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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL 4 CITY OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN OJHKOIH ON THE WATER REGULAR MEETING held Tuesday, November 8, 2011, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall. Mayor Tower presided. PRESENT: Council Members Jef Hall, Deb Allison-Aasby, Tom Pech, Jr, Steve Cummings, Steven Herman and Mayor Burk Tower ALSO PRESENT: Mark Rohloff, City Manager; Pamela Ubrig, City Clerk; Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney; and Dave Patek, Director of Public Works Council Member Hall read the Invocation The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Hall NOTE: Council Member Poeschl joined the meeting at 6:03 p.m. PROCLAMATIONS A proclamation was presented by Mayor Tower declaring November 7 through November 13, 2011 as Love America Week in the City of Oshkosh. A proclamation was presented by Mayor Tower declaring Friday, November 11, 2011 as Peace Lutheran Church Day in the City of Oshkosh. CITIZEN STATEMENTS Bob Cornell, 548 W. Smith Avenue, explained the workshop at the Senior Center took part in repairing/replacing the silhouettes at the Christine Ann Center that were damaged during the recent pub crawl. He urged the public to become Friends of the Senior Center. Chanda Anderson, 542 W 16th Avenue, stated she was disappointed that the sale of the City Center Hotel fell through and stressed to the Council the importance of the hotel for the revitalization of downtown. CONSENT AGENDA Approval of bills presented by the Finance Director. Receipt and filing of the Common Council Minutes from October 11 and 25, 2011. 1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— NOVEMBER 8, 2011 Receipt of Claim Filed with the City's Insurance: Jason Krueger for damages to his vehicle from alleged paint splattering while parked on High Avenue Resolution 11-493 Approve Conditional Use Permit for a Worship Center / Church and Accessory Uses at 820-824 East Parkway Avenue and 621 Evans Street (Plan Commission Recommends Approval) Darrin Anderson, 627 Evans Street, requested the resolution be removed from the Consent Agenda for a separate vote. Resolution 11-494 Approve Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Oshkosh and Town of Nekimi for Cost Sharing Associated with the Repaving of Poberezny Road in 2012 Resolution 11-495 Approve Land Purchase at 1508 South Koeller Street for the National Guard Area Stormwater Detention Basin Project Resolution 11-496 Award Bid to Holz Motors for Transit Department 4WD Pickup Truck with Plow and Salter ($27,026.75) Resolution 11-497 Approve Combination "Class A" License, Operator Licenses and Taxi- cab Driver License MOTION: ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA EXCLUDING RESOLUTION 11-493 (Pech; second, Cummings) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Hall, Allison-Aasby, Poeschl, Pech, Cummings, Herman, Mayor Tower Resolution 11-493 Approve Conditional Use Permit for a Worship Center / Church and Accessory Uses at 820-824 East Parkway Avenue and 621 Evans Street (Plan Commission Recommends Approval) MOTION: ADOPT (Hall; second, Herman) MOTION: LAYOVER UNTIL NOVEMBER 22, 2011 COUNCIL MEETING (Hall; second, Cummings) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Hall, Allison-Aasby, Poeschl, Pech, Cummings, Herman, Mayor Tower Darrin Anderson, 627 Evans Street, stated his concerns about the proposed property use; he suspected the building would be sublet to other organizations. • 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— NOVEMBER 8, 2011 Rachel Rivers, 633 Evans Street, stated her concerns about the property use also. She explained according to their newsletter, Solutions Recovery Club would continue to have meetings at the property; however a different organization was requesting the conditional use permit. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she spoke with Sarah Anderson regarding some inconsistencies with the conditional use permit and recommended that the Council lay the resolution over until the next meeting to allow time to follow up on the issues. Council Member Cummings stated according to their lease, Solutions Recovery Club would continue to hold meetings at the property until June 2012. He explained the property was up for sale; however, to date a real estate transaction had not closed. He was in favor of tabling the resolution until the next meeting. Council Member Hall expressed concern about inconsistent information and asked if it would hold anything up if the Council voted to layover the resolution until their next meeting. Darryn Burich, Director of Planning Services, explained Jericho Road Ministries, Inc. applied for a conditional use permit to revert the property to its original use as a Christian worship center. He stated the house would be used as a parsonage and the garage would be used for storage. He further stated the education building would be used for Sunday school classes and after school Christian activities. He explained the Solutions Recovery Club would continue to use the education building until they found a building that better met their needs or until April 2012. He stated that Jericho Road Ministries, Inc. could not sublet any part of the property or use the property as a homeless shelter or food pantry without applying for another conditional use permit. Council Member Herman asked if neighbors of the property were notified about the proposed conditional use permit. Mr. Burich stated all abutting and adjacent property owners were notified by letter regarding the conditional use permit and the Plan Commission Meeting. Also, he explained there was a sign posted on the property advising neighbors to contact the City regarding possible changes to the property. Council Member Cummings questioned how the property was zoned. Mr. Burich answered the entire property was zoned R-2. Council Member Cummings stated he was confused as to who all of the players were in the transaction and favored tabling the resolution to give the Council time to research their questions. 3 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— NOVEMBER 8, 2011 ACTION TAKEN ON ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS Ordinance 11-498 Revise Current Municipal Code Provisions to Comply With New Statutes Related to Carrying Concealed Weapons / to Prohibit the Carrying of Firearms and Other Weapons on Certain Municipal Property and Buildings MOTION: ADOPT (Pech; second, Cummings) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Hall, Allison-Aasby, Poeschl, Pech, Cummings, Herman, Mayor Tower Mayor Tower asked for clarification regarding knives. Ms. Lorenson clarified pocket knives (knives with a three inch or less blade) were not included in the ordinance. Resolution 11-499 Acceptance of the Revised Oshkosh Transit System Fare Structure MOTION: ADOPT (Cummings; second, Poeschl) MOTION: AMEND RATES DIAL-A-RIDE (ADA) $2.00 TO $1.75 DIAL-A-RIDE (non ADA) $3.50 TO $2.75 CABULANCE (ADA) $2.00 TO $1.75 CABULANCE (ADA) with premium service $3.00 TO $2.75 (Herman; second, Hall) WITHDRAWN MOTION: LAYOVER UNTIL THE NOVEMBER 22, 2011 COUNCIL MEETING (Allison-Aasby; second, Cummings) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Hall, Allison-Aasby, Poeschl, Pech, Cummings, Herman, Mayor Tower Steve Barney, 1335 Summit Avenue, recommended that the Council table the resolution until they could further research a wheel tax which he felt was an alternative to raising transit fares. Council Member Hall did not support the resolution to raise transit fares. He stated raising fares targeted the population who were already affected by state and federal cuts in aid. He believed the proposed revenue gained by raising fares could be gained elsewhere in the budget. 4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— NOVEMBER 8, 2011 Chris Strong, Director of Transit, stated the challenge was that the City received state and federal matching funds based on a percentage of the total expenses. He explained if the City tried to offset the fare increase by adjustments in expenses it would have to cut the Transit budget by at least one percent. Council Member Hall stated the Transit Department should research how to track rides that were paid by the City that should be paid through the state. Council Member Herman asked how many riders used the para transit system. Mr. Strong indicated approximately 140,000 riders used the para transit system. Council Member Cummings questioned what kind of training the para transit drivers had. Mr. Strong stated the para transit drivers were contract drivers, and completed a variety of internal training required by the contractor including alcohol and drug training, sensitivity training, and customer service training. He explained they were also subject to the City's random alcohol and drug testing policy. Council Member Poeschl stated he would rather have a $.25 fare increase. He felt the population who used public transportation could not financially support a $.50 fare increase. Council Member Allison-Aasby questioned Mr. Strong if he knew what the increase per year would be to the individual rider. Mr. Strong replied he did not know what the increase per year would be to the individual rider. He stated his department was trying to get better statistics on users of the para transit programs. Council Member Allison-Aasby questioned outside of the wheel tax what options the City had to not raise the fares. Mr. Strong explained the facets of the transit budget, indicating when fares were increased in 2008; para transit fares were not included. He stated if the para transit fares were not increased, he could look at reducing expenses which could include eliminating or cutting back on services and staffing. In his opinion these items were already at a minimum. Council Member Herman proposed an amendment to reduce the proposed fare increase $.25 across the board. Council Member Hall stated he would support the amendment as it would reduce the burden to the para transit riders; although he might opt to vote against the resolution. Council Member Cummings stated it was irresponsible for the Council to vote on the amendment to reduce the proposed fares without having the facts of the impact of doing so. 5 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— NOVEMBER 8, 2011 Council Member Pech agreed with Council Member Cummings. Council Member Allison-Aasby suggested the Council lay the resolution over until the next meeting to give City staff time to research the impact of increasing the fares by $.25 versus the proposed increase. Resolution 11-500 Approve Tax Increment District No. 25 Project Plan; Designate Tax Increment District No. 25 Boundaries; Create Tax Increment District No. 25 City Center Hotel Rehabilitation MOTION: ADOPT (Pech; second, Cummings) MOTION: TABLE THE RESOLUTION INDEFINITELY (Hall; second, Herman) WITHDRAWN FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION MOTION: TABLE THE RESOLUTION INDEFINITELY (Hall; second, Allison-Aasby) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Hall, Allison-Aasby, Pech, Cummings, Herman, Mayor Tower Noes (1) Poeschl Dick O'Day, 715 Hazel Street, stated the City Center Hotel property did not warrant a TIF. Bob Cornell, 548 W. Smith Avenue, explained the resolution should be tabled indefinitely to see what the future holds as far as a developer for the property. Council Member Pech asked Mr. Rohloff to address whether the City had also offered a TIF to the current owner of the City Center Hotel. Mr. Rohloff explained the City had numerous discussions with the current owner of hotel regarding potential City assistance with hotel renovations. He further explained the current owner of the hotel never provided the information the City required for a TIF application; therefore, the City could not give them due consideration. Council Member Herman questioned if the current owner of the City Center Hotel had contacted the City with any new plans since the proposed sale fell through. Mr. Rohloff stated he had not had contact with the current owner of the City Center Hotel since March 2011. Council Member Herman noted that the bar in the hotel had been closed voluntarily by the current owner and asked how long it would be before the City could reissue the liquor license. Ms. Lorenson stated the bar would have to be closed for one year before the City could reissue the liquor license. 6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— NOVEMBER 8, 2011 Council Member Poeschl stated he did not support tabling the resolution indefinitely. He explained the City should create TIF districts from scratch with each new developer. COUNCIL DISCUSSION, DIRECTION TO CITY MANAGER AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS A budget workshop would be held on November 16th at 5:00 p.m. and the public hearing on the 2012 Budget would be at 7:00 p.m. A workshop on the focus and long term goals of the Long Range Finance Committee would be held on December 13th A workshop for review and consideration of automated refuse would be held on January 10, 2012. Council Member Herman explained he had provided Council Members with a copy of the City Manager Performance Evaluation Handbook and requested Council feedback. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she liked the idea of the handbook and recommended that the Council complete a mid year review of City Manager's performance to avoid any surprises at the annual review. Council Member Cummings stated he liked the handbook as it defined the role of the Council in ensuring the City Manager carried out his responsibilities. Council Member Poeschl wanted to discuss implementation of the recommendation from the Transit Advisory Board for a wheel tax to fund the Transit Department. He supported a wheel tax, however, if a wheel tax ordinance was implemented he would like a sunset clause attached to it. He felt a wheel tax would enable the Transit Department to expand its services. Chris Strong, Director of Transit stated according to state statute, a municipal registration fee could be enacted by the governing body of a municipality. He explained the fee would be handled by the State through the vehicle registration process, the State would charge $.10 per vehicle with the remainder going to the municipality for "transportation purposes". He stated the "Transportation purposes" was not defined but typically the fees were used for road construction and upkeep. Council Member Herman asked if the wheel tax included motorcycles and scooters. Mr. Strong replied the wheel tax was typically charged to personal vehicles. Council Member Herman asked how many municipalities in the state charged a wheel tax. Mr. Strong stated there were five municipalities with wheel tax ordinances on the books; however, only four of them charged a fee. 7 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— NOVEMBER 8, 2011 Council Member Cummings believed the implementation of a wheel tax would encourage citizens to not live in the City of Oshkosh. Council Member Pech stated it did not make sense to charge a wheel tax to expand and enhance the Transit System, and include a sunset clause. He explained expanding the transit system would cost more money; and questioned where the funds would come from for the expanded services once the wheel tax no longer existed. Council Member Hall stated for work related reasons he would not be able to attend the budget workshop on November 16th, however he wanted to express his ideas regarding the budget. He gave a detailed explanation on how he allocated extra funds by cashing out a TIF early. He also offered a way to lessen the blow to City workers' take home pay due the state budget reform laws by implementing a one time economic non base adjustment. CITIZEN STATEMENTS Dick O'Day, 715 Hazel Street, stated the river walk project was unnecessary and should be taken out of the budget. Patricia Diener, 1316 Broad Street, was concerned about leaf pick up along Bowen Street. Steve Barney, 1335 Summit Avenue, supported a wheel tax from a sustainability standpoint, hoping it would promote a shift in the mode of transportation from cars to buses. CITY MANAGER ANNOUNCEMENTS & STATEMENTS Mr. Rohloff gave the Council an update of outstanding projects in their packet. He stated there would be a workshop scheduled with the Plan Commission regarding the location of the new Central Garage. He explained the City recently purchased new turbidity meters for the Water Filtration Plant. He stated an agreement for engineering services was made with AECOM for hydraulic modeling of storm sewer systems for various 2013 street reconstruction projects. He also explained there was an addendum to the engineering services agreement with Gremmer and Associates for the design and construction services of the Otter Avenue Lot. He stated the Health Department consolidation was still in progress. MOTION: ADJOURN (Cummings; second, Herman) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting adjourned at 9:11 p.m. PAMELA R. UBRIG CITY CLERK 8