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HomeMy WebLinkAboutweekly newsletter Date: November 16, 2012 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: STORM WATER COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS CIP & RATE INCREASE 1.: On Thursday, Finance Director Steeno and I attended a meeting of the Storm Water Advisory Committee, at which Public Works staff presented the proposed Capital Improvements Program (CIP) for the 2013 storm water program. From my perspective, there appeared to be agreement with the proposed plan of work. The Committee did, however, focus on three issues, namely: 1) The corresponding storm water rate necessary to support this program; 2) How future programs of work would impact future storm water rates; and 3) The importance of educating the public on both the need for specific projects and the overall need for the city’s storm water program, including the rates necessary to fund such a program. Because of our continued emphasis on storm water projects, the Committee recommended the full program of work, which corresponds to a proposed 29% increase in storm water rates for 2013. This will take our average annual residential rate to approximately $107.00 per year. This amount is still 20% less than the rates in the City of Appleton, and are even lower when you consider the rates on a per square foot basis. Even though our rates lagged behind some of our neighbors, the Committee expressed concern about the long term impact of our debt and ability to raise rates. The Committee asked Finance Director Steeno for a 2-3 year projection of rates based upon the current five year program of work. Finally, the Committee asked me to engage staff from OCMS to work with them on educational programs to better inform the public about the need for storm water management and the costs necessary to support the program. I have asked our Communications Coordinator, Nick th Austin, to attend a special meeting of the Storm Water Committee on December 13 to talk about this specific topic. I believe the Storm Water Committee is genuinely interested in educating the public about our storm water program as much as they are interested in making sure that the program of work meets the storm water needs of our community. If you have any questions regarding these efforts, please advise me. OPPORTUNITY OSHKOSH INITIATIVE 2.: Please find enclosed an invitation to the launching of the “Opportunity Oshkosh” initiative that is being undertaken by area local governments, educational institutions, as well as our other economic development partners including Chamco and the Chamber. This initiative is purely marketing in nature, intended to promote the Oshkosh area as a place to conduct business, with the obvious emphasis on the advantages and opportunities of doing business in Oshkosh. Weekly Newsletter November 16, 2012 Page 2 Council may recall that we budgeted $25,000 across our tax increment districts to fund marketing efforts, and Mr. Davis and I believe that this cooperative program represented the best use of these funds at this time. The current efforts undertaken by this working group include the “Opportunity Oshkosh” program, along with a targeted industry analysis of the greater Oshkosh area, which is intended to assist us in identifying industries that will compliment our existing industrial mix. I made a pledge on behalf of the city to participate in this program, and we will follow through on our pledge for this year. Future participation in these joint economic efforts will be discussed following the release of recommendations from the long-awaited Economic Development Study. I th will be speaking at the “Opportunity Oshkosh” launching on Thursday, November 29. If you have any questions about the city’s participation in these initiatives, please contact Community Development Director Davis or me. RAILROAD BRIDGE PORTALS DISMANTLED 3.: You may recall that as part of the railroad bridge replacement project, the Landmarks Commission successfully requested CN Railroad to donate to the city the railroad bridge portals with the 1899 markings. Although neither the Landmarks Commission nor staff had any specific intent with these portals, one idea did surface that perhaps they could be used for some type of decorative feature along the newly constructed River Walk. With that idea in mind, our design engineers for the River Walk suggested that perhaps these portals would be able to be used for that portion of the River Walk near the Boat Works property. You may also recall that a bridge had been suggested to keep the River Walk more along the river in the island area around the Boat Works property. That idea was met with a great deal of interest. For the time being, staff is putting the railroad portals into storage until such time that the final design of the River Walk is completed for this area, and once we know if a grant will be funded that will include the bridges described. I appreciate the Landmarks Commission’s commitment to preserving history and incorporating those ideas into a new idea such as the River Walk. We will keep Council up-to-date on what happens in this regard, be it funding related or design related. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Community Development Director Davis. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STUDY 4.: Staff spoke with Adam Prager regarding a Council th Workshop on December 6, and unfortunately, Mr. Prager is not available for that evening. He suggested that perhaps we could arrange meetings with Council Members to brief you on the study and plan a Workshop for another time. He did, however, express a great deal of interest in meeting with individual Council Members to introduce the study and explain the rationale. I will be contacting Council Members to see if you can make yourselves available to meet with Mr. Prager. In the meantime, we expect that the study will be available for the Council prior to st December 1. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this issue. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 5.: Other items I’m enclosing with today’s Newsletter include the Downtown Oshkosh Business Improvement District 2013 Operating Plan. If you have any questions regarding this document, please contact Community Development Director Allen Davis. I am also enclosing a notice from Wisconsin Public Service concerning the st WIOUWASH Trail detour, effective until November 21. The next item I’m enclosing is a correspondence received from the Wisconsin Department of Administration, letting us know that the final estimate of January 1, 2012 population for Oshkosh is 66,325. Weekly Newsletter November 16, 2012 Page 3 th Insofar as minutes are concerned, I’m enclosing the following: The minutes of the October 16 th Plan Commission meeting; the minutes of the October 16 Downtown BID Board meeting; and th the minutes of the October 4 Museum Board meeting. The last item I’m enclosing is the latest issue of the FOCUS newsletter, published by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, which features an article on income tax reform. th UPCOMING MEETINGS 6.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of November 19 include th the following: On Monday, November 19, at 8:15 a.m., I will be on WOSH Radio to talk about current city issues. On Monday, at 10:00 a.m., I will be meeting with Kevin Mraz of the Algoma Sanitary District. At 2:00 p.m. on Monday, I will be meeting with Vern Kienast to discuss th flooding issues around his property in the Town of Algoma. On Tuesday, November 20, at 8:00 a.m., I will be meeting with County Executive Harris and Eric Fowle, Executive Director of the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, to discuss the Airport Business Park and potential economic development grant funding. Because of the short week associated with Thanksgiving, there will be no Weekly Newsletter next week. If you have any questions regarding my schedule, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc Enclosures