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HomeMy WebLinkAboutweekly newsletter Date: October 14, 2011 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: th CVS WORKING COMMITTEE 1.: On Wednesday, October 12, Community Development Director Davis, Planning Director Burich and I met with six neighbors who live in the area of the proposed CVS Pharmacy development to assist us on a "working committee" to address use of the site in question. As I approached this meeting, I developed a proposed goal for the committee so that everyone in attendance would have a sense of purpose for what we were doing. I am enclosing the working committee's goal and secondary goal for your reference. The committee agreed that the goal that I had proposed was appropriate for the committee's work. As you will note when you review the committee's goal, there is no reference to the CVS store or any specific land use for this property. Additionally, I walked the committee through what I believed to be the logic for this committee's work. Our goal is to identify economically viable projects for this site that are good for the community, and to identify uses that will minimize the negative impacts on the surrounding area. With the goal established, committee members and staff started assembling a list of potentially economically viable land uses. Our Assessor's staff is identifying value per square foot that we may use to identify which development uses are most economically viable for this high visibility (i.e., high value) site. From that point, I am asking the committee members to identify potential negative impacts that would be unappealing for this site from a neighborhood perspective, and to identify ways in which some of those concerns may be mitigated. As the committee recognized the scope of this work, the research required to perform this work, as well as everyone's personal schedule, we recognized that we would not be able to have recommendations for th the Council at your October 25 meeting, as was initially proposed. In fact, the next committee meeting th will be on Wednesday, October 26. Committee members and I agreed that we would share information openly with one another so that we could comment on information that we received between meetings. However, I think it is important that this committee be allowed to move through this process and provide Council with as much information and advice as is possible. At the next meeting, I will try to put us on a timeline to complete the work. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the work staff is pursuing with this committee, please do not hesitate to contact me. THth th CTH K (20 AVENUE) CLOSING OCTOBER 17 2.: CTH K (20 Avenue) will be closed at th Universal Avenue starting Monday, October 17, to reconstruct the railroad crossing. Westbound traffic will be detoured via Washburn Street to STH 44 to STH 91 to Oakwood Road. Eastbound traffic should travel Oakwood Road to STH 91 to STH 44 to Washburn Street. The project should be completed by st Friday, October 21. Weekly Newsletter October 14, 2011 Page 2 ADDITIONS TO BUDGET DOCUMENT 3.: At Tuesday's Council Meeting, Finance Director Peggy Steeno provided the Council with the 2012 Preliminary Budget document. Our focus for this budget document was the general fund, as that is the primary fund for city operations. Staff is working on other funds that also impact city operations. Specifically, staff will be providing an analysis of the TIF funds, which is included under separate cover in today's weekly informational packet. Please take this out of the envelope and insert this into your budget document as suggested. The city's utility funds (water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer) will be provided to Council within the next week, prior to the October th 24 Work Session at which these items will be discussed. If you have any questions regarding these items or any other items in the budget, please do not hesitate to contact Finance Director Steeno or me. INVITATION TO PRESENTATION ON CANADIAN NATIONAL RAIL BRIDGE 4.: Next th Tuesday, October 18, Mr. Kevin Soucie, Director of U. S. Government Affairs with the Canadian National Railroad (CN), will be here at City Hall to present the city with a check for $20,000 to be used for the development and installation of informational displays/signs, commemorating the history of the rail bridge crossing the Fox River, its role in the economic development of the city, and its influence on the community. The rail bridge crossing the Fox River was constructed in 1899 and based upon its 110+ years of service, has exceeded its useful lifespan and must be replaced. Due to the historic significance of the bridge, the CN has entered into an agreement with the US Coast Guard, Fox River Navigational Systems Authority, the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway, the Friends of the Fox, and the City of Oshkosh Landmarks Commission, to mitigate the loss of this historic/cultural structure by developing interpretive displays/signs, incorporating the two 1899 Date Plaques, as well as Builders Plaques, into two separate interpretive displays/signs. These interpretive displays/signs will be located on the present and planned River Walk near the new railroad bridge; one located on the north shore and the second located on the south shore of the Fox River. Any and all are invited to this presentation by the Canadian National Railroad, which takes place next Tuesday, at 3:30 p.m., in my office, Room 101. UPDATE ON CENTRAL GARAGE PROJECT 5.: As Council Members may be aware, the proposal for a new central garage has been in the city's Capital Improvements Program (CIP) even prior to my arrival in 2008. The facility is over 60 years old and outdated for modern equipment, as well as inefficient from a workplace and safety standpoint. To get this project moving, the city selected Kueny Architects out of Kenosha to perform the facility programming analysis, as well as a site analysis. Based upon an initial analysis, Kueny is projecting a facility need of approximately 150,000 square feet for the Public Works portion of the facility. This does not include Water Distribution, nor does it include any other departmental needs, such as Transportation and Parks. I have asked Kueny to identify future expansion possibilities for a facility such as this, including facility needs of other departments, to factor in reorganizations that could take place over the next 50 years. Specifically, I am asking them to look at potential merging of maintenance needs that may develop over time. Kueny is incorporating these space needs into an analysis of how well such a facility would fit into the existing central garage site, and identifying potential locations, particularly near the North Industrial Park, as an alternate site should the central garage location not be sufficient enough for expansion. Our goal is to complete this facility needs analysis this fall and identify sites that are most feasible for the recommended facility size. I will keep the Council apprised of how this project is proceeding, but since it has been so long in developing, I wanted to give you the first indication of the progress that is being made. If you have any questions regarding this project, please contact Public Works Director David Patek. Weekly Newsletter October 14, 2011 Page 3 INFORMATIONAL BROCHURE FROM ATC 6.: Please find enclosed an informational brochure received this week from the American Transmission Company (ATC). As you may recall, ATC is the company that was replacing the electric transmission lines near the River Mill area in the city, and neighbors were concerned that the lines would be converted into higher voltage lines. As you can see from the diagram on Page 7, the lines in the River Mill area were rebuilt with the same voltage as was previously there. SAWYER CREEK CHANNEL IMPROVEMENTS 7.: Please find enclosed a notice of a public th informational meeting to be held on Wednesday, October 26, to discuss upcoming channel improvements to Sawyer Creek, between North Koeller Street and the Fox River. This meeting will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Oshkosh West High School. The purpose of the meeting is to provide information on the proposed Sawyer Creek channel improvements and obtain input that will assist in further development and refinement of the proposed channel improvements. The city's engineering staff and engineers from Strand Associates, Inc. will be available to discuss the proposed project and address any questions or concerns. If you have any questions about this meeting or about the proposed project, please contact City Engineer James Rabe. HISTORIC PARK SIGNS 8.: The League of Women Voters, in conjunction with the city's Parks Department, has been working on a project to install historic signs in various parks throughout the city. Parks Director Ray Maurer sought and received donations from community groups to pay for 18 historic signs. The Oshkosh Community Foundation donated $7,150 from the Taking Root Campaign; the Oshkosh Fast Pitch Club donated $2,100; the Otter Street Fishing Club donated $2,150; the Southwest Rotary donated $750; and the Winnebago Lakes Council donated $700. The University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh may pay for two signs for University-owned parks. The League of Women Voters may purchase a plaque to acknowledge these donors, which will hang in City Hall. Our Parks Department th began installing the historic signs this past Wednesday, October 12, so you may notice them when you visit your favorite park this weekend. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 9.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include Museum Director Brad Larson's memo to the Museum Board, discussing the Museum's latest news. I am also enclosing The Wisconsin Taxpayer, a publication from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, which discusses the 2011-13 State Budget. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing st the following: The minutes of the September 1 Museum Board meeting; the minutes of the September st 21 Transit Advisory Board meeting; the minutes of the Downtown BID Board meeting; and the th meeting notice, agenda and background material for the October 19 Transit Advisory Board meeting. The last items I'm enclosing are two FOCUS newsletters, another publication from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, which discuss Wisconsin schools. th UPCOMING MEETINGS 10.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of October 17 include the following: On Monday, at 1:30 p.m., I will be meeting with Assistant City Manager/Director of Administrative Services John Fitzpatrick and Consultant Charlie Carlson in preparation for our discussion with Council at Monday's Work Session regarding the implementation of the Classification and Compensation Study. On Tuesday, at 8:00 a.m., I will be attending the Joint Review Board meeting regarding the City Center Hotel TIF, as I serve as the city's representative to the JRB. On Tuesday, at 12:00 noon, I will be attending a meeting of the Editorial Board of the Oshkosh Northwestern to answer questions they have regarding the City Center Hotel TIF. Weekly Newsletter October 14, 2011 Page 4 At 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, I will be meeting with representatives of the city's Landmark's Commission and CN Railroad, at which time CN will present a check to the city, as previously discussed. On Tuesday, at 4:00 p.m., I will be attending the Plan Commission meeting to answer any questions that th may arise regarding the City Center TIF. On Thursday, October 20, Mayor Tower, Council Member Allison-Aasby and I will be attending the annual League of Wisconsin Municipalities conference in Milwaukee. This is the first time in many years that any members of the City Council have attended the LWM meeting, which I welcome. Based upon what we learn from our attendance at this conference, I'm sure that all of us will be happy to share it with the rest of the Council. Finally, on Saturday, October nd 22, I will be attending Professor Karl Nollenberger's graduate class in public administration to discuss municipal issues that may be of interest to the class. If you have any questions regarding my attendance at any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc Enclosures