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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: September 24, 2010 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: FOLLOW-UP TO HYBRID BUS UNVEILING 1.: The unveiling of our green hybrid buses to the streets of Oshkosh has certainly captured the attention of the public. I applaud Transportation Director Chris Strong's decision to make the buses stand out, as the mere view of the green bus has alerted people to the fact that we have the new buses in our fleet. Following the unveiling, Mr. Strong provided me with some additional information regarding the financing of the buses. As you know, we normally fund 20% of the purchase price of a bus. Had we purchased the hybrid buses under these conventional means, our share for these buses would have been approximately $424,000. Had we purchased conventional diesel buses, that cost would have been $296,000. As a result, we would have paid an additional $128,000 for the hybrid buses. Over the life of the hybrid buses, we estimate that we will save 86,000 gallons of diesel fuel. All other costs being equal, we will come out ahead if the diesel price is above $3.50 per gallon (this break-even price reflects that approximately 60% of our operating costs are recovered through federal/state grants). The "all other costs being equal" phrase is the operative word here. We expect that we will need to replace the battery set midway through the life of the hybrid buses. On the other hand, the hybrid buses' breaking systems generally last longer, and some other maintenace fees may be reduced as well. Based on the experience we've heard from the City of Madison, we expect that those costs may roughly cancel each other out. The bottom line is that under normal circumstances, the cost of the hybrid buses may be slightly more, but the benefits to the environment are more evident with the hybrid buses. The fact that we received 100% funding for this makes it a good financial decision at the local level. The debate over whether or not it makes sense from a larger federal view remains a constant subject of public debate. If you have any additional questions on our use of hybrid technology, please contact Transportation Director Strong. WORK SESSION WITH BOARD OF HEALTH RESCHEDULED 2.: After checking with th members of the Board of Health, it appears as though the September 28 Council Meeting was not going to work out for several Board Members, particularly Board Chair Stan Kline. As a result, I have rescheduled the Work Session between the Board of Health and the Council for the October 12, 2010 Council Meeting. This Work Session will begin at 5:00 p.m., as previously scheduled. th Please make note that there will be no Work Session at the September 28 meeting. Weekly Newsletter September 24, 2010 Page 2 UPDATE ON MAIN STREET RECONSTRUCTION 3.: As the heavy construction work on Main Street winds down, there remains a great deal of work that does not draw as much attention to the public. Specifically, work that needs to be completed prior to the opening of the 100 through 300 blocks include completing electrical conduits, sidewalk, traffic signals, street lights, tree plantings, and pavement markings. Unfortunately, pavement markings appear to be the biggest hold-up at this time. If you recall, we were planning to use a taped product to mark the pavement with traffic lines, etc. All observations with this new tape product are that it has not worked very well. Therefore, we have elected to go back to using traditional epoxy paint. The contractor has been balking about changing to the epoxy paint, so we have been addressing that issue, as we believe it is within the DOT's contract to make this change. Meanwhile, because most of the major construction equipment is gone, it looks as though the contractor has left the area completely. While this is true from a heavy construction standpoint, there remains small areas of work where the contractor is there, although not as visible as previously believed. I recognize the need to get all sections of Main Street opened as quickly as possible, and I will be working with the DOT's on-site engineer to get the 100 through 300 blocks open as soon as possible. The contractor hopes to complete the vast majority of the sidewalk and paved terrace within the next two weeks. All concrete pavement should be completed by the end of next week. Tree planting in th the 400 block is scheduled to begin the week of September 27. As shown from the enclosed project summary from the DOT's Project Manager, the project remains on schedule, with completion still expected near the end of October or early November. It should be noted that the contractor remains eligible for his early finish bonus at this time. Because of this, the contractor is going to make sure that things are completed satisfactorily so that he remains eligible for this bonus. If you have any questions regarding the status of this project, please forward them to Assistant Public Works Director Steve Gohde. RIVERSIDE PARK RIVER WALK 4.: A construction update meeting was held this week on the Riverside Park river walk. It looks like the completion of a significant portion of this project will occur at the end of October, with final restoration and landscaping completed in the first week of November. This is about three weeks behind schedule due to rainfall and other construction related issues that came up during the project. Our City Electrician, Dan Kussman, is trying to get an answer to when the light poles will be delivered as these are supposed to take about eight weeks from the time of the order, and we are hoping these arrive and are installed during the same timeframe. There is still storm sewer connection work, etc. that needs to take place behind the Convention Center, outside the fenced area. Construction workers will be opening the fence and working outside the fenced area during certain times to make these connections. Parks Director Ray Maurer has instructed the contractor to have the area behind the Convention Center in as good of condition as possible for the weekends. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Parks Director Ray Maurer. TH TRAFFIC SIGNAL AT WESTHAVEN & 9 TO BE TURNED OFF 5.: Earlier this year, a th temporary traffic signal was activated at Westhaven Drive and 9 Avenue due to the anticipated th increases in traffic on 9 Avenue while the Witzel Avenue overpass was being reconstructed. With the opening of the new Witzel Avenue overpass, this signal will be turned off this coming week. We plan to reactivate the signal when the Highway 21 interchange is under reconstruction during 2012, so the hardware will remain at the intersection through that time. If you have any questions on this, please contact Transportation Director Chris Strong. Weekly Newsletter September 24, 2010 Page 3 DEPARTMENT REPORTS & UPDATES 6.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include the latest issue of the FOCUS newsletter, published by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, which features an article on a new county tax issue. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm th enclosing the minutes of the September 7 Plan Commission meeting; the minutes of the August rdrd 23 Urban Wildlife Committee meeting; and the minutes of the August 23 Housing Authority meeting. The last item I'm enclosing is a letter from the U. S. Department of Interior to our Parks Director, informing him that as part of a water quality project on Lake Winnebago, the Department of Interior is placing a buoy on Lake Winnebago that will contain instruments to measure water quality and meteorological conditions. This buoy will be placed about three miles east of Oshkosh and will be installed after the ice-out in 2011. If you have any questions concerning this please contact Parks Director Ray Maurer. th UPCOMING MEETINGS 7.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of September 27 include th the following: On Monday, September 27, at 9:00 a.m., I will be meeting with our Personnel staff and insurance consultants regarding assumptions we will be making regarding health insurance costs for the 2011 budget. At 12:00 noon on Monday, I will be attending a meeting of the Chamber Governmental Affairs Committee in which a presentation of the Wisconsin Competitive Study will be given to members of the Chamber, OAEDC, and Chamco. On th Tuesday, September 28, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending a meeting of the Leadership Oshkosh Steering Committee. At 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, I will be meeting with staff regarding a review of bids we have received for our Energy Efficiency Block Grant projects. On Tuesday, at 1:30 p.m., th I will be meeting with Council Member Tower. On Wednesday, September 29, at 7:00 p.m., I will be participating in the United Way charity basketball game in which the Oshkosh Allstars (and I use that term loosely) will be facing the Harlem Ambassadors at North High School. Molly Butz from the Seniors Center and I will be representing the city in the Oshkosh All Star th contingent. On Thursday, September 30, at 2:00 p.m., I will be meeting with various governmental representatives who are preparing for the Leadership Oshkosh Government Day in November. On Thursday, at 3:00 p.m., I will be meeting with the staff that has been working with the Chamco Airport Industrial Park Subcommittee to discuss the draft concept plan. Our work will be to identify issues providing infrastructure to any future expansion of the Airport Industrial Park. At 5:30 p.m. Thursday, I will be attending the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation Donor Appreciation evening. The city will be joining several of the partners that were associated with putting together the Oshkosh Branding Study, and we will be recognized by the Foundation for st our work in that regard. Finally, on Friday, October 1, at 7:30 a.m., at the Delta Restaurant, I will be meeting with the chairs of our various boards and commissions. At our inaugural meeting, I will ask each of the respective board and commission chairs to familarize themselves with the work of the other groups in assisting the Council in your policy making role. If you have any questions about my attendance at any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc