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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: April 21, 2011 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: th COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS ON CITY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS : On April 7, Mayor 1. Tower sent out a memo regarding the Council's service on the city's boards, commissions, th committees and authorities. Council service on all of the boards before April 19 was listed. Due to the uncertainty of the Council election, and the need for continuity on our various committees, I would suggest that all Council service on the boards continue as is until the seventh Council Member is determined. This means that this month, boards such as the Transit Advisory Board and Plan Commission will meet without a Council Member's input and vote. Once the full Council is seated, Mayor Tower will make his recommendations on appointments, taking into consideration the feedback he has received from you regarding the committees on which you th would like to serve. We have placed an appointments resolution on the April 26 Council Agenda, and as you can see, we are filling vacancies that need to be filled immediately, including Mayor Tower's appointment to the Redevelopment Authority, which, by law, states that the current Mayor must serve on this board. I am again enclosing Mayor Tower's memorandum from th April 7 for your further review and the review of the new Council Members. If you have any questions on any of these Council appointments, please feel free to contact Mayor Tower. CITY SEEKS INPUT ON PARKS & RECREATION FACILITIES : Please find enclosed the 2. survey that our Parks Department is distributing to receive public input on current park and recreation facilities in the city, as well as future park and park facility needs. The feedback will be used as the Parks Department updates the city's Outdoor Recreation Plan. The survey is available on the city's website, @ www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us, under the "Hot Topics" section. Hard copies such as the one enclosed are available at the Library, Seniors Center, Parks Department and the City Manager's Office. The deadline to complete the survey is May 31, 2011. Only Oshkosh residents are asked to complete the survey. All responses are anonymous. If you have any questions concerning this survey, please feel free to contact Parks Director Ray Maurer. MUSEUM'S WEBSITE PRAISED :Please find enclosed an e-mail from a resident of Fairfield, 3. Pennsylvania, which compliments the Museum's website and specifically, Archivist Scott Cross, for help in a quest for information. It is always a pleasure to receive this kind of praise and I commend Museum Director Larson and Scott Cross for the excellent service they provide. Weekly Newsletter April 21, 2011 Page 2 NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING - SUCCESS & COST RECOVERY : City staff has been 4. working with applicants to develop a neighborhood meeting procedure that involves surrounding property owners earlier in the development process. Staff believes that these neighborhood meetings improve communications for all: A better project understanding; a better review of neighborhood issues and concerns; and better applications. Proposed projects from the past year that have held neighborhood meetings include the Ahmadiyya Movement In Islam, Inc. Mosque, th apartments on Osborn, the CVS Pharmacy on 9 Avenue, and the St. John's condominiums. This service is optional for the applicant. The Planning Division has been providing neighborhood meeting services including mailing lists, maps, copying and mailing costs, and staff attendance, at no cost to the applicant. While the staff wants to encourage future neighborhood meetings, staff will be exploring alternatives for recovering these costs with a nominal fee. If you have any questions concerning this issue, please contact Community Development Director Allen Davis. CN RAILROAD BRIDGE UPDATE : Over the last few months, the CN Railroad has met with 5. city staff and others to discuss its interest in replacing its existing bridge over the Fox River. The railroad initially planned to relocate its railroad bridge slightly to the east of its current location. As the railroad operates within the city right-of-way from the Fox River north to Irving Avenue, this would have required the city's permission to move the tracks within the city's right-of-way. st CN presented their request to the Plan Commission at its March 1 meeting, while concurrently meeting with city staff to discuss conditions for approval. Discussions focused on dealing with the relocation of utilities and safety features both within and outside of the project area. Railroad officials are now indicating that they plan to build a new railroad bridge in place, at the same location as the existing bridge. This means they do not plan to move the location of the tracks on Broad Street, nor would they plan to rebuild the yard on the south side of the Fox River. Because they are rebuilding in place, they do not need the city's permission to relocate within the right-of- way. The railroad is still interested in starting pre-construction activities this year. If you have any questions concerning this issue, please contact Transportation Director Chris Strong or me. HEALTH DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION UPDATE : Last week, Health Division staff 6. and I met with representatives from Winnebago County and the Cities of Neenah and Menasha, along with Baker Tilly, to review the initial field work that has been conducted by Baker Tilly. Although Baker Tilly is not in a position to make any recommendations at this time, they did identify some general financial issues that will have to be considered by the respective agencies as we take a look at consolidation. They also identified 24 potential areas of conflict that may need to be addressed by our respective agencies. Most of these conflicts have to do with the different levels of service that are offered by our respective agencies. At some point, the groups will have to reconcile these services so that we could all agree on a uniform level of service that would be provided to the respective agencies. Another issue that currently exists has to do with the portion of the City of Menasha that is in Calumet County. Baker Tilly will be reviewing these potential conflict areas, along with the Calumet County issue, and report back to the joint group at some point in the future, hopefully sometime in mid-May. At that time, we can give Baker Tilly some direction prior to some type of final report. I have been keeping Board of Health Chair Stan Kline and Deputy Mayor Steve Herman, the Council's liaison to the Board of Health, up-to-date on details regarding progress on the study. If you have any questions about how the study is proceeding, please do not hesitate to contact me. Weekly Newsletter April 21, 2011 Page 3 MUNICIPAL WORKSHOPS : Please find enclosed two communications from the League of 7. Wisconsin Municipalities regarding regional dinner meetings and new municipal officials workshops. I would encourage our new Council Members to attend the new municipal official th workshop in Kimberly on May 20, which provides a basic course on local government for newly elected members. All other Council Members are encouraged to attend the League's regional dinner meeting, at which Executive Director Dan Thompson will present updates on proposed state legislation. The closest dinner meeting is in Green Bay, but you may attend anywhere that is most convenient for you. I am enclosing the registration form to be filled out. The city will pick up the tab for your attendance. Please hand these forms into Jackie as soon as possible and she will take care of the rest. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES : Other items I'm enclosing with today's 8. Newsletter include a memorandum from the Chairman of the Committee on Aging regarding their 2010-2011 accomplishments. I am also enclosing the latest report of the hotel/motel room tax. th Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the following: The minutes of the April 5 Plan th Commission meeting; the minutes of the March 15 Downtown BID Board meeting; the minutes thrd of the January 27 Storm Water Utility Committee meeting; and the minutes of the May 3 Museum Board meeting. I'm also enclosing Museum Director Brad Larson's weekly memo to the Museum Board. The last item I'm enclosing is a "thank you" letter from the Oshkosh Half Marathon staff, touting the success of Oshkosh's Half Marathon and the cooperation of the city, particularly Officer Matt Harris. th UPCOMING MEETINGS : Meetings I have scheduled for the week of April 25 include the 9. th following: At 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 28, I will be attending a Chamco Executive th Committee meeting. On Friday, April 29, at 8:00 a.m., I will be attending a Chamco Strategic Planning Work Session. At 10:00 a.m. that day, I will be attending the quarterly board meeting of the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. On Saturday, at 12:00 noon, I will be in attendance at Professor Karl Nollenberger's Policy Analysis Class, at which time they will present me with the results of the 2011 budget survey. I have not seen these results yet, so I have nothing to share with Council at this time. After I receive the final written report at some time following this class, I will share it with you and place it on an Agenda for discussion. Please note th that I will be out of the office on Monday, April 25, and will not be in the office on Tuesday, th April 26, until just prior to the Council Meeting. If Council Members need to contact me in advance of Tuesday's Council Meeting, please do not hesitate to contact me via cellphone. If you have any questions regarding the remainder of my schedule, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc