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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: February 18, 2011 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: TH th 9 AVENUE BRIDGE CLOSING 1.: The 9 Avenue bridge over US 41 in Oshkosh will be th closed to all traffic for reconstruction beginning at 7:00 p.m. the night of Monday, February 28. th Demolition of the 9 Avenue bridge over US 41 is scheduled to occur during a period of three strd nights – Tuesday, March 1 through Thursday, March 3, between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. If another night is required to complete the demolition, that final night of demolition is thth scheduled for either Sunday night, March 6, or Monday night, March 7. During the nights of demolition, both US 41 northbound and US 41 southbound traffic will be directed to exit US 41 at th the 9 Avenue off ramps, and then return to US41 traffic utilizing the US 41 on ramps. All th ramps at 9 Avenue will be closed to traffic following completion of the final night of bridge thth demolition. The 9 Avenue bridge is scheduled to reopen around July 15, along with the northbound on and off ramps. CN RAILROAD UPDATE 2.: As of the writing of this Newsletter, I have yet to meet with representatives of the CN Railroad on preparations for the meeting with the Council at the March thnd 8 Workshop. I will update the Council at the February 22 meeting, at which time I can provide you with additional details. In the meantime, however, our plan for discussion at this meeting with CN will address issues related to the railroad along Broad Street. For example, the proposed Bike and Pedestrian Plan does call for some bike lanes in and around railroad tracks. We will bring these issues up so that we are at least making the railroad aware of what our intentions are with respect to these new bike lanes. We are also working with them on utility relocations, as well as coordinating any work south of the river with our industrial property owners. Mayor Esslinger has asked that he meet with the railroad to discuss the possibility of relocating a train from Green Bay down to Oshkosh. While no location has been identified for this rail engine, the Mayor would still like to see if CN would be willing to assist in transporting it to Oshkosh from Green Bay. The CN representative will be touch with the Mayor separately to discuss this item. The Mayor can proceed as he deems fit following his discussion with the railroad. CELEBRATION OF LIGHTS FEATURED ON "DISCOVER WISCONSIN": 3.Some of you may have seen "Discover Wisconsin", a television show featuring places and things of interest around the state. Oshkosh's own Celebration of Lights will be featured on next week's show. If th you are able, check it out on Saturday, February 26, at 10:00 a.m., on Fox Sports (Channel 40 on TWC), or at 6:30 p.m. on WFRV, Channel 5. Weekly Newsletter February 18, 2011 Page 2 FINANCIAL WOES FACING BUCKSTAFF 4.: Council Members may have seen an article in Thursday's Northwestern regarding financial difficulties faced by the Buckstaff Company. Some Council Members asked what the staff knew about any of these financial issues prior to the announcement in the paper. Staff had only been made aware of rumors that were circulating on Wednesday afternoon that Buckstaff's gas and electric service was shut off by WPS. That information we received third-hand, so we did not have any information available to confirm it. While I certainly want Council Members to be informed about things that may be impacting businesses and workers in the city, I also have an obligation not to pass around rumors that I cannot confirm or deny. Such was the case with the Buckstaff situation on Wednesday afternoon. In some circumstances, federal law requires that an employer notify the city when they are laying off a large number of people. This situation did not apply in Buckstaff's case, therefore, no notice was required, nor was any notice provided to the city. Mr. Davis finally had an opportunity to speak with Marty Cowie of Buckstaff late yesterday, and Mr. Cowie still held hope that he was going to be able to work through some financial restructuring with the banks that would enable him to reopen. I cannot verify if that is possible. With respect to the city's water and sewer utilities, it is our practice not to shut off these utilities, as the city always has recourse to collect unpaid water and sewer utility bills through the property tax lien process. Furthermore, we tend not to shut off utilities so that fire protection remains available to any of these buildings in question. I will continue to provide Council with updates with facts and information that we consider pertinent for the Council to know about. Having said that, please be aware that I feel it would be irresponsible for me to pass along rumors about any business in the city. My obligation is to pass along facts to Council, and I will hesitate to forward any such information to Council unless I am certain that the information I'm providing you is reliable. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. ATC POWER LINE RELOCATION 5.: Based upon input I received from Council Members, there is an item on the Agenda to discuss ATC's plans to relocate some power lines along the Fox River, particularly in the River Mill area. Based upon what some Council Members have told me, some residents of the River Mill area may come to the Council Meeting to ask for the Council's intervention on this matter. As I've mentioned previously, the city does not have authority over ATC, as they are regulated by state law. I'm not sure if Council has been provided with this information but, we have been notified by ATC that they are planning to defer construction work of upgrading this power line along the river for the time being. I'm not sure of the exact reasons, as they have cited "project scheduling and other administrative issues" as being the reason for deferring this work. We will try to provide as much information as possible or seek to get answers based upon discussions that take place at Tuesday's meeting. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 6.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include the Agricultural Impact Statement (AIS) for the James Road Storm Water Detention Basin. If you have any questions concerning this document, please contact our Storm Water Engineering Specialist James Rabe. I am also enclosing the Health Department's 2010 th Annual Report, along with the minutes of the October 27 Board of Health meeting. Weekly Newsletter February 18, 2011 Page 3 st UPCOMING MEETINGS 7.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of February 21 include the st following: On Monday, February 21, at 10:00 a.m., I will be meeting with Public Works Director Patek to prepare for Tuesday's Workshop regarding standard road widths. On Tuesday, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending the Leadership Oshkosh Steering Committee meeting. At 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, I will be addressing the Oshkosh Optimist Club meeting at City Center Hotel. th On Thursday, February 24, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending the Community Civility Breakfast at the Convention Center. If any of you plan to attend and haven't contacted Jackie, please do so as th soon as possible. On Friday, February 25, at 7:00 a.m., I will be attending the Oshkosh Morning Rotary meeting to address that organization. Finally, at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, I will be meeting with Justin Mitchell, Chairman of the Sustainability Advisory Board, to coordinate efforts on providing support and communication to the SAB on a regular basis. If you have any questions regarding any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc