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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.29.21newsletter DATE: January 29, 2021 TO: Honorable Mayor and Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager SUBJECT: Weekly Newsletter 1. CLERK’S OFFICE PREPARES FOR FEBRUARY PRIMARY: The City Clerk’s Office is busy preparing for the February 16, 2021 Spring Primary Election. In-person absentee ballot voting will be at the City Clerk’s Office from February 2nd through February 12th. Once the memory cards for the Imagecast Evolution voting equipment are programmed by Winnebago County Clerk Ertmer and delivered; the testing process will begin on each piece of voting equipment. Training the Election Day workers will be the week prior to Election Day at which time Clerk Ubrig will administer their oaths and review election tasks / routine and new procedures to streamline areas of the election process. During each election cycle, Clerk Ubrig, her staff and supporting staff perform election tasks designed to provide for transparency, accountability and security along with accommodating the voters no matter what the percentage is for voter turn-out. 2. TAKING THE GOOD WITH THE BAD: The mild winter has been challenging for seasonal Parks activities, but allowed for maintenance items to be completed. Prior to the recent temperature changes, the Parks have experienced some improvements at North High Conservancy. Crews have been busy doing extensive work removing invasive species (buckthorn) and ash trees throughout the conservancy. As it may look desolate to date, we are excited to improve the woods and trails in the coming years. We look forward to seeing the forest floor come to life in spring and continue developing woodland regeneration. Should you have any questions regarding this work or general Parks Department questions, please contact Chad Dallman, Assistant Parks Director, at (920) 236-5080. 3. ICE, ICE BABY…. The Ice Rink is open! The weather has finally gotten cold enough for us to open our outdoor ice rink! We have had many families who have enjoyed taking advantage of this jewel we have right here in Oshkosh. This year the ice rink has a new location and so far we have had great reviews for it. The ice rink is located in Roe Park, right next to the downtown YMCA at 300 Washington Avenue. The City of Oshkosh Parks Department, Oshkosh Recreation Department, and the Oshkosh YMCA have teamed up to offer some great family special events for the Oshkosh area community. On February 5th the Oshkosh Youth Hockey Club will be at the rink from 5-7pm showing you their hockey skills, helping kids skate, and letting the community try to shoot a goal! Concessions for the evening will be provided by Carmel Crisp. On Feb. 22nd, Frozen 2 will be playing on the big blow up screen! You can skate around and watch the movie or bring some chairs and blankets to cozy up and enjoy the show. Concessions for this evening will be offered by Carrot and Kale. Ice skates will be available at the rink for free rentals on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 3-7pm thanks to Dr. Eric’s Skate Club; weather, ice conditions and volunteers permitting. Follow the Oshkosh Parks Department Facebook page for updates. If you have any questions, please contact Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager, at (920) 232-5319. 4. FAREWELL FLAKY FRANCINE, HELLO HEARTY HERBY: With a new month on the calendar we also have a new Parks Friend to look for! Starting February 2 you will want to follow our Facebook page for clues every Tuesday and Thursday on which park Hearty Herby will be hiding in. Once you find him, you can bring him back to the Parks Department at 805 Witzel Avenue to claim your prize and our staff will hide him again at a new park. Won’t you help us #FindHeartyHerby? We love having this opportunity to showcase our fabulous Oshkosh Parks to all of you and hope you will take part in our scavenger hunt. If you have any questions, please contact Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager, at (920) 232-5319. 5. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: The Landscape Operations Division continues to work on pruning terrace and park trees within the neighborhoods west of I-41 this winter. There are approximately 1,900 public trees within this area and we are removing many trees affected by Emerald Ash Borer as part of this process as well. We have been removing Ash in this area for the past several years as it represents a high percentage of the Ash inventory within the City. If you have any questions regarding the annual tree pruning cycle, please contact Bill Sturm, Landscape Operations Manager, at (920) 236-5080. 6. PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS: The Oshkosh Seniors Center is excited to announce the following program enhancements beginning in February to encourage more participation of seniors. Social isolation and loneliness are reaching all-time highs and we need to encourage the engagement of our older adult community in a safe, responsible manner.  Exercise classes being held in the North Building will allow 14 people to attend, an increase from the current 10 to 12 person capacities.  In March we will open the Fox Fitness Center from noon to 3 pm Monday-Friday without requiring an appointment.  Books, DVDs, and puzzles may be picked up at the South Building without registration.  Beginner line dance class in will start in February.  More hybrid program opportunities: For example, we will run presentations via Zoom invitations for online discussion or a person may choose to attend in-person. A large shared screen allows everyone to “see” each other.  Valentine’s Lunch drive up event is planned for February 12.  Winnebago Senior Tours are offering trips. Vendors are making significant changes to keep trips safe by reducing capacities and making other accommodations.  “Take and Make” craft projects are still available. We’ve received feedback that people are really enjoying the projects that they can do in their own home. The homemade bird-feeder was a huge hit. Over the next few months, the tentative plan is to transition to more in-person programming. We want to welcome back as many people as we can without creating barriers while still being observant of COVID protocols. If you have any questions, please contact Jean Wollerman, Senior Services Manager, at (920) 232-5300. 7. OSHKOSH REMAINS “EVENT CITY” EVEN IN A PANDEMIC: 2020 posed incredible challenges for both businesses and nonprofit organizations throughout the world. Some of the largest renowned events were cancelled, rescheduled or “went virtual”. Oshkosh was no exception. At the end of the day, the City was host to 32 Special Events, down 78% from 2019. What we can celebrate are the events that were able to reimagine themselves and host a fun and “safe” event for those in our community to enjoy! Here’s a look at the events that we were able to host!  Fishing Tournaments – able to continue with limited contact, virtual results and recommended social distancing  Boat Races – eliminated large spectator driven activities and focused on the sport of racing  Farmers Market & Square Fare – made significant changes to their vendor requirements and social distanced their customers  Youth Sports Tournament – limited the contact between teams and increased cleaning and disinfecting measures  Live Entertainment – created drive-thru concerts and promoted social distancing  Truck or Treat – allowed drive-thru trick-or-treating for the community  Lumberjack & Jill Run/Walk –was able to move forward with limited participants and social distancing at the race start  Celebration of Lights – an end to the 2020 event year but none the less a wonderful community event that was already conducive to social distancing Our organizers are continuing to view 2021 optimistically. Learning from events that did occur last year, event organizers are representing their events to promote the social, physical, and mental health of our community. If you have questions regarding upcoming events or hosting one of your own, please contact Kathy Snell, Special Events Coordinator, at (920) 232-5304. 8. ATTACHED REPORTS & UPDATES: January Library highlights, the weekly Museum memo, and the State of the City “Save the Date” flyer. 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://onboard.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/. 10. 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 11. UPCOMING MEETINGS: Among the meetings I have scheduled for the week of February 1 include the following: On Monday at 7:30 AM I will be attending the Chamber’s virtual Governmental Affairs Committee meeting. At 11:00 AM I will get a briefing from staff on the status of purchasing new sanitation trucks. At 2:00 PM on Tuesday I will meet with staff on the status of TIF #40, the Miles Kimball project. At 9:00 AM on Friday I will be attending a virtual League of Wisconsin Municipalities Board of Directors meeting. If you have any questions regarding my attendance at any of these meetings, please contact me.