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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.27.23 Newsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: October 27, 2023 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. LAKE BUTTE DES MORTS MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT AMENDMENT SCHEDULE: City staff has developed a schedule for the meetings required to consider the Council-initiated Red Earth multi-family development Planned Development amendment. On November 1st, notices will be mailed to property owners within 1,200 feet around the project area to let them know that the Plan Commission will be considering the amendment at the November 21st Plan Commission meeting. With Plan Commission meeting during the week of Thanksgiving, it was decided that Council will review the project at the December 12th Common Council meeting so there is ample time to prepare the meeting materials in light of the shortened holiday week. If you have any questions, please contact Community Development Director Kelly Nieforth or Planning Manager Mark Lyons at (920) 236-5055. 2. PROPERTY OWNERS NOTICED ON STREET AND UTILITY PROJECTS: Informational letters were sent to the property owners impacted by this year’s detention basin and sanitary sewer construction project on Clairville Road, concrete paving and miscellaneous utility construction project on South Koeller Street, and asphalt overlay program on Ryf Road. These letters outlined the proposed work that will be included in these projects. For Clairville Road, the work is proposed to include installation of sanitary sewer and water main, as needed, when the street is being reconstructed. This would allow service for sewer and water to all of the properties on the east side of Clairville Road, which are now within the City’s corporate limits. Additionally, new sewer and water laterals will be installed to properties, as needed. For South Koeller Street, the work is proposed to include concrete paving and miscellaneous utility work. Concrete driveway approaches will be constructed for all affected properties, if needed. The existing underground utilities (sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and water main) will be inspected and replaced, if necessary. For Ryf Road, the work included an asphalt overlay that was proposed as an alternative to continued hand patching or full reconstruction. The asphalt overlay was constructed to a thickness of approximately two inches (2”). This overlay will improve the ride of the street for a minimum of five (5) years. Some overlay streets have lasted over fifteen (15) years. These letters also outlined the special assessment procedure for these properties. This procedure includes that the Common Council adopted initial resolutions in July and August authorizing the Department of Public Works to proceed with preparing the final plans for these improvements. A public hearing will be scheduled prior to approval of the final resolution authorizing special assessments to be levied for the improvements. All owners will be notified of the public hearing and receive a statement indicating proposed assessments for each property. It is anticipated the proposed assessment statements will be mailed in November and the public hearing will be held in November. If you have any questions, please contact Engineering Division Manager / City Engineer, Justin Gierach at (920) 236-5065. 3. UPDATE ON PARK IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS: Autumn is here, and what a beautiful time to view our parks as the trees change to brilliant colors. As you travel through the community, take a drive to view the Lakeshore Park 4 Seasons Building, as contractors continue to work on the final touches of the project. Watch for an announcement soon as to when rental requests will begin to be accepted for this unique, waterfront facility. The Park Administration/Operations Facility is nearing completion with only a few punch- list items to finish up. Currently, we are in the process of moving operational equipment to the new facilities, and we are looking forward to the improved efficiencies. Parks staff have been reporting to the new facility since late September with all parks transactions now taking place again at 805 Witzel Avenue. Stay tuned for open houses for the Lakeshore Park 4 Seasons Building and Parks Administration/Operations Facility in the near future. As part of the City’s parking lot rehabilitation program, parking lot restoration projects have been completed at Teichmiller Park, 24th Avenue Boat Launch, and the parking area for the tennis/pickleball courts at South Park. At Lakeshore Park, the parking lot and trail connection on the west side of the park on Rath Lane is nearing completion. When completed, these new amenities will allow for users of the City’s Riverwalk trail system and Winnebago County’s Tribal Heritage Trail a convenient parking location and trail access, and prevent parking in the private parking lots in the vicinity. Check out the new court projects at Teichmiller and Westhaven Circle Parks if you want to play tennis or pickleball before winter. Contractors are waiting for materials for the bounding boards to arrive for both locations, but courts will be playable as long as weather permits over the next few weeks. If you have any questions regarding park projects, please contact Chad Dallman, Assistant Parks Director, at (920)236-5080. 4. PARKS’ REVENUE FACILITIES WRAP UP 2023 SEASON: 2023 has been a great year for events in our parks. We finished up the last of our events this past weekend. We host two large fundraisers for the Menominee Park Zoo each year. Due to the road construction in Menominee Park, we hosted both of these events at the Leach Amphitheater. On Friday, October 20th, we had Brews at the Leach, an adult night of fun, which included the band Conscious Pilot, craft beers, food trucks, and an adult costume contest. It was a beautiful night, and we all had fun. On Saturday, October 21st, we hosted our 21st Annual Zooloween Boo. Thousands visited the Leach to trick-or-treat with area businesses and organizations, partake in crafts and activities, a costume contest, entertainment, bounce houses, and much more. Thank you to all the sponsors and volunteers who make these events possible. We couldn’t do it without the support of the Oshkosh area! If you have any questions regarding these events, please contact Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager, at (920)236-5080. 5. CLERK’S OFFICE CONTINUES PREPARATIONS FOR 2024 ELECTIONS: Last week, Elections Specialists in the Clerk’s office completed a large project that had been lingering for some time. Beginning in June, Elections Specialists started scanning, re-naming, and attaching driver licenses and IDs to voter records. This not only cleared out an entire file cabinet (and who here at City Hall can’t use more space??!!) but it improves the process of voter verification and the ability to mail out absentee ballots. 5947 voters records were successfully updated. Are you a registered voter? Still have questions? Visit MyVote at https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/ or scan the QR Code at left. 6. OFD GRATEFUL FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERS IN EXTRICATION TRAINING: The Oshkosh Fire Department thanks Nolte’s Full Service Auto Repair & Towing for assisting us with our extrication training last week. They provided the vehicles and the location for the training. We greatly appreciate all that you do for us! A special thank you also goes out to retired Captain Craig Downs for continuing to share his expertise with us. 7. SENIOR CENTER UPDATES: The Oshkosh Seniors Center partners with organizations throughout the year that will host classes on topics of interest for our community of older adults. On Friday, November 17th, the regional SilverSneakers representative will share a gratitude workshop. Having an attitude of gratitude can positively affect your mental and physical health. SilverSneakers, a Tivity Health brand, works with members, clients, and healthcare partners to create everyday opportunities for long-lasting health and vitality. When older adults choose a Medicare supplement plan, they can choose insurance coverage that includes SilverSneakers, which will often pay the cost of fitness centers. The Oshkosh Seniors Center accepts the coverage, and many of our older adults take advantage of this perk to come to the Fox Fitness Center and take covered exercise classes. On Tuesday, November 21st, the Center welcomes Get Set UP, who will present to those interested on how to use their product. Get Set UP (www.getsetup.org) is an online community of active agers who want to learn new skills, connect with others, and unlock new life experiences. The Center will run a six-month trial program that gives anyone who participates at the Center access to hundreds of online classes at no cost to them. The regular subscription cost is $20 per month. If the program is successful, the Center will pursue funding to cover the annual fee. The classes are interactive video chat programs, and topics include meditation, fitness, wellness, cooking, art, travel, and so much more. This opportunity is being funded by an AT&T grant received in 2023. Please contact Dan Braun, Senior Services Manager, at (920)232-5300 for more information about the Oshkosh Seniors Center. You can find the Center’s program newsletter on our webpage. https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/SeniorServices/. 8. FIRE DEPARTMENT CONGRATULATES NEW EMS COORDINATOR: The Oshkosh Fire Department congratulates Firefighter Nick Ruzek for recently being named as EMS Coordinator. Best of luck to you in this new role! 9. ENCOURAGING DIVERSITY IN FIRE AND EMS: The Oshkosh Fire Department and Firefighter ABCs, an organization specializing in diversity recruitment, have collaborated with Fox Valley Technical College to launch a student-specific grant program. This initiative aims to promote gender and racial diversity within fire and emergency medical services departments, along with addressing potential barriers such as financial need. Pursuing an Associate degree in Fire Protection Technician can cost a full-time student an estimated $13,000. The OFD is thrilled to have awarded $1,000 each to 12 students, and we accept applications each semester. Eligible applicants must be planning to pursue a career in the fire service and demonstrate financial need. Special priority will be given to candidates who are traditionally underrepresented in the industry. To apply, please visit https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/fire/ABC_Grant_Program_Form.aspx. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. 10. PARKS DEPARTMENT EVENT SURVEY HELPS ENSURE CONTINUED SUCCESS: As 2023 is coming to a close, we’ve begun calculating the results of the Post Event Surveys sent throughout the year. To date, we have received 38% of survey requests. The percentages below represent those agreeing or strongly agreeing with the survey statements. 100% - Special Event Personnel responded promptly to all inquiries, increased from 98% last year. 100% - Obtaining additional permits was made easy with the assistance of online resources and city staff. 98% - Special Event personnel were professional and knowledgeable about the permits and requirements needed to host the event; 2% indicated they were neutral in their response. 88% - The location was ideal for the event (clean, in good repair, adequate amenities, etc.); 9% were neutral. 91% - City personnel assisting with set up and logistics of the event were courteous and easy to work with; 9% of respondents were neutral. 71% - Event organizers saw an increase in attendance at their 2023 events, an increase of 18% from 2022. 76% - Event organizers utilized the Visit Oshkosh website to promote their event. The promotional use of the Oshkosh Convention & Visitors Bureau site is up 30% compared to 2022. 100% - Will likely host their future events in Oshkosh. The comments from the survey were overall positive and included the following: “Special Events staff was supportive of our event, and staff on-site was excellent to work with.” “Thanks for helping make ONH Homecoming 2023 a more memorable event for our students and families.” Comments that suggest areas of improvement will be shared with departments to assist in the continued success of events hosted in Oshkosh. If you have any questions regarding survey results or Special Events, please contact Kathy Snell, Special Events Coordinator, at (920) 236- 5080. 11. LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS WORKS TO BUILD A DIVERSE URBAN TREE CANOPY IN OUR COMMUNITY: Throughout October, a total of 116 trees were planted around the City. The trees consisted of 27 different species and 20 different genera. Ginkgo, Tuliptree, Kentucky Coffee Tree, and Horsechestnut are a few of the large shade tree species planted. For the locations where a large tree isn’t appropriate because of utilities or space, species such as Amur Maakia, American Hornbeam, and Eastern Redbud are planted. Planting smaller quantities of many species creates a more resilient, diverse urban forest that is less affected by any single threat. The Landscape Operations Division is planting for a disease-resistant urban forest. If you wish to donate to tree planting efforts in our City you may do so with the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation’s Taking Root II fund. If you have questions about forestry-related topics, please contact Travis Derks, Landscape Operations Manager, at (920)236-5080. 12. GET INVOLVED IN A BOARD OR COMMISSION: If you are interested in serving your community, please consider becoming a member of one of the City’s citizen advisory boards, commissions or committees. To learn more about the boards and commissions, or to complete an application to serve, follow the link below: https://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/boardsandcommissions/ 13. 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/ 14. LOOKING AHEAD: Among the meetings I have scheduled for the week of October 30th include: on Monday and Tuesday, I will be in budget workshop meetings with Council and staff. On Wednesday at 10:00 AM, I will attend a meeting of the Advisory Board for the Whitburn Center for Governance and Policy Research. On Thursday at 8:00 AM, I will attend a meeting with various community stakeholders on issues of homelessness in our community, and at 11:00 AM, I will meet with staff to review the results of our recent employee engagement survey. On Friday at 10:00 AM, I will meet with staff to begin preparations for the 2024 State of the City event. If you have any questions about my upcoming schedule, please do not hesitate to contact me.