Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03. Council Minutes May 12, 2015 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL CITY OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN MAY 12, 2015 OlHKO.IH ON THE WATER REGULAR MEETING held Tuesday, May 12, 2015, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall. Mayor Cummings presided. PRESENT: Council Members Steven Herman, Tom Pech, Jr., Caroline Panske, Benjamin Stepanek, Kyle Clark, Deb Allison-Aasby and Mayor Cummings ALSO PRESENT: Mark Rohloff, City Manager; Pamela Ubrig, City Clerk; Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney and Steve Gohde, Interim Director of Public Works Council Member Steven Herman read the Invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Landon Spanbauer and Brooke Ellestad from Merrill Middle School. PRESENTATION Steve Gohde, Interim Director of Public Works, introduced Linda Moore, Project Manager from CH2MHill, who gave a presentation on the Marion Road Water Tower Design Project. She stated the new tower would be erected on land purchased adjacent to the existing tower in order to avoid interrupted water service to residents in the surrounding area. She stated the next step of the project was to review the preliminary design report with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. She stated she anticipated the final design would be completed by the end of summer, with bids going out and a construction contract finalized by the fall of 2015. Council Member Panske asked if the Council would receive a graphic of where the new water tower would be erected. Ms. Moore stated once it was determined where on the parcel the new water tower would be located, the Council would receive a new graphic. CITIZEN STATEMENTS TO COUNCIL Gary Gray, 815 W. Linwood Avenue, gave various opinions on why he felt there were less candidates running for the Oshkosh Common Council in recent years. He felt there should be a review of all Chapter 64 municipalities to compare their council compensation prior to any decisions being made to increase the City of Oshkosh Council Members compensation. 1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— MAY 12, 2015 Steve Eliasen, 1528 Grove Street, and Eric Smiltneek, 1855 Hickory Lane, promoted a sailing and outdoor youth sports program available in the City of Oshkosh. PUBLIC HEARING Resolution 15-234 Approval of Final Resolution for Special Assessments for Storm Sewer Laterals /Various Locations MOTION: ADOPT (Herman; second, Clark) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Herman, Pech, Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Mayor Cummings CONSENT AGENDA Approval of Bills presented by the Finance Director. Receipt and Filing of Common Council Minutes from April 28, 2015. Receipt of Claim filed with the City's Insurance Company: A) Germantown Mutual Insurance Company on behalf of Noltes Towing for alleged damage to their vehicle from a Fire Truck B) Greg Pollesch for alleged damages to his trailer while using the boat ramp C) Brett Wilkins for alleged damages to his vehicle from the boat ranger scratching it Resolution 15-235 Support the Efforts of the Weight of the Fox Valley and the Appleton- Fox Cities Transportation Management area and Oshkosh Metropolitan Planning Organization Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Emily Dieringer spoke on behalf of the Winnebago County Health Department and ReThink, Winnebago County's healthy living partnership. She stated both entities supported the resolution. Julia Salomon, was a member of The Weight of the Fox Valley whose initiative was to achieve and maintain a healthy weight for every age. On behalf of the organization she expressed support for the resolution. Council Member Herman asked what was happening in the City of Oshkosh with regard to The Weight of the Fox Valley. Ms. Dieringer stated the goal of The Weight of the Fox Valley (WOTFV) was to become a regional organization. She stated currently the WOTFV was focused on two areas; Workplace Wellness to encourage employees to live a healthy lifestyle and Active Communities to bring attention to bike and pedestrian trails available for citizen use. 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— MAY 12, 2015 Resolution 15-236 Approve Conditional Use Permit for an Exception to the Downtown Overlay District Standard Modification; 401 North Main Street (Plan Commission Recommends Approval) Resolution 15-237 Award Bid for Dual Steer Tandem Axle Truck Chassis with Dump Body Equipment and Leaf Vacuum ($236,322) for Street Division to JX Peterbilt ($81,935), Monroe Truck Equipment ($106,525) & Stepp Equipment ($47,862) Resolution 15-238 Award Bid for HVAC Replacement Main Hall Unit for Grand Opera House to August Winter and Sons, Inc. ($113,000) Resolution 15-239 Award Bid for Roof Replacement Areas 5 and 7 for Oshkosh Public Museum to Northeastern Roofing Inc. ($48,467) Resolution 15-240 Approval of Class "B' Fermented Malt License, Special Class "B" Licenses and Operator Licenses MOTION: ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA (Pech; second, Clark) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Herman, Pech, Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Mayor Cummings ACTION TAKEN ON ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS Ordinance 15-241 Approval of Relocation of the Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon on High Avenue MOTION: ADOPT (Pech; second, Clark) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Herman, Pech, Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Mayor Cummings Mayor Cummings asked for an explanation of the ordinance. Mr. Rohloff explained the pedestrian movement patterns on the university campus had changed which warranted relocating the pedestrian hybrid beacon to where the students were crossing along High Avenue. Council Member Stepanek stated he supported moving the beacon as most students had classes in Sage Hall and crossed High Avenue at that point. 3 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— MAY 12, 2015 Ordinance 15-242 Approve Amendment to Section 27-59 Bicycle Licensing to Create a Group Registration fee for Residents of the Same Household and Annually Suspend Bicycle Registration Fees During April and May MOTION: SUSPEND RULES FOR CONSIDERATION (Panske; second, Herman) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Herman, Pech, Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Mayor Cummings MOTION: ADOPT (Clark; second, Panske) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Herman, Pech, Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Mayor Cummings Council Member Panske proposed in the interest of time, that Council waive the rules and consider the ordinance. Council Member Herman stated the Council had suspended bicycle registration fees during the months of April and May for the past couple years therefore it made sense to make it an ordinance and consider it at the first reading. COUNCIL DISCUSSION, DIRECTION TO CITY MANAGER AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS A workshop to review the health insurance program would be held on June 9t" at 4:45 pm. A workshop/discussion with local State legislators regarding the State budget and other issues of local concern was tentatively scheduled for June 8 th Council Member Pech stated a joint workshop with the Long Range Finance Committee and the Council regarding levy limits would be held on June 3rd at the regularly scheduled Long Range Finance Committee. Council Member Herman felt the City should adopt an ordinance regarding pan handler regulations. Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney, advised there were First Amendment concerns regarding pan handlers and banning the practice outright was not legal. She stated there were ordinances that police officers could use to address specific complaints or issues with pan handlers. Council Member Pech stated he understood citizens concerns regarding pan handling however he did not think it was a good idea to draft an ordinance that would open the City up for litigation. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she would be interested in knowing how other communities managed pan handling. Ms. Lorenson stated she would provide the Council with information regarding pan handling. 4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— MAY 12, 2015 COUNCIL MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND STATEMENTS Mayor Cummings requested Council Members to submit their preferences for Board and Commission assignments by Friday, May 151H CITIZEN STATEMENTS TO COUNCIL Lee Williams, 331 Broad Street, was concerned that the City of Oshkosh relied too much on what other communities were doing regarding moving the City forward. He stated the City should place time limit restrictions on pan handlers. Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney, stated in order to place time limit restrictions on pan handlers the City would have to convince the legal system why the time restrictions were significant and necessary. Council Member Pech stated that the City of Oshkosh was a leader in many things, for example the Pride of Oshkosh art project which other cities emulated. Mayor Cummings stated there were many projects in the planning stages for the City of Oshkosh that no other community was doing. CITY MANAGER ANNOUNCEMENT& STATEMENTS Mr. Rohloff stated Council Members were provided with a memo of the Council Chambers Modifications Committee recommendations. He stated most of the modifications would be technological as they were included in the 2015 CIP. Council Member Pech stated the Council Chambers Modifications Committee was researching adding a hearing hook to the council chambers in order to be ADA compliant. He stated the monitors in the council chambers would also be replaced to better present information to Oshkosh citizens. Mayor Cummings stated the goal of modifying the council chambers was to get City information to citizens in a more comprehensive, understandable and interesting format. Mr. Rohloff reported that a pickup truck for the Parks Department was purchased through the State Contract Cooperative. Mr. Rohloff stated Council Members were provided a copy of the 2015 Citizen Survey. He stated that the survey showed a slight age bias with forty five percent of the survey takers being the age of sixty or older. He stated most of the survey takers were homeowners which could also be considered a bias. He stated the bonus question on the 2015 survey asked citizens how they felt about a wheel tax and that sixty percent of the survey takers overwhelmingly did not support a wheel tax. He stated citizens generally preferred road maintenance rather than construction improvements. 5 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— MAY 12, 2015 Council Member Herman stated there were overwhelming concerns in the survey regarding taxes being too high. Mr. Rohloff stated an update of the Strategic Plan would be available electronically to Council on Friday, May 151H Mr. Rohloff stated the Public Works Field Operations Facility Grand Opening would be held on May 30th from 9:00 am to Noon with the ribbon cutting at 10:00 am. Council Member Pech stated that the Public Works Field Operations Facility was constructed to replace the old building which was built in 1940 and was structurally obsolete. He stated he believed the City of Oshkosh delivered a good value to its citizens for their tax dollars. Council Member Clark stated the Public Works Field Operations Facility made the City more efficient as it consolidated multiple facilities into one location. MOTION: TO CONVENE INTO CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO SECTION 19.85(1)(G) TO CONFER WITH LEGAL COUNSEL WHO WILL GIVE LEGAL ADVICE CONCERNING STRATEGY TO BE ADOPTED WITH RESPECT TO LITIGATION IN WHICH THE CITY IS INVOLVED PERTAINING TO PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1118 SOUTH MAIN STREET (THE FORMER BUCKSTAFF FACTORY) (Pech; second, Clark) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Herman, Pech, Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Mayor Cummings MOTION: ADJOURN (Pech; second, Allison-Aasby) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting adjourned at 7:19 p.m. PAMELA R. UBRIG CITY CLERK 6