office would handle the upcoming elections. The August election is a partisan primary and the top candidate for the race in the party will move on to the November election. Over the past decade, there has been low voter turnout in the August elections, with participation rates ranging from 12.3%-25.3% out of approximately 35,000 registered voters. Clerk Ubrig believes the marketing for the April election worked well taking into account the various circumstances. For the August and November elections she would promote absentee voting using print, social media, flyers in utility bills, Oshkosh Media, and public service announcements. With the low voter turnout and the promotion of absentee voting, her suggestion would be to handle the August election as the Clerk’s Office has in the past and have WEC prepare the November absentee application requests and data entry for those requests. Once WEC has entered the information, Clerk staff would process and mail the ballot to the voter. If Council would like to discuss the new options available to us, please contact City Clerk Ubrig or City Manager Rohloff to have this item placed back on the agenda. 3. SAWDUST DISTRICT LOFTS REJECTED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING TAX CREDITS DUE TO LOW MARKET RENTS IN OSHKOSH: Local developers Andy Dumke and Cal Schultz recently asked the Redevelopment Authority (RDA) for an extension on their offer for the land on the west side of the 700 Block of South Main Street for a 60-unit Affordable Housing project. The developers explained to the RDA that all the 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) in 2020 by WHEDA were awarded to projects in Madison and Milwaukee. When the RDA asked for an explanation, the developers reported that in Milwaukee and Madison, developers can add additional market rate units to a project. The market rents in Milwaukee and Madison are high enough to pay for the additional 20 or 40 units in addition to their LIHTC units. The additional market rate units earn more points in a LIHTC application. The developers also explained that construction costs in Oshkosh are about the same as Madison and Milwaukee, but the market rents in Oshkosh are too low to build the additional 20 or 40 units. The irony of the story is that market rents in Oshkosh 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 are too low to earn Low Income Housing Tax Credits and create more affordable housing in Oshkosh. The RDA granted the developer’s request for a 6-month extension in order to obtain alternative financing for the project. Please contact Community Development Director Allen Davis with any questions. 4. BRIDGE LIGHTS TO HONOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES: This week and next, the local bridge lights will honor all City of Oshkosh High School Graduates. The lights will cycle between Green and Gold to honor Oshkosh North graduates, Blue and White to honor Oshkosh West and Valley Christian graduates and Red and White to honor Oshkosh Lourdes graduates. Congratulations to all! Thank you to the many generous donors that make lighting our bridges possible. If you have any questions on the bridge lights, please contract Electric Traffic Division Manager, Dan Kussman. 5. DEMAND SURGES FOR STORM SEWER LATERALS: Over the past three (3) years, the Storm Sewer Lateral / Mini Storm Program has provided, on average, forty (40) storm sewer laterals per year to residents that have drainage concerns. Drainage concerns can range in severity and type, but often are related to a sump pump hose discharging onto the public sidewalk creating algal growth in the summer and ice formation in the winter. Another common reason for requesting a Storm Sewer Lateral through this program is related to poor drainage in backyards. The program operates on a first-come, first-served basis with a priority given to residents who have received orders from the Plumbing Inspector to stop discharges that are creating a public nuisance, such as sump pump discharge onto the public sidewalk or street. The Storm Sewer Lateral / Mini Storm Program has had more requests for laterals than installations completed over the past few years. This has resulted in a backlog list that is now over fifty (50) properties, after the award of Contract 20-20 to Advance Construction on May 12th. Due to the current health pandemic and emergency declarations, many contractors have had projects postponed or cancelled. This has created a situation where many contractors have openings in their schedules to complete work. This was evidenced by the extremely competitive nature of the bidding for Contract 20-20, where nine (9) bids were received for a project that generally only receives a couple of bids. Based upon information from the construction community, we anticipate this situation to continue for the short term. With contractors looking for work to fill out their schedules and the need to continue to provide laterals for the residents of Oshkosh, staff proposes a second Storm Sewer Lateral / Mini Storm Program construction project be issued for bid. The funds for this project would come from previous storm water projects that have come in under budget. Staff plans to bring this matter forth for Council consideration in the coming weeks. If you have any questions, please contact Engineering Division Manager / City Engineer, Justin Gierach. 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 6. COVID-19 RESOURCE LINKS AND INFORMATION: o Citizen Covid-19 Information Site: https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/covid19.aspx. o Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/ o Wisconsin Department of Health Services: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/ o Winnebago County Public Health Department: https://www.co.winnebago.wi.us/health/divisions-program- areas/communicable-disease/covid-19-coronavirus/wchd-covid-19-situation 7. ATTACHED REPORTS & UPDATES: The weekly Museum Board Memo, Oshkosh Public Library May Highlights and a copy of a letter to the USPS from Senator Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson. 8. 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 9. UPCOMING MEETINGS: On Monday, at 9:00 AM I will be meeting with staff to discuss sanitation motor vehicles. At 10:00 AM I will be meeting with Planning staff regarding potential wall sign changes. On Thursday, at 7:30 AM I will be virtually attending the Leadership Oshkosh Steering Committee meeting. On Friday, at 4:00 PM I will be attending the MToxins Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. If you have any questions about my schedule, please contact me.