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HomeMy WebLinkAboutnewsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: March 25, 2022 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. 2022 STATE OF THE CITY: The 2022 Oshkosh State of the City will debut on Monday, March 28 at 6 p.m. The State of the City is a look at Oshkosh’s recent accomplishments and a look ahead at what’s to come for the city. The program will air on Oshkosh Media’s Gov TV, and stream live on the Oshkosh Media YouTube channel, OshkoshMedia.org, and Oshkosh Media’s free Gov TV channel on Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. This year’s program is a virtual event featuring the City Manager’s address highlighting our city’s progress, looking at what’s to come in 2022, and looking ahead to future goals. The program will also feature Community Partnership awards, Citizen Service awards and much more. The State of the City will also be available on-demand on the Oshkosh Media YouTube channel. For more information, contact Communications Coordinator Andy Radig at 236-5269. 2. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT MEETING FOR OREGON/JACKSON STREET BRIDGE: The Wisconsin Department of Transportation Northeast Region has announced a live, online public involvement meeting to discuss proposed improvement alternatives for the Oregon/Jackson Street Bridge. The meeting will be held live via Microsoft Teams at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 4, 2022:  For full video and audio: From your computer browser or mobile device, please follow the link below to the Oregon/Jackson Street Bridge Project website at: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/ne/oshkoshbr/default.aspx and click on the “Join Meeting” link at the time of the public meeting.  For audio only: At the time of the public meeting, call 1-608-571-2209 and enter the Phone Conference ID number (558990023#) when prompted to join the meeting via telephone. You will be able to listen to the presentation and provide comment or ask questions. If you have any questions, please contact Director of Public Works, James Rabe. 3. OFFICIAL CITY FACEBOOK PAGE: The city now has its own official Facebook page. “City of Oshkosh Government” was launched by Media Services earlier this week. After assessing its current use of social media in 2021, Media Services staff recommended several initiatives to the City Manager, including the creation of the city’s own page. The aim is to use this official page as a primary source for municipal updates and news, and public information. Until now, the Oshkosh Media Facebook page had been acting as the de facto city page, with several other divisions being contacted on social media wondering if they served as a central page for the city. Staff intends to use this new “City of Oshkosh Government” page to serve that purpose. Oshkosh Media’s page will continue to feature updates on programming for Gov TV, Life TV, Oshkosh FM and more, including original Oshkosh Media productions and features posted directly to its page. Be sure to follow and like us at: https://www.facebook.com/CityofOshkoshWI. For more information, contact Communications Coordinator Andy Radig at 236-5269. 4. GO TRANSIT GETS GOING: Construction is set to start on Monday March 28th at the GO Transit downtown transit center. The project will include a building addition with a driver break room, driver computer station, customer transaction window, and supervisor office. This will allow for improved communication and training opportunities. The project will also improve safety and security on and around the platform including new pavement, lighting, and cameras. Additionally, the landscape will be improved. Despite some misconceptions, this project is not the planned expansion of the Transit Center, which remains under study. If you have any questions about this project, please call Transportation Director, Jim Collins. 5. SPRING IS IN THE AIR: As you are out viewing the city parks you will see activity in Riverside Park with the new gazebo being installed as part of the project coordinated with the River East Neighborhood Association. Lakeshore Park 4-Seasons Building site preparation was completed and is ready for the groundbreaking ceremony planned for Monday, March 28 at 4pm. Boat Launches at Rainbow Memorial, Steiger and Mill Street will receive some TLC in preparation of the spring fish run. Get out and make the most of spring at one of your City of Oshkosh parks. If you have any questions regarding the parks or the work you see being completed, please contact Chad Dallman, Assistant Parks Director, at (920) 236-5080. 6. EVENTS ARE IN FULL SWING: Spring is finally here and we are ready to celebrate in an EGG-CITING way. On Saturday April 9th we will be celebrating the season with the annual Breakfast with the Bunny and Egg-Citing Day at the Zoo events. From 8-11am we will be hosting our breakfast event at Webster Stanley Middle School which is a NEW location for this year. There will be pancakes, sausages, juice, milk and coffee. We will also offer crafts for the kids, visits with the Easter Bunny and coloring contests. The cost for the event is $3 for a child (2-17 yrs.), $5 for an adult and children 1 and under are free. There will be no tickets available at the door this year, all tickets must be purchased on- line at the City of Oshkosh website. For more information please check out the following link: https://tinyurl.com/4hdkybpd After breakfast, head on over to Egg-Citing Day at the Zoo in the Menominee Park Zoo from 11-3pm for a great afternoon of searching for eggs, playing games and visiting the animals that are at the zoo so far! You may be lucky enough to find our specialty egg this year! The cost is $3 per child or you can purchase a combo ticket for your kiddo for both events for $5. Combo tickets must be purchased online or at the Oshkosh Parks Department by April 6, 2022. Egg-Citing Day at the Zoo tickets will still be available at the gate. Be sure to check out these great spring events! If you have any questions regarding the events, please do not hesitate to contact Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager, at (920) 232-5319. 7. WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: If the numbers tell a story, the Oshkosh Seniors Center is emerging from the pandemic stronger than ever. In March of 2021, we had 361 people visit the Center. In 2022, that number has reached 748, more than double. There’s another bright spot. Our volunteers are coming back. In March of 2021, we logged 99 volunteer hours. In March of 2022, that number skyrocketed to 972. Participants have a real commitment to take charge of their health and mental well-being. The programming reflects these needs. The upcoming April programs look really interesting and include; container gardening, fitness classes for golfers, technology classes, genealogy, navigating Medicare, a spring wildflower showcase, and a spring tea and fashion. If you are 50 years or older, we encourage you to check out our online newsletter - https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/SeniorServices/Newsletters/April2022.pdf. The Oshkosh Seniors Center enriches the lives of thousands of older adults from our community. If you are interested in finding more information about the Center and what we can do to help you age-well please call Jean Wollerman, Senior Services Manager, at (920) 232-5300. 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. LOOKING AHEAD: Among the meetings I have scheduled for the week of March 27 are: On Sunday at 3:00 PM I will be attending the Altrusa Club Art Show Awards presentation. On Monday at 9:00 AM I will be meeting with staff for an update on the analysis of a Transportation Utility Fee. At 10:30 AM I will be participating in a virtual training session with County Executive Doemel. At 12:00 PM I will be attending the Main Street Connect Communities kick-off event with the BID. At 2:00 PM I will be meeting with Fire Chief Mike Stanley. At 4:00 PM I will be attending the Lakeshore Park Building groundbreaking ceremony. At 5:00 PM I will be participating in the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee meeting. As a reminder the State of the City Premiere will be Monday evening at 6:00 PM. On Tuesday at 10:00 AM I will be meeting with staff to discuss the security updates at City Hall. At 2:00 PM I will be meeting with Transportation Director Jim Collins. At 9:00AM on Thursday I will be meeting with Mayor Palmeri and Cherith International members regarding refugee arrivals in Oshkosh. At 12:00 PM I will be attending an open house for AMS of Wisconsin. At 9:00 AM on Friday I will be attending the Joint Review Board meeting for proposal TIF #24 (Morgan Crossing II). If you have any questions about my schedule, please contact me.