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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-15JANUARY 13, 2009 09 -15 RESOLUTION (CARRIED 6 -1 LOST LAID OVER WITHDRAWN ) PURPOSE: APPROVE AGREEMENT WITH URBAN WILDLIFE SPECIALISTS, INC. FOR CULLING OF DEER IN OSBORNE STREET AREA ($125 /DEER) INITIATED BY: CITY ADMINISTRATION BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Oshkosh that the attached Agreement with Urban Wildlife Specialists, Inc. for the culling of deer in the Osborne Street Area is hereby approved and the proper City officials are hereby authorized to execute and deliver the agreement in substantially the same form as attached hereto, any changes in the execution copy being deemed approved by their respective signatures, and said City officials are authorized and directed to take those steps necessary to implement the terms and conditions of the Agreement. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that money for this purpose is hereby appropriated from: Acct. No. 100- 0914- 6401 -00000 — Contractual Services PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACT BETWEEN CITY OF OSHKOSH AND URBAN WILDLIFE SPECIALISTS, INC. THIS AGREEMENT made and entered into this 30 day of December, 2008 by and between CITY OF OSHKOSH (hereinafter "the City ") and URBAN WILDLIFE SPECIALISTS, INC. (hereinafter the "Contractor"). WHEREAS, the City has been issued a deer removal permit by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the lethal removal of white- tailed deer from within the boundaries of the City. WHEREAS, it is necessary for the City to retain the services of highly skilled marksmen for the lethal removal of deer from the City. WHEREAS, the Contractor is willing to provide the services of highly skilled marksmen for, the lethal removal of deer from the City. NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements of the parties, the City and the Contractor covenant and agree as follows: 1. Contractor is hereby retained by the City to perform the selective culling of up to forty (40) deer from the City property, pursuant to the deer removal permit issued by the DNR. Following the removal of up to forty (40) deer, the Contractor may agree to the removal of additional deer as deemed desirable by the City and as authorized by DNR permit. Contractor agrees to perform all services under this agreement in a timely, workmanlike and safe manner to the best of its ability, experience, talent and in accordance with the DNR permit and all terms of this agreement. 2. Contractor agrees to use its best independent judgment and skill in performing the services required under this contract. 3. The Contract shall expire on the earlier (1) Dec 30, 2009 (2) the date the number of deer to be culled is reached, (3) the date either party shall terminate the contract by giving of written notice to the other party of such termination. 1 4. The City shall indicate to the Contractor the sites and available times at which services may be performed. The Contractor shall determine the procedures, method and actual times for performing services, and shall contact designated representative for the City and provide him/her with such information. Contractor shall notify the City Police Dispatcher prior to each deer removal operation. 5. The Contractor will receive a payment of $125.00 per deer removed. This fee is for sharpshooting, transporting, and coordination of carcass disposition with DNR and City personnel. Payment to the Contractor shall be at the end of each month during which a deer is removed. 6. The Contractor shall notify City personnel following the removal of each deer and shall store deer carcasses at a location designated by the City. The City will be responsible for disposal of culled deer. 7. Contractor covenants and agrees that its employees and personnel retained by it shall not consume or use alcohol, narcotics or any other drugs, including prescription medicine, within 24 hours preceding work in the City. 8. Subject to provisions hereof, Contractor and City Personnel shall determine the means, manner, and method by which it will perform services hereunder, the times at which services will be preformed and the sequence of performance of these services. The Contractor will furnish its own materials and bear its own costs and travel expenses. 9. Contractor shall procure and maintain for the duration of the Contract insurance, satisfactory to the City, against claims for injuries to persons or damages to property which may arise from or in connection with the performance of any work by the Contractor, its agents, representatives or employees related to the Contract, either directly or indirectly as follows: Commercial General Liability: Per occurrence bodily injury, personal injury and property damage - $1,000,000. 10. Contractor for itself and its successors and assigns hereby waives, release, indemnifies and agrees to hold harmless the City and its respective officers, employees and agents from any and all claims arising out of any injury to the contractor or its employees or property, including death or bodily injury, which may arise from the performance of Contractors duties in the City under the terms and conditions of this Contract. 11. This Contract calls for the performance of personal services and as such may not be assigned or delegated by Contractor, except as specifically permitted under this Paragraph. Nothing in this Paragraph shall prevent the Contractor from retaining persons to assist Contractor with activities required under this Contract provided that Contractor shall be fully responsible for the payments to such persons and for the acts and omissions of such persons retained. 2 12. The City will procure bait (shelled corn) and spread the bait at the appropriate sites and keep these sites adequately stocked with bait throughout the duration of deer removal operations. The City shall maintain access to all bait sites sufficient for 2 -wheel drive vehicles throughout the duration of deer removal operations. 13. Contractor will determine the make, model and caliber of firearms to be used and will use military -grade muzzle suppressers ( "silencers ") as authorized by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 14. The City shall respond, as deemed appropriate by the City, to any and all inquiries from the public and news media regarding all aspects of deer management in the City and shall not make public any information specifically related to the identity of Contractor personnel, employees and vehicles. 15. The City and Contractor mutually agree that conditions, beyond the control of either parry, may prohibit or reduce the ability of the Contractor to remove the total number.of deer specified in paragraph 1. Such conditions as may exist or occur include, but are not limited to, weather conditions (warm temperatures, lack of snow cover, etc...), civil or legal actions brought by third parties, public disturbance of bait sites or shooting areas, harassment of Contractor employees or personnel. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this contract on or before the date first stated herein. URBAN WILDLIFE SPECIALISTS, INC. CITY OF OSHKOSH, CITY ATTORNEY LYNN LORENSON By - „�" B y Date Date CITY OF OSHKOSH, CITY CLERK CITY OF OSHKOSH, CITY MANAGER PAM UBRIG MARK ROHLOFF By By - Date Date CITY OF OSHKOSH, FINANCE DIRECTOR PEGGY STEENO By Date City of Oshkosh Parks Department 215 Church Ave., PO Box 1130 Thomas Stephany Oshkosh, WI 54903 -1130 Director O.f HKW n n (920) 236 -5080 (920) 236 -5039 FAX ON THE WATER _ MEMORANDUM TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Tom Stephany, Director of Parks DATE: January 8, 2009 RE: Approve the use of Menominee Park for Oshkosh's 3 8th Annual 4 th of July Festival, Sawdust Days A festival was created in 1971 by a group of community businessmen, including administrative staff from the Miles Kimball Company. The goal of the group was to offer the residents of Oshkosh a new, free, city event. One of the focal points of the event included providing a vehicle for non - profit organizations to raise dollars to support their missions and charitable causes. The name of the group involved with the festival was called the Mickey Mouse Club, and the event was named Oshkosh Sawdust Daze. The new event was introduced in Menominee Park, plus there were some activities at various locations around the city. The event was scheduled for the third weekend in June during the early years and was located on the lakeside of the park by the old band stand. The Parks Director in the late 70's or early 80's (actual time not known), asked the organizers if they would consider moving the event to the area where the central portion of the current Sawdust Days festival is located — at the end of Irving Avenue. The reason for the move was to protect the grass /turf and trees of the lakeside area. Along with the location move, the Director and Sawdust Days Committee collaborated to move the festival to the 4 th of July weekend. The idea was to have the event coincide with the 4 th of July fireworks, which the city was involved with, plus the Director thought it a good idea to consolidate the use of city workers for both events. It was at this time that the festival began to be expanded by the Sawdust Days Committee (who, by that time, fully took over the event from the original group). In 2007, neighbors of Menominee Park expressed concerns about the Sawdust Days event - the three most notable concerns were public urination, littering and neighborhood parking (see the Park Board minutes from February 11, 2008). Before 2007, Sawdust Days Committee Co -Chair Ellen Schmidt stated that there were requests with regard to cleaning up litter beyond the park. The Committee has accommodated that request by sending cleaning groups into the neighborhoods each year during morning cleanup. MEMORANDUM PAGE TWO JANUARY 8, 2009 After the concerns were expressed in 2007, the Police Department "ramped -up" their patrol of the neighborhoods in 2008 to look for parking violations, plus to see if they could correct the other two issues. As the Police Department's Special Operations Officer, Matt Kroening, noted at the December 8, 2008 Parks Board meeting, "The 2008 event was one of the most successful as far as complaints and arrests that were made (down from 2006/2007)" — (see the attached police report from 2008 entitled "After Action Review "). There were two issues identified in the After Action Review that I would like to address. The first issue has to do with softball players hitting balls at event campers parked on the outside of the softball diamonds. The School District's Recreation Department is the agency that schedules ball play at the Menominee Park softball diamonds and they are the ones that had games scheduled for the Sawdust Days set up date of Monday, July 1 I will work with both the Recreation Department and Sawdust Days Committee to avoid this conflict for 2009. The second issue has to do with the paid parking area in the Southwest corner of Menominee Park. The parking area was introduced in 2006 for two reasons, 1) There was a strong belief that festival visitors would pay a nominal fee to park close to the event (in the past, visitors would sacrifice getting a $10.00 parking ticket to get a "prime" parking spot), and 2) It was believed that the fees would generate additional revenues to help finance activities at Sawdust Days. The parking program has proved very successful and has provided an excellent service for Sawdust Days visitors — the parking area is definitely "jam- packed" on the 0' of July. The parking area for the first two years was entered from Hazel Street, at a mid -block point between Parkway and Merritt Avenue. In 2008, it was decided to bring cars into the road /parking area off of Parkway Avenue. The idea was to create a staging area on the road in the park for the collection of parking fees. Unfortunately, as the Review suggested, vehicles did get backed up on the corner of Hazel and Parkway — one of the reasons had to do with a lack of people collecting the fees and guiding the parking of vehicles. All of the parking issues noted in the Review were discussed immediately after the 4 th of July and plans have already been established to make sure the same problems don't exist in 2009. First, the entry to the parking area will be located at the same place as in 2006 -2007; the parking area will be defined with a rope or paint border; there will be three exit areas for the time after the fireworks show; and there will be sufficient staff to collect money at the front -end, and to guide vehicles to parking spaces. MEMORANDUM PAGE THREE JANUARY 8, 2009 In the spring of 2007, I met with staff from the Police Department about complaints issued to that department about past Sawdust Days. It was stated that most of the complaints at the event typically consist of lost children, domestic disputes, under -aged drinking, some drunkenness, etc. I also talked with Fire Chief Tim Franz about any concerns with regard to emergency vehicles being able to access the festival. The Chief stated that he had no major concerns. The Sawdust Days Committee is a non - profit, 501 (C) (5), organization, made up of a group of volunteers. Their mission is to continue with providing an exceptional, free, 4 of July event /celebration for the City of Oshkosh and surrounding area. Included in that mission is the goal of continually providing opportunities for other non - profits to raise dollars for their needs. Over the course of time, many non - profit groups in the city have benefitted, in some form, from being involved with Sawdust Days. In 2008, the following non - profits were part of the event: Knights of Columbus, Am -Vets, Noon Optimists, Oshkosh Humane Society, Viet Nam Vets, Korean Vets, Habitat for Humanity, plus two churches. Along with the preceding, the Committee has produced and funded the 4 th of July fireworks show over the past 20 years. It has also added electrical infrastructure to Menominee Park which, along with Sawdust Days, annually benefits the Celebration of Lights and summer fishing tournaments. The city has been a partner with the 4 th of July event since 1971. The following departments /divisions have been involved with Sawdust Days over the course of time - Electrical and Sanitation Divisions, plus the Police and Parks Departments. The Sawdust Days Committee currently contracts for electrical and sanitation services with private contractors. The Police Department is still involved with observing and supervising visitors at the event, and patrolling the neighborhoods. Their involvement continually builds on previous activities, and preparation is already being put in place for the 2009 festival. The Parks Department is involved with set -up and take -down (the hauling of benches and tables), clean -up, and preparation of the area from which the fireworks show is launched. Because of the general community -wide appeal for this event, Sawdust Days has relied on city forces to augment their volunteer work force. The City will need to maintain this in -kind contribution in order for Sawdust Days to continue providing this event. Sawdust Days brings people together from the Oshkosh area. The event has a tremendous amount of history and tradition when it comes to the city and many people look forward to Sawdust Days each year. It is estimated that over 100,000 people attend the festival over 4 and %2 days, and some of those visitors come from around the state (Northeast Wisconsin) and nation. In 2008, known visitors came from Massachusetts; Virginia, Tennessee, Texas, Colorado, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan. Sawdust Days does have an economic impact when it comes to the City of Oshkosh. MEMORANDUM PAGE FOUR JANUARY 8, 2009 As the Council may be aware, the Special Events Committee is currently working on a Special Events Policy. The policy will not be ready before there is a need to approve the request to use Menominee Park for the 2009 Sawdust Days event. It should be noted that the Sawdust Days Committee and Parks Department are working toward assuring that operations of the event will coincide with any policy language that will be approved by the Council in the near future. The request from the Sawdust Days Committee (letter attached, dated October 27, 2008) to host the annual Sawdust Days Festival comes before the City Council after two sessions were held at the Parks Board level during the months of November and December, 2008. The request to support Sawdust Days for 2009 was introduced at the November 10 Board meeting and action was taken at the December 8t meeting (see minutes from both meetings). The Board approved the use of Menominee Park for the 38 annual event and recommends that the Council does the same. Respectfully Submitted, Director of Parks Approved: City Manager Attachments: Advisory Parks Board Minutes — February 11, 2008 Police Department — After Action Review from 2008 Advisory Parks Board Minutes — November 10, 2008 Advisory Parks Board Memorandum — December 5, 2008 Advisory Parks Board Minutes — December 8, 2008 Letter from the Sawdust Days .Committee — October 27, 2008 Map — Sawdust Days Festival Footprint