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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: October 1, 2010 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: 1.MAYOR ESSLINGER'S FATHER PASSES AWAY : I regret to inform you that Mayor Esslinger's father, Joseph Esslinger, passed away early this morning. At this time, funeral arrangements are underway, but Mayor Esslinger informed me that the funeral will likely take place on Tuesday. I wanted to give you advance notice and suggest that you look in this weekend's newpaper for more details on the funeral arrangements. Joseph Esslinger was a long time firefighter for the City of Oshkosh, starting his career in 1959 and retiring as a Lieutenant for the Oshkosh Fire Department in 1987. On behalf of the Council and staff, I pass along our condolences to Mayor Esslinger and his family. 2.BOARD & COMMISSION CHAIRS HOLD INAUGURAL MEETING : This morning, I had the opportunity to meet with the Chairs of 14 of our city's boards and commissions. At this inaugural meeting, it was my goal to introduce the Chairs to each other and familiarize each other with the work each group performs. I also wanted to use this opportunity to go over the results of the boards & commissions survey with each of the Chairs. All of the Chairs in attendance were very engaged and involved in our discussions, and we ended up talking very little about specific issues with our boards and commissions. Rather, we talked about the results of the boards and commissions survey, and governance issues that were flowiong from the survey results. The respective Chairs were very much in agreement that orientation for board members was needed. Currently, this orientation varies by boards and commissions. The key elements that the Chairs felt would be appropriate for an orientation would be a one-on-one meeting with the primary staff person and/or department head for the committee, a discussion of any by-laws or rules of the committee, and the role or charge of the committee. A good deal of discussion took place regarding parameters for continued membership on a committee, particularly as it relates to attendance. Similar to the results of this survey, there was a great deal of division on the issue of term limits for boards and commissions. When I produce the final notes from this meeting, I will try to share each of the different perspectives that were offered on this topic. Among some of the other topics discussed were conflicts of interest for committee members and diversity of membership on committees, which focused on skill sets moreso than demographics. Weekly Newsletter October 1, 2010 Page 2 Another discussion point had to do with the recruitment of boards and commissioners. I will be working with my secretary Jackie on ways in which we can increase the awareness of membership on boards and commissions, as well as keeping applicants for boards and commissions aware of vacancies. It was the concensus that boards and commissioners would like to know, in advance, when their term is expiring. Lastly, they welcomed input from the Mayor and Council Members, and felt that this group should meet twice annually to share information. It was hoped that we could schedule another similar meeting following the April, 2011 election. I will be producing notes from this meeting that I will share with Council Members as well as the respective Chairs. Please look out for those notes and contact me if you have any questions. 3.FINAL 2010 BOND SALE FOR 2010 CIP PROJECTS – STORM WATER UTILITY : I am pleased to report that the borrowings the city executed earlier this week for water and sewer utilities, as approved by the Council at your meeting last Tuesday, were again extremely favorable. As was done last year and earlier this year, the issues were offered as both a traditional tax exempt bond and a Build America Bond (BAB). All three of the bids received for each of the issues utilized the BAB option rather than the tax exempt option, proving that the BAB option remains the more favorable option. As noted in an earlier communication, last year's undertakings 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 Obigation 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), the 10 year new money issue coming in at 1.983% (compared to 2.41% in 2009), and the Storm Water Revenue issue sold earlier this month coming in at 2.91%. Comparing the general obligation bond rates with the revenue bond issues, 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 water and sewer revenue bonds came in at 2.93% and 2.91% respectively. These are outstanding rates, being among the lowest for revenue bonds in at least 35 years! Due to these low rates, the city will save on interest costs over the life of the loans. These results will be worked into the rate studies that staff is currently working on to determine how much the water and sewer utilities need to increase their rates in 2011. While these interest rates will help us manage our costs, please recall 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. We hope to be able to provide you additional information on these potential rate increases yet this fall. Please contact Finance Director Steeno or me if you have any questions or would like additional information on any of these debt issues. th 4.RESIDENTIAL CREDIT FOR STORM WATER FEE : At the August 24 Council Meeting, Mr. David Reamer had requested that the city finish its work on a policy for credits for the storm water fee for residential properties. Public Works staff has received a draft from AECOM and th plans to bring this to Council at your October 26 meeting. Please find enclosed the letter I sent to st Mr. Reamer as I had indicated that I would provide him an answer by October 1. If you have any questions about this upcoming issue, please feel free to contact me. Weekly Newsletter October 1, 2010 Page 3 5.CITY HONORED AS PARTNER IN PHILANTHROPY : At last evening's donor appreciation program of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, the Foundation recognized community partners who were involved in the studies that resulted in the community visioning plan, and the newly unveiled Oshkosh brand. In addition to the city, partners from the Convention & Visitors Bureau, Lutheran Homes, Oshkosh Northwestern, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Chamber of Commerce, Affinity Health Systems, PROPEL, and the Community Foundation were all recognized for their role in the preparation of the visioning and branding plans. In recognition for our participation, the Community Foundation will be placing a plaque in one of the "Taking Root" planted areas in Rainbow Park. The city also received a framed certificate, thanking us for our participation. After the awards presentation, Council Member Herman suggested that recognitions for the entire city organization should be put in a more visible location. We currently place a lot of these plaques, etc. in our lobby near the Collections area. Council Member Herman suggested that it may be more appropriate to place them on the fourth floor of City Hall so that the public may view these recognitions while they are attending public meetings. Staff will look into this so that we can provide greater awareness of things we do in and around the community. 6.EECBG UPDATE : As the Council is aware, the Council received approximately $634,000 in Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant (EECBG) funds as part of the Federal Stimulus Package. Staff used initial funds to hire McKinstry, a nationally recognized firm that specializes in energy efficiency, to assist us in preparing a list of projects that were worthy of stimulus funds. McKinstry prepared a detailed list of potential energy efficiency projects and identified the return on investment for these projects. Staff prepared a priority list of projects that placed highest priority on return on investment. These projects are currently being assembled into a bid specification package that will be distributed within the next couple of weeks. I expect that bids will be open later this month and Council will be able to award bids in November. If all goes well, these projects should be completed by May 1, 2011. Staff will be providing this list of projects to the Sustainability Advisory Board as well. Some SAB members felt that a project should be put out into the community for residential solar panels, etc. While there may be some value to doing this, given the limited funds we were awarded from the federal government, I felt it was appropriate to invest our grant funds in projects that provide a benefit for all taxpayers in the community. Our return on investment will be much greater than what might otherwise go into a single residential project. If you have any questions regarding the work associated with our EECBG program, please contact General Services Director Jon Urben. 7.MONEY SMART WEEK : Please find enclosed a brochure regarding one of the programs associated with Money Smart Week, a program that is being promoted by our local United Way. Money Smart Week will sponsor several programs and events throughout the community to make the public aware of being more careful and informed consumers of their own money. Our Oshkosh Public Library system and Seniors Center are both partners in sponsoring events at their respective facilities. I encourage Council Members to review the Money Smart and see ways in which we are trying to educate the community on financial literacy. If you have an opportunity, I encourage you to attend some of these events. Weekly Newsletter October 1, 2010 Page 4 8.TRANSIT ADVISORY BOARD TO CONSIDER FREE RIDES FOR DISABLED VETS : A couple of weeks ago, I had forwarded to Council a suggestion from a resident that Oshkosh consider an initiative that Green Bay put forward to offer free transit rides to disabled veterans. You may have heard that the City of Green Bay began this program today. Based on feedback that I received from some Council Members, I asked Transportation Director Chris Strong to research the Green Bay program and what it may mean to us. Mr. Strong estimates that the city would lose about 1% in fare box revenue, which would mean a loss of $4,800 in fare box revenue, as well as an additional $6,500 in accompanying state and federal aid. Mr. Strong's plan is to run it by the Transit Advisory Board for their review. If the Board is supportive of this suggestion, they will forward it to Council. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Transportation Director Chris Strong. 9.DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES : Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include a memo from Public Works Director David Patek regarding this year's fall yard waste and leaf collection. As you can see, the attached ad will begin running in the newspaper within the next few weeks, and can also be found on Community Access TV and the city's website. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the following: The minutes of the stth September 21 Plan Commission meeting; the minutes of the September 8 Board of Appeals th meeting; the minutes of the September 13 Sustainability Advisory Board meeting; and the th minutes of the September 8 Parking Utility Commission meeting. The last item I'm enclosing is Museum Director Brad Larson's memo to the Museum Board, notifying them of the Museum's activities over the last week. th 10.UPCOMING MEETINGS : Meetings I have scheduled for the week of October 4 include the following: At 8:15 a.m. on Monday, I will be on WOSH radio with Bob Brunell. This is normally the time in which the Mayor speaks with Mr. Brunell and I periodically accompany him. Due to th the death of the Mayor's father, I will be on air by myself. On Wednesday, October 6, at 12:00 noon, I will be attending a meeting of the Northeast Wisconsin Realtors Association. On Thursday morning, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending a meeting of the West Side Association at LaSure's Banquet Hall at which Mr. Gregory Pierce, a portfolio manager for Reinhardt Partners, Inc. will be making a presentation entitled, "Economic Insights". On Friday, at 7:00 a.m., I will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Community Breakfast. If you have any questions regarding my attendance at any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc