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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12.03.21 Newsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: December 3, 2021 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. AQUAHAWK ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT: The Aquahawk water monitoring software, a free service available to City of Oshkosh utility customers, went live on June 1st. Over the first 6 months about 1,300 customers have signed up, which is about 5.4% of our customers. This service allows registered customers to monitor their water consumption and receive alerts when their usage meets certain user-defined thresholds. Aquahawk information inserts have been included with utility bills a few times in 2021 and will continue to be sent out occasionally in the future. To register for Aquahawk, go to https://oshkwi.aquahawk.us 2. GIVING THANKS: The Oshkosh Police Department once again partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Oshkosh and Festival Foods to deliver Thanksgiving meals to families in need on Wednesday, November 23, 2021, as part of the Annual Boys and Girls Club Thanksgiving Meal Program. Festival Foods provided the meals and OPD and the B&G Club provided the wheels, delivering meals to over 20 very appreciative families in Oshkosh. Chief Dean Smith, Lieutenant Matt Harris, Lieutenant Matt Ziegler, Sergeant Heath Feavel, Sergeant Kyle Roberts, Public Affairs/Crime Prevention Officer Kate Mann, Officer Dani Jo Burns, Officer Ryan Boerner, Officer Tanner Rasmussen, Telecommunications Clerk Doni Stenzel and their families, helped spread some holiday cheer. The Oshkosh Police Department extends our sincere appreciation to the Boys and Girls Club and Festival Foods for their generosity and for providing a heartwarming holiday experience! 3. LIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS KICKOFF: Public Affairs/Crime Prevention Officer Kate Mann attended the 2021 Lights of Christmas NE Wisconsin Campaign kickoff event on Monday, November 29, 2021. The event was held at the Fox Cities Timber Rattlers Stadium with officers from 50 local departments throughout NE Wisconsin, volunteers and several sponsors of the program. This year’s campaign raised $165,000 for gift cards and numerous Blessing Bags for officers to distribute throughout the holiday season to those in need in our communities. The Oshkosh Police Department received $5,000 in gift cards that will be given out along with 120 Blessing Bags! Thank you to Q90 FM Radio, Lights of Christmas NE Wisconsin, and all of the sponsors that make this outreach possible. We are honored to be a part of this amazing program and to be able to bring some extra holiday cheer to those less fortunate in our community! 4. PROUD OF OUR SPECIAL EVENT PROGRESS: There is a lot of behind-the-scenes planning that occurs in order for event organizers to host a successful event in a community. We request a minimum of 60 days’ notice to approve a Special Event Permit; however, the planning of an event can take 6 months to a year to plan. We request the application submission in advance as it allows our staff to review the applications to ensure the event is a good fit for our community, to analyze the impact the event may have on the businesses and residents, to identify safety and security risks, and mitigate any foreseen logistical concerns. Building interdepartmental relationships allow us to navigate construction timelines earlier and work with event organizers to make adjustments to routes and other logistics for scheduled events. We have even, at times, been able to request temporary adjustments to a construction project to accommodate an event. This has eliminated the need for those last minute calls and essentially has limited the amount of wasted resources provided by the City. Event organizers that host events in other communities have commented how much they appreciate all that we do for events here in Oshkosh. Many times they are forced to deal with last minute road closures and/or other changes. When organizing an event in Oshkosh, organizers know we will be working with them every step of the way. City event staff can be proud of the progress we have made to ensure the success of these events! If you would like to host a special event or have questions about the process, please contact Kathy Snell, Special Events Coordinator, at (920) 232-5304. 5. RINGING IN THE SEASONS AT YOUR OSHKOSH PARKS: We hope that everyone enjoyed the kick off to the holiday season by attending the 2021 Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting at Opera House Square prior to feasting for Thanksgiving Day. We are excited to share items that continue in our parks as the weather brings holiday cheer! When you are out viewing various holiday displays, be sure to support the Celebration of Lights at Menominee Park as volunteers and committee members did a great job with erecting beautiful displays throughout the park. On your travels, stop to admire the new entrance to the Oshkosh Community Playground. With generous donations provided to the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, this extraordinary project provides an ADA compliant connection to the current community playground while preserving the personalized paver bricks from Little Oshkosh. With the holiday and winter season coming, we will be working to establish the ice rink at Roe Park again this season. Crews will be installing side boards and lighting in the coming weeks. Rink flooding will begin when consistent freezing temperatures arrive. We are hoping Mother Nature will provide a good season for people to enjoy skating. If you have questions regarding these park amenities and enhancements, please contact Chad Dallman, Assistant Parks Director, at (920) 236-5080. 6. INSPECTION SERVICES DIVISION NOVEMBER 2021 REPORT: The city’s Inspection Services Division enjoyed a 143 percent increase in the total value of permits issued during November compared with the same period a year ago. The growth was fueled by permits for the $4 million project to renovate the former Miles Kimball Co. headquarters building at 851 S. Main St. into 28 apartments and the $3.97 million expansion project at Lourdes Academy. The value of total permits issued through the first 11 months of 2021 ($153.6 million) already exceeds the full year total from 2020 of $134.9 million. Similarly, the $970,546 in total permit fees collected during the first 11 months of 2021 outpaced the full fiscal year 2020 permit fee collection of $892,103. If you have any questions, please contact Chief Building Official John Zarate. 7. 2021 FOOD AND TOY DRIVE CONTINUES: OFD is accepting non-perishable food items, new/unwrapped gifts, wrapping paper/tape, and cash donations. All donations will be given to the Salvation Army and distributed through their distribution program. Monetary donations (and checks) will be given to the Oshkosh Firefighters Charitable Trust and be used to fund the Gary Kassube scholarship, given to two graduating Oshkosh seniors enrolled in a police or fire science program. Additionally, cash donations can be made through the PayPal link below: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-click&hosted_button_id=QTK97FZHLAHT6 All routes (maps attached) begin between 5 and 5:30pm. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @OshkoshFoodToy for further updates throughout the drive. We look forward to seeing you on the routes for what promises to be another great year of helping our community!  Thursday, December 9th - Station 16  Monday, December 13th - Station 18  Tuesday, December 14th - Station 17/19 8. REPORTS ATTACHMENTS UPDATES AND LINKS: Below is the link to OFD’s latest issue of Hot Topics: https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/Fire/Resources/HotTopics/Hot_Topics_November_2021.pdf November Building Permits Plumbing Permits Electric Permits HVAC Permits Total Value of Permits Total Permit Fees Collected 2020 164 154 60 76 $6,400,015 $53,197.41 2021 140 126 69 69 $15,553,566 $88,800.00 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 11. UPCOMING MEETINGS: Among the meetings I have scheduled for the week of December 6 include the following: On Tuesday at 12:30 PM I will be meeting with the consultant conducting the Fire Department’s facility study. At 7:30 AM on Thursday I will be attending the GOEDC Executive Committee meeting. At 2:00 PM on Thursday I am virtually attending the LWM Local Government Funding meeting. If you have any questions about my schedule, please contact me.