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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.01.24 Newsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: March 1, 2024 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. OSHKOSH MEDIA SET TO CARRY CANDIDATE FORUMS: Oshkosh Media is once again teaming up with the League of Women Voters of Winnebago County to provide local candidate forums on Gov TV. The forum for candidates running for Oshkosh Area School District Board of Education will take place at City Hall on Monday, March 4th at 6:30 p.m. Candidates for Oshkosh Common Council and Winnebago County Circuit Court Branch 1 Judge will take part in their respective forums at City Hall on Thursday, March 7th beginning at 7:00 p.m. Oshkosh Media’s Gov TV can be found on Spectrum Cable channel 10, AT&T U-verse channel 99, streaming live on the free Oshkosh Media channel on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV, and streaming live on OshkoshMedia.org. The forums will also stream live on the Oshkosh Media YouTube channel and will be available there on-demand after the forums are complete. Oshkosh Media and the League of Women Voters of Winnebago County have been partnering to provide candidates forums to the community for more than 25 years. For more information, contact Media Services Coordinator Jake Timm at (920) 236-5261. 2. OPEN HOUSE FOR PUBLIC AT NEW LAKESHORE PARK FOUR SEASONS BUILDING: The public and media are invited to come and see the new Lakeshore Park Four Seasons Building on Tuesday, March 5 at an Open House from 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. The Four Seasons Building is a new facility located on the east side of Lakeshore Park at 1875 Punhoqua Street in Oshkosh. The new facility is situated on the shores of Lake Butte des Morts and the Fox River, with access to the Oshkosh Riverwalk and Lakeshore Park. Its modern structure has high ceilings and glass walls to take advantage of the stunning views from this location. It is available year-round and is equipped with air conditioning and heat. The new shelter is a perfect venue for anniversary parties, corporate meetings, graduation parties, small weddings, and family reunions. The open house is a great opportunity to see if this new addition to the City of Oshkosh Park shelters will work for your next event. We hope you can join us to view the new facility. If you have any questions, please contact Anne Schaefer at (920)236-5080. 3. IS IT SPRING OR WINTER? The Parks team completed three roof replacement projects at Menominee Park (Gazebo, Zoo Well House, and Wolf Cabin); normally those projects would have to wait until summer. If you have any questions regarding park projects, please contact Chad Dallman, Assistant Parks Director, at (920)236-5080. 4. HOPPY “BREAKFAST WITH THE BUNNY” AND “BUNNY IN THE BARN” EVENTS ON MARCH 30TH: No bunny compares to these early spring events! The 2024 events will be held at the Sunnyview Expo Center. It hops off with “Breakfast with the Bunny” on March 30th from 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., featuring pancakes, sausage, milk, juice, and coffee. The kids will have fun decorating cookies and doing crafts. Of course, your favorite bunny will be available for Instagram-ready photo opportunities. Breakfast tickets must be purchased in advance and will be available online and in person at the Oshkosh Parks Department offices located at 805 Witzel Avenue. No breakfast tickets will be available at the gate. The day continues with the famous annual egg hunt. “Bunny in the Barn” is scheduled from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. The kids can search the barns for eggs to be turned in for prizes. There will be games, crafts, and bunny photo opportunities throughout the day. Tickets for “Bunny in the Barn” (egg hunt only) will be available at the gate. “Breakfast with the Bunny”-only pricing (must be purchased in advance): (13 & Older): $5 Children (2-12yrs): $3 Infant (1yr & under): FREE “Bunny in the Barn”-only pricing (tickets may be purchased at the gate or in advance): Ages (18 & Older): FREE Youth (13-17yrs): $5 Children (2-12yrs): $3 Infant (1yr & under): FREE If you plan on attending both events, combined tickets must be purchased in advance: Youth (13-17yrs): $9 Children (2-12yrs): $5 Infant (1yr & under): FREE Tickets are available from March 11th to March 28th and may be purchased in person at the Oshkosh Parks Department Office located at 805 Witzel Avenue. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to noon, and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Tickets may also be purchased online beginning March 11th at the Oshkosh Parks Department's online service page. If you have any questions about this event, please contact Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager, at (920)236-5080. 5. OSHKOSH PUBLIC MUSEUM COMMEMORATES K9 MAGIC: The Oshkosh Police Department, the community, and the city as a whole miss K9 Magic. She was so loved and cherished, and her impact on our community and its members will never be forgotten. Magic was the first of her kind and truly one of a kind in our community. The Oshkosh Public Museum wished to commemorate Magic and her unique contributions to our community. Sergeant Gogo and Officer Sopata were honored to donate a photo of Magic and her vest to the museum in order to remember all of Magic’s accomplishments for our city and police department for years to come. 6. LET’S CELEBRATE SUCCESS AT THE SENIORS CENTER: At the end of January, the Oshkosh Seniors Center held an open house to encourage older adults from the area to check out the Center’s Fox Fitness Center and the variety of exercise classes offered. We are happy to report that we signed up 44 new participants as of February! The open house attendance was 140 people, which means of the day’s attendance, over 30% joined the Center. We appreciate the involvement of our community partners who helped promote and share information about the Seniors Center and the January Open House. It is great to see how the Oshkosh Police Department, Oshkosh Public Library, Oshkosh Fire Department, and the Oshkosh Public Museum leveraged their social media platforms to help the Seniors Center get a great turnout. In addition to the success of the open house, we would like to share the continued increase in attendance during the last four years since reopening after the pandemic. With the combination of great programming as well as impactful collaborations and relationships with municipal and community partners, the Oshkosh Seniors Center is rebounding. In 2019, the Center saw a total attendance of just under 55,000 visits. In 2020, that number fell to 19,000 total visits. Between 2021 and 2023, attendance numbers averaged an annual gain of about 8,000 visits, finishing 2023 with nearly 45,000 total visits. Thanks to the work of the staff, volunteers, and community partners, visits to the Center are on track to exceed 50,000 visits in 2024. We encourage you to check out the program details and registration information at oshkoshwi.gov/seniorservices/. For more information, please contact Dan Braun, Senior Services Manager, at (920)232-5300. 7. 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 this link: oshkoshwi.gov/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: onboard.oshkoshwi.gov/ 9. LOOKING AHEAD: The meetings I have scheduled for the week of March 4th include the following: on Monday, Council and City staff will participate in an all-day strategic planning workshop. On Tuesday at 5:00 p.m., I will attend the public open house for the new Lakeshore Park Four Seasons Building. On Wednesday at 1:00 p.m., I will attend the League of Wisconsin Municipalities Mutual Insurance Board of Directors meeting and at 3:00 p.m., I will attend the Wisconsin City/County Management Association’s conference committee meeting. If you have any questions about my upcoming schedule, please do not hesitate to contact me.