Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: August 12, 2011 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: REFUSE CONTAINER STORAGE ORDINANCE 1.: As a result of the discussions at Wednesday's Council Meeting, staff has compiled a list of comments and suggestions that were proposed by Council Members during discussions of the refuse ordinance, particularly as they pertain to the storage of refuse containers. I am enclosing a copy of those comments for the Council's review. If you notice anything on this list that is missing from discussion points raised last evening, or if some of these comments do not reflect your thoughts, please do not hesitate to contact me. I tried to attribute comments to the specific Council Member that initially brought up the issue, although in some cases, several Council Members brought up the same topic. It appears as though the approach employed by Madison that was brought up by Assistant Public Works Director Steve Gohde did generate some interest from Council Members. You'll see that noted as the "Madison Approach" during these discussions. We are also checking to see what other communities have done per Mayor Tower's request. At the bottom of the comments, I include a note that points out that under the proposed ordinance, the Board of Public Works (i.e., the City Manager) has the authority to grant variances in writing, should circumstances warrant. While I would suggest that this provision remain in the ordinance, the final ordinance will dictate how much or little I exercise that type of administrative discretion. If you have any additional thoughts after you review this list of comments, or if you receive any other public input on this subject, please do not hesitate to contact me. HEALTH MERGER UPDATE 2.: This week, I met with County Executive Mark Harris and Neenah Mayor George Scherk to finalize the amendment to the agreement with Baker Tilly so that they will proceed with continuing the Health Merger Study. We will be meeting within the next two weeks to begin the work to reconcile the various decision items that were brought up by Baker Tilly in their draft study. We will need to reconcile several of these service issues in order to put ourselves in a position to determine if a merger is feasible. Each of these decision items have a fiscal impact, and we need to determine amongst ourselves if we can reconcile services in a cost effective manner. At our upcoming meeting, we will have each of the chief executives, accompanied by finance people and one professional in the Health Department to work through these issues. I can certainly report back to Council following this meeting. If you have any thoughts or questions prior to this next meeting, please advise me. Weekly Newsletter August 12, 2011 Page 2 2011 &2012 CDBG BUDGET 3.: As I mentioned briefly at Wednesday's Council Meeting, the city has, in fact, received notice that our 2011 CDBG allocation would be reduced by approximately $160,000. Based upon what we're hearing out of Washington and from housing professionals, we can expect a similar size cut in our 2012 allocation. These cuts will impact a variety of programs and services that are part of the CDBG Program, including our Housing Rehabilitation Program (both homeowned and rental), our support for planning programs that benefit low and moderate income families, support for the NeighborWorks program, and grants to area non-profit agencies. We are planning our 2012 budget with these reductions anticipated. The major challenge for us in 2012 will be how to continue these programs that remain in high demand while being unable to fund them with federal grant dollars. With virtually no latitude to raise funds through local tax dollars, we will have to find creative ways to fund these programs, particularly the NeighborWorks and planning/housing programs. These cuts were not included in the assumptions that we used to put together the estimated deficit for 2012 due to the impact of the state budget. This is one of the many decisions that Council will need to make over the next few months once the budget is presented to you. If you have any questions regarding this program in particular, please contact Community Development Director Allen Davis. PURCHASING ORDINANCE UNDER REVIEW 4.: This past week, I met with staff that had been working on revisions to the city's purchasing ordinance. As you know, the purchasing ordinance has not been updated in some time, and departments had developed their own practices and procedures that may or may not have been consistent with the existing ordinance due to conflicts in the ordinance that had gone unresolved. I wanted to clarify the policy so that we could have a uniform approach to purchasing that met state statutes and were more practical from a management standpoint. I am pleased to report that staff is in the process of finalizing this ordinance, including provisions for bidding processes for materials, supplies, commodities (i.e., fuel), capital projects, and professional services. At the same time, the Sustainability Advisory Board has asked that staff incorporate sustainable purchasing practices into the purchasing ordinance. We have reviewed an initial set of ideas with the SAB and they have given us their input. They have asked for another opportunity to review this section of the ordinance before it is brought before Council. Depending upon how quickly that moves through the SAB, I may bring the lions share of the purchasing ordinance forward in advance of the SAB reviewing the sustainable purchasing policy. The main elements to the purchasing ordinance do not directly impact the sustainable purchasing policy, and I would not want the main portion of the policy to take a back seat while the sustainable purchasing policy is considered. Once we have a draft for Council's review, I will forward it to you so that you have it in time to review it prior to it being considered. Please contact me if you have any questions if you have any questions regarding this matter. CONCEALED CARRY LAW 5.: On November 1, 2011, Wisconsin's new Concealed Carry Law will go into full effect. Current law prohibits most individuals from carrying a concealed weapon in public. Under the new law, an individual may obtain a license to carry a concealed weapon in most public places. Certain places such as schools, courthouses, portions of airports, sheriff's offices, police stations, and correctional facilities will continue to have restrictions as to the carrying of concealed weapons. However, most of the City of Oshkosh facilities will not be covered under these provisions and so, appropriately licensed individuals would be permitted to carry concealed weapons unless the city prohibits the carrying of concealed weapons. Weekly Newsletter August 12, 2011 Page 3 It should be noted that the legislation does not give the city the ability to restrict the carrying of a concealed weapon within open areas, such as our city parks. Staff is currently working to review and update the city's ordinances and personnel policies as they may relate to those persons, including employees, who may become licensed to carry concealed weapons, and I anticipate st having the Council act upon this prior to the November 1 effective date of the new law. If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact City Attorney Lynn Lorenson. STORM SEWER TO TIPLER POND NEARING COMPLETION 6.: Storm Water Engineer James Rabe reports that work on the storm sewer leading from the Tipler Pond back to USH 41 is in its final stages. The contractor will be closing the driveway between the Marcus Cinema and th Midas next Monday, August 15. The installation of the box culvert has reached the driveway. The contractor will be stopping box culvert installation at this point until Monday when they close the driveway. This week, they performed restoration work along the entire route up to the driveway. This restoration work includes the installation of the rip rap over the box culvert, and getting turf areas seeded and covered with erosion mat. If you have any questions concerning this project, please feel free to contact Engineer James Rabe. UW-OSHKOSH DIGESTER IS OPERATIONAL 7.: This week, the UW-O digester became operational and the city began delivering the first loads of green waste on Tuesday. In talking with Street Superintendent Kevin Uhen, over 10,000 pounds of grass clippings have already been delivered. WORKSHOP DOCUMENTS 8.: As a follow-up to discussion at Wednesday's Council Meeting, under separate cover I am providing you with the following documents: 1) A hard copy of my presentation on the Strategic Plan Update; 2) the draft TIF policy; and 3) the draft cooperative agreement between the city and the Town of Nekimi. I encourage you to review these documents and contact me if you have any questions. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 9.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's th Newsletter include the minutes of the July 7 Museum Board meeting; the minutes of the August ndth 2 Plan Commission meeting; the minutes of the July 19 Downtown BID Board meeting; and th the minutes of the July 13 Board of Appeals meeting. th UPCOMING MEETINGS : Meetings I have scheduled for the week of August 15 include the 10. following: On Monday, at 12:00 noon, Mr. Fitzpatrick and I will be meeting with a potential candidate to fill a management assistant intern position for the coming year. As I mentioned at Wednesday's meeting, we will likely use this person to assist departments in creating performance th measures in accordance with the Strategic Plan. On Wednesday, August 17, at 7:30 a.m., I am attending a meeting to discuss the Oshkosh Civility Project. On Wednesday, at 5:00 p.m., I will be attending the Chamber's Business After Hours event at 500 North Main Street. At 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, I will be attending the joint hearing with the Town of Nekimi regarding our cooperative plan. At 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, I will be welcoming guests to the city's annual "Take Your Child To Work Day". On Thursday, at 5:00 p.m., I will be meeting with Council Member Hall to update him on current issues. On Friday, at 9:00 a.m., I will be attending the Winnebago County Interagency meeting, which is a group of representatives from governmental and institutional entities in the area to discuss items of mutual concern. If you have any questions regarding my attendance at any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me.