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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes PROCEED/NGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL � CITY OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN ` .�ANUARY 27, 2015 OlHKQII-I ON TME WATER REGULAR MEETING held Tuesday, January 27, 2015, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall. Mayor Tower presided. PRESENT: Council Members Sean Fitzgerald, Steve Cummings, Tom Pech, Jr., Steven Herman, Deb Allison-Aasby, Caroline Panske, and Mayor Tower ALSO PRESENT: Mark Rohloff, City Manager; Pamela Ubrig, City Clerk; Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney and Steve Gohde, Assistant Director of Public Works Council Member Fitzgerald read the Invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Travis Jumisco and Hannah Schroeder from Oshkosh North High School CITIZEN STATEMENTS TO COUNCIL There were no citizen statements to Council. CONSENT AGENDA Approval of Bills presented by the Finance Director Resolution 15-31 Rescind Personal Property Taxes: A) PJ Productions (1601 Oregon Street) B) The Golf Vault (752 N Main Street) Resolution 15-32 Award Bid for Liquid Odor Control for Wastewater Treatment Plant for 2015 to Evoqua Water Technologies LLC (Estimated at $140,400) Resolution 15-33 Approve Spot Blight Designation for the Property at 1402 Mount Vernon Street as requested by Oshkosh/Winnebago County Housing Authority Council Member Herman asked for an explanation of the resolution. Allen Davis, Director of Community Development, stated the Housing Authority purchased the abandoned factory located at 1402 Mount Vernon Street and planned to rehabilitate the existing buildings into a mixed use of residential and commercial space. Council Member Herman asked what streets abutted the property. 1 PROCEED/NGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—.IANUARY 27, 2015 Mr. Davis stated the property abutted Custer Avenue, Grand Street, Nevada Avenue, and Harrison Street. Council Member Fitzgerald stated in order to receive State funds for rehabilitation a parcel needed to be a minimum of five acres, which was why a portion of the street needed to be vacated. Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney, clarified that the street vacation needed in order to bring the property to the five acre minimum was approved at the January 13, 2015 Council Meeting. Resolution 15-34 Approval of Initial Resolution for Special Assessments — Contract No. 15-14 / Snell Road Sanitary Sewer, Grade and Gravel and Asphalt Pavement Resolution 15-35 Approve Distribution of Fisk-Gallup Trust Funds by Senior Services Division for Medical Services to Income Qualified Citizens Resolution 15-36 Approval of Amendment to Engineering Services Agreement with AECOM Technical Services, Inc. for Construction - Related Services for the National Guard Armory Area Stormwater Detention Basin ($40,500) Resolution 15-37 Approval of Amendment to Special Event / Oshkosh Fast Club to utilize Reetz Diamonds at Menominee Park for their Greater Raider Open / May 29, 30 & 31, 2015 Resolution 15-38 Approve Waiver for Cavanaugh's Carriage to Allow Horses in the City thru December 31, 2015 Resolution 15-39 Approve Combination "Class B" Licenses, Agent Change Combination "Class A" License, Special Class "B" Licenses, Operator Licenses, Taxi- Cab License and Taxi-Cab Driver License MOTION: ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA (Allison-Aasby; second, Cummings) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Fitzgerald, Cummings, Pech, Herman, Allison-Aasby, Panske, Mayor Tower ACTION TAKEN ON ORD/NANCES & RESOLUTIONS Ordinance 15-40 Amend Section 6-14 Rabies Vaccination to Allow Veterinary Technicians to Administer Rabies Vaccine MOTION: ADOPT (Panske; second, Cummings) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Fitzgerald, Cummings, Pech, Herman, Allison-Aasby, Panske, Mayor Tower 2 PROCEED/NGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— .IANUARY 27, 2015 Ordinance 15-41 Approval of Changes in Leased Parking in the Recreation Department Lot FIRST READING; LAID OVER UNDER THE RULES Resolution 15-42 Approval of Combination "Class B" License(s) A) Gardinas Wine Bar & Cafe B) Hustle Inn Pizza C) Ichiban Sushi House D) Paine Art Center & Gardens Mayor Tower explained there were three liquor licenses available in the City and that the Council would hear proposals from each license applicant to determine which, if any, would be granted a liquor license. GARDINA'S WINE AND BAR CAFE John Carlson, 405 S. Olde Oneida Street, Appleton, stated he obtained a liquor license from the City of Oshkosh six years ago and opened Gardina's at 448 N. Main Street. He stated his intention was to open another bar/restaurant in a vacant building located at 421 N. Main Street. Council Member Cummings asked if the fa�ade of the building would be would be made to look like the image that was submitted with the application for the license. Mr. Carlson stated since he did not own the building the exterior fa�ade was beyond his scope. Council Member Fitzgerald asked if there was existing kitchen equipment in the building. Mr. Carlson stated that there was not any existing kitchen in the building; the kitchen would be a substantial investment and completely new. Council Member Fitzgerald asked if the building was zoned properly for a bar/restaurant. Mr. Carlson stated that City building inspectors and architects had inspected the building and it appeared that zoning would not be an issue. Council Member Allison-Aasby asked how long the proposed building had been vacant. Mr. Carlson stated the proposed building had been vacant for two years. Council Member Allison-Aasby asked if there would be retail sales in the building. Mr. Carlson stated there would be some retail sales. Mayor Tower asked for the timeline of the restaurant. 3 PROCEED/NGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—.IANUARY 27, 2015 Mr. Carlson stated the restaurant was slated to open in June, 2015. HUSTLE INN PIZZA No representative from Hustle In Pizza appeared at the Council Meeting. Mayor Tower asked if Hustle Inn Pizza was notified of the Council Meeting. Pamela Ubrig, City Clerk, stated that all of the liquor license applicants were sent letters on the 14th of January informing them that the Council would hear proposals and possibly award liquor licenses at the January 27, 2015 Council Meeting. ICHIBAN SUSHI HOUSE Dan Zheng, stated Ichiban Sushi House was located at 1600 Capital Drive and would be an Asian restaurant scheduled to open in June. She stated she also operated Sakura Sushi and Steakhouse in Oshkosh. Council Member Pech asked what the prior business was in the building where the proposed restaurant would be located. Ms. Zheng stated the building was previously occupied by the Asian Garden Buffet (near Target). Council Member Fitzgerald asked how many patrons the proposed restaurant would seat. Ms. Zheng replied the proposed restaurant would seat between 120 and 130 patrons and the bar would seat 10. Council Member Panske asked how many employees there were at Sakura Sushi and Steakhouse. She also asked how many employees would be hired at Ichiban Sushi House. Ms. Zheng stated there was between 15 and 20 full time and part time employees at Sakura Sushi and Steakhouse and that she expected to have the same amount at Ichiban Sushi House. PAINE ART CENTER AND GARDENS John Bermingham, 1038 Washington Avenue, supported the Paine Art Center and Gardens and explained that many of the weddings held there were for people who did not reside in Oshkosh making the Paine a destination place. He stated that those people brought money into the City of Oshkosh via hotels, shopping, hair salons and other services. He stated although the Paine currently had a license to serve beer and wine they would prefer to have a full liquor license that would enable caterers to serve alcohol. Michelle Rector, 1431 Congress Avenue, Events Manager at the Paine Art Center explained part of the customer service process at the Paine was to identify the reason why parties who expressed interest in the Paine ultimately chose to have their event at another venue. She 4 PROCEED/NGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—.JANUARY 27, 2015 stated over the past couple of years twelve to fourteen event organizers who expressed interest in the Paine chose not to hold their event there due to fact there was not a full liquor license. She stated having a full liquor license at the Paine would enable her to book many more rental events each year. Aaron Sherer, 1720 Cliffview Drive, Executive Director at the Paine Art Center and Gardens, stated he shared with neighbors that the Paine was pursuing a full liquor license and asked them to contact him if they had concerns; to date he has not received any concerns. He stated if the Paine was granted a full liquor license there were no plans to extend the curFew of events past ten o'clock in the evening. He stated the Paine had created a high end venue that would draw people to Oshkosh and added that a single out of town wedding held at the Paine generated $45,000.00 into the community. He stated he believed if the Paine was granted a full liquor license it could attract an additional twelve to fourteen "out of towner" wedding events at the Paine each year which would generate as much as a half million dollars to increase economic impact in Oshkosh. He stated the Paine was a private, non-profit organization that did not receive any funding from the City of Oshkosh or Winnebago County; the Paine was supported through a spectrum of sources and that rental and beverage income was a key source of annual income. Council Member Fitzgerald asked if there was an imbalance befinreen the Paine and other banquet facilities in Oshkosh regarding liquor licenses. Mr. Scherer stated as far as he knew, the Paine was the only business in the City of Oshkosh which rented their facilities for events such as weddings that did not have a full liquor license. Mayor Tower asked the Council for questions or comments regarding the liquor licenses. Council Member Herman asked if City staff had received a status update on the liquor licenses of Timbuktu's and Vitale's. Mr. Rohloff indicated the City could not presume the finro licenses Council Member Herman spoke of would become available as the process to revoke the liquor license of Timbuktu was just beginning; Vitale's only recently closed and the owner of the liquor license had a year from the date of closing to decide what to do with it. Council Member Panske asked what the time frame was on the revocation process for Timbuktu. Ms. Lorenson stated she had planned on serving the revocation complaint to Timbuktu in the next week and the item would be brought before Council on February 10th. She stated that the owner of Timbuktu would have an opportunity to present her case to the Council. Council Member Cummings asked in the case of Vitale's Restaurant, which had closed and was subsequently torn down, who owned the liquor license. 5 PROCEED/NGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— .IANUARY 27, 2015 Ms. Ubrig stated the owner of Vitale's Restaurant had ownership of the liquor license. She stated Schwab Properties, who purchased Vitale's Restaurant, had inquired about transferring the license however no paperwork had been filed in the City Clerk's Office. Council Member Cummings asked what the owner of the Vitale's Restaurant liquor license would have to do in order to maintain ownership of the license. Ms. Ubrig stated in order to maintain ownership of the Vitale's Restaurant Liquor License, the owner could transfer the license to another establishment that he owned or leased. Mayor Tower explained to the Council that they could vote on awarding the liquor licenses at the current meeting or defer consideration until a later date. MOTION: AWARD COMBINATION "CLASS B" LIQUOR LICENSE TO PAINE ART CENTER AND GARDENS (Cummings; second, Panske) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Cummings, Pech, Herman, Allison-Aasby, Panske, Mayor Tower Present (1) Fitzgerald Council Member Fitzgerald stated he would vote present due to being a member of the Board of Trustees for the Paine Art Center and Gardens. MOTION: AWARD COMBINATION "CLASS B" LIQUOR LICENSE TO GARDINA'S WINE AND BAR CAFE (Herman; second, Fitzgerald) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Fitzgerald, Cummings, Pech, Herman, Allison-Aasby, Panske, Mayor Tower Council Member Herman stated he was concerned that there were too many of the same type of restaurant in the central area of the City, however he supported awarded the liquor license. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she supported granting a liquor license to Gardina's Wine and Bar Cafe. She stated she felt the restaurant would bring people from the riverfront area into the downtown area. Council Member Panske commented that the proposed building had been vacant for finro years and that it would be a good thing for a business to occupy the building. Council Member Fitzgerald supported granting the liquor license. Council Member Cummings stated he felt the restaurant would be positive for the downtown. Mayor Tower felt the restaurant would draw more people to the downtown area. Council Member Pech supported the restaurant and hoped it would help springboard additional activity in the downtown area. 6 PROCEED/NGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— .IANUARY 27, 2015 MOTION: AWARD COMBINATION "CLASS B" LIQUOR LICENSE TO ICHIBAN SUSHI HOUSE (Fitzgerald; second, Pech) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Fitzgerald, Cummings, Pech, Herman, Allison-Aasby, Panske, Mayor Tower Council Member Pech supported awarding the liquor license as the City had targeted the area of the restaurant for economic development. Council Member Fitzgerald supported the restaurant due to the owners being successful at Sakura Sushi and Steakhouse. MOTION: ADOPT TO APPROVE COMBINATION "CLASS B" LICENSES EXCEPT FOR HUSTLE INN PIZZA, 803 OTTER AVENUE (Pech; second, Panske) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Fitzgerald, Cummings, Pech, Herman, Allison-Aasby, Panske, Mayor Tower Council Member Fitzgerald asked if the liquor license application from Hustle Inn Pizza would remain in the pool for future open liquor licenses. Ms. Ubrig stated she would contact the applicant from Hustle Inn Pizza to see whether or not he was still interested in obtaining a liquor license. Resolution 15-43 Approve Planned Development for Bank Development; Southwest Corner of Pearl Avenue and Jackson Street MOTION: ADOPT (Herman; second, Panske) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Cummings, Pech, Herman, Allison-Aasby, Panske, Mayor Tower Present (1) Fitzgerald Bob Gregorski, N8418 North Shore Road, Menasha, stated he was a board member representing Bank First National. He stated that the construction of the bank was a TIF project and that the bank design submitted, although bigger, was a prototype similar to banks constructed in Sheboygan, Two Rivers, and Appleton. He clarified the design of the bank still needed approval from the Plan Commission. He stated the property on which the bank would be constructed was contaminated therefore any construction would have to take place on geo piers. He stated although they could not meet all of the criteria for the Marion Road guidelines, the use of the property was approved unanimously by the Redevelopment Authority (RDA) and the Plan Commission. Bill Aubry, 2014 Shawnee Lane, stated he represented Hoffman Planning, Design and Construction. Council Member Cummings stated the Marion Road Development Guidelines were never adopted by the Council which put the Planning Department in a difficult position when it came to approving construction plans. 7 PROCEED/NGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— .IANUARY 27, 2015 Council Member Herman noted the Plan Commission approved the Planned Development with twelve conditions and asked if Mr. Gregorksi would have any problems abiding by them. Mr. Gregorski stated he would not have any problem meeting the conditions placed on the Planned Development by the Plan Commission. Mayor Tower asked for information on the TIF. Allen Davis, Director of Community Development, stated the proposed property was in Tax Incremental District #21 which to date had not performed very well. He stated Mr. Gregorski's proposal included a finro million dollar guarantee value for the bank property which the RDA was very interested in. He clarified that the RDA owned the property and if the offer was consummated the City would included it in the development agreement upon approval of the planned development by Council. Council Member Herman asked how Planning Services felt about the proposed bank facility being a good fit for the Marion Road Development area. Darryn Burich, Director of Planning Services, stated the proposed bank was consistent with guidelines of the Marion Road Development area, however the bank was not consistent with the overall vision of the neighborhood that City staff was trying to create in the area. He stated the Plan Commission approved the proposed project based on the prospective of the overall building and site plan. Council Member Herman asked if the proposed bank could help in the future development along Marion Road. Mr. Burich stated the original vision for the Marion Road area was to have businesses that created activity during the daytime and nighttime hours, however the market did support that. He stated the proposed bank would be a good active use of the property. Council Member Cummings felt the City and Council should adopt plans instead of using them as guidelines in order to avoid confusion and misinterpretation. Council Member Allison-Aasby asked if the proposed bank would create new jobs. Mr. Gregorski stated there were currently ten employees at the current downtown location of the bank and that would increase to eighteen full time and part time employees. Council Member Herman felt the proposed bank was a quality project and would support the resolution. Council Member Fitzgerald stated he would vote present as his business had a relationship with Bank First National. Council Member Cummings asked if Council was being asked to vote on the final design of the project or if there were items that had to go before the Plan Commission. 8 PROCEED/NGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— .IANUARY 27, 2015 Mr. Davis stated the Plan Commission placed conditions on the bank design regarding signage and building elevation that still needed to be approved. Resolution 15-44 Establish 2015 Stormwater Utility Rate to $136.60/ ERU Effective 4-1- 2015 MOTION: ADOPT (Cummings; second, Pech) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Fitzgerald, Cummings, Pech, Herman, Allison-Aasby, Panske, Mayor Tower Mayor Tower asked what ERU meant. Steve Gohde, Assistant Director of Public Works, explained ERU meant equivalent run off unit which was the general size of a single family home in terms of square footage. Mayor Tower stated the previous utility rate was $122.92/ERU so the increase would be almost $14.00. He stated the reason for the increase in the utility rate was to protect homes from the effects of storm water. Council Member Herman stated the City was mandated by the DNR and the federal government on how to control storm water discharge and that some of the money from the increased utility rates was used to comply with their standards. Resolution 15-45 Adopt 2015-2016 Strategic Plan MOTION: ADOPT (Pech; second, Cummings) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Fitzgerald, Cummings, Pech, Herman, Allison-Aasby, Panske, Mayor Tower Mr. Rohloff stated as the result of the retreat held with department heads last summer, the five priority goals identified for the 2015-2016 Strategic Plan were 1) Support Economic Development, 2) Continue to Strengthen our Neighborhoods, 3) Improve and Maintain our Infrastructure, 4) Improve our Quality of Life Assets, and 5) Develop an Effective, High PerForming Government. He asked the Council to provide City staff with the metrics they preferred in order to receive regular updates and reports to share with constituents. He stated business cards outlining the strategic plan would be available at the State of City Address and a copy of the plan would be placed at City Hall. Mayor Tower asked Mr. Rohloff to give the key goals of the strategic plan. Mr. Rohloff stated the four priority internal goals of the strategic plan were supporting economic development, continuing to strengthen our neighborhoods, improve and maintain our infrastructure and improve our quality of life assets. He stated the internal priority goal was to develop an effective, high performing government. Mayor Tower stated he liked that the strategic plan included ways to implement the goals and objectives. He also stated he liked the fact the strategic plan was published for public viewing. 9 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— .IANUARY 27, 2015 Council Member Cummings commented that he felt City staff and the Council were on the same page when it came to identifying the goals of the strategic plan. COUNCIL DISCUSSION, D/RECTION TO CITY MANAGER AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Mr. Rohloff reported that GOEDC hired a marketing/communication manager who would begin in February. He stated that GOEDC was still is the process of hiring an executive director and that an unveiling of some of the goals and fundraising efforts of GOEDC would be held in February. A meeting with the Oshkosh Area School Board would be held on February 11t" at 6 p.m. Council Member Herman stated he would be unable to attend the meeting with the Oshkosh Area School Board. A workshop/tour of the Public Works Field Operation Facility located at 639 Witzel Avenue (Entrance from South Campbell Road) would be scheduled at a later date. Mr. Rohloff asked the Council to provide him with some goals relative to the strategic plan and suggest the following: 1) Provide a report on the strategic plan and process including dashboard data on no less than a quarterly basis effective the first quarter of 2015. 2) Expand the newsletter to provide articles on departmental activities, particularly items related to the strategic plan. 3) Implement a tracking system to report on Council requests and directives. Council Member Herman stated he liked the three goals suggested by Mr. Rohloff and felt the Council should implement them. Council Member Allison-Aasby supported implementing the three goals suggested by Mr. Rohloff. She stated there were many community demands placed on the City Manager's time and that could perhaps be attended by City staff to better allow the City Manager to execute the goals of the strategic plan. Mayor Tower stated the consensus of the Council was to implement the three goals suggested by Mr. Rohloff as Goals of the City Manager for 2015. Mayor Tower reported that the City of Oshkosh would be featured on the television show "Around the Corner" on the Wisconsin Public Television station. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she attended a session at a Municipalities Conference in Madison where the City Administrator from Waunakee shared a UTube video regarding their City and resources from the perspective of the municipality. She stated she thought that was something the City of Oshkosh should look into. CITIZEN STATEMENTS TO COUNCIL There were no citizen statements to Council. 10 PROCEED/NGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—.IANUARY 27, 2015 CITY MANAGER ANNOUNCEMENT� STATEMENTS Mr. Rohloff stated the City had purchased its allotment of computers for 2015 through the State of Wisconsin Cooperative Purchase Contract with Vanguard Computers, Inc. MOTION: TO CONVENE INTO CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS BARGAINING OPTIONS, STRATEGY AND PARAMETERS RELATED TO THE NEGOTIATION OF AN AGREEMENT WITH THE GRAND OPERA HOUSE FOUNDATION FOR LEASE AND OPERATION OF THE GRAND OPERA HOUSE PURSUANT TO SECTION 19.85(1)(E) OF THE WISCONSIN STATE STATUTES WHERE COMPETITIVE BARGAINING REASONS REQUIRE A CLOSED SESSION (Allison-Aasby; second, Fitzgerald) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Fitzgerald, Cummings, Pech, Herman, Allison-Aasby, Panske, Mayor Tower MOTION: ADJOURN (Allison-Aasby; second, Panske) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting adjourned at 7:36 p.m. PAMELA R. UBRIG CITY CLERK 11