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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.29.21 Newsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: October 29, 2021 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. FIRST RESPONDER OF THE YEAR: On Tuesday, October 26, 2021 Battalion Chief Mike Rutter was awarded the First Responder of the Year Award for the 54th Assembly District by Representative Gordon Hintz at the State Capitol building. According to Fire Chief Mike Stanley, “Battalion Chief Mike Rutter is being nominated because of the notable career that he has had and the contributions that he has made not only to the Oshkosh Fire Department, but also the community of Oshkosh as well. Throughout his twenty-five year career, there is not a facet of the organization that he has not been involved with and made it better because of his participation. As a Battalion Chief, he is an exceptional mentor and role model to new and emerging leaders in the department. Chief Rutter has greatly improved the safety of the Oshkosh Fire Department’s firefighters. Mike coordinates the personal protective equipment program. His vision, guidance and perseverance have led to improved firefighting gear that protects our personnel from the immediate dangers of fire and from the long term cancer causing threats of smoke. To capture the totality of what makes Mike a worthy recipient for this award would take countless pages. Mike Rutter is a dedicated professional who embodies a core value of the City of Oshkosh which is having a “Can Do Attitude.” He has my admiration and respect. I cannot think of an individual more deserving of the First Responder of the Year Award than Battalion Chief Mike Rutter.” Please join me in congratulating Chief Rutter for this much deserved recognition. 2. THAT’S AN “A” IN MY BOOK!: On Wednesday, October 13th, the City Manager and the Finance Director participated in a conference call with Moody’s Investors Service to discuss the upcoming Debt Issue to refinance the 2012B GO Bonds and 2012F Water System Revenue Bonds. The Press Release and Credit Opinion for the two new issues are attached for you information. Moody’s has assigned an “Aa3” rating for both issues. Moody’s “scorecard” indicates some outcomes of upgrading to an Aa2 rating. If you look back the June report the scorecard indicated outcome was Aa3. The change was due to this report now including 2020 financial data, and the improvements in the “Finances” area. The City is trending towards an upgrade. Moody’s will want to see the City sustain/further improve the strengthening of its fund balance along with continued moderation of the debt burden. Two of the areas that the City scores an “A” (which brings your score down) are Median Family Income and Institutional Framework, both areas are outside of the control of the City. All local governments in WI are automatically an “A” on Institutional Framework which is primarily due to levy limits and the lack of alternative revenue sources beyond property taxes. 3. BOND REFI RESULTS SAVE TAXPAYERS MONEY: The City closed on the refinancing of two debt issues on October 27, 2021. The City refinanced of the 2012 B (General Obligation) and 2012 F Water System Revenue Bonds. The preliminary calculation was that the reissue of the General; Obligation Debt would result in savings of approximately $612,000 and the Water System Revenue Bonds would be approximately, $292,000. The Sales Day Report shows that the future value savings for the General Obligation Debt at $530,629 with a present day value savings of $487,762. The Sale Day Report show that the Water System Revenue Bonds has a future value savings of $231,099 with a present day value savings of $166,748. These are still outstanding results that were within the parameters set by Council. Please contact Finance Director Van Gompel with any questions. 4. INITIAL SIDEWALK & DRIVEWAY APPROACH REHAB LETTERS MAILED: Letters were sent to property owners and residents in 2023’s Sidewalk and Driveway Approach Rehabilitation areas. These letters explain that the City’s Water Utility staff may have begun locating the water curb stops. The Utility marks the curb stops with blue paint and places a blue “X” on the street or sidewalk to note the location. A City staff member will be walking the program area and is preliminarily marking any defective sidewalk sections and driveway approaches with fluorescent green paint. Staff will inspect the sidewalk again in the spring of 2023 to determine if corrective action is needed for the sidewalk and driveway approaches. Issues that will require repairs include cracks, raising, settling, or incorrect cross slope. Additional information will be mailed to property owners in the spring of 2023. The information will include repair options, the City’s Contractor’s information, and cost estimates. For reference, the approximate cost to remove and replace a typical 5’ x 5’ section of 4” thick sidewalk in 2021 was $210. If you have any questions, please contact Engineering Division Manager / City Engineer, Justin Gierach. 5. SURPLUS CITY ITEMS FOR SALE ON IMPROVED “OSH-BUY” WEBSITE: The public is encouraged to utilize the City of Oshkosh’s improved “Osh-Buy” online auction website for opportunities to bid on surplus city equipment, furniture, and other items. The website has been updated with new features and will be available beginning Monday, November 1. The site is currently open for new user registrations on its improved platform. The Osh-Buy website has been selling city of Oshkosh surplus items since 2012. New features on Osh-Buy include: o Users may choose to be notified of new bid opportunities of items in any category. o Users will be emailed when they are outbid. The email will contain a link to show what the higher bid is, and to enter a new bid, if they choose to. o Users will be emailed if they had the winning bid. o Once a user login is created, it may be used for future auctions. Once logged in, the user’s bidding process is more streamlined than before. Beginning November 1, Osh-Buy will be accepting bids for security cameras, desktop computers, and other equipment. The inventory up for bid will be constantly changing. All Osh-Buy items are sold in “as-is” condition. The bidding terms and pictures of current items will be accessed by visiting the city’s website, www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us, and clicking on “Osh-Buy” under the “Services” tab at the top. For more information about Osh-Buy, please contact the General Services Division at (920) 236-5100. 6. SOLAR RESOURCES: On November 1st at 6:00pm the Sustainability Advisory Board will have a representative from Legacy Solar Co-op to present on the services they offer statewide, including the current Fox Valley Solar Group Buy. The group buy is an affordable way for residents, small businesses, and nonprofits to achieve their solar goals with competitive pricing and available financing. Throughout their process participants receive dedicated support, such as an assessment of their site information and electricity usage, as well as a custom solar report. Member-owned Legacy Solar Co-op has one mission - to grow solar in Wisconsin. Through expert consulting and financing services they facilitate solar projects for communities & nonprofits across the state. More information at https://legacysolarcoop.org If you are interested in solar but questioning how it can be paid for, an additional financing option is to utilize one of the City of Oshkosh’s zero percent loans for home improvement projects. When you are ready to make the switch to solar please consider filling out the Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation or Renter-Occupied rehabilitation application. Both can be found by following the link below: https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/PlanningServices/HousingLoansAndIncentives.aspx 7. REPORTS ATTACHMENTS UPDATES AND LINKS: Attached is the weekly Museum Board memo and the Oshkosh Public Library Highlights for October. 8. 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/. 9. 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 10. UPCOMING MEETINGS: Among the meetings I have scheduled for the week of November 1 include the following: On Monday at 7:30 AM I will be attending the Chamber Governmental Affairs Committee meeting. At 11:00 AM I will be attending the virtual Aurora Medical Center Oshkosh Business Advisory Council Meeting. At 2:30 PM I will be meeting with staff to begin work on creating recommendations on the use of ARPA funds. On Tuesday at 8:00 AM I will be participating in the monthly COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center meeting. At 10:00 AM I will be meeting with staff to finalize the Traffic Utility Fee Presentation for the Chamber on November 8. At 11:30 AM I will be attending the Destination Oshkosh summary meeting. At 1:30 PM I will be meeting with staff to discuss a potential TIF. On Wednesday at 5:00 PM I will be participating in the Public Hearing and Council discussion on the 2022 budget. On Thursday at 9:00 AM I will be meeting with Advocap representatives and staff to discuss homeless initiatives. On Friday at 1:30 PM I will be meeting with Mayor Palmeri to discuss the following Tuesday’s agenda. If you have any questions about my schedule, please contact me.