HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter
Date: July 16, 2010
To: Mayor & City Council
From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Subject:
WEDNESDAY STORM FOLLOW-UP
1.: As an attachment to this Newsletter, I am providing
the Council with an update and account of actions taken by staff during and following
Wednesday's afternoon and evening storms. The city had opened its Emergency Operations
Center at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday and closed it just after 1:00 a.m. early Thursday
morning. On Thursday, I spent a good amount of time meeting with the media and explaining
some of the causes of storm damage, similar to the presentation that I made to Council on Tuesday
evening prior to the storm. In short, the impact of the storm on the city's infrastructure had a short
term impact. As I've said previously, our historic lack of storm water facilities and the continued
inflow of storm water into our sanitary sewer systems have continued to impact neighborhoods
and homes, although not as widespread as previous storms. While the reports of basement
floodings were not as high as we had feared, I suspect that some of that is due to unreported
instances. I think the psychological factor is a considerable one, as many residents had a great
deal of anxiety over the flooded streets and the potential for flooding in their homes. Many people
were put on edge, which is understandable. I hope that this memo provides information the
Council may be able to use should you receive calls from residents. If staff can help in any way in
responding to requests for information that you receive, please do not hesitate to ask us.
STORM WATER GRANT UPDATE
2.: I attended a meeting of the East Central Wisconsin
Regional Planning Commission's Economic Development Committee this past week. I'm pleased
to report that the city and East Central will be cooperating on a grant that we have received from
the federal government as part of the Stimulus Package for storm water management. I believe I
reported on this earlier, but in case you don't remember, we have been awarded a $1,000,000 grant
to assist us in funding the James Road detention basin pond. This grant was awarded to us
because of the flooding issues facing us throughout the city, in this case, the Sawyer Creek area.
At Wednesday's meeting, East Central discussed managing a portion of this grant for us, given
their knowledge of this program and the assistance that they provided in getting the grant awarded
in the first place. We look forward to working with East Central as we make progress on this
storm water detention basin. As an update, staff is continuing to work on wetland delineations for
the subject area so that we can better identify the specific area we are looking to acquire in the
James Road/STH 91 area for this basin. If you have any questions, please contact Public Works
Director David Patek.
Mayor & City Council
July 16, 2010
Page 2
SPECIAL STORM PICK-UP
3.: As a follow-up to storm damage that may have occurred in
residential homes, the refuse department will be relaxing its rules on large item pick-ups that may
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have been damaged during Wednesday's storms. During the week of July 19, staff will be
picking up storm damaged items at no extra charge to residents. Residents are asked to leave these
items out on their regularly scheduled pick-up date. We have also been picking up today on a
request basis, and will continue this on an as-needed basis. If you have any questions, please
contact the Sanitation Division.
2009 AUDIT
4.: Included in your packet today is the Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year
ending December 31, 2009. We are again planning to have Schenck SC, the firm that completed
the audit, attend a Council Meeting to provide an overview of the audit results, as well as answer
any questions that you may have on the report. This presentation is tentatively scheduled for the
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July 27 Council Meeting. Please feel free to direct any questions you have, as you read the
document over, to Finance Director Peggy Steeno in advance of the meeting so that she can be
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prepared to fully answer your questions at the July 27 meeting.
DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES
5.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's
Newsletter include a letter from the Downtown BID Board, formally requesting funding from the
city in the amount of $50,000 to support beautification and revitalization efforts on Main Street.
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We will be placing this item on the July 27 Council Agenda. Insofar as minutes are concerned,
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I'm enclosing the minutes of the July 6 Plan Commission meeting; the minutes of the June 15
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Downtown BID Board meeting; and the minutes of the June 3 Museum Board meeting.
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UPCOMING MEETINGS
6.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of July 19 include the
following: On Monday, at 4:30 p.m., I will be meeting with residents of the area around the
Armory regarding storm water issues in their neighborhood. On Tuesday, at 7:30 a.m., I will be
attending a special meeting of the Board of Health. The main discussion item will be a proposal
prepared by the Winnebago County Department of Health regarding a possible merger of our
departments. On Tuesday, at 12:00 noon, I will be meeting with the Northwestern Editorial Board
to discuss the city's storm water management plans. Much of the information we will share will
be similar to my presentation at last Tuesday's Council Meeting. On Wednesday, at 3:00 p.m., I
will be meeting with staff to finalize items for the Strategic Plan that will be presented to Council
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at the August 10 meeting. On Thursday, July 22, at 7:00 a.m., I will be attending the Chamco
Board meeting. If you have any questions about my attendance at these meetings, please do not
hesitate to contact me.
MAR/jdc