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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL CITY OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN MAY 18, 2020 SPECIAL MEETING held Monday, May 18, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, City Hall Mayor Palmeri presided. PRESENT: Council Members Matt Mugerauer, Lynnsey Erickson, Bob Poeschl (virtual), Michael Ford, Deb Allison-Aasby, Jake Krause, and Mayor Lori Palmeri ALSO PRESENT: Mark Rohloff, City Manager;Angela Joeckel,Deputy City Clerk; and Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney ACTION TAKEN ON ORDINANCES &RESOLUTIONS Ordinance 20-208 Create Ordinance to Provide for Covid-19 Temporary Outdoor Seating Areas & Authorize City Staff Review & Approval of Temporary Outdoor Seating Areas& Expansion of Licensed Premises for Taverns & Restaurants (Staff Recommends to Waive the Rules & Adopt on First Reading) MOTION: SUSPEND THE RULES FOR CONSIDERATION (Mugerauer; second, Krause) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Mugerauer, Erickson, Poeschl, Ford, Allison-Aasby, Krause, Mayor Palmeri MOTION: ADOPT (Mugerauer; second, Ford) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Mugerauer, Erickson, Poeschl, Ford, Allison-Aasby, Krause, Mayor Palmeri Council Member Erickson questioned if Council would be notified if there were to be complaints or issues with establishments. Mr. Rohloff stated documents would be on the city's website for accessibility. Council Member Erickson asked if there would be an after action report or evaluation for all partners involved on the ordinance after the October 1, 2020 deadline. Mr. Rohloff indicated there would be an after-action report completed. 1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL -MAY 18, 2020 Council Member Mugerauer asked for a brief description as to why Council was approving the ordinance so quickly. Allen Davis, Director of Community Development explained the City had worked on a COVID-19 temporary use permit (TUP) for establishments to allow outdoor seating. He stated the TUP would allow the property owner to submit a plan that showed seating, dispensing food,beverage and parking. He stated they would be reminded to follow health guidelines along with Center for Disease Control (CDC) requirements on social distancing. Mayor Palmeri questioned the expansion of the services regarding space and temporary bar set up. Mr. Davis explained he would not been able to predict how often the expansion of services would be used, he gave examples of temporary bars set up at establishments. He stated the health department would allow a bartender to dispense the beverages and wait staff would then take the beverage to the table. Mayor Palmeri questioned why there would be a need for extra bars. Mr.Rohloff stated there was a goal to minimize contact points and that with temporary bars set up, that would allow for different avenues for patrons to receive their beverages. Dean Smith, Police Chief stated from a law enforcement point of view, the thought process had been to set up temporary bars outside would allow to monitor the patrons in the outside areas at all times while servers would be inside retrieving food. Mayor Palmeri asked if the bars would be roped off so patrons were unable to congregate. Mr. Davis explained that would be addressed with each establishment when their plans were submitted. Mayor Palmeri questioned if there was non-compliance or reason for revocation, how the repeal process would work. Mr. Davis stated the ordinance outlined the details. Ms. Lorenson explained the revocation process would start with a complaint or violation, staff would review, and there would be a notice of hearing within a 3 to 10 days of the violation. She explained once a decision was made and if needed, then there was an appeal process to Council. 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL -MAY 18, 2020 Mayor Palmeri questioned if the TUP would tag along with the establishments liquor license. Ms. Lorenson explained the TUP would be revoked not the liquor license itself. She stated if there was something regarding the liquor license, then the statutory process would be followed. Deputy Mayor Krause questioned the verbiage regarding an establishment able to set up on a neighbor's property and what that entailed. Mr. Davis explained they would need to have their neighbor's approval. Mayor Palmeri explained neighboring states had not yet been open due to COVID-19 and there had been concerns that those residents would cross state lines to partake and questioned if there had been any thought given to that. Mr. Rohloff stated he agreed and the concern had been legitimate, however, the purpose of the ordinance was to have establishments follow the CDC guidelines. Mayor Palmeri asked if establishments would be able to use another property with their permission. Ms. Lorenson stated the other property owner would need to sign off that they had given permission to use the property. Council Member Ford questioned if there would be a fee for business to apply for a TUP. Mr. Davis stated there was no fee. Resolution 20-209 Resolution for a Safe & Fair Reopening of the Oshkosh Economy MOTION: ADOPT (Allison-Aasby; second, Ford) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Mugerauer, Erickson, Poeschl, Ford, Allison-Aasby, Krause, Mayor Palmeri Council Member Ford stated the intent of the resolution was to demonstrate a purpose of unity and for the people, not politics. He stated he recognized businesses needed to be able to get back to work and follow the guidelines of CDC. He recognized there would be some disagreement on policies during the crisis, he wanted to assure residents and business that the purpose was to work together. 3 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL -MAY 18, 2020 Mayor Palmeri asked for clarification on financial assistance listed in the resolution. Council Member Ford stated items such as previously discussed with the temporary use permits, loan programs, no fee or the reduced fee of the liquor licenses were examples of financial support. Council Member Mugerauer thanked Council Member Ford and indicated his support. COUNCIL DISCUSSION Mayor Palmeri mentioned the Winnebago County Drug and Alcohol Coalition had submitted their recommendations on Resolution 20-208 pertaining to the outdoor seating areas that was approved at the beginning of the meeting. Mr. Rohloff stated their recommendations such as the start and end date, the barriers to prevent patrons from leaving the area, the indoor capacity would not be expanded, signage for no smoking were in the ordinance. He explained each situation would be looked at for patrons to use the main door of the establishment for entrance and exiting. Mayor Palmeri questioned the recent Attorney General's opinion regard the local health departments. Doug Gieryn, Winnebago County Health Director explained the various statutes and enforcement issues that were communicated with communities for the guidelines to be in place to operate, stay consistent and clean. Mayor Palmeri asked if the county had considered sewer sample testing of the shed virus like other communities had. Mr. Gieryn stated not at this time. Mayor Palmeri questioned what the intervention threshold would be for the health department. Mr. Gieryn explained they watched the various indicators and monitored the changing situation. He stated it was a board concern and each issue would be addressed the best way possible. Council Member Mugerauer confirmed that his title was Public Health Director for Winnebago County. He questioned the extension of the Safer at Home order that had 4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL -MAY 18, 2020 been in place and then reversed a few days after. He questioned where the confusion had been at Winnebago County as it was confused the community during that time. Mr. Gieryn stated there had been a timeline of events, the state gave input and there were concerns of liability along with difficulties to enforce the extension of the Safer at Home order, therefore, it had been rescinded. Council Member Mugerauer stated that the county needed to have everything in order before putting the community through the rollercoaster. Mayor Palmeri appreciated what the County did at the time with the information they had. Mr. Rohloff indicated that Mr. Gieryn was the Public Health Director for the entire county with a lot of considerations and opinions. He stated the City worked with his office on a daily basis and will continue to work together with potential changes to come in the future. Council Member Ford questioned the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Winnebago County. Mr. Gieryn stated the information was available online and accessible. Mayor Palmeri questioned if the information was available by county. Mr. Gieryn stated no, the information available was by hospital and had been the most valuable way to monitor the information. Council Member Ford expressed the importance of the information. Mayor Palmeri questioned what the Council could do to be of assistance or supportive. Mr. Gieryn encouraged Council to continue to do what they had been doing and by assisting the community to abide by CDC guidelines. Mayor Palmeri questioned contact tracing in Winnebago County. Mr. Gieryn explained that 1,000 contact tracers were available and the more cases there were the more contact tracers would be needed. He explained the county had been in the process of hiring more each day to reach their goal of each case being contacted within 5 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL -MAY 18, 2020 24 hours of diagnosis. Mayor Palmeri questioned if there would be more contact tracers available when school was back in session. Mr. Gieryn stated they had been continuously monitoring the situation and would adapt and adjust as needed. Mr. Rohloff stated the departments at City Hall had been working on a reopening plan as well. He continued that it had been a balancing act on all end and the city would continue to work towards the best solution. Mr. Gieryn stated even though the orders had been lifted, he urged everyone to continue to follow CDC guidelines. Council Member Poeschl questioned what the City would be doing to inform businesses. Mr. Rohloff stated it would be communicated with different avenues, such as the Tavern League, the Convention and Visitors Bureau along with the social media to make the businesses aware of the permit. MOTION: ADJOURN (Mugerauer; second, Ford) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting adjourned at 5:33 p.m. ANGELA J. JOECKEL DEPUTY CITY CLERK 6