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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: April 30, 2010 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: TH TRAFFIC CONGESTION ON 9 AVENUE : At last Tuesday's Council Meeting, a member of 1. th the public asked about making some short term changes along 9 Avenue due to traffic congestion resulting from USH 41 construction. As Mayor Esslinger correctly pointed out, the Transportation Department and Traffic Review Advisory Board have been reviewing this issue for some time. In order to bring all Council Members up-to-date on this subject, I asked Transportation Director Chris Strong to provide a summary of the analysis that has taken place. This information is contained in the enclosed memorandum. In summary, the Traffic Review Advisory Board took th this issue up at their April 13 meeting. After a great deal of discussion, the concensus of the th Board was that no changes be made to 9 Avenue at this time. Staff continues to review options th for 9 Avenue for long term improvements along that corridor. We are also looking at possible grants that we may be able to pursue to address traffic along this corridor. If you have any additional questions after reading this information, please contact Mr. Strong. SIGNAGE ON OHIO STREET 2.: At Tuesday's Council Meeting, Mayor Esslinger asked that th Council receive an update at the May 11 Council Meeting regarding the no parking signs that were placed on Ohio Street during the 2008 reconstruction project. You may recall that then Council Member McHugh expressed a concern about the placement of these signs approximately midway in the sidewalk, in an area that has no terrace area. At that time, Transportation Director Strong provided a memo dated November 19, 2008, which summarized the various alternatives available for signage in this area. Mr. Strong's recommendation was to wait until the project was concluded by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and management responsibility of the street returned to the city. Mr. Strong then followed up with a memo dated July 27, 2009. I am also providing this memo for the Council to review. While it appears that there was certainly some support for moving these sign posts closer to the curb, Mr. Strong indicated that to relocate all of these signs along the entire length of the Ohio Street corridor would cost approximately $6,000 to $7,000. For that reason, Mr. Strong recommended that the sign posts not be relocated. After this information was provided to the Council in my Weekly Newsletter, I received no direction from the Council one way or another as to the preference for the relocation of signage, th therefore, I did not pursue it any further. As this item will now be on the May 11 Agenda, Council has an opportunity to discussion this information with one full year of traffic experience to consider. If you have any additional information that you would like after reading these two reports from Mr. Strong, please contact either Mr. Strong or me. Weekly Newsletter April 30, 2010 Page 2 NORTH SIDE RAILROAD QUIET ZONE I wanted to update the Council on the status of a 3. : request we received for a train quiet zone at the northern edge of the city. Director of Transportation Chris Strong has been in contact with Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) officials to learn more about the process for designating this quiet zone, which includes grade crossings at Snell Road, Butler Avenue, and County Trunk Highway Y. There are several steps involved in achieving this designation. First, the affected jurisdictions (the City of Oshkosh and Town of Oshkosh) would need to commit to make the improvements required to bring the crossings into compliance with the quiet zone requirements. Preliminary cost estimates indicate that the cost for making adequate improvements to these crossings could be around $40,000, although it may be higher depending upon further analysis at each location. After this, the city would need to submit an application to the FRA for review, which may take three to six months. After the FRA accepts the application, they publish a Notice of Intent, which must circulate for another two months. We would need to respond to comments that the FRA receives during this notification period, and this could include additional safety improvements at these grade crossings. After the Notice of Intent period expires, the improvements must be implemented. FRA then conducts a field review to verify that the improvements were made as proposed. Following that, the FRA publishes a 21-day notice that trains are to no longer sound horns at these crossings. In short, the process does involve a significant amount of time, and will also require a financial commitment. I understand that a petition has been circulated in support of this quiet zone. This petition may be submitted to the Council at an upcoming Council Meeting, at which time Council can decide to discuss how or when funding is available. As funding for these improvements was not included in the 2010 Capital Improvements Program, I would recommend deferring discussion on this project until the 2011 Capital Improvements Program is discussed and developed. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the specific details of this quiet zone request, please contact Transportation Director Strong. POSSIBLE PETROLEUM STAINING IN LAKE WINNEBAGO CHANNEL REPORTED 4.: Please find enclosed some information that was distributed to residents in the area of Starboard Court and Nicolet Avenue regarding possible petroleum/diesel contamination in this area. Upon receiving the complaint, city staff notified the Department of Natural Resources to assist in the investigation. The Federal EPA was also brought in after the initial analysis took place. At this time, we do not believe there is any evidence that the petroleum-based product came from the city's storm sewer system. Because the fuel is diesel, we can also rule out a recreational boater. However, at the same time, we do not know where the source of the contamination may be. Our best theory is that the source is from some place in Lake Winnebago near the opening of the channel by Starboard Court. This notice is being sent to all residents in this area so that they may be able to assist us in trying to determine the source of this contamination. Meanwhile, city staff will be cooperating with the DNR and EPA on any investigation and remediation that may be necessary. Because this contamination appears to have occurred in DNR jurisdiction waters, the DNR is taking lead responsibility. As a courtesy, I notified Sustainability Advisory Board Chairman Ron Hardy so that he may share this information with the SAB, which has taken an interest in water quality issues. As we gain more information regarding this investigation and remediation effort, I will keep the Council informed accordingly. Weekly Newsletter April 30, 2010 Page 3 GRAND OPERA HOUSE RENOVATION UPDATE 5.: General Services Director Jon Urben, Finance Director Peggy Steeno and I met recently to review the financial status of the Grand Opera House renovation project. Although final figures cannot be exact at this time, we feel confident enough in what's been done to-date and what we feel will take place over the next few months that we have updated the financial estimates for the project. I asked Finance Director Steeno to provide a summary of where we are to-date compared to the financial analysis that was provided to Council when they approved this project on August 25, 2009. As the attached summary indicates, the grand total of the project at that time was estimated to be $2,064,000. Based upon what we know to-date, we believe that the project will come in at approximately $1,880,000, or $184,000 under budget. We are certainly pleased by this news, and believe that this has a great deal to do with the close project management that took place throughout the construction project. This project began with a contingency of approximately $232,000, which we believe was necessary due to so many of the uncertainties that went along with this project. By investing more of our budget into construction management, we were able to avoid potentially costly items in the wood soffit repairs, which enabled us to remain under budget. Over the course of the project, we came across several code issues that needed to be addressed as these items were exposed over the course of construction. These code items were primarily the reason for the increased truss repair/fire sprinkler costs. We feel comfortable that those decisions were made appropriately. Now that staff has a good handle on where we believe the numbers will finally be, th we will be presenting the final budget for approval by the Council at the May 11 Council Meeting. Along with that revised budget will be the change orders that have resulted from this project. The good news is that we do remain under budget by approximately $184,000. As we put the final touches on this project, I will also be reporting to the Council that as we begin reinstallation of the seats in the Grand Opera House, the carpeting on the mezzanine level has deteriorated significantly over the years. The carpeting that was installed in the 1980's in the mezzanine level was not as durable as the carpeting that was installed on the main floor. As a result, the carpeting is signficantly worn and will be further damaged as the seats are reinstalled. It is my belief that the Council should consider a change order to allow staff to bid out the carpeting in the mezzanine level, with an estimated cost of $35,000. While I have administratively approved change orders throughout the project for safety code compliance carpeting does not rise to that level. Therefore, it is appropriate that Council approve this type of change order. I will be th making this request of you at the May 11 Council Meeting. I will also provide Council with background on these change orders. If you have any questions in advance of this item being on th the May 11 Agenda, please contact either General Services Director Jon Urben or me. COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CHIP) UNVEILED 6.: On Wednesday, representatives of the Winnebago County Health Department and Oshkosh Public Health Division unveiled its Community Health Improvement (CHIP) Plan that has been in the works for the past year. I have enclosed information provided by the CHIP partners for the Council's review. The purpose of the CHIP process was to identify health disparities in our community and create action plans to address them. The four priority areas that the partners chose to address are: 1) healthy lifestyles; 2) obesity; 3) physical activity; and 4) healthy recreational opportunities. Weekly Newsletter April 30, 2010 Page 4 I had an opportunity to review the final report, and I commended the group for their efforts in addressing many health issues that also dovetail with community efforts as a result of our recent visioning process, our comprehensive plan, and our bike/pedestrian plan. Many of the recommendations and strategic initiatives proposed by this group are consistent with our other documents. One item that you'll immediately notice is developing infrastructure to encourage bicycle and pedestrian facilities for recreational use. I encourage you to read this information and become familiar with the CHIP group's efforts in this regard. If you have any questions regarding the CHIP program, or if you would like to see a presentation from this group at a later time, please contact Interim Health Services Director Mark Ziemer or me. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 7.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include a new publication from a group called Wisconsin's Future, which features an article on Oshkosh's use of Recovery Act dollars in the city. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm thst enclosing the minutes of the April 20 Plan Commission meeting; the minutes of the March 1 st Sustainability Advisory Board meeting; and the minutes of the April 21 Transit Advisory Board meeting. The last item I'm enclosing is the latest issue of The Wisconsin Taxpayer, which features an article on the cost of corrections in Wisconsin and Minnesota. rd UPCOMING MEETINGS 8.: Meetings I have planned for the week of May 3 include: On Monday and Tuesday mornings, at 6:15 a.m., I will be attending the Police Department employee recognition programs. I will also be attending similar events at the Fire Department during the lunch hour on Monday and Tuesday. At 4:00 p.m. on Monday, I will be attending the monthly meeting of the Sustainability Advisory Board. Chairman Hardy asked that I attend to discuss the status of the city's EECBG grant and projects that are accompanying this process. The SAB is interested in what other funding may be available in this program in addition to the projects that we already have planned with our initial allocation. On Tuesday, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending the Community Sounding Board meeting, which consists of representatives from city, county, school district, University, FVTC, and Chamber of Commerce. At 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, I will be meeting with staff to go over the final draft version of the city's updated web page. At 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, I will be meeting with the city's Board of Health to update them on our discussions with Winnebago County on a possible merger. On Thursday, at 5:00 p.m., I will be attending th Chamco's 50 anniversary celebration at the EAA Museum. Council Members have also been invited to this event. If you plan on attending and would like the city to reserve you a spot, please th contact Jackie as soon as possible. On Friday, May 7, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending an event entitled, "The Poverty Plunge". The purpose of this meeting is to bring together various influential community members to discuss poverty issues in Oshkosh and what we, as a community, can do to address them. This is the inaugural meeting for this effort, and I believe that this will continue to be a subject of discussion amongst government, business and non-profit leaders for the foreseeable future. I will continue to report to Council on my participation with this group. Finally, just a reminder that I will be attending Professional Karl Nollenberger's class st on Saturday, May 1, to receive the initial report from his class on the 2010 budget survey. I will provide this to Council after I receive the final report. If you have any questions regarding any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me.