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Oshkosh
RENTAL HOUSING ADVISORY BOARD MINTUES
OCTOBER 11, 2017
PRESENT: Matt Mugerauer, Margy Davey, Cheryl Hentz, Linda Jevaltas, Lori Palmeri,
Matthew Stenerson
EXCUSED: Timothy Ernst, Sherri Devereau
STAFF: Allen Davis, Community Development Director, Andrew Prickett, Building
Systems Inspector, Casey Koelbl, Housing Inspector, Kathy Fredrick, Weights and
Measures/Code Enforcement Clerk
OTHER: Emily Springstroh, Communications Coordinator
CALL TO ORDER
Allen Davis called the meeting to order at 3:32 p.m.
The minutes of the September 13, 2017 meeting were approved as presented. (Davey/Rentz)
ORGANIZATION OF BOARD
Ms.Davey nominated Mr.Mugerauer as Chairman of the Board which was seconded by Council Member
Palmeri. The Board voted unanimously to appoint Matt Mugerauer as Chairman of the Rental Housing
Advisory Board.
Mr. Mugerauer nominated Ms. Davey for Vice Chairman of the Board which was seconded by Cheryl
Hentz. The Board voted unanimously to appoint Margy Davey as Vice Chairperson of the Rental Housing
Advisory Board.
INSPECTION SERVICES WEB PAGE
Mr. Prickett provided the Board with a draft of the rental registry thumbnail which would appear on the
Inspection Services Division web page.
Mr. Mugerauer requested a link be added to the thumbnail to search for code enforcement/inspection
results.
Ms. Jevaltas asked if a landlord in the university area could refuse to rent to a person who was not a
student.
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RHAB Minutes
Page Two
Mr.Zarate explained only if a property was owned by the university could it be considered just for student
housing.
Mr.Davis suggested Ms.Jevaltas contact the Fair Housing Center or the Consumer Protection Agency. He
stated he would invite a representative from the Fair Housing Center to attend a RHAB meeting to answer
questions from the Board.
Mr. Prickett stated he would contact Attorney Eric Forsgren from the Oshkosh Student Association to see
if he wanted the City to attach their link to the thumbnail.
Council Member Palmeri suggested Mr. Prickett contact Legal Action of Wisconsin to see if they had a
link as well.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Ms. Springstroh stated she felt the Board should initially create one piece of content to share on social
media which she thought should be a Boards and Commission video explaining the mission of the Rental
Housing Advisory Board. She stated once the video was completed, the Board could focus on creating
additional content for use on social media.
Ms. Hentz stated she would be the facilitator for the rental registry Facebook page.
CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) ORDINANCE
Mr. Davis reported the carbon monoxide ordinance would go before Council in the near future.
Council Member Palmeri asked for an update on requiring locks on rooming house entry doors.
Mr. Davis stated he and staff met with the City police and fire departments to discuss requiring locks on
rooming house entry doors.
Mr. Prickett reported it was possible, but difficult to require locks on rooming house entry doors. He
stated in order to comply with fire codes, the City could not require dead bolt locks on all exit doors. He
stated the City could require a self-latching door, however past precedent indicated that tenants would
prop open the door which defeated the purpose.
Mr. Mugerauer suggested rooming houses use a key pad system similar to multiunit apartment
complexes.
Mr.Zarate added if the rooming houses used a key pad system they could provide a knox-box rapid entry
system for the police and fire departments to gain entry in an emergency.
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Mr.Davis stated staff would meet again with the City police and fire departments to determine a solution
to require locked entry doors for rooming houses.
EDUCATIONAL BROCHURE
The Board discussed a draft version of the tenant brochure and made suggestions on how to improve the
final version of the brochure.
Ms. Hentz asked if inspectors checked for gas leaks in appliances that were not furnished by the landlord.
Mr.Prickett explained typically when there was a gas leak the City was notified by WPS and the inspectors
would follow up. He stated if inspectors suspected a gas leak they would not distinguish whether the
appliance was furnished by the landlord or the tenant as it was a serious issue that needed immediate
attention.
Note: Timothy Ernst joined the meeting at 4:22 p.m.
The Board discussed the possibility of having the tenant brochure printed in multiple languages.
Mr. Davis stated the fire department was willing to distribute the brochure while conducting their
neighborhood visits.
INSPECTIONS UPDATE
Mr. Koelbl reported that all the exterior inspections had been completed for the voluntary inspection
notices sent out in April.
Mr. Mugerauer asked when the next block of tenant inspection notices would be mailed.
Mr. Davis stated the next block of tenant inspection notices would be mailed in two weeks, however he
would need to determine the schedule of the housing inspector as it was the busy season for the Inspection
Services Division.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:51 p.m. (Davey/Rentz)
Respectfully submitted,
Allen Davis
Community Development Director