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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.31.23 Newsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: March 31, 2023 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. POTENTIAL WATER RATE INCREASE, WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU: Oshkosh has seen a 12.86% increase in gross plant investment and a 17.87% increase in operating expenses since the last water rate increase in 2018. Chemical and treatment costs have quadrupled in the last year. Therefore, Oshkosh is recommending an 18.14% water rate increase because of these increased costs to provide service. This doesn’t mean that your total utility bill will go up at that rate. Your total utility bill may increase by about 6%, because sanitary and stormwater rates (also included in the bill) are not impacted by this rate increase. For example, if your current monthly utility bill is $77.05, the new bill after the water rate increase would be $82.02 (including the public fire protection charge). When you break this down, the cost of one gallon of city water is $0.01258. A Public Service Commission of Wisconsin public hearing on the water rate increase application has been scheduled for Friday, April 7, at 10:00 a.m. This hearing has no physical location. Participants and Commission staff appear by Zoom. Members of the public attend by Zoom or by audio-only telephone connection. If anyone needs assistance, City Staff will be available at the Lower-Level meeting room at the Oshkosh Public Library, 106 Washington Avenue, to assist with participation. • Join Zoom over the internet at: o https://us02web.zoom.us/my/pschearings • To join Zoom telephone: o Dial: +1 312 626 6799 - Enter Meeting ID: 809 513 2930 The Commission intends to livestream and record this hearing on YouTube. To access the livestream, go to the Commission’s website at http://psc.wi.gov, click the dropdown menu labeled “News & Events”, and select item labeled “Broadcasts”. 2. THE BEST WAY TO MONITOR WATER USAGE: One way you can monitor your water usage is to sign up for AquaHawk at https://oshkwi.aquahawk.us to receive text and email alerts if a leak is detected at your service location. Residents are also encouraged to check with the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) to determine eligibility for assistance: https://energyandhousing.wi.gov/Pages/AgencyResources/water.aspx. 3. NEW PROCEDURE MORE EFFICIENT FOR BARTENDER LICENSES PROPOSED: Following up with the recent review of the City’s alcohol beverage ordinance in relation to beer gardens, city staff will be bringing an ordinance forward to the Council for consideration at the next meeting that would allow the City Clerk to directly issue operator’s (bartender’s) licenses to those persons who meet all statutory and ordinance requirements without Council approval. Wisconsin Statutes permit a municipality to designate an official authorized to issue Operator’s Licenses for service of alcohol beverages. The proposed administrative process would include review by the police department, as currently done. If there were a recommendation for denial, the proposed ordinance would preserve the right to appeal to Council for review of the determination to not issue the license. The administrative process would allow for timelier issuance of licenses to those who meet all requirements and would save some time in the preparation of the resolution for Council approval. If anyone has any questions regarding this, please contact City Clerk Balcom or City Attorney Lorenson. 4. INFORMATION MAILED REGARDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: Informational letters regarding the 2023 street reconstruction and utility replacement projects have been sent to property owners whose properties may be assessed for this work. These projects include: Wisconsin Street (West New York Avenue to West Bent Avenue); West Lincoln Avenue (Elmwood Avenue to Jackson Street); McKinley Street (West Lincoln Avenue to Scott Avenue); Arthur Avenue (North Sawyer Street to Bauman Street); Bauman Street (Adams Avenue to Van Buren Avenue); Coolidge Avenue (Bauman Street to the Fox River); Tyler Avenue (North Sawyer Street to Bauman Street); Bradley Street (West 28th Avenue to West Waukau Avenue); and the 2023 CIP Water Main Replacements, which include Clarks Court (Hollister Avenue to the cul-de-sac), Hollister Avenue (Algoma Boulevard to Sheridan Street), Oak Street (East Irving Avenue to Siewert Trail), and Beech Street (Congress Avenue to West Murdock Avenue). In addition to information about the construction, these letters include information about the e-mail updates property owners can sign up for, and general information about special assessments. If you have any questions about these letters, please contact Engineering Division Manager / City Engineer, Justin Gierach. 5. SPRING ELECTION: The spring election will be held on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Please visit https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/ to find your voting location (polling place), district and ward, prior to the election – as they may have changed since the last election or since the last time you voted. The City of Oshkosh recently purchased “Badger Books,” which are electronic poll books, and will be utilizing them at a few of our polling places on April 4! Badger Books will replace the paper poll books used in previous elections, but will not change the voting process. A voter will still state their name and address to the Election Inspector (poll worker), show the Election Inspector their photo id, and then sign the (electronic) poll book. Once the voter has completed this process, they will be issued a ballot. Badger Books will make the process more efficient and less prone to human error. Please be patient with our Election Inspectors, as this is the first election using the new technology. Although Badger Books are new to us, they have been used very successfully by many communities throughout the state for several years. 6. YOGA RETURNS TO THE LEACH: In 2022 the department offered Yoga at the Leach Amphitheater throughout the summer months. Due to its popularity, we will be bringing it back to the Leach on August 9, August 23, September 13 and September 27 at 5:00pm. Registration is recommended, but not required and you can register by calling (920) 236-5080. Print off the attached poster and mark your calendar to join for this outdoor yoga practice. Inner Sun Yoga will also be adding a new location for 2023; Pollock Community Water Park. Yoga classes will be held on the deck of the pool on June 14, July 12 and August 16 at 7:00pm. Registration is required for these offerings by calling (920) 236-5080. Classes are free for season pass holders and is included with the cost of daily admission for anyone who is not a season pass holder. Print off the attached poster and mark your calendar to be sure you don’t miss out on this offering. For your yoga practice be sure to bring your own mat and props as needed. We also recommend you bring water, sunscreen, hat and a blanket. In the event of inclement weather, class will be canceled. Details and event updates can be found at www.innersunyogastudio.com. If you have questions regarding these events, please contact Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager, at (920) 232-5319. 7. ARBOR DAY: The City of Oshkosh will be celebrating Arbor Day this year on Friday, April 28th by planting two trees at Garden Club Park. The 4th grade students of Franklin Elementary School will help to plant the trees. One tree is being donated by The Oshkosh Garden Club to commemorate the 50th anniversary of being a club. The other tree is being donated by Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) to help inform residents of planting the right tree in the right place. This practice of tree planting aims to have people look at the planting site beforehand and select a tree that will fit in the space available. One example would be planting smaller, shorter trees under overhead utilities to reduce the likelihood of having the tree grow up through and around the utilities causing problems in the future. The City of Oshkosh will be receiving the Arbor Day Foundations Tree City Award for the 42nd consecutive time. WPS will be receiving their Tree Line award and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh will be receiving their Tree Campus award. You can find out what each of the awards represents and more about Arbor Day and trees by visiting The Arbor Day Foundation website. If you have any questions about this or forestry related topics please contact Travis Derks, Landscape Operations Manager, at (920) 236-5080. 8. TAKING ROOT II: The City of Oshkosh would like to thank both the Downtown and Southwest Rotary Clubs for each making a $10,000 donation to the Taking Root II campaign. The Oshkosh Area Community Foundation is still accepting donations for Taking Root II, which will help replant the terraces that are now vacant because of the damage from the Emerald Ash Borer. Terrace trees play an important role in many aspects of lives. In Oshkosh, the benefits from storm water mitigation alone make replacing the terrace trees a worthy cause. Add in all other benefits such as improved mental and physical health, water and air purification, energy savings, carbon sequestration, and combating the effects of urban heat islands and it hard to find a reason not to. If you have any questions about this or forestry related topics please contact Travis Derks, Landscape Operations Manager, at (920) 236-5080. 9. NUISANCE TREES: Recently the City of Oshkosh sent out a press release concerning dead/dying ash trees on private property which create a hazard to personal property or right of way (streets, sidewalks, etc.). It is the City’s intent to work with the homeowners as much as possible. This requires some work and initiative from the property owner. Firstly, they need to contact the Landscape Operations Manager/City Forester to discuss the situation. If no contact is made the City will proceed as outlined in the Nuisance Tree Letter. A sample letter can be found on the forestry webpage: https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/Parks/Forestry.aspx. If extra time is needed due to contractor availability, a quote with the company’s name, the address of the tree to be removed and the anticipated date of removal needs to be provided to the Landscape Operations Manager/City Forester. If you have any questions about this or forestry related topics please contact Travis Derks, Landscape Operations Manager, at (920) 236-5080. 10. GET INVOLVED: If you are interested in serving your community, please consider becoming a member of a Board, Commission or Committee. Follow the link below to apply: https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/BoardsAndCommissions/ 11. 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/ 12. LOOKING AHEAD: Among the meetings I have scheduled for the week of April 3, include the following: At 9:00 AM on Monday I will be meeting with Fire Chief Mike Stanley. At 2:00 PM I am meeting with Oshkosh Media staff to evaluate the 2023 State of the City event. At 9:00 AM on Tuesday, I will be attending a meeting with Amy Albright, Transportation Director Jim Collins and Electrical Traffic Manager Dan Kussman regarding potential new bridge lighting software. At 2:30 PM I will be meeting with Oshkosh Media staff to discuss the city’s social media efforts. On Thursday at 8:00 AM I will be attending the Leadership Oshkosh Steering Committee meeting. At 10:30 AM I will be attending the regional WCMA meeting in New London. At 6:00 PM I will be appearing on an episode of Eye on Oshkosh on Life TV. As a reminder, city offices are closed on Friday, April 7. If you have any questions about my schedule, please contact me.