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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: January 21, 2011 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: ELMWOOD PEDESTRIAN MALL PROJECT TIMING 1.: As you may be aware, at Tuesday's Plan Commission meeting, the Commission forwarded a recommendation to the Council to permit the creation of the pedestrian mall in the area of Elmwood Avenue, between Irving and Lincoln, as requested by the University. The Council will recall that at your previous meeting, you wanted a Workshop to discuss the issue with the Plan Commission before you took final action. The Plan Commission discussed this issue at length (I encourage you to view it on OCMS) and felt that they should move on their recommendation to Council and discuss it with you at the Workshop. At that time, Council could decide, based on your discussons with the Plan Commission and the th public input at the hearing on February 8, whether or not you should proceed with the creation of a pedestrian mall. Community Development Director Davis has prepared the attached schedule that identifies the next steps in the process. If you have any questions on this schedule, please contact Community Development Director Allen Davis. CITY CENTER HOTEL UPDATE 2.: Please find enclosed a memo that provides the Council with current information regarding the status of the City Center Hotel. Mayor Esslinger and I met with Mr. Nash Gill last week. Mr. Gill was in town through last Tuesday, and while he was here, he met with several people and discussed the status of the hotel from his perspective. The purpose of my memo is to clarify my thoughts on where this project stands. Mr. Gill informed the Mayor and me that he would be making a decision on what to do with the hotel by the end of February. He informed others that a decision would be reached in mid-March. In any event, please review my update and contact me if you have any questions. COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT IMPROVEMENT PROCESS 3.: As part of implementing the goals of our Strategic Plan to improve processes to facilitate development, Community Development Director Davis is assembling a group of stakeholders in the commercial development community to meet with city staff that are involved in the development review process. The purpose of the group will be to recommend improvements to our review process. We have asked Mr. Tom Grogan, a Special Project Coordinator at UW-O Chancellor Wells' office, to serve as a facilitator for this process. Mr. Grogan met with staff this week to go over what we hope to achieve in meeting with stakeholders. We will keep Council informed as we make progress in this effort. Please contact Mr. Davis if you have any questions. Weekly Newsletter January 21, 2011 Page 2 RDA TO FORM IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE 4.: At last month's RDA meeting, the RDA Board authorized staff to seek out property owners and other stakeholders in the South Shore Redevelopment Area to create an "Implementation Committee" that would be charged with recommending actions to begin implementing elements of the South Shore Redevelopment Plan. The goal would be to prioritize projects so that they may be programmed into the CIP, and to determine the interest of property owners in investing in the property. Ideally, one objective would be to fit in the RDA plans with eventual development of the former Pioneer Inn property. Additionally, a development that may impact plans in the area is the possibility that CN Railroad may replace and relocate their railroad bridge over the Fox River as early as this summer (see item below). We will keep the Council informed as this RDA Implementation Committee takes shape. CN PROPOSES TO RELOCATE BRIDGE 5.: The Canadian National Railroad (CN) is developing plans to replace the pre-1900 railroad swing bridge crossing the Fox River east of Main Street. The existing bridge has experienced mechanical failures more frequently in recent years, not allowing the bridge to open or close. The existing bridge also forces the railroad to reduce train speeds when crossing. CN is currently proposing to replace the swing bridge with a single span lift bridge approximately 40' east of the existing bridge. The bridge is proposed to shift east to minimize the time the river crossing will be closed to train traffic. Staff has met with the railroad to discuss the impact of the railroad track alignment change on Broad Street and Pioneer Drive, including potential utility conflicts. Please find enclosed some renderings provided to us by CN. We are also concerned about the impact of the track/bridge relocation on the adjoining neighborhood, even if the tracks are relocated within the CN right-of-way. Staff will continue to meet with CN to minimize the impact to the city's streets and utilities. OSHKOSH'S "TAKING ROOT" CAMPAIGN WINS AWARD 6.: Please find enclosed a letter from the Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council, announcing that the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, the City of Oshkosh, and Ranger Services, Inc. have been selected to receive the Forestry Council's award for Project Partnership for our Taking Root Program. As you can see from the letter, the award will be presented to the city at appropriate events within the community. STREY PROPERTY REZONING ON HOLD 7.: Planning staff is requesting the withdrawl of the zone change request (from M-3 to R-3PD) involving the Strey property along Osborn Avenue th that was at public hearing on January 11 (Ordinance #11-02), and scheduled for final action on th January 25. The zone change request was a staff-initiated zone change tied to the adjacent zone change to R-3PD involving the Gabert and Rusch property at the corner of Osborn Avenue and Mason Street. Staff initiated the zone change request over concerns of allowing new residential development next to manufacturing-zoned land, although residential is the recommended land use in the Comprehensive Plan. The property and neighbors in the adjacent subdivision (Huntington Downs) have expressed opposition to the zone change as well. Gabert and Rusch had started working on engineering plans to construct the apartment development, but due to utility conditions, and the potential that the project is unfeasible for residential, the project is currently on hold. Weekly Newsletter January 21, 2011 Page 3 With this uncertainty for the future development of the area, staff is requesting the withdrawl of the zone change request at this time. When and if staff chooses to reinitiate the zone change, it will follow again through the Plan Commission process, with notices sent to the property owner and neighbors. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Director of Planning Services Darryn Burich. CITY HALL LOBBY PROJECT 8.: Next time you stop by City Hall, take an extra minute to spend some time in the lobby area of the first floor. As you come through the main doors of City Hall, you will see the updated City of Oshkosh Informational Display Area. The new features of this area include an updated community section; a "Stay Connected" section, listing media tools for citizens to stay informed on city issues; a "What's New" section, with video and print materials of current city projects and activities; and an organizational chart of city departments and divisions. The centerpiece of the display includes a monitor at which various public service annoucements and other programming put on by OCMS is available for the public's general information. The idea is that it will encourage people to tune into City Cable 10 or the city's webside to view this information on a regular basis. The "What's New" section will be updated regularly on different city topics and will provide handouts for citizens to take with them. Currently, information on the city's snowplowing routes is available. There is also information about the city's departments, with a more modern-looking organizational chart, accompanied by various photos of city operations and actions. This updated area will be a great first stop to provide City Hall visitors an overview of our community and city government. A special thanks to the Oshkosh Public Museum, Facilities Maintenance, Media Services, and the Electric Division for all of their hard work on this great project. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 9.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include two FOCUS newsletters, published by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, regarding the state's fiscal progress. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the minutes thth of the January 11 Traffic Review Advisory Board meeting; the minutes of the January 12 th Parking Utility Commission meeting; and the minutes of the December 27 Housing Authority meeting. th UPCOMING MEETINGS 10.: The meetings I have scheduled for the week of January 24 include th the following: On Tuesday, January 25, at 9:00 a.m., I am meeting with county representatives to discuss the possible health merger (note: this was rescheduled from this past week). At 10:30 a.m. that day, I am meeting with OAEDC Director Rob Kleman on current business recruitment activities. On Wednesday, at 11:00 a.m., I will be making a presentation to the Youth Leadership Oshkosh group on their "Government Day". At 5:00 p.m., I will be attending an informational meeting presented by the Wisconsin DOT with residents and businesses on the impact of the th reconstruction of the 9 Avenue bridge interchange this year. This is a public meeting that will be held at the County Highway Garage on CTH Y. At 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, I will be attending the bi-monthly Chamco Board meeting. Weekly Newsletter January 21, 2011 Page 4 Finally, on Friday, I will be attending a meeting of the Urban Alliance Committee in Madison. Due to a consolidation of the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities into the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, an Urban Alliance Committee was created to address the specific needs of larger cities. Governor Scott Walker has accepted an invitation to address our group. We expect that Governor Walker will address the potential impact of the upcoming Wisconsin state budget on cities. Please find enclosed information from the Urban Alliance on this visit. I will update the Council following this meeting. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding my attendance at any of these meetings. MAR/jdc