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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: June 10, 2011 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: MARION ROAD BOAT DOCKS MOVED UP TO SAVE MONEY 1.: Council may recall that in the 2011-2015 five year CIP, the Marion Road boat docks w ere proposed to be built in two phases, in 2011 and 2012. The purpose of doing the work in two phases was so that we could stretch out the borrowing for the project over a two-year period. The city is also the recipient of a $325,000 grant that could be spent in one or both of the years. As we approached the project for 2011, we included an alternate bid in the specs to complete the work in one year. We initially anticipated a project cost of $1,475,000. With the bids we recently received, the project cost is $1,081,000, which is a savings of nearly $400,000, assuming that we get the project done in one year. Initially, we had planned to borrow a total of $1,150,000 over a two-year period. If we were to borrow for the entire project now with the curre nt bid prices, we would only need to borrow approximately $756,000, or only $181,000 more than what we were planning to borrow in 2011. I asked the Finance Department to review our options, and we have identified various projects in the 2011 CIP that will free up more than enough money to complete the docks in 2011. Because of the savings and the availability of funds, I have directed staff to prepare the bid documents for the RDA that get this project completed in 2011. I will be providing an oral update to the Council at Tuesday's meeting. If you have any questions in advance of this meeting, please contact Community Development Director Allen Davis or me. LEADERS SPEAK UP ABOUT STATE BUDGET 2.: This week, city staff participated in a conference call with other municipal leaders throughout the state regarding recent actions taken by the Joint Finance Committee on the 2011-13 state budget. The press release that was produced following this meeting identifies many of the areas of improvement that the Join t Finance Committee addressed, but also points out some of the flaws that remain in the state budget as they relate to municipalities and the City of Oshkosh in particular. At this time, there are so many changes that have been made or may yet be done, it doesn't make sense to give the Council a summary of these items until the dust settles. However, I believe that the enclosed press release does give you an overview of changes in the budget that favor the city, as well as those that do not favor the city. I will point out that there is legislation that has been proposed by the road builders to limit the ability of municipalities to be efficient and effective with respect to road projects. Although this legislation does not impact us at this time in any significant way, it is certainly poor legislation that will impact our ability to cooperate with Winnebago County and our surrounding municipalities at some point in the future. This legislation certainly has an impact on our county government immediately, so it still warrants looking at from a tax standpoint. I have also enclosed a summary from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities on current legislative proposals that will pre-empt or limit municipal powers. Weekly Newsletter June 10, 2011 Page 2 The one that does cause concern to me is a proposal to prohibit cities from placing delinquent tenant utility bills on landlords' tax bills. This has been an issue that the Apartment Association has proposed to us several times, but both Finance Director Steeno and I feel strongly that it is inappropriate for the taxpayers/rate payers to be paying for delinquent tenants when a landlord can better screen applicants and provide safeguards for them to be repaid, rather than having the city hold the bag for a landlord's poor selection of a tenant. I encourage you to read the League's summary, as it identifies a great deal of contradiction between "giving us the tools necessary" and taking away our rights and abilities to manage the city in the most cost effective manner possible. If you have any questions regarding either of these documents, please contact Finance Director Steeno or me. HOTEL INQUIRY DEMONSTRATES OPPORTUNITIES AND DISAPPOINTMENT IN 3. DOWNTOWN HOTEL : Council Members may have read a newspaper article earlier this week in which CVB Director Wendy Hi elsberg indicated that she had been approached by a Madison developer regarding the possibility of constructing a new hotel in downtown Oshkosh near the Convention Center. The fact that there are prosp ective hotel operators that see the value of the downtown Convention Center as a business attractor for hotels demonstrates that there is certainly value to having a flagship-quality hotel in the downtown area. At the same time, it also points out the growing disappointment over the lack of progress with the City Center Hotel. As you are aware, I have provided Mr. Gill and his partner with information that we need for the city to even consider any type of collaborative effort to renovate the hotel. However, the indications I have are that they are only interested in a minimal investment in the hotel, which I do not believe will rise to the "flagship-quality" that I have been assured by these owners over the past two years that it would be. Whether the proposal to build a new hotel comes to fruition, I think it points out that the city should target its support only to a project that has the ability to improve downtown Oshkosh as a destination, and enhance the opportunities for our Convention Center. I ho pe that we are able to work with any developer, be they from Madison or locally, that can assist us in developing such a destination hotel. PIONEER SITE REVIEWED…FROM A DISTANCE 4.: On Thursday, Council Member Cummings, Community Development Director Davi s, Parks Director Maurer and I had an opportunity to tour the riverfront and Pioneer Inn property from a water side view. It was an excellent opportunity to review many of the potential redevelopment projects we have planned for the next few years, as wel l as look at the condition of the Pioneer Inn property from a distance. Based upon my review, while the Pioneer Inn is obviously in a run down condition due to its being closed, at the time we viewed the property, the grass was mowed to a code-compliant height, and there did not appear to be any obvious signs of vandalism. However, it is also obvious that some of the landscaping is tired and has not been tended to in recent years. Furthermore, the sea wall and some of the docks are starting to show their age. All of these issues certainly lead to the deterioration of the property. However, none of what I had observed rises to a point that we can get into a code enforcement mode at this time. Staff will continue to monitor how the property is being maintained so that there is some minimum amount of maintenance being done. With that all said, we have invited Jeff Kierlieber, owner of Decades Properties, to join members of the Redevelopment Authority and other interested stakeholders to participate in a discussion to begin implementing the city's Redevelopment Plan for the south shore area. We are hoping to engage Mr. Kierlieber and have him see the progress that we are currently making and what we plan to do on the south side in the coming years. Hopefully, this will inspire Mr. Kierlieber to take a look at investing in the Pioneer Inn property a little more. Weekly Newsletter June 10, 2011 Page 3 As this will be an ongoing issue for us, and certainly an issue that is near and dear to Council Member Cummings as well as all Council Members, I will continue to keep the Council apprised on things we are going in this area to initiate some progress in this area of the riverfront. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 5.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include the latest FOCUS newsletter, published by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, which compares the State of Wisconsin with its neighbors and the rest of the United States. th Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the following: The min utes of the May 9 th Advisory Park Board meeting; the minutes of the May 25 Transit Advisory Board meeting; the th rd th minutes of the May 5 Museum Board meeting; and the minutes of the May 3 and May 10 Committee on Aging meetings. I am also enclosing Muse um Director Brad Larson's latest communication to the Museum Board, updating the activities of the Museum over the last week. The last item I'm enclosing is the latest report of the 2011 hotel/motel room tax. th UPCOMING MEETINGS 6.: Meetings I have sc heduled for the week of June 13 include the following: On Monday, at 7:30 a.m., I will be meeting with Mayor Tower to discuss the upcoming Council Agenda. On Monday, at 8:30 a.m., I am tentatively scheduled to meet at the Cinders Restaurant on Main Street with city staff and hopefully, representatives of the Cinders Restaurant. Mr. Sosnoski of Cinders asked to meet with me because of concerns he has over the lack of an occupancy permit for his restaurant. It appears as though his contractor did not rebuild the restaurant according to the state plans, and there are several obvious code and safety issues that are preventing his restaurant from being open for business. On Tuesday, at 7:30 a.m., I am meeting with Clarity Care President Tim Cooke. On Tues day, at 9:30 a.m., I am meeting with Oshkosh Area Community Foundation Director Eileen Connolly-Keesler and Fire Chief Tim Franz regarding the Community Foundation's role in disaster response. On Tuesday, at 12:00 noon, I am attending a meeting of the Winnebago Conflict Resolution Center Board of Directors. On Wednesday afternoon through Friday, I will be attending the Wisconsin City/County Management Association annual meeting in Wisconsin Dells. I'm sure that one of the main topics of discussion will be the state budget, as the Joint Finance Committee will be referring its work to the Senate and Assembly later that week. Due to my absence, there will be no Newsletter next Friday. Jackie will provide information to you on an as-needed basis. If you have any questions regarding my schedule, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc