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Home My WebLink About02. Council Minutes, September 8, 2015PCC ROCEEDINGS OF THE OMMON OUNCIL CO,W ITY OF SHKOSH ISCONSIN S8,2015 EPTEMBER REGULAR MEETING held Tuesday, September 8, 2015, at 6:00 p.min the Council . Chambers, City Hall. Mayor Cummings presided. PRESENT: Council Members Benjamin Stepanek, Kyle Clark, Deb Allison-Aasby, Steven Herman, Tom Pech, Jr., Caroline Panske, 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 Stepanek read the Invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Amelia Reed from Oshkosh West High School. CSC ITIZEN TATEMENTS TO OUNCIL There were no citizen statements to Council. CA ONSENT GENDA Approval of Bills presented by the Finance Director. Receipt and Filing of Common Council Minutes from August 25, 2015. Approval of Cash Report from July 2015. Receipt of Claim filed with the City’s Insurance Company: A) Wendy Guild for alleged damages to her vehicle from uneven street grade B) Brittnie Faulks for alleged injuries from falling at the zoo Resolution 15-407 Award Bid for Industrial Forklift for Streets Division to Fairchild Equipment ($47,481.80) Resolution 15-408 Award Bid for Walk-In Cooler & Freezer for Convention Center to Gartman Mechanical Services Inc. ($52,260.00) Resolution 15-409 Authorize Police Department Grant for Alcohol Impaired Driving Enforcement 1 PCC–S8,2015 ROCEEDINGS OF THE OMMON OUNCIL EPTEMBER Resolution 15-410 Approve Accepting Grant from Wisconsin Historical Society to Prepare Nomination Application for the Washington Avenue Neo-Classical Historic District on the State / National Register of Historic Places ($5,000.00) Mayor Cummings explained there were six properties located in the Washington Avenue Neoclassical Historic District and there were tax credits available to the owners of those properties. Resolution 15-411 Approve Accepting Community Development Investment Grant Funds from Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to Undertake Central City Investment Strategy Study ($50,000.00) Council Member Herman asked who besides the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) was involved in funding the Central City Investment Strategy Study. Allen Davis, Director of Community Development, stated the Central City Investment Strategy Study was a $200,000 project and was combined with the parking study started earlier in 2015. He stated besides the WEDC other partners in the project included the Business Improvement District (BID), the Oshkosh Community Foundation, Chamber of Commerce, and the City’s TIF Districts. He stated the goal was to have the parking study completed by the end of 2015 and the Central City Investment Strategy Study completed in 2016 as early as possible. Council Member Herman stated he felt it was important for the public to know there were partners participating in and supporting projects that benefit all of Oshkosh. Resolution 15-412 Approve Engineering Services Agreement with AECOM Technical Services, Inc. for Design Services for South Park Area Basin Retrofit ($299,900.00) Mayor Cummings asked for an explanation of the resolution. Mr. Gohde explained the proposed project was for design services for the South Park lagoons to retrofit them to better accommodate storm water management and allow for improvement in the park’s aesthetics. Council Member Clark added that the proposed project was partially funded through the storm water utility fee. Resolution 15-413 Approve Amendment to Engineering Services Agreement with AECOM Technical Services, Inc. for Design of Storm Water Detention Basins in the Campbell Creek Watershed ($6,000.00) Resolution 15-414 Approve Change Order No. 1 for Public Works Contract No. 15-07 with PTS Contractors, Inc. for Utility Repairs and Installation / Various Locations (+51,637.81) 2 PCC–S8,2015 ROCEEDINGS OF THE OMMON OUNCIL EPTEMBER Resolution 15-415 Disallowance of Claim by Greg Roberts Resolution 15-416 Disallowance of Claim by Karin Gehrke Resolution 15-417 Approval of Block Party / Graber Street between Murdock Avenue and Cliffview Drive – September 19, 2015 Resolution 15-418 Approve Appointment to the Long Range Finance Committee Mayor Cummings stated there were numerous City boards and commissions that had openings for new members. Resolution 15-419 Approve Combination “Class B” License, Special Class “B” Licenses, Operator Licenses and Taxi-Cab Driver Licenses MOTION: ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA (Pech; second, Clark) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Stepanek, Clark, Allison-Aasby, Herman, Pech, Panske, Mayor Cummings CD,DCMFAI OUNCIL ISCUSSION IRECTION TO ITY ANAGER AND UTURE GENDA TEMS th A 2016 Budget Workshop would be held on September 16 at 5:00 p.m. Council Member Panske asked if the City had an ordinance pertaining to pedi-cabs. Ms. Lorenson stated that the pedi-cabs would be regulated under the taxi-cab ordinance. She stated there was pending legislation pertaining to State Taxi Laws and once that was decided her office would review the City’s taxi-cab ordinance for those updates if needed, plus other updates. Council Member Herman stated he did not feel a separate pedi-cab ordinance was needed. Council Member Clark stated as long as there was a functioning ordinance in place for pedi-cabs, he did not feel it was necessary to have a specific ordinance for them. Mayor Cummings stated he was concerned about the trend of big box stores winning their appeals to lower their tax assessments and the effect that trend had on local tax payers. Mr. Rohloff stated he felt that legislation was needed to improve property tax fairness due to the courts ignoring the fundamental principles of assessment which were Income Approach and Highest and Best Use of the Property. He explained the courts were ruling in favor of big box stores to reduce the amount of their personal property tax and that the money the City was losing from the reduction in personal property from the big box stores had to be made up at the cost to small businesses and residential tax payers. 3 PCC–S8,2015 ROCEEDINGS OF THE OMMON OUNCIL EPTEMBER Mayor Cummings noted that personal property taxes were different from real estate taxes. He explained that personal property was the tangible objects of a business such as furniture and computers. Council Member Pech adamantly stated that the City was not against big box stores and wanted them to come to Oshkosh. He stated what Council was discussing was the issue of fairness in terms of property assessment. He stated the big box stores were not being assessed under the fundamental terms of Highest and Best Use of the Property or Income Approach which were normally used to calculate the assessments of businesses. Council Member Clark stated he felt the Council should discuss the issue of property tax fairness with the City’s legislative representatives. He stated the City of Oshkosh should build a coalition with other cities affected by the issue of property tax fairness. Council Member Herman stated he felt the Council should discuss the City’s issue regarding property tax fairness with GOEDC, the Chamber of Commerce, and the legislative representatives to give a clear message that the City’s issue was with property tax fairness and that the City was not anti business. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated it was well known that the City of Oshkosh supported economic development through its commitment to GOEDC, the aviation business park, and numerous other projects. Mayor Cummings encouraged Council Members attending the League of Municipalities Conference in October to express the concern of property tax fairness to as many community leaders as possible. CSC ITIZEN TATEMENTS TO OUNCIL Council Member Pech spoke on behalf of Bob Cornell, 548 W. Smith Avenue. Mr. Cornell wanted to remind the public of the Fall Family Fun Fest and Granny Smith 5K Run/Walk at th the Oshkosh Seniors Center on September 13. CMA&S ITY ANAGER NNOUNCEMENT TATEMENTS Mr. Rohloff reported an agreement for engineering services was made with Brown and Caldwell in the amount of $54,075.00 for hydraulic modeling of storm sewer systems for various street reconstruction projects in the Steven’s Park Neighborhood. MOTION: ADJOURN (Panske; second, Clark) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting adjourned at 6:42 p.m. PAMELA R UBRIG CITY CLERK 4