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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08.04.23 Newsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: August 4, 2023 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. POLICE LIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS: The Police Lights of Christmas kickoff event was held at Culver’s for both lunch and dinner on Tuesday, July 25th. Assistant Chief Kurt Schoeni, Captains Brian Schuldes and Matthew Harris, Sergeant Chris Romanowicz, Public Affairs/Crime Prevention Officer Kate Mann, Motorcycle Officer Jack Rew, School Resource Officer Heather Brickham, and Officers Jason Konitzer, Tom Kopczyk, Keith Norkofski, Dellas Vandenberg, and Kayla Johnson all participated in the fundraising event! All proceeds from the event go directly to the Lights of Christmas NE Wisconsin to purchase gift cards for patrol officers in our communities to hand out to citizens in need during the winter and Christmas season. It was a great time and we enjoyed seeing local guests as well as our out-of-town visitors here for EAA. We want to express our sincere appreciation to Culver’s for sponsoring this event and to everyone who generously donated to this great cause! 2. GO TRANSIT MOVES EAA VISITORS: GO Transit provided 20,600 rides to and from EAA this year. This was a 16% increase over 2022. GO Transit is proud to serve so many visitors to our city and to showcase Oshkosh’s safe, reliable, and affordable public transportation system and friendly, dedicated employees. If you have any questions about this, please contact Transportation Director Jim Collins. 3. NATIONAL NIGHT OUT CELEBRATES POLICE AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: National Night Out was held on Tuesday, August 1st. Organizers from 17 neighborhoods hosted block parties with activities, food, and friendship in celebration of National Night Out. National Night Out is held on the first Tuesday of every August and brings neighbors together with law enforcement to promote positive police/community partnerships in an effort to make our neighborhoods safer places to live. Several members of the Oshkosh Police Department and Oshkosh Auxiliary Police visited with neighbors throughout the evening. Our specialty teams – SWAT, K9 Unit, Motorcycle Unit, Bike Patrol, Drone, Behavioral Health Officer Sopata and K9 Magic, and our Command and Community Outreach Vehicle (CCOV) provided demonstrations for participants. Public Affairs/Crime Prevention Officer Kate Mann handed out “swag” bags, books from the Reach A Child program, along with stuffed animals donated from Pet Smart! We want to thank all of the event organizers and neighbors who worked so hard to make this National Night Out such a success, and we look forward to seeing everyone at next year’s event on Tuesday, August 6, 2024! 4. POLLOCK STAFF DELIVERS GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE: The staff of the Pollock Community Water Park received some wonderful feedback from a grateful guest who recently celebrated her daughter’s birthday at the park: “I just wanted to send out a big thank you. Your staff was beyond amazing and the kids had a wonderful time. My daughter said it was one of the best birthdays she has had. [Your staff was] so accommodating…and had great patience! A lifeguard playing with the kiddo who had reusable water balloons with a smile on his face (not exactly playing, but they would fill it and he would throw it) and it definitely put a smile on that kid’s face. Sometimes in this world, it’s the small things, and today showed there are still amazing people in this world. Props to you all at Pollock – we will definitely be back!” We’re proud of our staff, at Pollock and all of our facilities. Keep up the great work! 5. JEFFERSON STREET REDEVELOPMENT: The Redevelopment Authority (RDA) recently met and approved a proposal from Commonwealth Development Corporation of America to construct a $19 million mixed-use development on the RDA’s property on the 600 block of North Main Street and Jefferson Street. The 55 units will be a mix of one-, two-, and three- bedroom units serving a mix of incomes ranging from 30% Area Median Income to 80% Area Median Income. There will be 12 units that will be fully accessible to serve individuals with disabilities. In addition to housing, the developer is proposing to partner with a daycare provider to open a two-shift daycare that will operate from 5:30 am to 11:30 pm on weekdays, which will support working families in the city. The developer will be applying for WHEDA tax credits in early 2024 and, if the credits are awarded, the project will start in the spring of 2025. Council will be reviewing the Development Term Sheet at an upcoming meeting. Please contact Kelly Nieforth, Director of Community Development with any questions. 6. 2024 CIP INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATION: Director of Public Works James Rabe sat down with Oshkosh Media’s Andy Radig to give the community an overview of the City’s 2024 capital improvement program (CIP). The presentation takes a closer look at projects being proposed to the Common Council for next year. Projects include street projects like asphalt paving, as well as projects for the stormwater, wastewater, and water utilities. To watch the program, click here to go to the video on Oshkosh Media’s YouTube channel. The program will also air frequently on Oshkosh Media’s Gov TV, which can be found on Spectrum Cable channel 10, and streaming live on the free Oshkosh Media channels on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV. For more information, contact Media Services Coordinator Jake Timm at (920) 236-5261. 7. 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/ 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. LOOKING AHEAD: As a reminder, I will be on vacation next week, returning to the office on Monday, August 14th. Assistant City Manager John Fitzpatrick will be available in my absence, and will also be filling in for me at the Council meeting on Tuesday.