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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08.18.23 Newsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: August 18, 2023 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. POLICE DEPARTMENT HOLDS YOUTH LEADERSHIP CAMP: School Resource Officers from the Oshkosh Police Department held their second Youth Leadership Camp from August 7-11, 2023. The Leadership Camp was offered to area youth, ages 12-15 years old. The purpose of this camp is to provide life-enhancing skills that have a strong emphasis on family and community. Twenty-two youth participated in team-building activities and challenges, physical challenges, community service, and listened to guest speakers from within the Oshkosh community. The first day of camp was hosted by Oshkosh Corporation where the students were given a tour of the Oshkosh Defense plant, along with a truck demonstration. Throughout the week, students could be seen volunteering at places such as Wee Wisdom Day Care, the Senior Center, COTS men’s shelter, City parks, and the Oshkosh Area Community Pantry. Students engaged in physical fitness activities that included a ropes course at FVTC, Bulldog Fitness Workout, a city scavenger hunt, and tested their skills at the Escape Room. Overall, it was a week filled with opportunities for our youth to expand their knowledge, skills, and sense of community. We want to express our sincere appreciation to: 4imprint, who generously donated T-shirts for the camp; Bulldog Fitness, LLC, who donated the fitness workout; as well as to all of our community partners who hosted and participated in this year’s Youth Leadership Camp. It is our hope that this program continues to grow and enrich the lives of our youth – the future of the Oshkosh community. 2. OFFICERS BUILD CONNECTIONS WITH KIDS THROUGH READING: Through a partnership between the Oshkosh Kiwanis and the Oshkosh Police Department called Kiwanis N’ Cops N’ Kids Program, officers have been able to build connections with children through the gift of reading. The program is designed to help youth develop their literacy skills and get to know law enforcement officers in their city. Oshkosh Kiwanis sponsors the program by providing new books for the Police Department; kids get to read with officers and then take the books home. The program has expanded to include stops in our City parks this summer. Several officers, along with the Department’s Command and Community Outreach Vehicle (CCOV), could be found in either Menominee Park or South Park throughout the summer, spending time with kids and their families. Book giveaways, CCOV demonstrations, reading with officers, and even scavenger hunts were all a part of the Kiwanis N’ Cops N’ Kids Program. Attendance has been great and everyone has enjoyed the positive experience! 3. MUSEUM TO HOST TEACHER NIGHT OUT FOR OSHKOSH AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT (OASD): As the first day of school approaches, Oshkosh Public Museum will celebrate all hardworking OASD educators and staff with a free Teacher Night Out at the Museum event. This open house event will feature games, food, and prizes as we celebrate the start of a new school year. Thanks to support from Fifth Ward Brewing Company and the Oshkosh Area School District Education Foundation, this event will be completely free for OASD staff and educators and a guest. See the attached flyer for details. 4. MUSEUM SECOND FLOOR RENOVATIONS UPDATE: The Museum’s second floor, including This Is Winnebagoland, The Menominee Clans Story, and the Tiffany Window Overlook, will be reopening to the public as soon as possible. The future Waldwic Gallery remains closed, as planned construction and renovations continue. This flexible gallery space will serve as the Museum’s temporary exhibitions gallery, and strengthen our building’s capacity for many years to come. These renovations will continue over the coming months. 5. ANDREW PRICKETT NAMED 2023 INSPECTOR OF THE YEAR: Congratulations to Andrew Prickett from the Community Development Department’s Inspection Division for being named the 2023 Inspector of the Year by the Building Inspectors Association of Northeast Wisconsin (BIANEW). The award was presented at the League of Wisconsin Municipalities’ Building Inspectors Institute meeting in Oshkosh. The Institute is attended by inspectors from all four quadrants of the state, and Oshkosh inspectors have been awarded this honor two years in a row. Andrew is a Commercial Building Systems Inspector who has worked for the City of Oshkosh since 2006 and served as BIANEW’s president in 2021 and 2022. Andrew stated that he and his fellow inspectors are dedicated to helping maintain a safely built environment in the City. 6. 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/ 7. 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/ 8. ATTACHMENTS: Oshkosh Public Library’s September Calendar 9. LOOKING AHEAD: Among the meetings I have for the week of August 21 include the following: on Monday at 10:00 AM, I will be meeting with Community Development Director Kelly Nieforth regarding some possible requests for TIF funding. At 8:00 AM on Tuesday, I will be meeting with Chamber representatives regarding possible collaboration on some citizen education programs. At 10:00 AM, I will be meeting with staff regarding special assessment options in advance of our August 29th workshop. At 2:00 PM, I will be attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Menominee Elementary School. Beginning Wednesday afternoon through Friday, I will be in Elkhart Lake to attend the League of Municipalities Chief Executive’s Institute. During my time at the conference, I will be making a presentation on ideas for inter-governmental collaboration to assist cities in responding to the $300 million Innovation Fund that has been established by the legislature in Act 12, the Shared Revenue bill. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding my schedule.