Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutnewsletter DATE: March 26, 2021 TO: Honorable Mayor and Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager SUBJECT: Weekly Newsletter 1. OSHKOSH MEDIA FACEBOOK PAGE DRAWS A CROWD: With the recent 2021 Oshkosh State of the City being a virtual event, the Oshkosh Media Facebook page was a focal point. On Monday, March 22, the day of the event, page views were up a whopping 1880%. People also engaged with posts (likes, etc.) more than usual that day, up 386%. The State of the City “event page” reached 7,436 people. As of 8:30 a.m. on March 26, the 2021 State of the City video has 270 views on the Oshkosh Media YouTube channel. A following continues to build on Oshkosh Media YouTube, recently gaining more than 1,000 subscribers. Oshkosh Media staff will continue to use this data to determine effective methods of communication for future initiatives. 2. MONTHLY BRUSH COLLECTION BEGINS APRIL 5TH: The Oshkosh Sanitation Division would like to notify residents that regular monthly curbside brush collection begins the week of April 5th. Curbside collection of brush is scheduled on your garbage collection day during the first full week of each month that does not contain a City of Oshkosh observed holiday, from April through December. The annual spring cleanup is scheduled for April 26th through May 14th. Spring cleanup is an extended brush-collection schedule to help residents dispose of yard waste. Brush is defined as tree branches, leaves, hedge clippings, and garden debris (no grass, dirt, root balls, or stumps). Brush should be placed in biodegradable bags or bundled and tied. Bundles can be no longer than four feet (4’) in length and have no branches greater than three inches (3”) in diameter. Bags and bundles shall not exceed fifty (50) pounds in weight. Place bags and bundles at least three feet (3’) away from your garbage and recycling carts on the terrace or driveway apron, no later than 7 a.m. on your scheduled collection day. Please be sure not to obstruct the sidewalk. Plastic bags, other containers, or loose leaves will not be collected. The Sanitation Division does not pick up grass, dirt, root balls, or stumps at any time. If you have any questions, please contact Sanitation Division Manager, Bob Salm. 3. YARD WASTE DROP-OFF CENTER SEASONAL HOURS BEGIN APRIL 1: Seasonal hours of operation for the City’s yard waste drop-off center, located on West 3rd Avenue between Idaho Street and Ohio Street, will go into effect April 1st. The operating hours will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The yard waste drop-off center is closed on City holidays, including Good Friday. Please empty all bags and containers at the drop-off center. Permits are required to use the drop-off center. The cost of a single-vehicle permit for a City of Oshkosh resident is $25. A non-resident (including the Townships of Algoma, Black Wolf, Nekimi, Oshkosh, and Vinland) must pay $125. Permits are valid from January 1st to December 31st of the year issued. Permits can be purchased at the Collections Counter in City Hall, located at 215 Church Avenue, or Kitz and Pfeil Ace Hardware, located at 427 North Main Street. Yard waste from commercial operations, including tree trimmers, landscapers, and apartment buildings, is prohibited from the yard waste drop-off center per requirements of Chapter 23, Section 23-9, Paragraph (K) of the City’s Municipal Code. All yard waste being transported in trucks or trailers to the drop-off center must be properly secured with a tarp. If you have any questions, please contact Sanitation Division Manager, Bob Salm. 4. PARKS SYSTEMS UPGRADES TO REQUIRE TEMPORARY SHUTDOWN: The Oshkosh Parks Department will be upgrading their online capabilities and are asking our customers to be patient as we make these system upgrades April 5-7, 2021. Services will not be available during this time online or in-person at the Oshkosh Parks Department office. During this time period you may still purchase annual and multi-year boat launch passes at the kiosks located at each boat launch, City Hall, Fox River Bait and Tackle, and Hergert Sport Center. However, customers will not be able to make shelter reservations or purchase season passes for Pollock Community Water Park during the upgrade and we encourage you to do so prior to this or after our systems are back up on April 8, 2021. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we complete these software upgrades. If you have any questions regarding the upgrades or want to take care of any purchases before these dates, please contact Stacy James, Administrative Assistant, at (920) 236-5080. 5. NEW MONTH NEW SCAVENGER HUNT: Spring has arrived for sure and we look forward to all that comes with the nicer temperatures! In April, the Oshkosh Parks Department will host a new kind of scavenger hunt in Menominee Park that everyone can take part in. Our staff has put together a worksheet with clues on the locations of various items in Menominee Park and put together a worksheet for you to fill-in-the-blanks from a sign or object at that location. This is a great opportunity for you and your family to get out in the park for some natural Vitamin “N” (Nature). Once you complete the worksheet you are able to turn it in to the Oshkosh Parks Department in person at 805 Witzel Avenue, Oshkosh or by e-mail at sjames@ci.oshkosh.wi.us for fun prizes that you can use all summer long at our facilities. Worksheets will be available on our Oshkosh Parks Department Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/OshkoshParks) beginning April 5, 2021 and the April Adventure will run until April 30, 2021. If you have any questions regarding this April Adventure in Menominee Park contact Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager, at (920) 232-5319. 6. MENOMINEE PARK ZOO OPENS MAY 1: Join us for our 76th season! Beginning May 1, the zoo will be open daily from 9am – 7pm. Visitors will have plenty to do all season long with our Wildlife Wednesdays. Check out the Zoos Facebook Page to keep updated on all our events: https://www.facebook.com/MenomineePark. Zoo guests will also be excited to see our new wolf pack as well as our majestic bald eagle. There are so many really great things happening in the Menominee Park Zoo and we hope you will come and visit to check them all out! If you have any questions regarding the Menominee Park Zoo contact Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager, at (920) 232-5319. 7. ARBOR DAY EVENT: The Landscape Operations Division is currently planning a ‘limited attendance’ Arbor Day program to be held during the last week of April 2021. The program will be conducted in cooperation with UW-Oshkosh students and staff with a tree planting project to occur on campus. The Tree City USA, Tree Campus USA and Tree Line USA awards will not be presented by WI DNR as part of the program, but will be issued to all participating organizations at a later date. If you have any questions regarding the Arbor Day Event contact Bill Sturm, Landscape Operations Manager, at (920) 236-5080. 8. THE NEW NORMAL AT OSHKOSH SENIORS CENTER: Life is starting to return to a new normal at the Oshkosh Seniors Center as many of our seniors have been vaccinated and are comfortable with starting to venture out. The Center is here with a variety of programming to help them stay active, stay social, and stay informed. We will continue to wear masks, observe cleaning protocols, and we will continue to physically distance six feet from each other. These protocols and the vaccinations give our seniors the peace of mind they deserve when they come to visit the Center. So what is a day like at the Oshkosh Seniors Center a year after Covid-19?  There were giggles and laughter heard when ten people who showed up for an “Afternoon of Laughter” event led by Jane Wells, Program Supervisor. She shared some nostalgic comedy bits and introduced the group to a few new comedians.  There was a group of six in the art studio repurposing old glassware with the help of Activities Coordinator, Kerry Wolfe. The unique art pieces can be used as bird feeders or center pieces.  The Connect through Tech crew hosted twenty-two people for an in-person and via Zoom presentation on “Let’s Have fun with Facebook”.  Forty-seven fitness-conscious people made the healthy choice to join in on fitness classes held by Alec Jensen, the Center’s Fitness Coordinator, and Bobbie Jo Luft, Activities Coordinator.  Add to the mix the thirteen people that came to pick up a book and/or puzzle from our lending libraries it is easy for us to say the day was a HUGE success. The Oshkosh Seniors Center enriches the lives of thousands of older adults from our community. If you are interested in finding our more about the Seniors Center, contact Jean Wollerman, Senior Services Manager at (920) 232-5300. 9. AARP WELCOMES OSHKOSH AS NATION’S 482ND AGE-FRIENDLY COMMUNITY: AARP Wisconsin recently announced that the City of Oshkosh & Surrounding Areas has been officially accepted as the seventh Wisconsin member of the AARP Network of Age- Friendly States and Communities. The Network is an affiliate of the World Health Organization’s Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Program, an international effort launched in 2006 to help cities prepare for rapid population aging and the parallel trend of urbanization. The program has participating communities in more than 20 nations. An age-friendly community is livable for people of all ages. The AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities helps participating communities become great places for all ages by adopting such features as safe, walkable streets; better housing and transportation options; access to key services; and opportunities for residents to participate in civic and community activities. Oshkosh & Surrounding Areas join six other Wisconsin communities that have earned the Age-Friendly designation, including Greendale, La Crosse, Madison, Sheboygan, Shorewood, and Wausau. These areas have taken the initial steps to enter the Network, which demonstrates its commitment to actively engage in an inclusive cycle of continuous improvement in the “8 Domains of Livability” that the World Health Organization has identified as influencing the health and quality of life of older adults. To help shape age-friendly efforts in the community, share your thoughts by completing the Community Survey here: https://survey.cmix.com/ECFD576D/G10DF6LT/en-US. In the spirit of shaping our age-friendly community please help a neighbor complete the survey. For information about the AARP Network of Age Friendly States and Communities visit: www.aarp.org/livable. 10. SPECIAL EVENTS GEARING UP: As the warmer months are approaching we continue to receive applications for Special Events to be hosted in our community. With several events already having been hosted successfully, we continue to work with organizers on best practices for hosting events during the pandemic. These measures include encouraging all organizers as well as participants to wear face coverings, encourage social distancing, and increase cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces. As our event organizers continue to enhance their protocols to provide a safe and healthy environment for those in our community, we look forward to the return of the many annual events as well as some new ones. The next event is the Run Away to the Bay event which is host to relay teams that participate in a 55 mile race from Oshkosh to Green Bay on Saturday, April 17! Good luck to all participants! For more information regarding special events in Oshkosh’s Event City, please contact Kathy Snell, Special Events Coordinator, at (920) 232-5304. 11. ASSESSOR’S OFFICE MARCH 2021 UPDATE: The Annual Real Estate and Personal Property Assessment Change Notices informing property owners of assessed value changes will be mailed on Friday, April 9, 2021. If property owners have questions or concerns about the assessed value change or the assessment process, the first step is to contact the Assessor’s Office during the Open Book Period. Open Book is April 12th to April 16th, 2021, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The phone number for the assessor office is 920-236-5070. DATES TO REMEMBER: Open Book: Start Date - 04/12/2021 End Date - 04/16/2021 Times - 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Weekdays Board of Review: Start Date - 05/12/2021 Start Time - 9:00 a.m. MONTHLY ACTIVITY DETAIL: 170 Real Estate Transfers Processed 131 Mailing Address Changes 8 Land Value Changes 5 Permit Reviews 11 Residential Sale Reviews 2 Classification Shifts 3 Annexation Property Inspections 103 Personal Property Statements Entered 464 Permits Coded 5 Mobile Home Changes The City of Oshkosh Assessor’s office continually strives to provide fair and equitable real estate assessed values. Please contact our office with any questions at 920-236-5070 or lalger@ci.oshkosh.wi.us. 12. REPORTS ATTACHMENTS UPDATES AND LINKS: Attached is the weekly Museum Memo, and Oshkosh Public Library March Highlights. 13. 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/. 14. COVID-19 RESOURCE LINKS AND INFORMATION: 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 15. UPCOMING MEETINGS: Among the meetings I have scheduled for the week of March 29 include the following: At 9:00 AM on Monday, I will be meeting virtually with Mayor Palmeri and DOA Secretary Joel Brennan to discuss the proposed state budget, Covid-19 relief funding, and local vaccination efforts. At 2:30 PM on Tuesday I will be meeting with Parks Director, Ray Maurer to inspect and discuss the condition of the Menominee Park Bathhouse. I will be out of the office on Thursday and, as a reminder, City offices are closed on Friday April 2. Due to the shortened week, there will be no newsletter next Friday. If there is any information that council needs to receive it will be sent from this office. If you have any questions regarding my schedule, please contact me.