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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01.13.23 Newsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: January 13, 2023 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. GO TRANSIT MOBILE STUDENT PASS PROGRAM TO LAUNCH JANUARY 23: As Council is aware, GO Transit has been working with the Oshkosh Area School District to implement a mobile student pass program. GO Transit and the OASD have been working together along with GO Transit’s mobile fare vendor, Token Transit, to create a student pass program. Starting Jan. 23rd, Oshkosh area grade 6-12 students will be required to obtain a “free” student semester pass through Token Transit and show the pass to the GO Transit driver in order to ride. By downloading and utilizing a student pass, the student is agreeing to follow GO Transit’s rider policies. If a student violates or does not follow the rider policies, their pass may be suspended. This program will allow GO Transit to better manage the student rider program. The details of the program are being finalized and will be shared with OASD and their families in the coming week after semester finals. If a student does not have a smartphone, arrangements are being made for them to obtain a paper pass. GO Transit is working to make this program available to Oshkosh parochial 6-12 students as well. If you have any questions on this, please contact Transportation Director, Jim Collins. 2. SOLAR IS HERE: The City of Oshkosh in cooperation with the developers of the Pickard Estates subdivision has installed the first Solar street lighting system in the city. The solar street lights are powered by solar panels that charge their batteries. This is a pilot installation and if it goes well, the city will consider installing them with other projects. For solar lights to be considered, there needs to be a clear path of sunlight to the solar panels. There have been some issues with the initial installation as we have been experiencing extremely cloudy and gray conditions since they were installed. Therefore; the lights have not been getting a full charge. The city electrical staff is working with the manufacturer to trouble shoot and solve these issues. If you have any questions about this or the city’s street lights, please contact City Electric Traffic Manager, Dan (Scooter) Kussmann. 3. OSHKOSH FIRE DEPARTMENT SURPASSES 10,000 CALLS FOR SERVICE: In 2022, for the first time in our history, the Oshkosh Fire Department responded to over 10,000 calls for service. The official number is 10,405; which averages out to 29 calls per day. This is an 8% increase since 2021 and 15% overall increase since 2019. Fire Chief Mike Stanley said, “The City of Oshkosh’s population continues to increase, and as a large number of the population ages, I foresee a continued increase in demand for our services. With a fixed number of resources such as firefighters/paramedics, apparatus, and fire stations, the Department continues to implement and utilize risk- reduction programs to attempt to reduce the numbers of incidents by preventing them in the first place.” As the needs of those who live, work, and visit evolve, the Oshkosh Fire Department will continue to add value to our community by providing a wide range of emergency services with skill and compassion. 4. WILD WINTER READ OFF: The Wild Winter Read Off is underway at the Oshkosh Public Library. And there’s still plenty of time for readers of all ages to get in on the fun by reading for prizes and helping us reach our community goal! Download the Beanstack app, pick up a paper reading log at the library, or download it at home and start tracking your minutes today. Every minute you log counts toward the community goal of 300,000 minutes. If we hit that mark, we’ll add a new lawn game to the library collection. Stop in to the library anytime during regular hours and cast your vote for the lawn game you want us to add. For all the details visit our website: https://www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org/content/wwro2022. 5. EVERYDAY TECH: Would you like help navigating the technology that could make your daily life easier? Join us for Everyday Tech at Oshkosh Public Library. It’s hands-on assistance with getting the most out of your cell phone, managing your digital photos, using Facebook and more. Drop-in sessions are also available to help with your individual tech questions. These free sessions are provided by Bug Tussel Wireless LLC. For more information see the attached Events Calendar. 6. 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/. 7. LOOKING AHEAD: Among the meetings I have scheduled for the week of January 16, include the following: At 2:30 PM on Monday I will be meeting with Public Works Director James Rabe regarding utility street permits. On Tuesday, at 1:30 PM I will be meeting with Community Development Director, Kelly Nieforth. At 7:30 AM on Wednesday I will be attending the GOEDC Board of Directors meeting. At 2:00 PM I will be meeting with staff to discuss private utility winter projects. On Thursday I will be attending the Senior Officials Workshop for All Hazards Planning training along with other department heads. If you have any questions about my schedule, please contact me.