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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes from 12.22.2009PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL CITY OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN C) fH[<n 7H REGULAR MEETING held Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall. Mayor Esslinger presided. PRESENT: Council Members Tony Palmeri, Bob Poeschl, Burk Tower, Dennis McHugh, Harold Buchholz and Mayor Paul Esslinger EXCUSED: Council Member Jessica King ALSO PRESENT: Mark Rohloff, City Manager; Angela Joeckel, Deputy City Clerk; Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney; and Dave Patek, Director of Public Works Council Member Buchholz read the Invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Payton Cooper, Braden Cooper and Quincy Anderson from Franklin Elementary School. CONSENT AGENDA Approval of Minutes from December 8, 2009 Council Meeting. Approval of Bills presented by the Finance Director. Resolution 09 -471 Waive Bids & Authorize Purchase of Water Meters & Transmitters from HD Supply Waterworks for 2010 for the Water Utility Division ($537,916.80) Council Member Buchholz questioned what would the expenditure in 2010 bring as a completion cost and if there was an agreement for price escalations. Mr. Patek gave a brief history on the suppliers of the water meters and explained there would be a cost of living increase each year. Resolution 09 -472 Approval of Bid for Vacuum Street Sweeper /Chassis from Bruce Municipal Equipment, Inc., for Street Division ($191,194.00) Resolution 09 -473 Disallow Claim by Fox World Travel (Patti Coopman) for alleged vehicle Damage from hitting a pot hole on Washburn Street Resolution 09 -474 Disallow Claim by Church Mutual Insurance Company (Zion Lutheran Church) for alleged property damages from water service 1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL - DECEMBER 22, 2009 Resolution 09 -475 Approve Special Class "B" License & Operator Licenses MOTION: ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA (Palmeri; second, McHugh) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Buchholz, Palmeri, Poeschl, Tower, McHugh, Mayor Esslinger ACTION TAKEN ON ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS Ordinance 09 -476 Approval of Loading Zone Changes on Arizona Street & 11th Avenue & Parking Regulations Changes on Arizona Street, Cherry Street, Idaho Street, 6th Avenue & 18th Avenue FIRST READING: LAIDOVER UNDER THE RULES CITIZEN STATEMENTS Neil Andrasko, 3836 Red Oak Court, explained his property was in the Town of Nekimi and abuts land in the City. He expressed his concerns regarding Oshkosh Corporation leasing property adjacent to his to store their vehicles. He referenced the city ordinance regarding off street parking and loading facilities and stated he would like to see the vehicles stored on properly zoned commercial property instead of near a residential area. He questioned if Oshkosh Corporation had applied for a permit to install a fence for that area. He stated he has talked with Chamco regarding renting property to Oshkosh Corporation. Mr. Rohloff explained the municipal codes were specific about storage and in the past the City had allowed manufacturers to park their finished product on unpaved lots and it was not considered parking. He stated the City has been working with Oshkosh Corporation to find an alternate location. Mr. Burich stated he had approved the permit for Oshkosh Corporation to have a fence. Mr. Andrasko stated that Oshkosh Corporation was not only storing their vehicles but also testing them every 30 days which turned up dust and dirt, this being swept down the city's sewer system. Council Member McHugh questioned the ordinance regarding fencing. Mr. Rohloff explained Oshkosh Corporation had applied for a permit and this was an allowable use within the ordinance. He stated it was part of the manufacturing process to exercise their vehicles until they are delivered. Council Member Tower expressed his concerns regarding the excessive noise along with the dirt turn up and hoped Oshkosh Corporation would be a good neighbor and take these concerns into consideration. Mr. Rohloff stated he did share these concerns with Oshkosh Corporation and would follow up with them. 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL - DECEMBER 22, 2009 Council Member Buchholz questioned if the ordinance regarding vehicle storage included manufacturing businesses and if that code only applied to properties with manufacturing. Mr. Rohloff explained as long as the property is zoned properly they could store vehicles. He stated this is a unique situation and the City was currently working with Oshkosh Corporation to find alternate areas that would work better. Council Member Tower questioned how long the vehicles would be stored. Mr. Rohloff explained this would have to be discussed with Oshkosh Corporation. He stated the time frame would be more than 18 months. Mayor Esslinger questioned if Chamco had land available in a properly zoned area that could be used and charge a nominal fee to store the vehicles. Mr. Rohloff stated he would check with Chamco on other possible storage areas. Mayor Esslinger explained it could be a way to make revenue. Skyler Bryson, 3818 Red Oak Court, expressed his concerns regarding his property value decreasing by as much as 40% due to Oshkosh Corporation storing their vehicles nearby. He stated Oshkosh Corporation had been offered other properties for storage that were not near residential neighborhoods. He questioned why these vehicles were not being shipped. John Terzynski, 3812 Red Oak Court, stated he would like to see a more centralized location for Oshkosh Corporation to store their vehicles that would be close for them. He explained he did not like the idea of a fence separating the vehicle storage area from the residential area. Steve Barney, 1335 Summit Avenue, stated he would like to see a non - binding resolution to adopt the Oshkosh Vision Report. He stated he did not want to see missed opportunities to make energy star requirements for new construction and would like to see a greenhouse gas inventory of whole communities with inner city jurisdiction. He expressed his concerns regarding a meeting posting for the strategic planning and stated he would like to see all notices in a central location on City's web site. COUNCIL MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS, STATEMENTS AND DISCUSSION Mr. Rohloff stated the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission workshop would be January 26 at 5:15 p.m. Deputy Mayor Palmeri questioned if staff anticipated a lengthy agenda that evening. Mr. Rohloff stated it was possible it would be a lengthy agenda. Mayor Esslinger questioned when the workshop on fees that the city charged would be held. PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL - DECEMBER 22, 2009 Mr. Rohloff explained they were still soliciting members for the long range finance committee and had hoped the fees would be reviewed by that committee. Council Member Poeschl stated the fee schedule was discussed a few months ago. Mr. Rohloff stated at that time it was primarily building permit fees that were discussed. Council Member Poeschl stated he would like to have a workshop on the fees. Mr. Rohloff explained there would be a workshop in February to discuss the fees. Mayor Esslinger encouraged citizens who enjoyed architecture or interior planning to check out the Brooklyn Fire Station on 6 Avenue on New Years Eve Day for an open house. CITY MANAGER ANNOUNCEMENTS, STATEMENTS AND DISCUSSION Mr. Rohloff explained the snow removal procedures for plowing and how the emphasis is on the main roads and to limit salt use. Council Member Poeschl stated he had a lot of phone calls regarding transit stops not being shoveled. Mr. Rohloff stated it was the homeowners responsibility to shovel the the handicap ramp. Deputy Mayor Palmeri questioned the procedure for the placement of the recycling carts when it snowed. He also questioned what the ordinance said regarding where the recycling carts should be stored when not in use. He asked for a refresher on the snow removal policy. He questioned if the new snow emergency went into effect with the last snow fall. Mr. Patek stated property owners needed to either shovel out an area on the terrace or on the approach; just so the plow does not hit the cart. He explained the recycling cart policy needed to be reviewed and his department was checking with other communities. He explained the snow policy was not new; it was reviewed last year. He stated notices were sent to residents last year to remind them not to throw snow into the road. Mr. Rohloff stated the snow removal procedure was not perfect due to the time shortage but with the word getting out and implementing the policy more citizens would be used to it. Council Member McHugh stated he had some complaints regarding the time of the snowfall and then when the snow plow came. He stated he followed the snow emergency and parked on one side and then his car was plowed in. He stated there were some businesses on Main Street that had yet to remove their snow and ice. He asked for a recap on who shovels the corner. Mr. Patek explained the home owner was responsible for shoveling the corner and the handicap access. 11 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL - DECEMBER 22, 2009 Council Member Poeschl stated one of the citizens that contacted him was in a wheel chair and had a challenging time getting onto the ramp due to the street was not cleared completely. Mr. Rohloff stated individuals could call the transit department to let them know of a corner that was not shoveled. Deputy Mayor Palmeri stated he would like to conduct a thorough review of the TIF proposal to determine its necessity before he decides whether to support it. He stated since the corporate press had decided not to ask difficult questions about Tax Incremental Financing for Oshkosh Corporation, the city needed to be concerned with the company's financial viability, its long -term commitment to employ individuals in good - paying jobs and its environmental impact on the community. He explained that when dealing with a TIF, it could be open as long as 25 years, military contracts are only four to five years usually and Oshkosh Corporation needed to guarantee there would be long -term employment, not just the duration of the contract, but over the life of the TIF. Mr. Rohloff explained Oshkosh Corporation was still in the bidding process and following that they would make a formal request for the TIF, assuming all the approvals were in place the Council would still approve an agreement for the TIF. Mayor Esslinger stated Deputy Mayor Palmeri comments were great. He stated his concerns regarding the TIF, families and sustaining jobs was an important part. He stated Oshkosh Corporation was very aggressive and at this point of time, they were still in business and had received contracts. Mr. Rohloff recapped the Melvin Avenue meeting and there were two options available; a major reconstruction of the storm sewer on Melvin Avenue was part of the project and it included a small pump station and a detention basin or a larger pump station for storm water located at Menominee Park. He explained that building a storm water detention basin would save on cost due to the mechanical failures are possible with a pump station; a pond is less likely to break down, no mechanical features, just water movement. Council Member Tower stated the project had not been handled well and would have liked to see both options up front. Council Member McHugh stated there are so many places in the community that had flooded and did not remember Melvin Street being discussed. Mr. Rohloff stated this is a street reconstruction project and the problem was the storm sewer at Melvin Avenue and Evans Street was lower than the lake level. Council Member McHugh questioned if there were properties on Melvin Avenue that had been flooded. Mr. Patek explained that there were a number of complaints, there was a project on Grand Street which also needed storm sewer improvements and that connects to Melvin Avenue PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL - DECEMBER 22, 2009 which looking at Melvin you could not fix the storm sewer unless you fixed the road. Council Member Poeschl explained what he experienced at the Melvin Avenue meeting; that none of the citizens supported the small pump house and detention basin. He stated the citizens suggested moving the pump house to the park and that the neighborhood was willing to invest more to not have a detention basin, to have a larger pump house and get rid of the flooding. Council Member Buchholz stated Mr. Rohloff did a great job of summarizing the meeting and that the citizens of that neighborhood did not want to lose any homes. He expressed his concerns regarding the effectiveness of the detention basins and questioned what was most effective for storm water management. Mr. Rohloff stated the current belief amongst the engineering profession was to avoid pump stations but when you look at the science of how the water flows in that area a pump station was the only option, it was a unique situation. Council Member Poeschl questioned if power was the main concern regarding the functioning of the pump station. Mr. Patek explained pumps can always break down or wear out, if you have a mechanical system verses a gravity pipe, gravity always works. Council Member Poeschl stated that staff was looking to the Council for direction and he would like a time line for the residents so they know what to expect. Mr. Rohloff stated he would direct the engineers to proceed with the project. Mr. Patek stated the work would continue through the summer and fall of 2010. Council Member Poeschl questioned if the residents had the option to be connected. Mr. Patek explained residents were connected whether they had an interest in being connected or not. Mayor Esslinger stated Council Member Buchholz had an announcement to make. Council Member Buchholz explained it was not an easy decision but he decided not to seek re- election. He thanked the citizens that offered to support him and he stated he would serve the full term. MOTION: ADJOURN (McHugh; second, Poeschl) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting Adjourned at 1:37 p.m. ANGELA J. JOECKEL DEPUTY CITY CLERK 6