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Home My WebLink Aboutnewsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: August 20, 2021 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. CITY OF OSHKOSH SELECTS NEW COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR: The City of Oshkosh has selected Kelly Nieforth as the community’s next Community Development Director. In her new position, Nieforth will oversee the Community Development Department which includes the Economic Development, Planning, Inspections, and Assessor Divisions. Nieforth has been the Economic Development Services Manager for the City for the last 5+ years and was recently named the interim Community Development Director. In her role as Economic Development Services Manager, Nieforth oversaw the Economic Development Services Division within the Community Development Department. Prior to that, Nieforth was an Economic Development Specialist with the City of Oshkosh and previously began her career with Calumet County as an Economic Development Specialist. Overall, Nieforth has 15+ years of community development experience, with 5+ years in a supervisory capacity. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. Nieforth will begin her new position with the City of Oshkosh on August 23rd, replacing Allen Davis who retired on July 9, 2021 after 11+ years of service with the city. We wish her a warm welcome to her new role! 2. JACKSON STREET ROAD DIET: The Jackson Street Safety Study is currently being implemented with the re-striping of the road and additional safety features. The City has received some feedback already - compliments from Jackson Street residents that are noticing slower speeds and complaints from residents and motorists regarding slower travel and unsafe behavior such as vehicles passing in the two-way left turn lane. We have also received feedback from those desiring wider lanes and conversely those desiring wider terraces. Most of striping removal and repainting is now complete along with the installation of speed feedback signs. Signage is in the process of being installed. Rectangular Rapidly Flashing Beacons for the new crosswalk at Jackson and Congress are on backorder and will be installed once received. We anticipate the majority of the plan will be complete in the coming week before school starts. Information regarding road diets and their benefits is being shared on Oshkosh Media’s social media platforms. Some of these benefits are slower travel speeds, reduced rear-end and sideswipe crashes and safer crossings and improved safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. The city will continue to educate the public on these changes. Motorists are reminded to slow down and not use the center turn lane to pass slower vehicles. The safety study laid out the concept and now staff and contractors are implementing it to the best or their ability. If you have any questions regarding road diets, please contact Transportation Director, Jim Collins. 3. NEW MERRILL MIDDLE SCHOOL NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING: City Staff met with representatives of the Oshkosh Area School District and their consultants on July 29, 2021 regarding plans for the new Merrill Middle School that will start construction in late 2021 or early 2022. As a result of that discussion, a neighborhood meeting is scheduled for September 9, 2021. The meeting will be held at 6:00 pm in the current Merrill School cafeteria. The intent of the meeting is to give neighbors and interested individuals an opportunity to provide feedback on a preliminary site plan and potential traffic / roadway changes being proposed by the Oshkosh Area School District. The Oshkosh Area School District will be presenting an overview of the project at the meeting. As part of the site plan, the Oshkosh Area School District is proposing reversing the travel direction of the existing one-way pair streets of Kentucky St. and Central St. Staff is seeking public input during this meeting prior to any future meeting with City Boards and Commissions. Anyone interested in learning more about the project can contact Mark Lyons at mlyons@ci.oshkosh.wi.us. 4. COFFEE WITH A COP: The Oshkosh Police Department was excited to hold the first 2021 Coffee with a Cop event on Friday, August 13, 2021. Several members of the Police Department participated in the event where there were activities and free hot cocoa for the kids. The Oshkosh Fire Department even joined in on the fun! The turnout was great and officers had an opportunity to connect with several citizens. The Oshkosh Police Department extends our sincere appreciation to New Moon Café and their staff for hosting our event. Coffee with a Cop gives us a chance to build better relationships with our community “One Cup At A Time!” 5. SENSORY BAG PROJECT: On August 16, 2021, the Oshkosh Police Department announced the launch of a new project. The project makes sensory bags available to Patrol and School Resource Officers to be used when interacting with Autistic citizens who are experiencing a crisis. The sensory bags are a proactive way for officers to have additional items on hand to try and calm autistic community members in crisis, assisting in communication and interaction. All of the items in the bags were provided through generous donations from Walmart, a Thrivent Action Team and Relay. Some of the items include: weighted blankets and eye masks, noise cancelling headphones and a variety of sensory toys. If you would like to learn more about these sensory bags or would like to make a donation to help support this project, please contact Officer Kate Mann at (920) 236-5742 or kmann@ci.oshkosh.wi.us. 6. ASSESSOR’S OFFICE ACTIVITY DETAIL FOR JUNE 2021: 225 Real Estate Transfers Processed 82 Residential Permit Reviews 137 Sale Reviews 211 Neighborhood Review 762 Permits Coded 9 Mobile Home Changes 15 Personal Property Contacts 23 Mailing Address 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. 7. INSPECTION SERVICES DIVISION JULY REPORT: The Inspection Services Division saw a 22% decrease in permit fees collected in July 2021compared to July 2020. Values were down moderately across most permit categories on a year-over-year basis. The most substantial difference occurred among multi-family residential permits, with July 2020 including the building permit issued for the Brio mixed-use development on Jackson Street consisting of 60 upper floor apartments and Oshkosh Food Co-op in the ground level commercial space. Inspectors made 575 total inspections throughout the month of July with all but 11 inspections being completed in one business day or less. If you have any questions, please contact Chief Building Official John Zarate. 8. REPORTS ATTACHMENTS UPDATES AND LINKS: Attached is the weekly Museum Memo. 9. 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: 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 July Building Permits Plumbing Permits Electric Permits HVAC Permits Total Value of Permits Total Permit Fees Collected 2020 295 122 74 118 $14,887,767 $95,171.51 2021 251 119 84 84 $10,563,193 $74,034.52 11. UPCOMING MEETINGS: Among the meetings I have scheduled for the week of August 23 include the following: At 7:30 AM on Monday, I will be meeting with Mayor Palmeri and Assistant City Manager/Director of Administrative Services, John Fitzpatrick to discuss Tuesday’s agenda. At 2:30 PM I will be participating in a virtual interview for the Police Department’s CALEA certification. On Tuesday at 9:30 AM I will be meeting with Chief Stanley for updates of the Oshkosh Fire Department. At 3:00 PM I will be meeting with staff to discuss the progress of the transit center project. On Wednesday at 8:00 AM I will be attending the Leadership Oshkosh steering committee meeting. I will be out of the office on Friday August 27. If you have any questions about my schedule, please contact me.