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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: February 26, 2010 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: 1.UW-OSHKOSH SEEKS ASSISTANCE WITH "GREEN" WASTE FACILITY : On Tuesday evening, the Council approved a conditional use permit for UW-Oshkosh to construct a public utility structure (i.e., green waste facility) on their property adjacent to the former Cub Foods site. Because there was not a great deal of discussion during this Agenda item, I wanted to provide the Council with some background on things we are doing behind the scenes to work with the University on this project. We've had discussions with UW-O for the past eight months on this project, with discussions ranging from what green waste may go to the facility up to and including partnering with them on the project. From our discussions, it appears as though the University is working to construct this facility on its own, which we fully support. Additionally, it seems the only green waste that the University wants from us for this facility is grass clippings. Items such as wood chips and leaves are not suitable for a facility of this nature. In recent weeks, the University has begun to inquire about tapping into any residual methane gas from the wastewater treatment facility that may be used over at their green waste facility. It is our understanding that they hope to use our residual methane gas to supplement the gas at their facility, and produce electricity that they may sell to WPS. In order for the University to tap into the city's available methane gas from our wastewater treatment plant, there are a series of pipes and connections that the University would need. In order for us to investigate this, we have hired Strand Associates, the city's wastewater plant engineer, to review UW-Oshkosh's proposed pipe connection. The University will reimburse the city for these expenses that are estimated to be $12,000. Should this connection be feasible, the University will be required to fund all of the costs associated with tapping into this gas. UW-Oshkosh has agreed to reimburse us for any and all expenses we incur in this process. If this connection appears to be feasible, we will bring back an agreement for the Council to review. Although we are not aware of all the issues regarding this new technology, we are supportive of the University's efforts and will continue to work with them through this process. Weekly Newsletter February 26, 2010 Page 2 2.FORMER KING CLIFT PROPERTY : Please find enclosed two letters, one from OAEDC, the other from the Downtown Oshkosh BID, regarding these organizations' endorsement of a proposal for the city to purchase the former King Clift used car lot and convert it into a public parking lot. As I had mentioned late last year, former City Manager Bill Frueh suggested that the city purchase this lot and create additional parking in the 500 block of North Main Street. Since that time, several local business people have suggested that they would be willing to contribute toward the project, which would take the purchase price of this property down to approximately $150,000. Mr. Frueh indicated that he felt that the lot could get built for approximately $100,000. However, due to the costs we incurred for the 400 block parking lot, as well as storm water requirements that are in place, I believe that the amount would likely be significantly higher. I have not asked staff to provide any cost estimate at this time. However, I would not be surprised if the cost of construction would be in the neighborhood of $400,000. I also previously reported that TIF #12 has approximately $360,000 remaining in it that could be used for purposes such as a parking lot in this area. However, this would still leave a shortfall of approximately $200,000, using my very rough estimates. For this reason, and due to the fact that there are no funds budgeted for such a project, I am reluctant to recommend any parking lot development at this time. However, if the Council feels that there may be value in purchasing this lot for temporary parking during the Main Street reconstruction, this is certainly something that the Council may wish to discuss. To date, I have not received a great deal of feedback from Council on this subject. If any Council Member feels that this should be placed on an upcoming Agenda for discussion, please contact me accordingly. Otherwise, I will not taken any action on these requests at this time. 3.RETAINING WALL FOR HIGHWAY #21 BRIDGE OVER HIGHWAY #41 : As the Council is aware, as part of the U. S. Highway #41 improvements, Oshkosh Avenue is proposed to be reconstructed as a bridge over newly constructed U. S. Highway #41. The plans indicate that as part of the bridge over U. S. Highway #41, a retaining wall will be necessary at the northeast quadrant of this intersection (near the Two Brothers Restaurant and La Quinta Inn). The landscaping budget for this project includes an allowance for design features that may be incorporated into retaining walls and bridges. The DOT asked the city if we had preferences for any type of artistic rendering in the retaining wall. When staff was asked about this issue, we reviewed what the state was incorporating into the design for the new bridge over Lake Butte des Morts. Their renderings are going to feature a water and Native American theme. We thought that it may be appropriate to incorporate some historical reference to the water in any renderings that we may have. For this work, I asked Museum Director Brad Larson to assist us in identifying artistic renderings from the Museum collection that might be able to be used as inspiration for such work. Mr. Larson has assembled some artistic renderings and is providing them to the landscape architect for this project. It is our hope that th we will be able to unveil some of these proposed designs at the March 15 State of the City. We will certainly solicit comments from the public prior to giving design recommendations to the DOT. We're excited about including the public in this process, and being able to incorporate historical art references into the retaining wall design. Once we have the proposed renderings back from the landscape architect, we will begin to publicize these and share them with the public to gain as much input as possible. Weekly Newsletter February 26, 2010 Page 3 4."TAKING ROOT" CAMPAIGN RECEIVING STATE-WIDE ATTENTION : For those of you unable to attend Monday evening's event at the Convention Center, the "Taking Root" tree planting campaign not only is beginning to receive local public support, but is also receiving state-wide recognition. The DNR Secretary has instructed his urban foresty staff to closely follow what is going on in Oshkosh with respect to our ambitious goal of planting 1,000 trees this year. Meanwhile, City Forester Bill Sturm is working with the Community Foundation and other local representatives to identify the corridors planned for the tree planting program this year. As the Council is aware, the city has budgeted $25,000 in this year's Capital Improvements Program (CIP) to participate in tree planting throughout the city. Our partnership with the Community Foundation has already leveraged a $150,000 grant, along with other local donations that will be used for this purpose. Our continued support of this program, as demonstrated in this program being supported in our five-year CIP, will assist us in helping replant trees throughout the city, and more importantly, gain widespread public support for this program with a modest investment on our part. Congratulations to Bill Sturm for his work with the Community Foundation in getting this project off the ground. 5.DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES : Items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter nd include the notice of the Special Meeting of the Council to be held next Tuesday, March 2, at 5:00 p.m., in my office. I am also enclosing the notice of a public meeting on Saturday, March th 6, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at Mercy Medical Center, sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, to learn about roundabouts. Our Sanitation Department has finalized the 2010 guide to single stream recycling that I am enclosing, which will be delivered st to every home in the city starting on Monday, March 1. I'm also enclosing Museum Director Brad Larson's letter to the Museum Board, updating them on the Museum's activities over the past week. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the following: The minutes of the thth February 16 Plan Commission meeting; the minutes of the January 28 Library Board th meeting; the minutes of the January 25 Housing Authority meeting; the minutes of the stnd February 1 Sustainability Advisory Board meeting; and the minutes of the February 22 Grand Opera House Advisory Board meeting. The last item I'm enclosing is the Focus newsletter, published by The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, which features an article on the time for status reports. st 6.UPCOMING MEETINGS : Meetings I have scheduled for the week of March 1 include the following: On Monday, at 8:00 a.m., I will be attending the Joint Review Board meeting at which the Oshkosh Corporation TIF will be considered. This is the final step of the local process. The TIF plan will be forwarded to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue for final review and approval. On Monday, at 9:30 a.m., I will be meeting with staff to begin work on drafting the development assistance agreement for the Oshkosh Corporation project. On Tuesday, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending the Community Sounding Board meeting at UW- Oshkosh, at which local officials, Chamber representatives, and school representatives meet to discuss issues of common interest. Weekly Newsletter February 26, 2010 Page 4 rdth Beginning Wednesday, March 3 through Friday, March 5, I will be attending the mid-winter conference of the Wisconsin City-County Management Association in Wausau. Among the topics that will be discussed at the conference are providing leadership to departments and employees, building community support for public projects, an update on collective bargaining issues, professional ethics, and use of social media to maintain contact with the public. As a result of my attendance at the conference, there will be no Weekly Newsletter next Friday, th March 5. Jackie will forward you information that may be of interest to you during that time. If you have any questions about my schedule, please contact me. MAR/jdc