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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: December 17, 2010 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: VACATION OF RATH LANE REQUESTED 1.: Council may recall that some of the preliminary work for the reconstruction of the USH 41/STH 21 interchange was to develop a reverse frontage road parallel to STH 21, immediately behind Robbins Restaurant and other businesses along the north side of STH 21. That reverse frontage road's access to STH 21 was moved east to line up with Oshkosh Avenue and its connection to Koeller Road. The end result was that the western most access of Rath Lane to STH 21 would no longer be used as a public road. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation had asked that the city not vacate this public right-of-way until the completion of the highway reconstruction so that they may use this area for staging purposes, which will enable them to save costs during the construction project. The properties adjoining this portion of Rath Lane are owned by Norm Mueller. Mr. Mueller would like to begin marketing this property, and is aware of the city's eventual plans to vacate this portion of Rath Lane. Mr. Mueller has asked that the city initiate the vacation process immediately so that he may assume ownership of this vacated right-of-way, and begin to market the properties as one. It is certainly staff's intent to eventually vacate this right-of-way, but we were willing to accommodate the DOT's request to save them and the taxpayers money as part of the USH 41/STH21 reconstruction. Mr. Mueller is insistent that he wants to sell these properties, believing that vacating the right-of-way will enable him to sell this property as a single unit. Acknowledging Mr. Mueller's insistence that the property be vacated as soon as possible, I am willing to st accommodate his request and will direct staff to begin the street vacation process after the 1 of the year. Please recognize that this will result in additional costs for the DOT whose contractors will need to identify other staging areas throughout this construction zone. If you have any questions regarding this planned vacation process, please contact me or Public Works Director Dave Patek. DRAFT GIFT POLICY 2.: Please find enclosed, under separate cover, City Attorney Lorenson's draft gift policy for your review. We are not requiring any action on the policy at this time, but wanted to get it to you so that you may have time to study the document. If you have any questions about the draft gift policy, please contact City Attorney Lorenson. Weekly Newsletter December 17, 2010 Page 2 SAB TO DISCUSS GOAL SETTING 3.: Sustainability Advisory Board Chair Justin Mitchell has informed me that at the SAB's January 3, 2011 meeting, they will be discussing annual goals for the committee, using the nearly completed Sustainability Plan as a guide. Mr. Mitchell asked me if the Council or I had any specific areas that we would like the SAB to look at and research. I had an opportunity to read the SAB's draft paper on recommendations for a sustainable government. Based upon my reading of that document, I suggested that it may be helpful if the SAB would summarize costs for investments in sustainability that are recommended in this paper. I have also suggested that the SAB provide an analysis to quantify the benefits of investments in sustainability both direct and indirect. Finally, given the fact that the SAB has never had a formal budget, and with their recommendation to create a sustainability coordinator position, I believe it may be appropriate for the SAB to develop a draft budget to achieve its sustainability goals. I have asked Finance Director Steeno to assist the SAB in preparing such a budget. If any Council Members have other items you would like to forward to the SAB, please let me know. It may also th be appropriate that the Council place this on the Agenda for discussion at your December 28 meeting. If any Council Member would like me to place this on the Agenda, please let me know and I will do so. If you have any other thoughts on this matter, please contact me or SAB Chair Justin Mitchell. INTERIM HEALTH OFFICER 4.: In recent weeks, I have been informed by the State Division of Public Health that the state has granted one final extension on the appointment of Mark Ziemer as Interim Public Health Officer for the city. Although we have been working closely with the state's liaison for this area regarding possible consolidation with Winnebago County, and possibly a full consolidation of all health departments within the county, the state indicated that they do not wish to grant an extension past the 15 months that Mr. Ziemer has served as Public Health Officer. The state cited the educational requirements and experience required of a Public Health Officer, and Mr. Ziemer does not qualify. However, having said that, I believe Mr. Ziemer has done a commendable job of managing the Public Health Division. The employees in the division have assisted Mr. Ziemer significantly in helping us meet our public health goals. The state indicated that if we do not have a "qualified" Public Health Officer in place by January 1, 2011, we are in danger of losing our Level 2 Health Department status. Staff estimates that we would lose between $5,000 and $10,000 annually in revenue if we were to be reduced to a Level 1 Health Department. While that loss of revenue is not significant, the process to be reinstated as a Level 2 Health Department may be more difficult. As a result, we are petitioning the state to designate one of our public health nurses whose skill set meets the state's definition of a Public Health Officer. Mr. Ziemer will remain as an administrative manager for the Health Division given his experience over the past year. I will provide the Council with updates on this issue once we hear back from the state on our request. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 5.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include two publications from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, the FOCUS Newsletter and The Wisconsin Taxpayer, which both deal with the state's budget. Insofar as th minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the folloing: The minutes of the December 7 Plan th Commission meeting; the minutes of the November 16 Downtown BID Board meeting; and the thth minutes of the November 5 and November 18 Library Board meetings. Weekly Newsletter December 17, 2010 Page 3 FOCUS ON ENERGY REBATES 6.: The proposed energy efficiency projects funded through the EECGB Program are expected to begin at various municipal buildings in January, 2011. Our General Services Department has been working with Focus on Energy/Wisconsin Public Service representatives to explore whether the proposed projects qualify for any energy efficiency rebates through the Focus on Energy Program. I'm pleased to report that Focus on Energy has notified us that the proposed implementation of our energy efficiency lighting projects is expected to provide an estimated $50,000 in rebates upon completion. These proposed lighting projects will be implemented at several municipal buildings including City Hall, the water distribution and wastewater utility buildings, fire stations, the Oshkosh Public Museum, the Oshkosh Public Library, and the Oshkosh Seniors Center. General Services has submitted the applications for these energy efficiency rebates to Focus on Energy. The rebates will be received upon completion of the projects. We anticipate the completion of these projects in May or June, 2011. It will be my intent to reinvest these rebates into additional energy efficiency projects. Should any of our proposed EECBG energy efficiency projects qualify for any other Focus on Energy Programs, I will let you know. If you have any questions concerning these rebates, please contact General Services Director Jon Urben. rdth UPCOMING MEETINGS 7.: Because City Hall will be closed on December 23, December 24, st and December 31, my formal meeting schedule will be light for the next two weeks. However, some of the meetings I have scheduled over the next two weeks include the following: On st Tuesday, December 21, I will be holding my weekly staff meeting one day earlier in order to nd accommodate the Agenda preparation schedule. Similarly, on Wednesday, December 22, at 9:00 a.m., I will be taping the semi-monthly City Manager's Report show. On Thursday, December rd 23, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending the monthly Chamco Executive Committee meeting. On th Wednesday, December 29, at 9:00 a.m., I will be present for the closing on the property on Westfield Drive for storm water management purposes. Because of the short work weeks over the holidays, I will not be preparing a Weekly Newsletter for the last two weeks of the year. If there are any items that require Council's attention, I will forward copies to you as needed. If you have any questions regarding my schedule for the next two weeks, please do not hesitate to contact me on my cell phone. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! MAR/jdc