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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL CITY OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN JULY 28, 2015 OlHKO.IH ON THE WATER REGULAR MEETING held Tuesday, July 28, 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 Council Member Steven Herman. PROCLAMATION A proclamation was presented by Mayor Cummings proclaiming August, 2015 as Civility Month in the City of Oshkosh. CITIZEN STATEMENTS TO COUNCIL Gary Gray, 815 W. Linwood Avenue, applauded City staff for placing historical budget information on the City's website for the 2016 budget process. He felt the Council should actively promote public participation in the budget process to improve transparency and accountability. Dennis Rymer, 2235 Brookview Court, asked why the Mayor's Breakfast was changed to August 15tH Mayor Cummings stated the Mayor's Breakfast was moved to August 15th based upon the recommendation of the organizers of the event. He stated according to the organizers of the event, there had been less attendance by EAA visitors and the organizers felt the event would be better served as a family event for the citizens of Oshkosh. Mr. Rymer stated the terraces along the recently reconstructed 200 block of Parkway Avenue were full of weeds. Mr. Gohde stated upon completion of the road, terraces were seeded and erosion matted. He stated the property owners were responsible for the upkeep of the terrace. 1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— .JULY 28, 2015 Mr. Rymer stated he believed the terraces along the 200 block of Parkway Avenue were never seeded. Mr. Gohde stated he would have City staff inspect the terraces along the 200 block of Parkway Avenue. CONSENT AGENDA Approval of Bills presented by the Finance Director Receipt and Filing of Common Council Minutes from July 14, 2015 Approval of Cash Report from June 2015 Receipt of Claims filed with the City's Insurance Company: A) Karin Gehrke for alleged damages from a sewer backup B) William Newlin for alleged damages from a sewer backup Resolution 15-353 Approve Granting Easement to Northern Telecom and Data; Division Street Parking Lot / 500 Block of North Main Street (Plan Commission Recommends Approval) Resolution 15-354 Approve Granting Easement to Northern Telecom and Data in William Steiger Park and Carl E. Steiger Park (Plan Commission Recommends Approval) Resolution 15-355 Approve Spot Blight Designation; Authorize Redevelopment Authority to Acquire 1208 Oshkosh Avenue (Redevelopment Authority Recommends Approval) Council Member Pech asked for an explanation of Resolutions 15-355, 15-356, and 15-357. Allen Davis, Director of Community Development, stated the property at 1208 Oshkosh Avenue would be purchased by the City as part of the long term goal to improve traffic circulation and create better access to Rainbow Park. Council Member Herman noted there was an apartment in the building and asked if the City was responsible for relocating the tenant. Mr. Davis replied the City only purchased vacant properties which meant the tenant no longer lived there. Council Member Panske asked what the long term plan was for the area of the property. Mr. Davis stated the Redevelopment Authority (RDA) had a plan for intersection improvements and the northwest quadrant would be developed for commercial and mixed use properties. 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— .JULY 28, 2015 Resolution 15-356 Approve Developer Agreement, Lease Agreement, Assignment of lease to WHEDA; Approve Land Disposition to Rivers Phase II — Oshkosh LLC; Approve Option to Purchase Parcel J by Northpointe Development Corporation - South Side of Marion Road (Redevelopment Authority Recommends Approval) Mr. Davis stated the proposed property was the vacant land between the Rivers I Apartments and the Anthem building on Marion Road. He stated the developer of the proposed property wanted to construct phase two of the Rivers Senior Housing Project on the site. He stated the developer would not be able to use the entire site as part of the site was contaminated to the point where it was too expensive for remediation and would need to be capped. The capped area of the site would be used for public open space. The remainder of the property would be used for the construction of a forty unit multifamily building. He stated since WHEDA was involved with the financing there was a condition that the lease be assigned to WHEDA in case the developer did not complete the project. He stated the City would lease the property to the developer until the contamination capping requirements were approved by the DNR and construction was complete. Council Member Panske asked if there were plans to reconstruct the intersection of Jackson Street and Marion Road. Mr. Rohloff stated years back the Council rejected a proposal by the City to purchase the Chamber of Commerce Building on Division Street in order to reconstruct the intersection of Division Street, Marion Road, and Jackson Street. Council Member Herman asked if the public space improvements would be completed right away as part of the contamination capping. Mr. Davis stated the public space improvements would be completed in conjunction with the construction of the building due to the public space improvements being part of the remediation capping plan. Council Member Herman asked if there was any liability to the City regarding leasing the property to the developer until the DNR approved the capping and the construction was completed. Mr. Davis stated once the property was sold the City and the developer would no longer have any environmental liability which was the goal of the remediation program through the DNR. Resolution 15-357 Approve Spot Blight Designation at 1118 South Main Street; Former Buckstaff Property (Redevelopment Authority Recommends Approval) Mr. Davis stated the spot blight designation was needed in order to proceed with the grant applications to aide in the demolition of the structures on the site. Resolution 15-358 Approve Initial Resolution for Special Assessments / Cold-Mix Asphalt Paving (4t" Avenue, Foster Street and Alleys) 3 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— .JULY 28, 2015 Mr. Rohloff stated the agenda had been amended to exclude Nebraska Street from the resolution since Council had previously approved a resolution for Nebraska Street. Resolution 15-359 Approval of Special Event - Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association to utilize Sunnyveiw Expo grounds for their Great Lakes Logging and Heavy Equipment Expo / September 8, 9 & 10, 2016 Resolution 15-360 Approve Special Class "B" Licenses, Class "B" Fermented Malt and Class "C" Wine License and Operator Licenses MOTION: ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA (Pech; second, Stepanek) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Herman, Pech, Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Mayor Cummings ACTION TAKEN ON ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS Ordinance 15-361 Approve Official Mapping of Sawyer Creek Watershed; 2700 Block of Clairville Road Town of Algoma (Plan Commission Recommends Approval) Mayor Cummings asked for the location of the 2700 Block of Clairville Road. Mr. Gohde stated the 2700 Block of Clairville Road was located on the west side of Clairville Road, south of County Trunk Highway K (also known as 20th Avenue), and north of Highway 91. MOTION: ADOPT (Clark; second, Herman) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Herman, Pech, Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Mayor Cummings Ordinance 15-362 Repeal and Recreate a Portion of the Streets and Sidewalks Ordinance / Section 25-23 Street to Remain Open to Traffic during Course of Excavation MOTION: ADOPT (Clark; second, Pech) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Herman, Pech, Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Mayor Cummings Council Member Herman felt it was important for citizens to know what streets were included in the ordinance and reported the following: W. 20th Avenue, Oregon Street, Jackson Street, W. 24th Avenue, Oakwood Road, Koeller Street, and Washburn Street. Ordinance 15-363 Amend Municipal Ordinances Related to License Investigation and Approval, the Granting and Issuance of Alcohol Beverage Licenses 4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— .JULY 28, 2015 MOTION: ADOPT (Clark; second, Herman) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Herman, Pech, Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Mayor Cummings Mayor Cummings asked for an explanation of the ordinance. Ms. Lorenson explained changes were made to the ordinance to bring the ordinance up to date with State Statutes. She stated the requirement for proof of Wisconsin Seller's Permit was added to the ordinance and the language was simplified regarding inspections from the police, health and fire departments. She stated the verbiage regarding the fee for wholesale beverage licenses was removed from the ordinance as the wholesale beverage licenses were currently issued by the State of Wisconsin; not by the City. Ordinance 15-364 Amend Chapter 8 Hotel and Motel Room Tax Ordinance to Reallocate Room Tax Distribution, Continuing 2% of the Room Tax Dedicated to Convention Center Debt Retirement and Amending the Timing of Payments of Hotel and Motel Room Tax 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 with the recent revised agreement with the Grand Opera House, the City's contribution to the Grand Opera House was no longer tied to the hotel and motel room tax. He stated for that reason and due to the complicated room tax formula, the City needed to revise the room tax ordinance. He stated the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors would receive 60% of the hotel and motel room tax revenue; 20% would be dedicated to Convention Center debt; and 20% would go to the City for tourism related expenses such as Convention Center operations, the Grand Opera House and the funding of a Special Events Coordinator. Council Member Panske asked if the Special Events Coordinator would be a City employee position but paid by the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau. Mr. Rohloff stated the Special Events Coordinator position would be a City employee position paid through the City's share of the hotel and motel room tax revenue. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she felt amending the hotel and motel room tax ordinance was long overdue. Ordinance 15-365 Designate Signalized Pedestrian Crossing on Oregon Street for the River Walk FIRST READING; LAID OVER UNDER THE RULES 5 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL— .JULY 28, 2015 COUNCIL DISCUSSION, DIRECTION TO CITY MANAGER AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS A budget workshop would be held on August 26th at 5:00 p.m. A dedication ceremony for the new pocket part in the Middle Village Neighborhood would be scheduled at a later date. Council Member Pech stated budget documents would be placed on the City's website as they were prepared and presented to Council. CITIZEN STATEMENTS TO COUNCIL There were no citizen statements to Council. CITY MANAGER ANNOUNCEMENT AND STATEMENTS Mr. Rohloff updated the Council on the Murdock Avenue Road Reconfiguration. He stated the Traffic Review Advisory Board unanimously voted to implement the proposal and added the stipulation that they would reevaluate the road reconfiguration in two years. He stated the bike lanes were being evaluated and would need to be voted on by the Council if they were to be added in the future. Council Member Herman stated he was the Council liaison on the Traffic Review Advisory Board and that their concern for the Murdock Avenue Road Reconfiguration was the bike lanes. He stated no concerned citizens attended the Traffic Review Advisory Board meeting when the issue was discussed. The Mayor's Breakfast would be held August 15th at the Leach Amphitheater from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. MOTION: THE COUNCIL MAY CONVENE INTO CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO SECTION 19.85(1)(C) OF THE WISCONSIN STATE STATUTES TO DISCUSS THE MID-YEAR REVIEW OF THE CITY MANAGER, AN EMPLOYEE OVER WHICH THE COMMON COUNCIL HAS JURISDICTION AND EXERCISES RESPONSIBILITY. (Pech; second, Clark) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Herman, Pech, Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Mayor Cummings MOTION: ADJOURN (Clark; second, Pech) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting adjourned at 6:41 p.m. PAMELA R. UBRIG CITY CLERK 6