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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: September 17, 2010 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: SAFETY AT ROUNDABOUT CROSSINGS As a follow-up to the discussion at Wednesday's 1. : Council Meeting, I wanted to brief the Council on what staff is doing to address safety issues for pedestrians and bicyclists in and around roundabouts. The Police Department reports that its enforcement efforts have improved the behavior of the motoring public that are using roundabouts. The Police Department believes that there are sufficient rules in place to address problems at roundabouts, such as citing motorists for failing to drive at a safe speed. The number of accidents has gone down, and none of the accidents noted so far have involved any pedestrians. Having said that, the Police Department still believes that pedestrian safety is an item that we must continue to monitor. What we do not want to do is overreact and cause further safety problems. With respect to Council Member Poeschl's inquiry about a second crossing near the Witzel roundabout, these are actually ramps so that bicyclists can exit and re-enter the street just before and after roundabouts. They are not pedestrian crossings. In order to continue addressing pedestrian safety issues, we will work with our Media Services Division to produce additional informational pieces to highlight the main safety issues raised by law enforcement, specifically, entering and exiting the roundabout at a safe speed, proper yielding to the left, and being on the lookout for pedestrians in and around the roundabout. With respect to pedestrian/bicycle safety, I am certainly willing to assemble a group of stakeholders to discuss pedestrian/bike safety issues associated with roundabouts. If you think that this idea has some merit, and/or if you know of someone who may be a contributing stakeholder at such a discussion, please let me know. PRELIMINARY REPORTS INDICATE FREEZE IN STATE SHARED REVENUES :This 2. past week, Finance Director Peggy Steeno received a notice from the State Department of Revenue regarding estimated state shared revenue and expenditure restraint revenues for 2011. It appears as though the city will be receiving virtually the same amount that we did in 2010. The actual amount varies downward approximately $10,000, but reflects the uncertainty over where state aid to local governments will be in 2011, hence, the virtual freeze in revenues. With state shared revenue being our second largest revenue source, this will obviously have an impact on our ability to balance the budget with continued costs increasing on the personnel side. I just wanted to give Council this preliminary information so that you are aware of what we are facing as we are reviewing department budgets and making recommendations for 2011. Weekly Newsletter September 17, 2010 Page 2 ANOTHER UNPRECEDENTED BOND SALE - STORM WATER UTILITY I am pleased 3. : to report that the borrowing the city executed earlier this week for the Storm Water Utility, as approved by the City Council at your meeting on Wednesday, was extremely favorable. As was done last year and earlier this year, the issue was offered as both a traditional tax exempt bond, and a Build American Bond (BAB). All of the five bids received utilized the BAB option rather than the tax exempt option, proving that the BAB option remains more favorable. If you recall, last year's borrowings were also favorable, at that time being the lowest rates the city had received in at least 25 years. This year's rates on the General Obligation offerings were even lower, with the 20-year new money issue coming in at an interest rate of 2.885% (compared to 3.21% in 2009), and the 10-year new money issue coming in at 1.983% (compared to 2.41% in 2009). Comparing these general obligation bond rates with this week's storm water revenue bonds, we would typically see an increase in rates of approximately .25% due to the type of borrowing (revenue debt backed by utility revenues versus general obligation debt backed by property taxes). However, this week's storm water revenue bonds came in at 2.91%, only .02% higher than the earlier general obligation offering. This is an outstanding rate, the lowest the city has received for revenue bonds in at least 35 years! Due to these low rates, the city was able to downsize the bonds (reduce the amount borrowed) by $195,000, and will also save interest costs over the life of the loan. In addition to the low interest rates, Ehlers, our financial advisors, has estimated the interest savings of BAB's, rather than the traditional tax exempt method, at approximately $750,000 over the life of the loans. These results will be worked into the analysis of the current financial position of the Storm Water Utility that the Finance staff is completing to determine if we can lower the proposed 2011 rate increase for the Utility. While these interest rates will help us with that analysis and to manage our costs, we have to remember that the rates need to be at a certain level to support the required debt coverage ratio (net revenues divided by annual debt service payment) outlined in our bond convenants. As such, our analysis will ensure that this coverage requirement is met. With this deal wrapping up, and the earlier four general obligation offerings now fully complete, we will be turning our attention to the upcoming water and sewer borrowings that will be th presented to you at the September 28 Council Meeting. Please contact Finance Director Steeno or me if you have any questions, or would like additional information on this issue or the upcoming issues. FAULTY WATER METERS TO BE REPLACED : The city's Water Distribution Division has 4. been informed from its meter vendor that approximately 460 meters owned by the city may have developed small leaks on the meters. The meter vendor is replacing these meters at no cost to us, as well as reimbursing us for the cost to reinstall the new meters. The Water Distribution staff has determined that the most effective way to replace these meters is to have city staff do it on the weekends. Please find enclosed the notice that we are providing to the residences where these meters are located. We will be scheduling appointments with each of these residences so that we may replace these on Saturdays. In the event you hear something from one of our water customers, we wanted you to be aware of the situation and what we are doing to remedy it. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Water Distribution Superintendent Jack Reichenberger. Weekly Newsletter September 17, 2010 Page 3 JOINT WORKSHOP WITH HEALTH ADVISORY BOARD REGARDING MERGER : As 5. I had mentioned at Wednesday's Council Meeting, the Health Advisory Board (HAB) is interested in meeting with Council to brief you on the work done by the HAB in reviewing a possible merger of the City of Oshkosh Health Division with the Winnebago County Health Department. You may recall that the HAB had prepared a list of questions for the Winnebago County Health Department to respond to regarding operational, policy, and personnel issues that may arise as a result of the merger. I am enclosing that listing. During the Board's discussion, they wanted to know if the Council had provided any feedback to either Council Member Herman or me regarding the status of these discussions. We reported that so far, the Council had not any formal discussion, nor have I had any specific feedback from Council on the subject. The Board felt that it would be appropriate to get feedback from the Council to make sure that they are on the right track in terms of investigating this issue. The Board also acknowledged that while the scope of their responsibility does not involve financial issues, financial issues will certainly be a major factor in a possible merger. Because this discussion has gone on longer than anyone had anticipated, the Board wanted feedback before they proceed any further. For that reason, the Board would like to meet with the Council as soon as practical, recognizing that the Council will be meeting in October to discuss the 2011 budget. It seems that the most appropriate time to have th a Workshop would be at the next Council Meeting on Tuesday, September 28. I believe the meeting will take no longer than 30-45 minutes. Therefore, I am suggesting that the Council hold a Workshop at 5:00 p.m. in Room 404, after which Council can have some time before the 6:00 p.m. Council Meeting. If you feel that you will not be able to make this earlier meeting, please advise me. As always, if you have any questions regarding this issue, please do not hesitate to contact me. CITY CENTER PARKING RAMP ELEVATOR : The improvements to the City Center 6. parking ramp elevator were completed today, one week ahead of schedule. The elevator passed all inspections and is now operational. As you may recall, the hydraulic jack replacements could have included many costs that could not be determined until work actually commenced on the site. As such, our consultant projected these improvements could range from $40,000-$90,000. Fortunately, the site conditions did not require any additional work, and we were able to minimize the costs to the original base bid of $35,500. Coupled with our consultant fee from Performance Elevator Consulting, I estimate the total costs for this project will be approximately $40,000. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact General Services Director Jon Urben. USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN : At Wednesday's Council Meeting, the attorney representing the 7. Radloffs raised issues regarding the city proving the necessity for the storm water detention pond. While I believe that staff has more than adequately demonstrated this, the attorney's comments attempted to put doubt in Council Member's minds if we were acting within state statutes. Attorney Lorenson did some research and found some compelling evidence that favors the city's position on this issue. The enclosed legal review comes from a Court of Appeals decision that involves, ironically, a roundabout. The statute covering eminent domain for public purposes is the same, so this information applies equally to roadways, as well as storm water detention areas. Weekly Newsletter September 17, 2010 Page 4 The summary statements from the Court of Appeals clearly support our position. Under Paragraph 3, on Page 2, the Court states that, "The necessity of a condemnation will be upheld absent a showing of fraud, bad faith, or a gross abuse of discretion". It further states that "… A review in court may find a gross abuse of discretion where there is 'utter disregard for the necessity of the use of the land', or where 'the land is taken for an illegal purpose'". Finally, the opinion also states on Page 3 that, "Wisconsin courts have explicity upheld that the determination of necessity will be upheld if there is any reasonable ground to support it". Clearly, all of the work and funds that have been spent by the city to identify potential locations of storm water detention ponds meet and exceed this requirement. As I stated at Wednesday's meeting, staff is diligently working toward identifying solutions to address storm water problems. The fact that a property owner may disagree with us on wanting to acquire their property does not give them the right to second guess valid engineering reviews that have been undertaken by the city. I believe that the Radloff's attorney is aware of this, which is why I believe they are creating these smokescreens of arguments against our findings. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact City Attorney Lorenson or me. JAMES ROAD DETENTION POND, PART II 8.: Please find cnclosed a letter that I received from Doral Kemper, the gentlemen who addressed the Council at Wednesday's meeting regarding options for storm water management in Sawyer Creek. I've had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Kemper on several occasions, and I appreciate his initiative and interest in addressing issues in the Sawyer Creek watershed area. Mr. Kemper raises some interesting points about addressing storm water issues in an agricultural setting. In fact, many of his findings are still debated today among his peers. While I believe that there may arguably be some scientific merit to what he is discussing, the logistics of getting agreement from farmers in the agricultural community is an enormous undertaking. In fact, I believe that Mr. Kemper spent his entire career trying to reach concensus in the agricultural community on these issues, so I do not believe that the City of Oshkosh can resolve these issues in a short period of time. Finally, we need to remember that we have many more projects to complete in this watershed, so deferring action on early projects is not recommended, especially when we still need more replacement projects for Westhaven. I would point out that Mr. Kemper suggested that even if the storm water retention plan has gone so far that this project cannot be stopped, setting up a meeting to assess the acceptability and feasibility of drainage alternatives may be appropriate. I am certainly open to having these types of discussions, but I do point out that this would require the involvement of the county agricultural office, as the city has no jurisdiction over farmers regarding storm water runoff on their farms. This is precisely why the city needs to look at storm water ponds in these outlying areas, as there is lack of agreement in the agricultural community on how to address these issues. I provide Mr. Kemper's comments as background about the issue, but feel that this issue remains in the jurisdiction of Winnebago County to properly address. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES : Other items I'm enclosing with today's 9. Newsletter include a letter from the Winnebago County Labor Council, thanking the City Council for the use of South Park for their Annual Labor Day Picnic. Insofar as minutes are concerned, thth I'm enclosing the minutes of the August 5 Museum Board meeting; the minutes of the August 9 th Advisory Park Board meeting; and the minutes of the August 17 Downtown BID Board meeting. Weekly Newsletter September 17, 2010 Page 5 th UPCOMING MEETINGS :Meetings I have scheduled for the week of September 20 include 10. the following: On Monday, at 3:00 p.m., I will be meeting with Eileen Connolly-Keesler of the Community Foundation to get an update on projects currently being undertaken by the Foundation. On Tuesday, at 10:30 a.m., I will be attending the unveiling of our new hybrid buses. This unveiling will take place at the Transit Center on Pearl and Market Street and all Council Members are invited. On Tuesday, at 11:00 a.m., I will be meeting with facilities staff to review the bid schedule for the projects associated with our Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant nd allocation as part of the Stimulus Package. On Wednesday, September 22, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending a meeting of the OAEDC Board of Directors. On Wednesday, at 6:30 p.m., I will be participating in a United Way fundraiser in which Oshkosh All Stars (I use that term loosely) will be taking on the Harlem Ambassadors in a charity basketball game. If all goes well, I will be able to report to work Thursday morning with minimal trauma to my body. On Thursday morning, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending a Chamco Board of Directors meeting. Finally, at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, I will be meeting with staff to discuss the findings of an assessment of all parking lots owned by the city. If you have any questions about my attendance at any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc