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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: February 12, 2010 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: WEST SIDE ARTERIAL REMAINS ON HOLD 1.: The Council may recall that residents of the Town of Nekimi attended Council Meetings last summer, expressing their opposition to the mapping of an area for a future west side arterial. Since that time, no discussions have taken place with the Town of Nekimi. After Community Development Director Kinney retired last fall, the issue has not surfaced at any level within the city, county, or town government. During that time, however, the Town of Nekimi has kept this item on their Town Board Agenda for discussion at any time. On Wednesday evening, Walt Raith, Transportation Planner with East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, was invited to a meeting of the Nekimi Town Board to discuss the purpose and need for mapping the west side arterial. Mr. Raith mentioned this to me and suggested that I attend as well to observe and comment on the issue. Mr. Raith explained that East Central's 25-year Transportation Improvement Plan identifies the west side arterial from State Highway #21 south to State Highway #91. The plan does not identify an area for the west side arterial south of High way #91. Because that portion of the west side arterial is so far down into the future, East Central is not required to identify it on a map for planning purposes as required by the federal government. Mr. Raith explained that there is value to mapping the southern portion of the west side arterial, as it is important to tie in with the north side, which could be constructed within the next 20 years. The Nekimi residents in attendance felt that tying up the southern area with the uncertainty of a formal plan was not agreeable to them. They felt that their property should not be tied up for such a long period of time. Although the discussion was lively, it was largely civil and we left the meeting agreeing that more discussions needed to take place. I suggested that with the vacancy in the Community Development Director's position, I did not feel that we should defer discussions on this issue until a new director is on board and has an opportunity to get up to speed on this issue. We did generally agr ee that all parties, including East Central, county, city, and town government should work closely with potentially impacted residents to identify a corridor that would work for everyone. Mr. Raith agreed to take a look at long term demographic and transp ortation needs so that we could determine the necessity for mapping of a road with a 30 to 50 year timeframe. Weekly Newsletter February 12, 2010 Page 2 FIRE DEPARTMENT RECOGNIZED IN CONSUMER REPORTS 2.: Please find enclosed an article from the Consumer Reports website that addresses the fire danger of smoldering ash. Amongst other things in the article, our very own Oshkosh Fire Department was recognized for producing a public education piece on the dangers of smoldering ash. This link is available on the Fire Department's website and is enclosed for your information. The Fire Department recognized a potentially growing public safety problem, and took a proactive approach to educate the public on this danger. Congratulations to Public Education Specialist John Holland and the entire Fire Department for bringing this public safety risk to the attention of both Oshkosh residents and the rest of the country. PARKS DEPARTMENT TO SET UP ICE RINK IN MILLERS BAY 3.: Parks Director Ray Maurer reported to me that since his arrival, he has received several requests from residents who desire a location to ice skate during the winter months. Mr. Maurer's experience is that clearing an area in a park and flooding it for ice skating is labor intensive, with minimal results. This is due to the unreliability of establishing ice in a limited area and the fickleness of the weather. As an alternative, Parks staff has identified an area in Menominee Park, in Millers Bay. This area is located east of the Parks Mainten ance Shop and south of the boat launch. Parks staff is in the process of preparing and clearing an area in Millers Bay that will be open as early as this weekend. It should be pointed out that this area will have no staffing, no supervision, and it will not have a warming house. The purpose of this is to provide a low intensity, low maintenance area for residents to ice skate. Parks staff will monitor the ice thickness and close it before it becomes a safety concern. Mr. Maurer is hoping that this can serve as an interim alternative for outdoor ice skating. In the future, he will work with the Parks Board to incorporate plans for outdoor ice skating as he updates the city's park plan. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Maurer. PARKING DURI NG MAIN STREET RECONSTRUCTION 4.: At Monday's Redevelopment Authority meeting, the RDA discussed a request from property owners in the 600 block of Main Street to possibly make available some of the RDA's properties in that area available for interim parking during the Main Street construction. The RDA owns several lots backing up Main Street along Jefferson Street, and some businesses felt that it may be helpful if they could rely on this area for parking during the construction. The RDA acknowledged that their properties may be able to be used for this purpose, but asked that staff identify any potential downside to this, particularly as it relates to liability and the properties' proximity to residential areas. Staff will be looking into these parking po ssibilities and report back to the RDA. Meanwhile, as I reported earlier, the BID and OAEDC have discussed the possibility of asking the city to purchase the former King Clift auto lot for parking purposes. Although this issue has not been resolved, as cost considerations for such a parking lot must be considered, it was also suggested that perhaps this could be used as temporary parking during the Main Street reconstruction. At this time I am not sure of what would be required to make this a temporary parking lot. At this time, I will be awaiting correspondence from the BID and OAEDC when they formally request consideration of the King Clift lot as permanent parking. In the meantime, we will take a look at what requirements may be necessary for temporary parking. Weekly Newsletter February 12, 2010 Page 3 GRAND OPERA HOUSE UPDATE 5.: General Services Director Jon Urben has reported to me that Boldt Construction is making good progress with the reconstruction of the roof at the Grand Opera House. Due to the progress that has been made, it appears as though we will be st able to open Market Street to motorists on or around March 1. This will enable the street to be opened prior to construction beginning on Main Street, which is tentatively planned for mid to late March. I know this will be a relief to businesses in that area who are concerned about being isolated should reconstruction on Main Street started prior to the opening of Market Street. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Urben. "TAKING ROOT FUND" BEGINS FUNDRAISING EFFORTS 6.: Please find enclosed a copy of a brochure that was prepared by the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation with respect to their "Taking Root Fund" initiative to beautify Oshkosh. This is a program that I've talked about previously in which the Foundation has acquired a grant to beautify the city with trees and landscaping at its entryways, and terrace areas. Representatives of OACF and the Parks Department Forestry Division have been working to put this program together. In addition to the $150,000 grant, the city has committed $25,000 toward this effort for 2010. The five-year CIP identifies continuing funding at $25,000 in order to provide the necessary $150,000 match. Additionally, the OACF is also seeking private donations for this effort. In order to implement this project, we are working closely with OACF to identify areas for tree planting and landscaping corridors. If you have any questions on the "Taking Root Fund" project, please contact City Forester Bill Sturm. PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE PLAN UPDATE 7.: Please find enclosed a memo from Planning Director Darryn Burich about the status of the Bike and Pedestrian Plan. It appears as though th the Steering Committee will discuss the draft on February 25. If you have any questions after reading this memo, please contact Mr. Burich. TRAFFIC SIGNAL AT OREGON & WAUKAU 8.: At its meeting earlier this week, the Traffic Review Advisory Board recommended that a new traffic signal be installed at the intersection of Ore gon Street and Waukau Avenue. In an analysis of conditions at this intersection, staff found that traffic volumes during the peak hour satisfy the warrants for a signal. Because Oregon Street is under county jurisdiction at this location, the request must be reviewed by Winnebago County before the signal can be installed. Staff is compiling the information to communicate to the county so they can make their determination. Staff is also investigating the cost of installing a signal at this location. In the past, the city has sometimes shared the costs of installing a new signal with other parties. If the costs of installation exceed what is available in the 2010 Capital Improvements Program for traffic signal equipment, then cost-sharing would be an eff ective way to expedite installation of the signal. I will keep you informed as this process develops. If you have any questions, please contact Transportation Director Chris Strong. Weekly Newsletter February 12, 2010 Page 4 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 9.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include the latest issue of The Wisconsin Taxpayer, which features an articl e on municipal fees and charges. This should be valuable background for Council's upcoming rd Workshop on February 23. I am also enclosing a memorandum from Transportation Director Chris Strong to the Transit Advisory Board, updating them on the December, 2009 ridership nd statistics. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the minutes of the February 2 Plan th Commission meeting; the minutes of the January 7 Museum Board meeting; and the minutes th of the January 19 Downtown BID Board meeting. The last item I'm enclosing is a memorandum from Museum Director Brad Larson to the Museum Board, updating them on the Museum's activities over the past week. th UPCOMING MEETINGS 10.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of February 15 include the following: On Monday, at 11:00 a.m., I will be meeting with representatives of the West Side Association regarding signage iss ues that will come up during reconstruction of the Highway #41 corridor. The businesses want to make sure that they are visible to motorists during construction. On Monday, at 1:30 p.m., I will be meeting with staff to discuss the water conservation brochure that has been drafted by the Sustainability Advisory Board. I had indicated to the SAB that staff would work to provide their comments to make it an effective public document. On Tuesday, at 1:30 p.m., I will be meeting with staff to discuss the options for temporary parking on the RDA's Jefferson lot as I reported earlier in this Newsletter. On Wednesday, at 7:30 a.m., I will be meeting with the Convention & Visitors Bureau Board to discuss the Convention Center contract and how this will work give n the uncertainty of management past the end of this year. On Thursday, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending the Chamber's annual Economic Outlook Breakfast. If you have any questions regarding any of these meetings, please contact me. MAR/jdc