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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.08.21 Newsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: October 8, 2021 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING FOR CLEARWELLS REPLACEMENT PROJECT: There will be a neighborhood meeting to discuss the Water Filtration Plant Clearwells Replacement Project on Wednesday, October 13th. The meeting will be held at the Waters (1393 Washington Avenue) from 5:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with the presentation starting at 5:30 p.m. Water Filtration Plant tours will be held after the presentation starting at approximately 6:30 p.m. The City of Oshkosh Water Filtration Plant currently utilizes buried drinking water storage tanks called clearwells. The clearwells are old, constructed between 60 and 100 years ago, and do not comply with current State Administrative Codes. To meet regulatory requirements, the buried clearwells are proposed to be replaced with at-grade water storage reservoirs. In addition to the new reservoirs, a new pump station will be constructed to fill the reservoirs and convey drinking water to the City’s customers. There will be no interruption of water service during the construction of the new storage reservoirs. Since the last neighborhood meeting in 2017, the City has completed a Water System Capacity Planning Study and revised the scope of the Project. The City has also developed updated conceptual drawings that incorporate neighborhood feedback. If you have any questions, please contact Assistant Director of Public Works / Utilities General Manager, Steve Gohde, or Director of Public Works, James Rabe at (920)236-5065. 2. OSHKOSH RECEIVES “VOICE OF THE PEOPLE” AWARD: National Research Center (NRC), Polco and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) have announced the City of Oshkosh as the Finalist for the Voice of the People Award for Excellence in Online Outreach. The Voice of the People Awards are the only national awards that honor local governments based on improving communities through excellent online resident engagement. Oshkosh’s application demonstrated a commitment to best practices in engaging the community online. Oshkosh has utilized the Polco platform for a wide variety of recent surveys, including the annual Citizen Survey, the OPD Community Survey, a survey on the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and a survey about urban duck keeping. Residents may sign up to participate in Oshkosh’s surveys by logging on to https://info.polco.us/ and create a free account. The 13th annual Voice of the People Awards were presented by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and National Research Center (NRC) at Polco at ICMA’s Conference October 4, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. 3. CITY OF OSHKOSH COVID RLF PROGRAM UPDATE: In March 2020, the City of Oshkosh committed $1,000,000 of city RLF and TID funds to provide loans to businesses that had been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Greater Oshkosh Economic Development Corporation also committed $50,000 in funds to support this program. Of the $1,050,000 committed from the City and Greater Oshkosh EDC, $215,000 of the funds were loaned out to 22 businesses. $66,700 has already been paid back with all loans currently in good standing. The city currently has $775,000 of the committed funds in city accounts that the Finance Department manages. City staff continues to collaborate with Greater Oshkosh EDC staff to encourage businesses impacted by the pandemic to apply for loans to keep their business growing in Oshkosh. If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Nieforth, Community Development Director. 4. BOOKS TO BINGE: It’s spooky season at Oshkosh Public Library. And if you’re in the mood for a terrifying tale, we’re offering a chilling list of reads to set the mood for Halloween. Are you brave enough to devour our librarians’ recommendations? Young readers can join in on the fun with slightly eerie and silly picture books and chapter books. The full list for all ages is available at oshkoshpubliclibrary.org/content/october-2021- staff-picks. 5. CONTESTS & PRIZES: The Library is offering three fun contests this month for creators and dreamers. 1. The Two-Sentence Horror Story Writing Contest: Teens have the opportunity to grab the title of award-winning horror story writer and an Amazon Gift Card. Kids in grades 6 – 12 can submit their two-sentence scare by following the link below: https://www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org/content/two_sentence_horror_contest2021. 2. The Creature Carnival Contest: Contestants between the ages 2 – 18 are challenged to bring an original creature to life using common household supplies. The creature should be free-standing and no larger than 24” wide x 12” deep. Prizes will be awarded for several creative categories and age ranges. Stop by the library and vote for your favorite to receive the People’s Choice Award. 3. F Stop: Resilience: The library is partnering with Camera Casino to offer an online photography contest and exhibit designed to showcase our community’s interpretation of “resilience” during the pandemic. Both amateur and professional photographers ages 13 and older are invited to participate. All entries will be featured in the online exhibit. Visit https://www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org/ for all contest details. 6. REPORTS ATTACHMENTS UPDATES AND LINKS: Attached is the weekly Museum Board memo. 7. 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/. 8. 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 9. UPCOMING MEETINGS: Among the meetings I have scheduled for the week of October 11 include the following: On Monday at 7:30 AM I will be meeting with Mayor Palmeri to discuss Tuesday’s agenda. At 4:30 PM I will be attending the GO-HNI Open House. On Tuesday at 10:30 AM I am meeting with staff to review the Munis employee survey and discuss the accounting system. At 2:30 PM I will be meeting with staff to discuss the 2021 citizen survey findings. On Wednesday at 2:00 PM I will be participating in a call conference call with Moody‘s for our upcoming refunding issue. At 5:30 PM I will be attending the Clearwells Informational Neighborhood meeting at The Waters. On Thursday at 7:30 AM I will be attending the GOEDC Executive Committee meeting. At 9:30 AM I will be meeting with staff to discuss the recent ADA audit. On Friday at 1:30 PM I will be attending the Smith School National Register recognition event. If you have any questions about my schedule, please contact me.