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HomeMy WebLinkAboutweekly newsletter Date: June 8, 2012 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: QUIET ZONE UPDATE 1.. I wanted to provide an update on recent progress for the proposed new railroad “quiet zone” at the northern end of the city. The city submitted an application to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a quiet zone designation last July. The application was necessary since some of the crossings in the proposed quiet zone have unusual site characteristics that limit our ability to implement an “off-the-shelf” standard solution to improve crossing safety. Last week, we received word from the FRA that the city’s proposed improvements essentially satisfied their requirements, except on County Highway Y, where the posted roadway speed limit is higher than what is allowed within FRA’s guidelines. The FRA provided the city with a couple of options to address this issue - lowering the posted speed limit in this area, or applying to the FRA for a waiver. Staff is investigating these options with the intent of resolving this issue in the near future. In the meantime, we expect that the remaining construction activity for this project, at Snell Road and Butler Avenue, will go out to bid in the next couple of months. After construction is complete, the FRA will need to verify that the constructed improvements match the plans we submitted. Only after they make this field verification will the FRA be able to certify this as a quiet zone. Staff has provided an update to the citizens who have been most frequently in contact with us about this issue. If you have any questions, please contact Transportation Director Chris Strong. OPEN HOUSE FOR MENOMINEE PARK MASTER PLAN 2.: As the Council is aware, the Parks Department has hired Rettler Corporation of Stevens Point to assist in the development of a Master Plan for Menominee Park. The plan itself currently consists of a series of conceptual ideas that could be considered for the park. Prior to the Parks Board providing any specific direction to staff on which conceptual elements they would like to see into a final draft master plan for Council consideration, the Parks Board asked staff to hold an Open House to invite residents to review the plans and ask questions they may have. This will enable the residents to provide input to the Parks Board before they make their final recommendations. The Open House is scheduled for Monday, th June 11, in Room 404 of City Hall. The Open House will take place from 4:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., at which time the Parks Board will meet and discuss the Master Plan. If you have any questions regarding this Open House or the development of the Menominee Park Master Plan, please contact Parks Director Ray Maurer. Weekly Newsletter June 8, 2012 Page 2 UPGRADE TO RIVERSIDE PARK/CONVENTION CENTER PARKING LOT 3.: As part of the city’s parking lot rehabilitation program in the 2012 CIP, I directed staff to review the options to rehabilitate the parking lot immediately east of the Convention Center and north of Riverside Park. The site at Riverside Park and its accompanying parking lot was effectively a landfill that had building materials and sawdust as its base. Following a review of soil conditions, our consulting engineers determined that the area immediately south of Ceape Avenue had previously been excavated and filled with proper fill. Therefore, reconstruction of this portion of the parking lot can take place without much soil stabilization. However, the area immediately north of Riverside Park still has a great deal of unstable soils, as evidenced by the “waffle effect” on the parking lot surface. In order for us to have a long term solution completed here, similar to the 400 block parking lot, we would have to excavate this area and replace fill. This type of soil rehabilitation work would likely cost anywhere from $1 million to $2 million alone, not including the parking lot improvements themselves. This is a cost that we cannot absorb in our CIP in this year, or in the next few years, as we will need to put emphasis on the Central Garage project, in addition to our continuing efforts with street improvements. Therefore, I have directed staff to consider short term solutions, which would put a cosmetic patch on this lot with a life of about ten years. During that time period, we would see the progress with the Convention Center and hotel, and see if we can do some long term improvements after some of the debt of the Convention Center is paid off. Although we do not have any formal options to present to Council at this time, I wanted the Council to be aware of what staff’s thinking was at this time. We certainly want the parking lot to be in a presentable condition when the new hotel is opened and Convention Center goers are parking in this immediate area. Eventually, we will identify a long term solution that will be economically feasible. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Transportation Director Chris Strong or me. OFFICE RELOCATION IN CITY HALL 4.: As I had previously reported to Council, we are undertaking a series of office relocations following the consolidation of our Health Department with Winnebago County. The first phase of this office relocation involves the consolidation of offices within the Department of Community Development. If you go on the second floor of City Hall, you will notice that Community Development Director Davis has relocated his office to the area formerly housing the Public Health Division. He will be joined in this area by his Administrative Assistant, Darlene Brandt, as well as our new Economic Development Specialist, Kelly Nieforth. The idea is to have a convenient location for our economic development services at City Hall. We are also adding some conference spaces that will be immediately available off of the hallway, rather than have members of the public wander through office areas looking for a conference room. Once this relocation is complete, we will convert the former lab area on the second floor into the offices for the City Assessor’s Office. The City Assessor’s Office is scheduled to move from the third floor down to the second floor sometime after Board of Review is complete. We will then create counter space in the second floor hallway for both the Planning Services Division and the City Assessor’s Office. This will enable all three divisions in Community Development (Inspections, Assessor, and Planning) to be within sight distance of one another. This will provide a great benefit to the public who often have to work with each of those divisions for various development projects. We believe that this relocation will enable us to better serve the public and development community. We will report on other office relocations as they occur over the balance of the summer, budget permitting. If you have any questions regarding the office relocations, please contact General Services Manager Jon Urben. Weekly Newsletter June 8, 2012 Page 3 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 features on article on Wisconsin competitiveness compared to other states in the nation. I am also enclosing a listing from the Oshkosh Public Library, touting their highlights in May of st 2012. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I’m enclosing the minutes of the May 1 Police & Fire nd Commission meeting; the minutes of the May 2 Long Range Finance Committee meeting; the thrd minutes of the May 9 Landmarks Commission meeting; the minutes of the May 3 Public th Museum Board meeting; and the minutes of the May 9 Board of Appeals meeting. th UPCOMING MEETINGS 6.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of June 11 include the th following: On Monday, June 11, at 2:00 p.m., I will be meeting with Mayor Tower to discuss the thth Agenda items for the June 12 Council Meeting. At 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 12, I will be attending a meeting of the Joint Review Board to consider Tax Incremental Financing District #25 for the downtown hotel project. At 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, I will be attending an employee recognition event at the Museum. At 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, I will be meeting with Museum Director Brad Larson to discuss future capital improvement projects for the Public Museum. th Beginning Wednesday afternoon, June 13, I will be attending the annual Wisconsin City/County Management Association (WCMA) conference in Wisconsin Dells. As a result of my absence, th there will be no formal Newsletter on Friday, June 15. I will have Jackie provide the Council with any information that may be worthy of bringing to Council’s attention. If you have any questions regarding my meeting schedule, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc Enclosures