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HomeMy WebLinkAboutweekly newsletter Date: October 7, 2011 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: UPCOMING CITY BORROWING 1.: As you know, the city has committed to a very large Capital Improvements Plan (CIP), as well as a borrowing plan for 2011. To that end, we are in the process of preparing for the bond sale to obtain the funds to finance these projects as approved. The funds approved to be borrowed in conjunction with the 2011 CIP total approximately $47,705,000. However, due to current needs, cash on hand in the various funds, the additional amount of time needed to acquire land in conjunction with the Storm Water Utility projects, and the delay in need of funds for the South Shore Redevelopment Area, the city will only be borrowing $27,805,000 at this time. Due to the large amount of funds needed, the borrowing will be split into two smaller borrowings planned for October thth 11 (General Fund/General Obligation Bonds & Notes - $12,890,000), and October 25 (Water & Sewer Revenue Bonds - $14,915,000, including the reserve requirements). The splitting of these borrowings will ensure that we do not over saturate the market on any one day, which would cause the city to receive unfavorable rates on the borrowings. In addition, by using revenue debt for the utilities, we are matching the obligations with the funds that benefit from the borrowing, and managing the city's debt burden in recognition of the regulatory limit of 5% of Equalized Value for General Obligation Debt. Please note that the borrowing is taking place later in the year this year as was done in 2010, which is a change from years prior. The main reason for this is that we are able to save a fair amount of interest costs since the funds aren't needed earlier in the year. In addition to the interest savings, borrowing a little later also allows us to see how projects are going, and potentially reduce the amount of borrowing if projects allow for it. th I am enclosing the detailed information for the October 11 borrowing in the Council's packet today. In th addition, the detailed information on the October 25 borrowing will be included in the Council's packet st on October 21. However, please let Finance Director Peggy Steeno or me know if you have any questions that we can address prior to those meetings. BILLBOARD VALUE LEGISLATION 2.: You may recall from last week's Newsletter that City Assessor Steven Schwoerer had alerted me to legislation that was designed to undermine the ability of cities to properly assess the value of property, including billboards, by excluding the value of the permit that underlies the land use. This legislation could be extended to virtually any use for which a permit or license would be required. In addition to the City of Oshkosh taking a stand, I was contacted by Brookfield Mayor Steve Ponto, who shares our concerns. I am enclosing Mayor Ponto's letter so that you can see how this is of state-wide interest. Please contact Mr. Schwoerer if you have any additional questions. Weekly Newsletter October 7, 2011 Page 2 CHURCH AVENUE CONSTRUCTION TO IMPACT CITY HALL ACCESS 3.: The contractor performing the street construction on Church Avenue began placing the first half of the concrete pavement on Church Avenue today. The north side of Church Avenue will be placed first. Due to the limited roadway width available during the concrete pouring and curing, Church Avenue will be designated as a one-way street eastbound, from Franklin Street to Main Street. The one-way traffic arrangement is anticipated to last approximately three weeks. The contractor will maintain a minimum of one driveway at all times to the main City Hall parking lots. The driveway from the Safety Building onto Church Avenue will be closed for up to one week when the south side concrete pavement is placed. Driveway access to local businesses will be blocked for approximately one week when the south side concrete pavement is placed and again when the drive aprons are replaced. Pedestrian access will be maintained to the businesses when driveways are unavailable. I am enclosing a press release, which explains this process. Please contact our Engineering Division with questions. RAILROAD QUIET ZONE UPDATE 4.: Transportation Director Chris strong reports that the project is still moving forward, but has been held up because the nature of the work required to comply with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is more complicated than initially scoped. As a result, this work cannot fit into any of the existing 2011 paving projects as a change order, which is what we had originally planned. Additionally, the scope of the work required by the FRA is also more expensive than what is budgeted. As a result, this work must be held over into 2012 and will require an additional appropriation in the 2012 CIP. Even after that work is done, we will still need FRA approval. Some of the neighbors have been understandably impatient, expecting that the work would be done immediately and automatically result in the quiet zone being implemented. If you receive a call from a neighbor, please understand that staff is complying with all FRA regulations that are needed to get this approval, and that we will be including the additional funds in the 2012 CIP. If you have any additional questions on this matter, please contact Transportation Director Strong. PLANNING STAFF CONCERNED OVER LEGISLATION THAT WEAKENS 5. COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING : Planning Director Darryn Burich has asked me to authorize him to inform legislators about our opposition to legislation that would weaken the city's efforts to carry through its Comprehensive Plan goals. AB 260, as proposed, would remove the requirement of a county to include any city or village's comprehensive plan (located in the county) in the county's plan. This would also take away the county's requirement to enforce this plan, typically as conflicts develop between recommended land uses in a town and a city's plans. Making the inclusion of a city's plan into the county plan as optional would also further complicate the ability of a community to control growth in extraterritorial areas, which will lead to land use conflicts at best, or will derail area land use plans at worse. AB 260 on its face is an anti-planning bill targeted at diluting a city or village's ability to plan for its growth, but it is also an anti-economic development bill because it may have the effect of complicating or halting business or industrial park expansion. Another bill of concern is AB 303, which allows a community to repeal or not adopt a comprehensive plan and thus, the ordinances it adopts relating to planning, which means that a land use does not have to be consistent with any plan. As of this year, of the 1,922 communities in the state required to adopt the plans, only 106 have not complied, with several of these communities being in the sponsoring legislator's districts. Staff will also be opposing this bill because it will further weaken the concept of comprehensive planning for all communities, including Oshkosh. Please contact Planning Director Burich if you have any questions. Weekly Newsletter October 7, 2011 Page 3 POLICE PREPARE FOR PUB CRAWL 6.: The Oshkosh Police Department is making preparations for this Saturday's Pub Crawl. At this time, the organizers expect 2,300 participants, but Police continue to monitor social media sites and estimate that with the favorable weather forecast, more than 3,000 people would not be an unreasonable expectation. The Fire Department will conduct occupancy capacity checks throughout the night and will have Police assist as needed. Capacity limits have been checked, and in some cases, re-verified (i.e., reduced). Officers will be on foot and bike patrols from 6:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., and will be patrolling the University campus bars and surrounding neighborhoods per residents' requests. Per the organizer's request, Oshkosh Auxiliary Police (OAP) will be on North Main Street assisting at crosswalks and surrounding parking and construction areas. The organizer made this request after he failed to obtain volunteers to do this work as originally required. OAP provides this service at no cost. The organizer did not acquire the private barricades as required, so the Police have made modifications to address traffic issues with the barricades we have on hand. The area bars have rented a number of porta-potties that will be placed on private property to hopefully reduce public urination. The organizer has provided proof of insurance, but has not responded to the notice that he will be required to pay for extraordinary services as provided for in the permit. If these charges are not paid, I will seek legal counsel advice on how these charges may be collected. If you have any questions concerning the logistics surrounding the patrolling of the event, please contact Chief Greuel. DEPARTMENT REPORTS & UPDATES 7.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include the latest FOCUS newsletter from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, which features an article on the selection process for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices. I am also enclosing the latest report on the 2011 hotel/motel room tax. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the following: the thth minutes of the September 14 Landmarks Commission meeting; the minutes of the September 14 th Board of Appeals meeting; and the minutes of the August 25 Library Board meeting. The last item I'm enclosing is a letter of response to a citizen concerning the storm water charge on the city's water bill. th UPCOMING MEETINGS 8.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of October 10 include the th following: On Monday, October 10, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending a meeting of the Chamber Governmental Affairs Committee, at which School Superintendent Don Viegut will talk about school district financing and facility issues. At 9:00 a.m. on Monday, Mayor Tower and I are meeting to review Tuesday's Council Agenda. On Monday, at 3:00 p.m., I am meeting with Community Development Director Davis and Public Works Director Patek to review the preliminary analysis of facility needs for the central garage project. At 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, I will be conducting a virtual meeting with city employees regarding health insurance for 2012, as well as an update on the Classification and Compensation Study that will be discussed at Tuesday's Work Session. On Wednesday, at 1:30 p.m., I will be attending a meeting of the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning th Commission's Economic Development Committee. On Thursday, October 13, at 7:30 a.m., I will be meeting with the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation to answer questions they may have regarding the city's participation in the City Center Hotel renovation. Later that same day at 4:30 p.m., I will be th attending the Community Foundation's Donor Appreciation Day. Finally, on Friday, October 14, at 1:00 p.m., I will be attending a meeting of the Oshkosh Visioning Group to discuss implementation issues regarding the Visioning Project. If you have any questions regarding my attendance at any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc