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HomeMy WebLinkAboutnewsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: December 10, 2021 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. CITY/OASD TO PROPOSE “TRIPPER” ROUTE FROM OSHKOSH NORTH: As council may be aware, we have had some challenges with peak demand for GO Transit bus service after school at Oshkosh North High School (ONHS). This has also had negative consequences for non-school riders who cannot board the bus after it is at capacity. GO Transit staff believes that we can resolve this peak demand with a single “tripper” route each school day from ONHS. We have estimated that the net cost for a “tripper” bus (after state and federal aid) would be an extra $5,500 per semester. After reviewing our agreement with the Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) and discussing funding options, GO Transit and OASD have tentatively agreed to share in the additional cost of the “tripper” bus for ONHS. This would amount to $2,750 per semester for each entity through the end of the agreement in August 2023. This proposal will be brought to the Common Council and Oshkosh Board of Education at their respective Jan. 11th and Jan. 12th meetings. GO Transit is working on how this would be operationalized. If approved, the “tripper” route would begin at the start of the 2nd semester on Jan. 18th. If you have any questions about this, please call Transportation Director, Jim Collins or myself. 2. OSHKOSH MEDIA COLLABORATES WITH NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES: Transparency and access to local government are a major part of the mission for Oshkosh Media’s Gov TV. Viewers are used to seeing Oshkosh government meetings on Spectrum Cable channel 10, but now Oshkosh Media is providing space for the cities of Neenah and Menasha to air their Common Council meetings. The channel that Neenah and Menasha had arrangements with to carry their meetings recently halted operations, meaning Neenah and Menasha had to find a new home for their Council meeting replays. Staff from Oshkosh Media and the City Manager’s office worked with staff from Neenah and Menasha and came to an inter-governmental agreement on carrying those Council meetings on Gov TV. Oshkosh Media staff then contacted Spectrum Cable to arrange for customers in Neenah, Menasha and the surrounding townships to receive Oshkosh Media’s Gov TV, and customers in those areas now see Gov TV on Spectrum Cable channel 2. The meetings for Neenah and Menasha are recorded by staff from UW Oshkosh-Fox Cities, and then submitted to Oshkosh Media staff for scheduling. Oshkosh Media continues to focus on producing local content and city of Oshkosh meetings, while providing this service to Neenah and Menasha. For more information, contact Jake Timm in Media Services at 236- 5261. 3. WILD WINTER READ OFF: The Library’s Wild Winter Read Off (WWRO) is just around the corner, with reading adventures planned for all ages. The program runs Dec. 20 through Feb. 26. Participants track their reading to earn prizes using the Beanstack app or paper reading logs available at any service desk. New this year – we’re challenging the community to read a combined total of 300,000 minutes during the WWRO! We’ll celebrate reaching that goal at the Hip Pop Hooray for Reading event on March 5, with goody bags handed out throughout the day. Thanks to our community sponsors Caramel Crisp Corner, OshPop Gourmet Popcorn and New Moon Café for their generous support. 4. BEST BOOKS OF 2021: December finds readers (and librarians) reflecting on their favorite books from 2021. At OPL we’ve got you covered, with Top Staff Picks of 2021 in our December eNewsletter and our annual Great Reads program, set to premiere on OPL’s YouTube channel on Dec. 15. Whether you like fiction, mysteries, poetry, sci-fi or memoirs, you’re sure to find titles for your own “To Be Read” list and maybe even discover that perfect book to gift your favorite reader this holiday season. 5. READ THE WALL STREET JOURNAL – FREE: Library cardholders may now sign up for free access to the Wall Street Journal. Once registered, patrons have three-day access to the newspaper and need only sign in again every three days to continue reading the WSJ online. This resource is funded by the Winnefox Library System. Don’t have a library card? Apply online or visit the library anytime during regular hours. 6. ACTIVITIES AT THE SENIORS CENTER CONTINUE: Can’t get bored with these activities. Gnome wine bottle toppers, felt mittens, homemade pretzels, and reindeer kiss ornaments are just a few of the fun "Take and Make" kits available at the Oshkosh Seniors Center. The take-home crafting kits were started during the pandemic so people could have some fun activities to do while sheltering in place. The program was so popular that we are continuing to make kits available. Everything you need comes with the kit, including step- by-step instructions. The kits range in price from five to ten dollars. Make sure you check out the Oshkosh Seniors Center's newsletter to discover the next fun crafting kit. And remember, you can never have enough gnomes! Connect through Tech continues to improve the digital IQ of older adults in our community. Let's face it we turn to our smart devices to access information or perform tasks dozens of times a day. For older adults not well-versed on how to use smartphones, this can be a real challenge, and if we are being honest, it can challenge us as well. Connect through Tech meets with older adults every week to improve their digital IQ, so these basic daily tasks don't seem impossible. Recently we hosted Fox Valley Hearing to share how smartphones will be needed to have a better hearing experience for those wearing hearing aids. For example, if you are in a noisy restaurant, you can use your smartphone to adjust to the room's ambiance. It will make hearing the waiter and your companions possible. The challenge is one-third of the audience that attended is still using flip phones, which means they won't be able to use the newer, more sophisticated hearing aids. Connect through Tech is going to help people with flip phones graduate to smartphones. Digital literacy services are a basic need for deserving older adults from our community. If you want more information or have questions about the Center, please call Jean Wollerman, Senior Services Manager, at 920-232-5300. 7. YEAR-ROUND FUN CONTINUES: It was a great summer and fall as we hosted many great events for the Oshkosh community. A huge thank you goes out to our sponsors and volunteers that make it possible for us to host these events. Our last event of the fall was “Zooloween Boo”, which is the largest fundraiser for the Menominee Park Zoo. In 2021, we hosted Zooloween as a one day event instead of 2 days and we welcomed 3,475 people into the Menominee Park Zoo! It was an amazing day and it was great to see families enjoying the beautiful fall weather together. In December, we welcome back “Ernie the Elf” who will be hiding in one of our many wonderful city parks. We will provide clues on our Oshkosh Parks Department Facebook page for families to go out and find him and turn him in to the Oshkosh Parks Department for some fun prizes. We are also busy planning our 2022 events and will be hosting some fun winter events in January and February. On January 15th we will be hosting “Cozy, Cookies and Cocoa” at the Senior Center South building. This will be a pajama party for everyone to come and enjoy some treats, games and family fun! On February 11th we will host our “Let’s Glow Crazy” Dance Party at the Seniors Center North building. Families will take part in a night of dancing, a live DJ, snacks and lots of fun! If you have questions regarding these events, please contact Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager, at (920) 232-5319. 8. DON’T MISS THE LAST WEEK OF THE 2021 FOOD AND TOY DRIVE: 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! Monday, December 13th - Station 18 & Tuesday, December 14th - Station 17/19 9. REPORTS ATTACHMENTS UPDATES AND LINKS: Attached is the weekly Museum Board Memo and the Oshkosh Public Library December Highlights. 10. 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/. 11. 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 12. UPCOMING MEETINGS: Among the meetings I have scheduled for the week of December 13 include the following: On Monday at 7:30 AM I will be meeting with Mayor Palmeri to discuss Tuesday’s agenda. At 2:00 PM I will be meeting staff to discuss preliminary plans for the 2022 State Of The City. On Thursday at 11:30 AM I will be attending the WCMA Region 3 meeting. At 1:30 PM I will be recording the final CMR of the year, which will include the Top 10 of 2021. If you have any questions about my schedule, please contact me.