Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: May 27, 2011 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: UW-O PARKING & CARL STEIGER PARK 1.: This week, city staff met with representatives of UW-Oshkosh regarding the use of the parking lot at Carl Steiger Park by University students. As you may be aware, the University has been trying to discourage students from using that park, preferring that they use overflow parking that is located at their facilities maintenance building (the former Cub Foods building). Because Carl Steiger Park permits 24-hour parking, the students have been using the park to avoid parking at other University lots. This has left the parking lot unavailable at times for genuine park users, and has also defeated the pu rpose of the University trying to get their students to use the appropriate parking lots. During our discussions with the University, we agreed that the city would need to change some of the regulations that are applied park-system-wide, and apply specific rules at Carl Steiger Park. Specifically, we discussed the possibility of limiting parking at this location to four hours maximum during the weekdays, and prohibiting overnight parking. This would enable Carl Steiger Park to be used as a trail head for users of the WIOUWASH Trail, as well as accommodate people who may be fishing late at night or early in the morning. Furthermore, it would enable the city Police Department to more effectively patrol this lot, and eliminate the University trying to enforce regulations on this parking lot over which they have no jurisdiction. Mr. Maurer will be bringing this information to the th Parks Board at their June 13 meeting. Assuming that the Parks Board responds favorably to these ideas, we will prepare an ordinance for the Council's consideration at a later time. The idea would be for this to become effective prior to the beginning of the school year. If you have any questions about the use of this parking lot, please contact Parks Director Ray Maurer. PEDESTRIAN CROSSING ON HIGH AVENUE AT SAGE HALL 2.: I also had an opportunity this week to speak with the University regarding the pedestrian traffic patterns that will develop once Sage Hall (the new UW-O academic building) opens on September 6, 2011. Up to this point, the University pedestrian traffic crossing High Avenue has been limited. With an academic building being constructed on the opposite side of High Avenue, we expect much more pedestrian traffic, particularly between classes. The University estimat es that as many as 14,000 student seats will be occupied over the course of an academic day. When one considers that three of the lecture halls at Sage Hall will accommodate up to 600 students at one time, the number of pedestrians crossing High Avenue at peak hours will be significant. Transportation Director Chris Strong has been researching this issue and has identified a new type of pedestrian signal, known as a "hybrid signal", which can accommodate on-demand crossing needs by pedestrians. This would enable High Avenue to continue to be used for t hru-traffic on an ongoing basis, except for peak times when the signal may be activated for pedestrian use. Weekly Newsletter May 27, 2011 Page 2 Mr. Strong will be presenting this information to the Traffic Review Advisory Board at their June th 14 meeting. We are in the process of planning for this project so that it may be installed in conjunction with the paving of High Avenue this summer, and the eventual installation in time for the beginning of the academic year on Tuesday, September 6, 2011. The University understands that this traffic device is being installed exclusively for the University. As such, the University will be financially responsible for costs incurred by the city. If you have an y questions regarding this planned pedestrian signal, please contact Transportation Director Chris Strong. URBAN ALLIANCE UPDATE 3.: As the Council's is aware, I am on the Board of Directors for the Urban Alliance, formerly the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, which is now a subsidiary of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. At our quarterly meeting on Thursday, several items were discussed, particularly the upcoming state budget. Much of the discussion surrounded the issues of collective bargaining, and t he current exclusion of public safety personnel from the Budget Repair Bill/upcoming state budget. I am enclosing a letter from Brookfield Mayor Steve P onto regarding their city's perspective on the state budget and how it impacts their municipality. I think there are several items here that are relevant to our own situation, and I wanted to share those with you. Another issue that took up a great deal of discussion was transit aid. The state has indicated that even with collective bargaining reform, cities would still remain eligible for federal transit aid. While I remain skeptical about how this is going to be done, we will continue to monitor how the state is working on the issue so that we know we are at least being protected sometime down the road. There was also discussion of what cities throughout the state can do to develop regional transit authorities, which may or may not impact us in Oshkosh. I am aware that other areas around the state have been talking about RTA's, however, we have not b een part of those discussions because of our compact service area. As we are looking to update our Transportation Development Plan, we may not want to take note of what is going on in these other municipalities so that we can determine how applicable thes e changes may be to us. We will continue to keep the Council up-to-date on these issues as time goes on. WESTHAVEN DETENTION BASIN PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING 4.: Please find enclosed a letter from James Rabe, Storm Water Specialist for the city, informing affected st property owners that a public informational meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 1, at 5:30 p.m., on the Westhaven Clubhouse Area Detention Basin and associated storm sewer improvements. As the letter states, the purpose of this meeting is to inform the neighborhood of the steps being taken to reduce the impacts of flooding in this area. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. with an open house-style discussion, followed by a short presentation at 6:00 p.m. Following the presentation, city staf f will be available to answer questions. If you have any questions concerning this meeting or about the project, please feel free to contact Mr. Rabe. STATUS OF OPEN SPACE & REC SURVEY 5.: Please find enclosed the latest results of the recent Open Space & Parks Survey, which is intended to receive public input about current park and recreational facilities in the city. The results will be taken into consideration when updating the city's Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. East Central Wisconsin Region al Planning Commission is helping facilitate this survey and informed us that 749 on-line responses and 21 st hard copies were received. Citizens have until May 31 to take part in the survey, and final results will be forthcoming. Weekly Newsletter May 26, 2011 Page 3 COUNCIL RULES OF ORDER 6.: At Tuesday's meeting, I mentioned that Mayor Tower had asked that the Council not review its Rules of Order until a seventh Council Member was seated. Now that Council Member Hall has been seated, the Council asked me to place the Council's th Rules of Order on the Agenda for the June 14 Council Meeting. Please find enclosed the Common Council's Rules of Order as they were adopted on April 20, 2010. These are general rules that the Council has adopted over the years to address items that may or may not be covered in Robert's Rules of Order, which otherwise guide Council in your deliberations. Council Members had asked that staff do some additional research on items that you may wish to consider, including the length and number of citizen statements at the Council Meeting, as well as the use of electronic devices during Council Meetings. Staff has been collecting information that we will be th happy to share with you in advance of the June 14 meeting. If there are any other items that Council Members would like to propose as additional or revised rules, or if you have any other items you would like us to research, please contact me and I will direct the appropriate staff to provide this information for you. Meanwhile, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 7.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's th Newsletter include the minutes of the April 25 Housing Authority meeting. st UPCOMING MEETINGS 8.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of May 31 include the st following: On Tuesday, May 31, at 2:00 p.m., I will be meeting with Mr. Bill Frueh regarding st city regulations related to storm water and certified survey maps. On Wednesday, June 1, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending the OAEDC Board meeting. On Thursday, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending a meeting of the Oshkosh Civility Project. Later that day at 9:00 a.m., I will be joining city and OAEDC staff to discuss a potential prospect. If you have any question s regarding my attendance at any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc