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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: January 7, 2011 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: DOGS IN PARKS REVISITED? 1.: In recent months, Parks Director Ray Maurer has received numerous complaints from an individual in the Sawyer Creek Park area, complaining about the conditions around the trail and adjoining Traeger School due to dog owners being allowed to walk their pets through this area. Mr. Maurer has learned from the School District that they do not permit dogs on their property, but this woman has complained that dog owners are ignoring this rule. The property owner seems to believe that dogs are allowed to roam the park without a leash and are leaving their waste without the owners picking it up. I cannot verify the accuracy of this statement. However, the resident feels strongly enough about this issue that she would like the city to reverse its action. Because the action to permit dog owners to walk their dogs in Sawyer Creek Park was initiated at the Parks Advisory Board, Parks Director Maurer will be bringing this th to them at their January 10 meeting. You may recall that this issue brought out both sides of this controversial issue. Mr. Maurer has this item on the Agenda for a discussion item, but no action is being requested at this time. I wanted the Council to be aware of this in case you hear about this issue from other sources. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Mr. Maurer. PROPERTY ACQUISITION IN QUARRY PARK AREA 2.: As the Council is aware, staff has been in the process of acquiring properties in the Quarry Park area as part of the methane remediation project that is underway. The Council may have received some correspondence from one of the property owners in the area, asking why his property is not included in property acquisition. Staff has been acquiring property based upon the recommendation of our environmental engineer, AECOM. There is a mistaken perception that we are acquiring properties because of potential methane gas concentrations. In reality, the reason we are acquiring the properties in question are that they are, in part, over the area that was previously the actual quarry/landfill. If any of these properties are over the former quarry/landfill, we have decided that it is in our best interest to acquire these properties in the event we need to do any additional remediation in the future. At no time have we considered purchasing any properties other than those that are over the old landfill. With respect to other comments made by this property owner that the city needs to move properties rather than tear them down, that information is incorrect and we have clarified this information with the owner. If you have any questions regarding our process to acquire these properties, please contact Public Works Director Dave Patek. Weekly Newsletter January 7, 2011 Page 2 th BID AWARD FOR COMPACT TRACTOR 3.: The Council may recall that at the December 28 Council Meeting, I requested that the Council lay over action on a potential bid award for the purchase of a compact tractor for the Street Division. At that time, there were several questions that I had regarding some of the bid specifications that were unable to be answered by staff at the time this bid award was being questioned. Rather than have these questions go unanswered, I requested that the item be pulled from the Agenda. This item was actually scheduled to be back on the January 11, 2011 Agenda. However, as I requested more information from staff, the information they received back from the various vendors was incomplete as well. While this is a general statement, when the information we requested was favorable to the vendor, they provided it in a timely fashion. However, when questions arose regarding areas that may not have worked to their advantage, we experienced little response, leaving us with continued unanswered questions. Rather than bring this information to Council in an incomplete fashion, I have directed staff to lay over this item until I'm satisfied that all of the questions that could be answered at a public meeting are adequately addressed for the Council and me. If you have any questions regarding our delay on this bid award, please do not hesitate to contact me. COMPLIMENTARY E-MAIL/LETTER 4.: Please find enclosed two pieces of correspondence I received regarding two of our city employees. It is always a pleasure to receive these types of compliments and I wanted to share them with you. The e-mail deals with the great experience a citizen had with our Plumbing Inspector, Paul Wolf. The letter sings the praises of our Housing Rehabilitation Specialist, Ken Gresser. Congratulations to these two employees for exemplifying excellent city service to our citizens. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 5.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include the hotel/motel room tax report for the month of November, 2010. I am also enclosing the latest edition of The Wisconsin Taxpayer, which talks about the implications of the new State Legislature. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the following: The stth minutes of the December 21 Plan Commission meeting; the minutes of the December 14 Traffic th Review Advisory Board meeting; the minutes of the December 6 Sustainability Advisory Board nd meeting; the minutes of the December 22 Transit Advisory Board meeting; the minutes of the st December 1 Long Range Finance Committee meeting; the meeting notice, agenda and th background material for the January 12 Parking Utility Commission meeting; the meeting notice, th agenda and background material for the January 11 Traffic Review Advisory Board meeting; and nd the minutes of the December 2 Museum Board meeting. MARTIN LUTHER KING BANQUET 6.: The annual Martin Luther King banquet and awards th ceremony is coming up on Monday, January 17, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., at Reeve Memorial Union on the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus. Our Police Department will be recognized during the ceremony. As a result, we are hoping for a great turn out of city representatives. Please call Jackie (236-5000) and let her know if you are interested in attending th so that she can make reservations. Reservations must be in by next Wednesday, January 12, so please call her before that time. Weekly Newsletter January 7, 2011 Page 3 th UPCOMING MEETINGS 7.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of January 10 include the thth following: On Monday and Tuesday, January 10 and 11, I will be in Milwaukee to attend a meeting of the International City/County Management Association. I will be back in time for the 6:00 p.m. City Council Meeting on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, at 1:30 p.m., I will be attending a meeting of the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission Economic Development Committee. On Thursday, at 8:00 a.m., I will be meeting with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce regarding upcoming events that the Chamber will be sponsoring in 2011 that may involve special event permits. On Thursday, at 10:00 a.m., I will be meeting with Council Member Steve Cummings to discuss concerns he has related to delinquent taxpayers. On Thursday, at 3:00 p.m., Public Works Director Dave Patek and I will be meeting with representatives of C. R. Meyer regarding the Olson Mills property on STH 91. We are working with them on land issues related to construction of roads in the industrial park, and the impact on the rail access to the Olson Mills property. On Friday, at 9:30 a.m., I will be attending a meeting at Renewegy at which Renewegy will be making a presentation to members of the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission on alternative energy. If you have any questions regarding my attendance at any of these meetings, please contact me. MAR/jdc