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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02. Council Minutes from 8.25.2015PCC ROCEEDINGS OF THE OMMON OUNCIL CO,W ITY OF SHKOSH ISCONSIN A25,2015 UGUST REGULAR MEETING held Tuesday, August 25, 2015, at 6:00 p.min the Council . Chambers, City Hall. Mayor Cummings presided. Mr. Fitzpatrick introduced Pam Resch, the new Human Resources Manager. PRESENT: Council Members Caroline Panske, Benjamin Stepanek, Kyle Clark, Deb Allison-Aasby, Steven Herman, Tom Pech, Jr., and Mayor Cummings ALSO PRESENT: John Fitzpatrick, Assistant City Manager; Pamela Ubrig, City Clerk; Dave Praska, Assistant City Attorney and Steve Gohde, Interim Director of Public Works Council Member Panske read the Invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Panske. CSC ITIZEN TATEMENTS TO OUNCIL John Terzynski, 3812 Red Oak Court, was concerned about the fence not being maintained at a commercial property located on Ripple Road. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated he would research Mr. Terzynski’s concern regarding the fence not being maintained at a commercial property located on Ripple Road. PH UBLIC EARINGS Resolution 15-379 Approve Final Resolution Vacating Square Lake Drive, Bristol Square Drive and Portions of Western Drive and Nielsen Drive (Plan Commission Recommends Approval) MOTION: ADOPT (Pech; second, Clark) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Mayor Cummings Resolution 15-380 Approve Final Resolution for Special Assessments / Cold-Mix Asphalt th Paving (4 Avenue) MOTION: ADOPT (Allison-Aasby; second, Pech) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Mayor Cummings 1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—AUGUST 25, 2015 David Fendt, 1016 W. 4th Avenue, submitted a petition opposing the cold-mix asphalt overlay in favor of concrete curb and gutter reconstruction. He stated his street was included in the CIP to be reconstructed with concrete curb and gutter three years ago but it never happened. Mr. Gohde explained that 4th Avenue was included in the CIP several years ago to be reconstructed, however due to budget constraints City staff had to adjust when streets would be reconstructed. He stated City staff chose the option of cold-mix asphalt overlay instead of concrete curb and gutter reconstruction due to the utilities underneath the proposed section of 4th Avenue being in good condition. He explained the cold-mix asphalt overlay could last up to twenty years at which point the utilities and the street could be reconstructed at the same time. Mr. Fendt, asked the Council to reconsider the resolution and exclude 4th Avenue from the cold-mix asphalt paving project. Ron Widmer, 1067 W. 4th Avenue, asked if the City could do something similar to the patching of a street between Guenther Avenue and Sawyer Street to hold off 4th Avenue until it needed full reconstruction. Mr. Gohde explained what Mr. Widmer was referring to was a thin, scratch coat in which excess materials from a different job were placed down the middle of the road with no grading or shoulder work. He stated the scratch coat was already starting to deteriorate. Council Member Pech asked how long previous streets with cold mix-overlay had lasted before maintenance had to be completed. Mr. Gohde stated since the cold-mix overlay program began in 1998 the City had not done any significant repairs to streets other than patching. Council Member Pech asked if Mr. Gohde anticipated a similar street life for the cold-mix overlay on 4th Avenue. Mr. Gohde stated he anticipated a similar life expectancy for the cold-mix overlay on 4th Avenue. He explained the cold-mix overlay on residential streets held up very well; streets with heavier traffic such as commercial areas or schools had a shorter life. Council Member Pech asked if the Council voted to exclude 4th Avenue from the cold-mix overlay project, how long it would be before the street was reconstructed with curb and gutter. Mr. Gohde stated street reconstruction projects included in the CIP sometimes got reprioritized and pushed back due to failing utilities under other streets. He stated the back log of streets to be reconstructed outside of the five year CIP totaled $15,000,000 and the City was currently completing $3,000,000 in street reconstruction projects a year. 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—AUGUST 25, 2015 Mr. Widmer stated he preferred to have his street reconstructed as soon as possible as he was concerned about the cost of the project substantially increasing. Council Member Pech stated he appreciated Mr. Widmer's concern, however when choosing the streets that needed reconstruction, City staff had to address not only the condition of the street but also the condition of the utilities underneath. Mr. Widmer conceded he would rather have the proposed cold-mix asphalt overlay completed on his street than nothing at all. Council Member Panske asked what the age was of the utilities under the proposed portion of 4t" Avenue. Mr. Gohde stated he did not have the statistics of the utilities with him, however he said City staff would televise the infrastructure under the proposed area of 4t" Avenue and patch any problems to make the utilities last for the life of the cold-mix asphalt. He stated the area in which Mr. Fendt lived was prone to flooding. Council Member Panske asked if curb and gutter would alleviate flooding. Mr. Gohde replied curb and gutter with the correct storm sewer laterals underneath would fix or at least limit the possibility of flooding. Council Member Clark stated the City had to work with smaller budgets and must prioritize which streets needed reconstruction. He stated he felt the proposed cold-mix asphalt paving project was the best solution to repair 4t" Avenue until the utilities needed replacing. Council Member Herman stated he felt the best option for a viable street was to go ahead with the proposed cold-mix overlay on 4t" Avenue rather than do nothing. CONSENT AGENDA Approval of Bills presented by the Finance Director. Receipt and Filing of Common Council Minutes from August 11, 2015. Receipt and Filing of Museum Board Minutes from July 9, 2015. Receipt of Claim filed with the City's Insurance Company: A) Tara Neal for alleged damages to her cell phone during Police investigation Resolution 15-381 Approve Resolution Opposing Senate Bill 203 Assessing Mixed-Use Property in a Business Improvement District Council Member Pech stated he felt Senate Bill 203 would remove local control for assessing mixed-use properties in a business improvement district. 3 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—AUGUST 25, 2015 Darryn Burich, Planning Services Division Manager, explained a bill was introduced that would force a change to the way Business Improvement Districts (BID) were able to annually budget for their operating plans by exempting the residential and nonprofit components of mixed-use buildings from being included in the overall assessment tally. He stated the bill would take away control at the municipal level making it burdensome to determine an accurate and fair percentage when assessing mixed-use properties as the City was unable to separate out the residential component from the commercial component of a mixed-use building's total property value. Mayor Cummings cautioned the Council to keep tabs on what was happening at the State level pertaining to what was controlled at the municipal level. Resolution 15-382 Approve Engineering Services Agreement with CH2M HILL Engineers, Inc. for Design and Construction Services for Water Filtration Plant Equipment Replacement ($109,630.00) Council Member Pech asked for an explanation of resolutions 15-382 and 15-383. Steve Brand, Superintendant of Utilities, explained during an inspection of the equipment at the Water Filtration Plant, it was determined that the central air conditioning system and chiller needed upgrading and replacement. He also stated the sodium hydroxide tanks and associated piping also needed to be replaced. Council Member Herman asked if the Water Treatment Plant needed expanding. Mr. Brand replied the Water Treatment Plant did not need expanding and explained that staff used an equipment schedule to aid them in planning for future replacement of items such as mechanical equipment, electrical equipment, computers, etc. He also stated his department was in the process of developing a ten year plan for maintaining the facility. Resolution 15-383 Approve and Submit 2014 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Compliance Maintenance Annual Report / Wastewater Treatment Plant Mr. Brand, stated the Wastewater Treatment Plant was required to submit an annual report evaluating the performance of the Wastewater Treatment Plant. He explained the report was broken down into sections that addressed specific areas of performance for the wastewater system and that a letter grade was given to each section. He stated a letter grade of an A or B did not require any action to be taken. He stated the Wastewater Treatment Plant was on top of things, which was reflected in their score and no action was required of the Wastewater Treatment Plant by the WDNR. Resolution 15-384 Approve Purchase of Road Salt for Winter 2015-2016 for the Department of Public Works through WDOT from Compass Minerals ($157,560.00) 4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—AUGUST 25, 2015 Resolution 15-385 Approve Professional Services Agreement with Split Rock Studios for `People of the Waters' Exhibit at the Oshkosh Public Museum ($150,000.00) Council Member Panske asked for an explanation of the resolution. Brad Larson, Director of the Museum, stated the $150,000 professional services agreement for the exhibit was split equally between the City, Oshkosh Foundation Grants and the Museum Trust. He explained a big exhibit, such as the `People of the Waters', typically required three steps to complete: conceptualizing, which was completed in 2014; design development, which was the current phase; and creating the exhibit which would be a six to eight month process. Mayor Cummings noted that only $50,000 of the exhibit would come from tax payer money. Resolution 15-386 Approve Special Event - UW-Oshkosh Department of Residence Life to utilize city streets for their Move in Day for UW-Oshkosh / September 5, 6 and 7, 2015 Council Member Pech requested that the resolution be removed from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration. Resolution 15-387 Approve Special Event - Winnebago County Labor Council to utilize South Park for their Winnebago County Labor Council Labor Day Picnic and Car Show/ September 7, 2015 Resolution 15-388 Approve Special Event - Wesley United Methodist Church to utilize their church parking lot for their Block Party /September 12, 2015 Resolution 15-389 Approve Special Event - Oshkosh Senior Center to utilize the Senior Center Parking Lot, Riverwalk Trail, WIOUWASH Trail and city streets for their Fall Family Fun Fest and Granny Smith - 1 mile, 2 mile & 5K Run -Walk/ September 13, 2015 Resolution 15-390 Approve Special Event - Oshkosh North Student Council to utilize city streets for their Oshkosh North Homecoming Parade / September 25, 2015 Resolution 15-391 Approve Special Event - Bella Medical Clinic to utilize city streets and South Park for their Bella Medical Clinic Walk for Life / October 3, 2015 Resolution 15-392 Approve Special Event - UW-Oshkosh Police Department and Special Olympics Wisconsin to utilize city streets and WIOUWASH Trail for their Run with the Cops 5K/ October 8, 2015 5 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—AUGUST 25, 2015 Resolution 15-393 Approve Special Event - Friends of the Oshkosh Parks to utilize Menominee Park for their Celebration of Lights / November 24, 2015 through December 31, 2015 Resolution 15-394 Approve Special Event - Graybeard Productions, Inc. to utilize South Park for their Thunder in the Park/ June 4 and 5, 2016 Resolution 15-395 Approve Block Party - Wheatfield Way between Ruschfield Drive and Timothy Trail / September 6, 2015 Resolution 15-396 Approve Block Party - Evans Street between E. Irving Avenue and E. Lincoln Avenue / September 12, 2015 Resolution 15-397 Disallowance of Claim by Cheryl Schettl Resolution 15-398 Approve Combination "Class B" License, Special Class "B" Licenses and Operator Licenses MOTION: ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA EXLCUDING RESOLUTION 15-386 (Clark; second, Pech) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Mayor Cummings Resolution 15-386 Approve Special Event - UW-Oshkosh Department of Residence Life to utilize city streets for their Move in Day for UW-Oshkosh / September 5, 6 and 7, 2015 MOTION: ADOPT (Pech; second, Clark) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Mayor Cummings Council Member Pech stated he felt Council Members and City staff should attend the Move in Day for UW-Oshkosh event to welcome the students who would become members of the community. Council Member Stepanek stated it was a good idea for the Council and City staff to make a good impression on incoming college students in order to retain the students in the community after they graduate. ACTION TAKEN ON ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS Ordinance 15-399 Approve Zone Change/ Bristol Square Subdivision from R-1 Single Family Residence to R-3 Multiple Dwelling District with Planned Development Overlay; 4100 Block Jackson Street (Plan Commission Recommends Approval) 6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—AUGUST 25, 2015 MOTION: ADOPT (Clark; second, Herman) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Mayor Cummings Resolution 15-400 Resolution Providing for the Issuance & Sale of $6,695,000 Aggregate Principal Amount of Sewer System Revenue Bonds, Series 2015D, of the City of Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Providing Details, Prescribing the Form of Bond, Awarding Said Revenue Bonds to the Best Bidder, and Providing for the Payment of Said Revenue Bonds and Other Details and Covenants With Respect Thereto MOTION: ADOPT (Clark; second, Pech) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Mayor Cummings Todd Taves from Ehlers & Associates stated the City received three bids for the bonds with the winning bid awarded to FTN Financial Capital Markets and a true interest cost of 3.04%. He noted the sewer utility Aa3 bond rating was affirmed as part of the process. Resolution 15-401 Resolution Providing for the Issuance & Sale of $6,660,000 Aggregate Principal Amount of Water System Revenue Bonds, Series 2015E, of the City of Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Providing Details, Prescribing the Form of Bond, Awarding Said Revenue Bonds to the Best Bidder, and Providing for the Payment of Said Revenue Bonds and Other Details and Covenants With Respect Thereto MOTION: ADOPT (Clark; second, Allison-Aasby) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Mayor Cummings Todd Taves from Ehlers & Associates stated the City received four bids for the bonds with the winning bid awarded to FTN Financial Capital Markets and a true interest cost of 3.11%. He stated the water utility Aa3 bond rating was also affirmed. Resolution 15-402 Direct Correction of Assessment Roll for Tax Exemption for Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications MOTION: ADOPT (Allison-Aasby; second, Herman) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Mayor Cummings Mayor Cummings asked what impact the resolution would have on the taxpayers of Oshkosh. Dave Praska, stated the legal impact of the resolution was that Time Warner had requested to be granted an exemption for digital broadcasting equipment based on Wisconsin State Statutes, and the City must comply with the request. 7 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—AUGUST 25, 2015 Mayor Cummings stated the exemption reduced Time Warner's personal property assessment from $3,000,000 to $10,000. Council Member Pech stated the actual fiscal impact on the City of Oshkosh taxpayers would be $38,500, and stated he was concerned that tax relief for businesses would be offset by higher taxes for citizens. Mayor Cummings commented there was a trend among big box stores to aggressively contest property assessment values. Council Member Clark stated it was important for citizens to support local businesses as local business owners contributed more to the community. Council Member Panske reminded the public that as consumers they did not have to support the cable companies. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated the issue of "dark stores" was a national phenomenon and offered to share an article on the subject with people who wanted more information. Resolution 15-403 Approve Planned Development of a Mixed-Use Residential Development on West Side of Jackson Street; Bristol Square Subdivision (Plan Commission Recommends Approval) MOTION: ADOPT (Clark; second, Pech) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Mayor Cummings Council Member Pech explained that the developer of the proposed subdivision was a local developer investing in his community. Council Member Herman questioned if the City could lose property assessment value if the developer of the subdivision felt the taxes were too high. Mr. Burrich stated the proposed subdivision was not the same situation as what was happening with the big box stores. He stated the assessment rates on apartment complexes would fluctuate with the market. Mr. Praska noted any property owner could challenge the assessment of their property. Resolution 15-404 Approve Professional Service Agreement with Houseal Lavigne Associates LLC to Undertake Central City Investment Strategy ($1497250.00) MOTION: ADOPT (Pech; second, Clark) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Mayor Cummings 8 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—AUGUST 25, 2015 Mayor Cummings asked for an explanation of the resolution. Mr. Burrich explained the City had contracted with Houseal Lavigne Associates to work with City staff to create a comprehensive plan for the Central City which would include South Main Street and Oregon Street. Council Member Panske asked if the Central City Plan would partner with the parking plan for the downtown area. Mr. Burrich stated the Central City Plan and the Walker Parking Study were separate from each other. Council Member Herman asked what the timeline was for the Central City Plan. Mr. Burrich stated the Central City Plan would be started in the fall and hopefully be completed by mid to late year, 2016. Resolution 15-405 Approve Accepting Permanent Easements for Riverwalk Purposes / Morgan District Boatworks to Oregon Street (Plan Commission Recommends Approval) MOTION: ADOPT (Clark; second, Pech) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Mayor Cummings Allen Davis, Director of Community Development, explained the easement would connect the riverwalk from the Boatworks to Oregon Street. Council Member Clark questioned if the City was comfortable with the timetable of the completion of the riverwalk. Mr. Davis stated to date the City was able to construct one segment of the riverwalk per year; since there were two segments yet to be completed and there were pending grants from the DNR, he was confident the riverwalk would be completed by 2017 well ahead of the five year projection. Council Member Herman asked if the easement could be retracted if the Jen Weld property was sold. Mr. Davis stated the easement was permanent and the City would always have it regardless if the Jen Weld property was sold or not. Resolution 15-406 Approve Term Sheet with The Morgan District, LLC for Riverwalk Improvements and Future Tax Incremental Financing for Upland Development 9 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—AUGUST 25, 2015 MOTION: ADOPT (Clark; second, Panske) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Panske, Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Mayor Cummings Mr. Davis stated the purpose of the resolution was to set the parameters for tax increment financing for the site according to City policy. Council Member Pech asked what type of TID the site would be. Mr. Davis stated he expected the TID to be either a mixed use TID or a redevelopment TID. He stated the TID would be a "pay go" which meant there was no money given up front to the developer; monies were based on the value created by the developer. COUNCIL DISCUSSION, DIRECTION TO CITY MANAGER AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS A 2016 Budget Workshop would be held on August 26th at 5:00 p.m A Health Insurance Workshop would be held on September 8th at 4:45 p.m. A 2016 Budget Workshop would be held on September 16th at 5:00 p.m. Council Member Herman stated he met with the purchaser of the Pioneer Inn Property and he was confident that improvements would be made to the property in the near future. Mr. Praska stated the City currently hired an outside source to process complaints regarding fair housing issues and the outside source processed complaints according to State Law. He explained at a minimum, the City's Fair Housing Code needed to be updated to include the protected classes to comply with the State; however municipalities could add additional protected classes to their fair housing code if they chose to. He stated the City Attorney's Office was seeking direction from Council as to whether to add additional protected classes to the Fair Housing Code and whether to continue with an outside source investigation of fair housing complaints or opting to have City staff investigate fair housing issues. Council Member Pech suggested mirroring the City's Fair Housing Code with the State's. Council Member Panske stated she preferred to use the State Fair Housing Code but wanted to add the protected class of Transgender. Council Member Stepanek stated he spoke with a representative from the LGBTQ Resource Center and was told the terms they felt would best protect the transgender community would be Gender Expression and Gender Identity. He stated he wanted the City's Fair Housing Code to reflect the State's and add to the list of protected classes Gender Expression and Gender Identity. 10 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—AUGUST 25, 2015 Council Member Clark asked if Gender Expression and Gender Identity were established terms used in case law. He stated at a minimum, the City should comply with the State's Fair Housing Code and that he was comfortable adding the terms Gender Expression and Gender Identity to the protected classes as long as the terms were recognized in the legal arena and would not cause the City any liability. Mr. Praska stated he would research the protected class terms of Gender Expression and Gender Identity and report back to the Council. He stated the City of Appleton and other entities were using the classification of Gender Expression and Gender Identity when referring to Fair Housing Code and HUD programs. Council Member Panske stated she was fine with using an outside source for processing fair housing issues and asked if it would cost the City more to process fair housing complaints in house. Mr. Praska stated the City had to have a fair housing program in place in order to receive community development grants. He stated fair housing investigations required expertise and that it would cost a fair amount of money to train staff to keep up with fair housing information. He stated for the few investigations that took place each year, he felt it would require a lot training and expense to handle fair housing investigations in house. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated it was more cost effective to contract for services and pay for them when needed than to expand and train staff for something that might not happen frequently. Mr. Praska clarified that his direction was to use the State's protected class list to update the City's Fair Housing Ordinance and include Gender Expression and Gender Identity; and to work on amendments to the procedure that would allow fair housing complaints to be investigated by a third party. Council Member Panske reminded the public that although there was no ordinance allowing bike lanes on Murdock Avenue, bicyclists were using the dead space on both sides of Murdock Avenue as bike lanes and she asked that people driving vehicles on Murdock Avenue and bicyclists using Murdock Avenue exercise caution. Mr. Davis gave the Council an update on the City's Tax Increment Finance Districts (TIDs). He stated overall the portfolio of the City's TIDs had been very good with a couple hundred businesses and over 10,000 jobs being located in the TIDs. He stated there were a few TIDs in the City that did not have any value due to them being new and just getting started. CITIZEN STATEMENTS TO COUNCIL There were no citizen statements to Council. 11 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—AUGUST 25, 2015 COUNCIL MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS & STATEMENTS Council Member Panske reported that September was National Yoga Month and expressed the benefits of yoga. Council Member Pech announced that Brian Chapman, Organizational Development Specialist, would be leaving the City of Oshkosh to become the City Manager for Vasser, Michigan. CITY MANAGER ANNOUNCEMENT& STATEMENTS Mr. Chapman provided the Council with the Strategic Plan 2nd Quarter Report. Council Member Pech asked if the Strategic Plan 2nd Quarter Report was on the City's website. Mr. Chapman replied the Strategic Plan 2nd Quarter Report was on the City's website. MOTION: ADJOURN (Allison-Aasby; second, Clark) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m. PAMELA R UBRIG CITY CLERK 12