HomeMy WebLinkAboutDirectors February Memo
City of Oshkosh
Parks Department
Ray Maurer
805 Witzel Ave., PO Box 1130
Director
Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130
(920) 236-5080 (920) 232-5316 FAX
To: Advisory Park Board
From: Ray Maurer, Parks Director
Date: February 4, 2016
Subject: February 8, 2016 meeting
Park Business
1.Discuss/recommend Bowen Street improvements to improve access to fishing pier
The Board will discuss and possibly recommend to the Common Council improvements to
Bowen Street which will improve access to the fishing pier at the end of Bowen Street.
Bowen Street is scheduled for reconstruction this year and city staff has been working on
design of the street. As part of the design, staff is recommending parking be allowed on the
east side of Bowen Street, south of Bay Shore Drive, as well as installation of a sidewalk on
the east side of the street. Access to the fishing pier was identified as a high priority in the
Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. Currently, there is no parking allowed on either
side of Bowen Street south of Bay Shore Drive so those driving to the fishing pier must park
on Bay Shore Drive, approximately 500 feet away from the pier. Additionally, there is no
safe, American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant pedestrian access to the fishing pier.
A copy of the letter and proposed street design that was sent to adjacent neighbors is included
in your packet.
2.Discuss/recommend establishing fees for special events utilizing park facilities
The Board will discuss and possibly recommend to the Common Council the establishment
of fees for special events that utilize park facilities.
The concern is that when large special events utilize city parks, the events essentially
eliminate the use of other park facilities/areas by city residents. For example, when a large
special event takes place in South Park, the park is so heavily utilized that we cannot rent out
the park shelters so the city is effectively losing rental revenue and residents have limited or
no access to the park. Additionally, when large special events take place at Menominee Park
a, boaters have no or limited
access to the launches and the city is losing boat launch revenue.
An option and a common way that other area municipalities handle this is to require the
special event group to pay the daily rental for all the park facilities since the special event is
essentially consuming those rental areas. Included in your packet is an estimate on what it
would cost various special events if such a fee were established.
staff is recommending that
the special event group be required to pay the same fee that large fishing tournaments are
. This fee is established in Chapter 19 of the
Municipal Code, Section 19-7.1(B)(1), and is currently $250 per day. However, staff is
recommending that fee be increased to $500 per day as the $250 per day fee was established
when the daily launch fee was $3.00. The daily launch fee is now $5.00. The increase of this
fee will be discussed during the next agenda item where a number of revisions to Chapter 19
are being recommended.
By implementing such fees the city would be recouping fees that we normally would be able
Staff still believes that this is the fairest
way to implement such a fee.
Also for discussion, the Board may want to consider only charging special events that take
place during the rental and boating season (April October) as events that take place in the
parks outside of this really affect the facility-use opportunity for residents.
3.Discuss/recommend revisions to Chapter 19 Parks and Recreation of the City of
Oshkosh Municipal Code
The board will discuss and possibly recommend to the Common Council revisions to Chapter
19 Parks and Recreation of the City of Oshkosh Municipal Code. After reviewing this
Chapter, there were several items that needed to be revised or updated. Most of these
revisions are within Section 19-7 Boating and Boat Launch Regulations, 19-7.1 Boat Launch
User Fees and a new section 19-7.2 Enforcement of Parking Restrictions within Parks and
Boat Launches. There are also minor revisions in Section 19-4 General Park and Beach
Regulations and Section 19-5 Zoo Regulations. The proposed revisions will allow the Parks
Department
this ordinance. All recommended deletions in this chapter are noted by a strikethrough and
additions or revisions are noted by items underlined and italicized.
If you have any questions prior to the meeting or if you will not be able to attend, please contact
me at 236-5080. Thank you in advance.
The Exceptional Parks Experience
Committed to Purpose and People
Visit our website at http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us