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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.10.24 Newsletter TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Mark Rohloff, City Manager DATE: May 10, 2024 RE: Weekly Newsletter 1. THE GRAND OSHKOSH ANNEXATION DESIGN MOVES FORWARD: As the Common Council may be aware, early last year the Grand Oshkosh (TGO) Foundation approached the city with a proposal to renovate the Grand Opera House to expand both administrative and production areas. TGO estimated a $6 million total budget for the project, and proposed this budget be shared 50/50 between the city and TGO fundraising. In addition to renovations of the Grand’s administrative and production areas, the project scope is expected to address various planned CIP facility projects, including updated lobby restrooms, enhanced ADA access, a new emergency generator, new windows and doors, new theatre seats, a new stage hoist/speaker beam, wallpaper restoration, new High Avenue front façade restoration, and more. In support of the proposed renovation, city staff recommended the Common Council allocate $473,000 in the 2024 CIP for design fees for the renovation, provided TGO’s fundraising study supported the feasibility of their $3 million fundraising campaign. Additionally, staff also recommended a 2026 CIP placeholder request of $5.5 million for the full project cost, provided TGO is successful in fundraising $3 million prior to the construction bid solicitation. At their November 14, 2023 meeting, Council approved the allocation of both the design fees and construction fees in the 2024 and 2025 CIPs, respectively. I’m happy to note that, as of late last month, TGO representatives confirmed their fundraising study supported the feasibility of meeting their $3 million fundraising campaign. As such, and in keeping with our prior discussions, I have given staff the direction to move forward with initiating the design services for this project. A resolution to approve the professional services agreement with T.R. Karrels & Associates is included on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting. Pending Council approval of the resolution, the design work is expected to begin immediately and be completed by the end of 2024. A subsequent memorandum of understanding between the city and TGO to outline more specifics regarding project details and timelines is expected to be developed in the future. 2. CITY CLERK’S OFFICE SEEKS TO IMPROVE ABSENTEE BALLOT PROCESSING: The City Clerk’s office is preparing to implement a Central Count Location (CCL) for processing absentee ballots. Currently all absentee ballots are sorted by district/ward, then delivered to the appropriate polling location, at which time poll workers begin to process the absentee ballot. The key benefit of establishing a CCL is the relief it provides to individual polling locations and their respective poll workers. By consolidating the processing of absentee ballots in a centralized location, poll workers can focus on managing in-person voting, assisting voters, and ensuring a smooth election day experience without the added complexity of handling and processing absentee ballots. Implementing a CCL will enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and overall experience of those involved in the electoral process, especially at the polling location level, and has a significant benefit for election officials, individual polling locations, and poll workers. Currently, the Clerk’s office is working with the City’s Legal Department, the Winnebago County Clerk, and other municipalities that have an established a CCL to assist us in establishing our own. Establishing a CCL will require a code amendment, which will be presented to Council on a future agenda. If you have any questions, please contact the City Clerk Diane Bartlett at (920) 236-5011. 3. WISDOT ANNOUNCES HWY 21 IMPROVEMENTS MOVED UP TO 2026: This week, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) announced that the construction schedule for the planned improvements to Wisconsin Highway 21 (WIS 21) between Omro and Oshkosh have been advanced from 2027 to 2026 due to WisDOT’s progression through the various elements of improvements (design, environmental documentation, utility coordination, etc.) advancing more quickly than anticipated. The proposed improvements are designed to provide significant safety benefits along the WIS 21 corridor between Oshkosh and Omro. Below are the intersection improvements that will be included in the project. • WIS 21 & County FF/Reighmoor Road – a single-lane roundabout will be constructed • WIS 21 & Sand Pit Road – a single-lane roundabout will be constructed • WIS 21 & Leonard Point Road – a multi-lane roundabout will be constructed • WIS 21 & Oakwood Road – slotted left-turn lanes will be constructed • WIS 21 & Westhaven Drive – slotted left-turn lanes will be constructed For more information about the project improvements, project schedule, traffic impacts, or to provide public comment, please visit the WisDOT project page for WIS 21. 4. NO GARBAGE OR RECYCLING COLLECTION ON MEMORIAL DAY, MAY 27TH: Due to the City’s observance of the Memorial Day holiday, there will be no garbage or recycling collection on Monday, May 27, 2024. Collections for the remainder of the week will be one (1) day later. Garbage and recycling collection scheduled for Friday, May 31st moves to Saturday, June 1st. Regular services resume on Monday, June 3rd. The City’s yard waste drop-off site located on West 3rd Avenue (between Idaho Street and Ohio Street) will be closed for the holiday on Monday, May 27th. The drop-off site will reopen on Tuesday, May 28th. Residential curbside brush collection for June will take place on the regularly-scheduled garbage collection day the week of June 3rd thru June 7th. If you have any questions, please contact Public Works Field Operations Manager Ryan Lemke or Public Works Sanitation Manager Eric Moran. 5. ATTACHMENT: “Locally Assessed Property Values Fail to Keep Up with the Market,” Wisconsin Policy Forum (Focus #17, September 2023). This article is timely given the questions following revaluation notices going out this week. 6. 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/ 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: onboard.oshkoshwi.gov/ 8. LOOKING AHEAD: The meetings I have scheduled for the week of May 13th include the following: on Monday I will meet with staff at 2:00 p.m. to continue conversations on lessening the impact of homelessness on City departments; at 6:00 p.m., I will continue my “State of the City” messaging tour with a presentation at the Oshkosh Healthy Neighborhoods’ Alliance Meeting. On Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., I will attend the Chamber’s Community Sounding Board meeting; at 9:30 a.m., I will meet with one of the organizers of the Juneteenth BGOSH event regarding plans for this year’s event, as well as his plans for a potential youth development program; and at 12:30 p.m., staff and I will participate in Emotional Intelligence (EQ) training. On Wednesday at 7:30 a.m., I will attend GO-EDC’s Board of Directors meeting. Wednesday evening and all day Thursday, I will be attending the League of Wisconsin Municipalities’ Urban Alliance meeting in Appleton. If you have any questions about my upcoming schedule, please do not hesitate to contact me.