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HomeMy WebLinkAbout_Minutes P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL C ITY OF O SHKOSH, W ISCONSIN O CTOBER 11, 2016 REGULAR MEETING held Tuesday, October 11, 2016, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall. Mayor Cummings presided. PRESENT: Council Members, Deb Allison-Aasby, Caroline Panske, Benjamin Stepanek, Tom Pech Jr., Lori Palmeri, Steven Herman, and Mayor Steve Cummings ALSO PRESENT: Mark Rohloff, City Manager; Pamela Ubrig, City Clerk; Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney; and James Rabe, Director of Public Works Council Member Allison-Aasby read the Invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Hunter Gruse and Kate Gassere from Emmeline Cook Elementary School and Daniel Chopp from Oaklawn Elementary School. C ITIZEN S TATEMENTS TO C OUNCIL There were no citizen statements to Council. C ONSENT A GENDA Report of Bills by the Finance Director Receipt & Filing of Common Council Minutes from September 27, 2016 Receipt of Claim filed with City’s Insurance Company A) Notice of Claim was filed by the Winnebago Apartment Association Inc. and its members, in which they allege that the residential rental contact registration and inspection program ordinance in unconstitutional. 1 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 B) Notice of Claim by Herrling Clark Law Firm on behalf of their clients, Town of Vinland, for damage to Wooden Shoe Road from July-August 2016 allegedly caused by hauling excessive weight loads of excavation materials. Resolution 16-480 Approve Joint Powers Agreement / Winnebago County 911 Emergency System Resolution 16-481 Support Legislation to Reform Commercial Property Tax Assessment Resolution 16-482 Approve Granting Privilege in Street to Multimedia Communications & Engineering Inc. for Installation of a Fiber Optic Cable along East Side of Oregon Street (Plan Commission Recommends Approval) Resolution 16-483 Approve Conditional Use Permit/Planned Development for Construction of a University Intramural Recreation Field Complex; North Side of Pearl Avenue from Wisconsin Street to 350 Feet West of Osceola Street (Plan Commission Recommends Approval) Resolution 16-484 Approve Agreement with Oshkosh City Cab for Paratransit Ambulatory Services for GO Transit 2017-2019 ($810,217.00) Resolution 16-485 Disallowance of Claim by Marcy Hauer Resolution 16-486 Approve Appointment for Plan Commission Resolution 16-487 Approve Class “B” Fermented Malt License, Special Class “B” Licenses & Operator Licenses Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she wanted to make Council aware that her name appeared on the list of applicants as she had applied for a bartender’s license. MOTION: ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA (Panske; second, Palmeri) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Allison-Aasby, Panske, Stepanek, Pech, Palmeri, Herman, Mayor Cummings 2 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 A CTION T AKEN ON O RDINANCES AND R ESOLUTIONS Resolution 16-488 Approve Phase II of 2016 Great Neighborhoods Capital Improvement Programs Funding in the Amount of $46,697.00; Approve Professional Service Agreement with SEH, Inc. for Millers Bay Neighborhood Association Streetscape Design Plan ($46,697.00) MOTION: ADOPT (Panske; second, Herman) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Allison-Aasby, Panske, Stepanek, Pech, Palmeri, Herman, Mayor Cummings Ruth McKinley, 1560 Menominee Drive, stated she was present to represent the Miller’s Bay Neighborhood Association. Chris Studeman, 1906 Menominee Drive, stated he was a member of the Miller Bay Neighborhood Association’s Board and was present to support the resolution and answer questions. Council Member Pech asked for an explanation of the plans and initiatives for the neighborhood association. Ms. McKinley explained planning had begun two years prior after a survey was completed by the neighborhood residents. She stated the plan addressed speeding concerns, landscaping, and the vista. She explained the neighborhood association selected a design company that included the services of an award winning landscape architect. She stated the proposed plan would not only improve the Miller’s Bay neighborhood and have a positive impact on the entire eastside of the City. Council Member Palmeri asked for an explanation of the concerns the streetscape company intended to address. Ms. McKinley stated underground utilities was an area the neighborhood association would like the streetscape company to address. She stated they would also like to address the three different kinds of street lighting that was in place on certain streets within the neighborhood. 3 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 Mr. Studeman explained the streetscape company would address traffic needs and determine how streets could be designed to slow down traffic naturally. He stated the company also intended to address how to provide pedestrians safer access to trails. Council Member Palmeri questioned why a private company was sought out to provide streetscaping design instead of the City planning department. Allen Davis, Director of Community Development, explained the plan was not for an individual project but for a comprehensive and cohesive project for the entire neighborhood that would include engineering, landscaping, and design. He stated it was determined that the planning department would not be best suited to provide those services. Council Member Palmeri questioned if the neighborhood was asked to participate in fundraising for the project. Mr. Davis indicated the project had received funds from the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation. He stated his expectation was for the neighborhood to fund the implementation of the plan. Resolution 16-489 Approve Residential Rental Inspections & Complaint Based Housing Inspection Fee Schedules, Inspection Checklist and 5-Year Cycle Map MOTION: ADOPT (Pech; second, Palmeri) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Allison-Aasby, Panske, Stepanek, Pech, Palmeri, Herman, Mayor Cummings Noes (1) Panske MOTION: DIVIDE RESOLUTION: A) COMPLAINT BASED INSPECTION FEES B) RESIDENTIAL RENTAL INSPECTION FEES, MAP AND CHECKLIST (Panske; second, Stepanek) LOST: Ayes (2) Panske, Stepanek Noes (5) Allison-Aasby, Pech, Palmeri, Herman, Mayor Cummings Council Member Panske requested the complaint based inspection fee schedule be separated from the residential inspection fee schedule and the map. 4 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 Council Member Pech asked for an explanation of the requested separation of fees. Council Member Panske stated she wanted to show her support of the complaint based inspection fees but not the residential inspection fees. Council Member Pech asked for an explanation of the items included in the resolution. Mr. Davis explained the first piece of the resolution detailed residential rental inspection fees and complaint based housing inspection fees. He stated the second piece of the resolution was a checklist that would be distributed to tenants and landlords to make them aware of what inspectors would be looking for during inspections. He explained the final piece was the map that identified the five different areas of the City that would be inspected one year at a time in a five year cycle. Council Member Pech explained the checklist was comprised of health and safety items and was not designed to seek out zoning or code violation items. Mr. Davis stated the inspectors would only be looking for health and safety codes during the internal inspections. Mayor Cummings stated approximately 1,000 complaint based inspections take place annually without a fee, leaving the taxpayer responsible for funding the inspections. Mr. Davis stated this was correct. Mayor Cummings stated taxpayers in Oshkosh were spending approximately $50,000 annually for the complaint based inspections and citations. He explained the rental inspection program would allow for the taxpayer to discontinue paying for the inspections. Mr. Davis stated this was correct. Council Member Herman questioned what prompted the inspection staff to bring the idea of a program forward. 5 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 Mr. Davis explained City inspection staff believed the landlords who had violations should be responsible for paying for the inspections and resulting violations and not the general tax payers or permit pullers in the City. Council Member Herman stated the complaint based inspection fees were higher than the rental inspection fees. Mr. Davis explained the complaint based inspections tend to require more work and conversations between both the tenant and the landlord. Council Member Herman questioned if a landlord was immediately contacted if City staff received a complaint. Mr. Davis stated City staff would conduct the inspection first to determine if there was a need for the landlord to be contacted. He explained if there was no violation there was no need to invest additional time contacting the landlord. Mayor Cummings stated it had been recommended by stakeholders that fees be higher for complaint based inspections. Mr. Davis stated that had been the consensus. 6 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 Resolution 16-490 Accept & Direct Staff Implementation of Recommendations of Walker Parking Consultants Study of Downtown Parking MOTION: ADOPT (Pech; second, Allison-Aasby) MOTION: DIVIDE RESOLUTION INTO TWO SECTIONS: A) EVERYTHING EXCEPT PAID ON STREET PARKING B) PAID ON STREET PARKING (Herman; second, Panske) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Allison-Aasby, Panske, Stepanek, Pech, Palmeri, Herman, Mayor Cummings MOTION: ADOPT 16-490-A (Pech; second, Panske) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Allison-Aasby, Panske, Stepanek, Pech, Palmeri, Herman, Mayor Cummings MOTION: LAYOVER 16-490 B (Pech) LOST: NO SECOND MOTION: LAYOVER AND HAVE CITY MANAGER REPORT BACK TO COUNCIL (Pech; second, Herman) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Allison-Aasby, Panske, Stepanek, Pech, Palmeri, Herman, Mayor Cummings Council Member Herman questioned if the cost to implement the program was included in the preliminary budget for 2017. Jim Collins, Director of Transportation, explained the cost of the operating expenses was included but it was anticipated that the capital costs would be shared with the BID. Council Member Herman stated his concern was that citizens would not want to pay to park downtown when they would be able to park at stores such as Target and Walmart at no cost. He stated he believed the problem with parking was a signage issue as citizens did not understand where lots were located. He explained he was concerned that there would be significant investment into pay stations only to have them removed at a later date due to the potential negative impact of paid parking downtown. 7 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 Mr. Collins explained that citizens would be able to utilize off-street parking lots as an option for free parking for two hour increments. He stated the first thirty minutes of on- street parking would be free. Council Member Herman questioned if citizens would need to locate a kiosk to enter information. Mr. Collins stated yes, for on-street parking, but not for use of the off-street parking lots. He explained the BID supported paid parking as they believed it would better manage supply, help promote the perception that the downtown area was a sought out destination and the revenue generated would allow for the BID to discontinue contribution towards the cost of parking. Mr. Rohloff explained the BID had indicated they would be willing to fund approximately $20,000 per year in respect to the capital costs. He stated City staff would work to fit the costs into the CIP. He explained the costs were not presently included within the CIP as the CIP had been prepared in July. He indicated the plan was to have half of the funds come from the general obligation fund and the BID would fund the other half. Council Member Panske questioned who would fund the $400,000 for pay stations. Mr. Rohloff indicated that was the total the City would share with the BID. He explained the $200,000 portion the BID would be responsible for would be paid to the City over 10 years in $20,000 increments. Council Member Panske questioned who would fund the cost of employees. Mr. Rohloff indicated the City would be responsible for the employee cost. He stated the Walker study demonstrated such cost would be offset by revenues from the parking utility in addition to revenue generated by fines. Mr. Collins explained the Walker study indicated that the operating income, after expenses had been subtracted, amounted to approximately $50,000 per year. He stated as the revenue accumulated it would be used to pay for upgrades and to pay back the upfront capital cost. 8 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she was in support of Council Member Herman’s comments. She explained she was also in support of the signage and believed it would be helpful to those not familiar with the City. She stated she was not certain that paid parking was an appropriate fit for the downtown area. She explained she believed that if a citizen was not able to park in front of or on the same block as the store they wished to visit they lost interest and did not visit the store. She stated if pay stations were implemented a citizen would have to walk to the pay station and then return to their vehicle to place their receipt in the window prior to visiting the store. She explained she believed this may further dissuade people from shopping downtown. She stated she struggled with the upfront capital cost of $400,000 knowing that the parking utility would still remain underwater and paid parking had the potential to be removed in the future if it was not a success. She explained she supported the overall plan but not the expenditure. Mr. Collins explained that the paid parking would not be ‘pay and display’. He stated the system would use license plate readers. He explained an individual would go to the pay station or to the mobile app and enter their license plate number and pay for the session. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she understood that was a viable option for the younger generation who would be familiar with that type of technology but other demographics may struggle. She explained she had witnessed similar struggles at the university where people could not figure out how the paid parking worked and ended up driving away. She stated she was skeptical how many Oshkosh citizens and visitors would want to use that option. Mr. Collins indicated that if the plan moved forward there would be an educational component. He stated Walker had shared what they had provided as an educational piece in other municipalities and other recommendations on how to host demonstrations and answer questions regarding the pay station and app. He explained he understood there would be a learning curve. Council Member Allison-Aasby questioned how often Walker recommended pay stations within their studies. Mr. Collins stated he was not aware of how often pay stations were recommended. 9 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 Council Member Palmeri asked for an explanation of what the BID planned to contribute towards the initial stages of the plan. Mr. Collins indicated that the BID had stated they would contribute $200,000 over ten years. Mr. Rohloff stated when City staff had met with the BID it was explained that the BID would need to make a good faith effort by committing to a significant capital contribution for the plan to happen. He explained that Walker had not recommended a pay station for Appleton which demonstrated that Walker did not have a ‘one size fits all’ approach to their recommendations. Mr. Collins stated the BID had a special board meeting regarding the Walker study and had voted 6-0 in favor of implementing the plan. He explained he believed the BID supported the Walker plan as it provided a potential for income to be generated to pay towards the parking utility whereas the current plan did not offer that potential. He stated he believed there was a consensus that the City should move forward with the marketing and signage piece of the plan. He explained there was an option to continue to operate the parking utility as it was currently being operated or adopt the paid parking plan and commit to it for a length of time in an effort to generate revenue towards the parking utility. Council Member Herman stated there were a number of special events that prevented citizens from parking downtown which would result in lost revenue. He questioned if the lost revenue cost would then be passed on to the user groups. He stated he believed the City should move forward with the other pieces of the plan for two years to see if there was an impact on the attitude towards parking downtown before trying to implement paid parking. He explained he believed if they implemented paid parking now it would cause problems in the future. Council Member Pech explained that Walker recommended instituting a fee structure to assist in the usage of the parking. He stated the City could put up signage but if other changes were implemented the same parking behaviors would continue. He explained the free on street parking model did not include Oshkosh Police Department labor and operating costs. He asked for an explanation of those costs. 10 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 Mr. Collins explained that under the current free on street parking plan the Oshkosh Community Service Officers enforce parking as time allows. He stated there was nobody dedicated to enforce parking. He explained under the paid on street parking model it was recommended to employ two 30 hour per week enforcement officers. He stated the generated revenues would pay for the employment of those officers. Mr. Rohloff explained that the Community Service Officers would do parking enforcement if time allowed but would primarily concentrate on other support activities. He stated under the current plan there was not revenue but also no expenditure. He explained he understood it was a controversial issue. Council Member Pech questioned how to adopt the resolution without accepting the paid on street parking implementation expenditure. Ms. Lorenson stated the resolution could be amended to remove the section pertaining to paid on street parking. Mr. Rohloff explained Council would be able to remove both references to paid parking within the resolution and adopt the remainder. Council Member Allison-Aasby explained she would like City staff to be aware of whether or not the $400,000 would need to be included in the 2017 budget. She stated she did not want to pick the resolution apart and leave the expenditure piece in limbo as that made it difficult for City staff to budget. Mr. Collins explained it would be helpful for City staff to know which route Council would like to take. He stated if there was a change with the parking plan additional work would need to be done with the parking ordinances. He explained there were two models for the operating budget; one with paid parking and one without. He stated it would be beneficial to know which model would be utilized ahead of final budget decisions. Mayor Cummings questioned if Council would need to discuss the elimination of paid parking with the BID as the BID board had already agreed to it. 11 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 Ms. Lorenson stated the BID’s decision was an advisory recommendation. She explained Council was to make the final decision. She stated the amended resolution could be sent back to the BID for review but it was not required for Council to do so. Council Member Allison-Aasby asked for direction as to whether or not the decision should be postponed until the following Council meeting to give the BID time for discussion and review of the proposed amendment to the resolution. Mr. Rohloff stated he did not recommend postponing the decision so City staff could begin moving forward with the other pieces of the plan including signage. He explained he thought it would be beneficial to meet with the BID regarding the paid parking portion. Ms. Lorenson explained Council could divide the resolution into parts ‘A’ and ‘B’; the paid parking issue would be laid over for discussion with the BID and Council would vote on the remainder of the plan. Mr. Rohloff explained the paid parking portion would be laid over until discussion with the BID and the parking utility. He recommended that Council not list a specific deadline as schedules would need to be coordinated. Council Member Herman questioned if there would need to be a workshop with the BID or if Council members and City staff would attend a BID board meeting. Council Member Pech asked for clarification if the motion would be to lay over the paid parking portion until after such a date that the Council would be able to meet with the BID and parking utility. Ms. Lorenson stated yes. Council Member Palmeri stated she believed it would be appropriate to hold a discussion with the BID and the parking utility. Mr. Rohloff recommended having a discussion with the BID and the parking utility regarding the paid parking portion. He stated the paid parking portion of the resolution could be brought back to Council after the discussion if that was the direction City staff received. 12 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she felt it would be a courtesy to have the discussion with the BID. She explained she believed the BID would understand Council’s hesitation with the paid parking portion due to the proposed $400,000 expenditure. Mr. Rohloff explained he would report back to Council with feedback from the BID. C OUNCIL D ISCUSSION, D IRECTION TO C ITY M ANAGER AND F UTURE A GENDA I TEMS Mr. Rohloff stated the upcoming budget season would be a busy time. Mayor Cummings reminded Council of the following workshops: thth All Day Budget Workshops on October 17 and 18 from 8:00 am until 4:30 p.m. nd Budget Workshop on November 2 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Council Member Allison-Aasby questioned what the ideal date was for the budget to be complete for City staff. nd Mr. Rohloff stated it was Tuesday, November 22. Council Member Allison-Aasby explained if Council had any recommendations to voice them early so there were no surprises that would delay the process. Council Member Pech questioned where copies of the budget were located. Mr. Rohloff stated Council was provided copies and additional copies could be found at the library and the City Clerk’s office as well as the City website. C ITIZEN S TATEMENTS TO C OUNCIL There were no citizen statements to Council. 13 P ROCEEDINGS OF THE C OMMON C OUNCIL – O CTOBER 11, 2016 C OUNCIL M EMBER A NNOUNCEMENTS & S TATEMENTS Council Member Palmeri stated the Day by Day Warming Shelter had an open house th and would be opening for the season on Saturday, October 15. She explained the open house would be from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the shelter on High Avenue. She encouraged the public to tour and help stock the shelter. C ITY M ANAGER A NNOUNCEMENT AND S TATEMENTS Mr. Rohloff stated with the addition of the new financial software he and City staff had decided to extend the auditing contract with Schenck for an additional year. He stated the agreement with Badger Laboratories was related to the pre-treatment program at the pre-treatment plant. He reminded Council of the Public Information Meeting for the th Jackson Street/Oregon Street Bridge scheduled for October 13 at the Oshkosh Senior Center from 5:00 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Mr. Rabe stated he had a copy of the proposed ideas from the Department of Transportation. He explained the Department of Transportation was in the process of getting a website published that would include the information and alternatives that they were advising as a part of the study. He stated the DOT had hoped to publish the website within the week following the public information meeting. st Mr. Rohloff explained Trick or Treat hours were 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on October 31. MOTION: ADJOURN (Allison-Aasby; second, Panske) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting adjourned at 7:03 p.m. PAMELA R. UBRIG CITY CLERK 14 15