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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: May 20, 2011 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: COUNCIL SELECTION UPDATE 1.: As the Council is aware, you will be considering the four candidates for the vacant Council position created when Mayor Tower was elected to his new post in April. The four candidates are scheduled to be in attendance at Tuesday's Council Meeting. The five minute presentations by the prospective candidates will be made toward the beginning of the meeting. In discussions with Mayor Tower, his intent is to have the new Council Member th seated immediately for the balance of the May 24 meeting. With that in mind, staff has extended the courtesy to each of these candidates by creating an Agenda package for each of them, and delivering it to them this weekend. This will enable each of the prospective Council Members to have the entire packet of information as any Council Member would have so that they are in a th better position to be familiar with the issues they may potentially be facing at the May 24 meeting. TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2.: The Transit Development Plan (TDP) Steering Committee met last week and approved the draft TDP. The plan will now wind its way through a formal public comment process, as well as formal consideration/adoption by the Transit Advisory th Board and the Common Council. On Wednesday, May 25, the TDP will be reviewed by the Transit Advisory Board. Transportation Director Chris Strong has scheduled public meetings on th the plan (DOT-style) on June 13. The first session will be held at the Oshkosh Public Library th from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The second session on June 13 will be held at the Oshkosh Seniors th Center from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. On Wednesday, June 15, there will be a public hearing and a vote for the adoption of the TDP by the Transit Advisory Board at their regularly scheduled th meeting. Finally, on Tuesday, July 12, we have a Council Workshop scheduled to discuss the th plan and prepare a resolution for the adoption of the plan at your meeting on July 26. If you have any questions concerning the Transit Development Plan, please feel free to contact Transportation Director Chris Strong. CAFÉ ORDINANCE HIGHLIGHTS 3.: As requested by Council, I directed staff to provide an analysis of each of the issues of the café ordinance that were recently discussed with downtown stakeholders. It should be noted that a good number of these people at this stakeholder meeting were not part of the process during the BID Board's review and development of this ordinance, so different perspectives were offered this time around. It should also be noted that a large share of the people attending the stakeholder meeting were tavern owners, which puts a different perspective on the ordinance than those who had originally provided input into this process. Weekly Newsletter May 20, 2011 Page 2 As requested by Council, staff has provided a recommendation to each of the various options that are before you, with one exception. I did not feel that it was appropriate for staff to make a recommendation on the smoking aspect of this ordinance. Staff recognizes that Council needs to give a "yes" or "no" answer to this issue. B ecause it is a policy matter, I did not feel it was appropriate or necessary for staff to add any more to this discussion. Having said that, I do wish to point out that the tavern owners who have attended these meetings are pretty clear in their intent that the purpose of this ordinance change is to give them some ability to provide a smoking area for their establishments. Even after a meeting with the stakeholders, questions were raised about permission to smoke in the cafe areas even after the authorized café hours. I'm not sure if it was the intent of this ordinance to a ddress the smoking issue, but unfortunately, that is the last remaining issue with respect to the café ordinance. I hope that Council understands staff's position on this, as we feel it is inappropriate for us to comment on a public policy issue that is w idely understood and does not require any additional analysis by Council to reach an informed and reasonable conclusion. If you have any questions or thoughts on this prior to Tuesday's meeting, please do not hesitate to contact me. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 4.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include a letter regarding the city's jurisdictional offer for 1527 and 1529 Knapp Street. rd Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the minutes of the February 23 Board of Health th meeting; the minutes of the May 10 Traffic Review Advisory Board meeting; and the meeting th notice, agenda and background material for the May 15 Transit Advisory Board meeting. rd UPCOMING MEETINGS 5.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of May 23 include the following: On Monday, at 8:00 a.m., I will be attending an employee recognition event at the water distribution facility. On Monday, at 1:30 p.m., I will be meeting with Mayor Tower to discuss and prepare for Tuesday's Council Meeting. On Tuesday, at 8:00 a.m., I will be meeting with representatives from Baker Tilly and the other communities that are involved in the health consolidation study. On Wednesday afternoon, I will be attending a meeting of the Urban Alliance Board of Directors. This is t he newly created organization that was formerly known as the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, which is now a sub-group of the Wisconsin League of Municipalities. I was appointed to the Urban Alliance Board of Directors this past April, and this th will be my fi rst meeting representing the City of Oshkosh in this regard. On Thursday, May 26, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending a Chamco Board meeting. At 10:00 a.m. that day, I will be meeting with UW-Oshkosh representatives regarding traffic control measures along High Avenue due to the new academic building, as well as discussions with them about their plans to develop a welcome center on the property they recently purchased from us. At 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, I will be attending the grand opening ceremony at t he River Senior Housing Complex on Marion Road. If you have any questions about my attendance at any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc