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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL CITY OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN APRIL 16, 2019 RECESSED MEETING held Tuesday, April 16, 2019, at 12:00 p.m. in Council Chambers, City Hall Mayor Cummings presided. PRESENT: Council Member Matt Mugerauer, Jake Krause, Tom Pech, Jr., Steven Herman, Deb Allison-Aasby, Lori Palmeri and Mayor Steve Cummings ALSO PRESENT: Mark Rohloff, City Manager; Pamela Ubrig, City Clerk and Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney CITIZEN STATEMENTS There were no citizen statements to Council. OTHER BUSINESS Council Member Herman stated he had served with Council Member Pech and Mayor Cummings for over eight years and had appreciated working with them both. He explained he believed the Mayor had great vision and had worked hard to make sure the City was a 'player', in Oshkosh, the greater Fox Valley and throughout the State of Wisconsin. He stated a number of complicated projects had come to fruition during the past eight years, including the hotel, the river walk, Oshkosh Corporation headquarters and the Menominee Nation Arena. He explained there were many opportunities ahead. He stated he appreciated Council Member Pech's insight and work ethic and his efforts with the long range finance committee, which had brought forward an improved way to complete the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) and tax improvement districts (TIFs). He thanked Council Member Pech and Mayor Cummings for their hard work and dedication to the City of Oshkosh and the citizens they represented. Council Member Allison-Aasby thanked Mayor Cummings and Council Member Pech. She explained when she was first elected to Council, she was largely unknown in the community and appreciated that her first phone call was from Mayor Cummings, who congratulated her, welcomed her to Council and offered his assistance. She stated she PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—APRIL 16, 2019 agreed with what Council Member Herman had stated, and appreciated Mayor Cumming's efforts to extend the City's impact outside of Oshkosh. She explained although they had tackled tough issues together, it was her opinion that there had always remained a mutual respect. She stated she appreciated Council Member Pech's boldness and honesty, and although there had been struggles, she appreciated the opportunity to have worked with them both. Mayor Cummings presented a plaque to Council Member Pech in appreciation for his eight years on Council. He thanked Council Member Pech for his service and the accomplishments that had been achieved. Council Member Palmeri presented a plaque to Mayor Cummings in appreciation for his service and passion for the City. She explained she had learned a number of lessons from him and appreciated all that he had done as a Council Member and Mayor. Council Member Pech stated he was honored and privileged to have served the citizens of Oshkosh. He explained he believed thoughts became words, words became action and action became character, which was what matters. He stated if you tell people you are going to do something,you need to have the fortitude to follow it through and put words into action. He explained it had been a privilege to serve on Council for the past eight years and with having served twelve years on the Winnebago County Board, he was proud of twenty years of service to the community. Mayor Cummings thanked the citizens of Oshkosh for putting their faith in his leadership of Oshkosh for nearly the past decade. He stated he had not known Council Member Herman or Council Member Pech prior to serving on Council, and had formed a friendship in which although they may disagree, they put the interest of the City first. He explained the City had changed significantly over the past decade and thanked the citizens for their support. MOTION: ADJOURN SINE DIE (Pech; second, Herman) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Mugerauer, Krause, Pech, Herman, Allison-Aasby, Palmeri, Mayor Cummings The meeting adjourned sine die at 12:08 p.m. 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—APRIL 16, 2019 ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING held Tuesday, April 16, 2019, at 12:11 p.m. in Council Chambers, City Hall Mayor Palmeri presided. PRESENT: Council Members Deb Allison-Aasby, Steven Herman, Jake Krause, Matt Mugerauer, Bob Poeschl and Mayor Lori Palmeri ALSO PRESENT: Mark Rohloff, City Manager; Pamela Ubrig, City Clerk and Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney Ms. Ubrig stated she administered the oath of office for newly elected Mayor Lori Palmeri, and newly elected Council Members Deb Allison-Aasby, Jake Krause and Bob Poeschl prior to the roll call. Mayor Palmeri called three times for nominations of Deputy Mayor for the Common Council. Council Member Herman nominated Council Member Mugerauer for deputy mayor. Council Member Poeschl nominated Council Member Krause for deputy mayor. MOTION: CLOSE NOMINATIONS FOR DEPUTY MAYOR (Poeschl; second, Herman) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Allison-Aasby, Herman, Krause, Mugerauer, Poeschl, Mayor Palmeri Council Member Poeschl explained he nominated Council Member Krause for Deputy Mayor as he believed he wished to serve in the position, and he believed any member of Council who wished to serve in the position should be given the opportunity of consideration by his peers. He stated he believed any current member of Council would be qualified to serve in that position, and Council Member Krause had expressed interest in doing so. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she agreed with Council Member Poeschl and believed both Council Member Krause and Council Member Mugerauer would be capable of the role. She explained it would be a difficult decision. Council Member Herman explained he had nominated Council Member Mugerauer, as he had approached him about the position as he had served three times as Deputy Mayor 3 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—APRIL 16, 2019 and would be able to provide insight. He stated he believed there was misconception about the role; it was more than putting Council into closed session and putting together the process for evaluating the City Manager. He explained it involved attending events and activities, and filling in for the Mayor when she was unable to attend. He stated the person in that role was a leader within the community and needed to remain visible. He explained in the year Council Member Mugerauer had served on Council, he had participated in many events and was engaged, attending many open houses, and been open and honest with communication. He stated the Deputy Mayor role was more than just a title and was a leadership position. He explained he believed Council Member Mugerauer could handle the position well. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated the public may not be aware of the extra responsibility that came with the role without any extra pay. MOTION: ELECTION OF DEPUTY MAYOR- MUGERAUER OR KRAUSE LOST: Mugerauer (3) Allison-Aasby, Herman, Mugerauer Krause (3) Krause, Poeschl, Mayor Palmeri Mayor Palmeri indicated that further discussion could take place or the selection could be laid over until the May 14, 2019 Council meeting. Council Member Mugerauer questioned if nominations could be re-opened and an additional individual be nominated. Ms. Ubrig stated yes. MOTION: RE-OPEN NOMINATIONS FOR DEPUTY MAYOR (Mugerauer; second, Poeschl) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Allison-Aasby, Herman, Krause, Mugerauer, Poeschl, Mayor Palmeri Mayor Palmeri called for further nominations. Council Member Mugerauer nominated Council Member Herman. Mayor Palmeri called for nominations a second time. Council Member Poeschl nominated Council Member Krause. Mayor Palmeri called for nominations a third and final time. 4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—APRIL 16, 2019 Council Member Poeschl questioned if he was able to nominate more than one individual. Council allowed him to do so. Council Member Poeschl nominated Council Member Mugerauer. MOTION: CLOSE NOMINATIONS FOR DEPUTY MAYOR (Mugerauer; second, Poeschl) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Allison-Aasby, Herman, Krause, Mugerauer, Poeschl, Mayor Palmeri Council Member Mugerauer thanked Council Member Herman for his nomination. He stated while he believed he would serve in the role well, he viewed it as an important role in the community, which had prompted him to nominate Council Member Herman. He encouraged any Council Members who would have supported his nomination to do so for Council Member Herman. Council Member Allison-Aasby questioned if Council Member Mugerauer was withdrawing his name. Council Member Mugerauer stated he would withdraw his name. MOTION: ELECTION OF DEPUTY MAYOR- HERMAN OR KRAUSE CARRIED: Herman (4) Allison-Aasby, Herman, Mugerauer, Mayor Palmeri Krause (2) Krause, Poeschl Ms. Ubrig declared Council Member Herman as Deputy Mayor. The Council seating assignments were decided as follows (starting with the seat farthest to the right of the Mayor): Deb Allison-Aasby, open seat, Bob Poeschl, Mayor Palmeri, Steve Herman, Jake Krause, and Matt Mugerauer. ORIENTATION OF CITY DEPARTMENTS FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS Mayor Palmeri stated newly elected Council Members were able to complete the orientation of City departments. She explained she understood Council Member Poeschl had served before and may already be familiar with the various departments, however, 5 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—APRIL 16, 2019 if he so wished he could choose to participate in the orientation. Mr. Rohloff stated the City Clerk and City Attorney typically reviewed various legal procedures such as the open meetings law and conflicts of interest. He explained he strongly recommended Council Members to participate in that discussion, even if it was a refresher for some. He stated Emily Springstroh, Communications Coordinator with Oshkosh Media, would coordinate any field office visits Council Members wished to attend. He stated any Council Member would be able to participate and encouraged them to contact Diane to schedule visits. He explained City staff was working on an orientation booklet that covered a variety of topics. He stated if any Council Members would like to touch base on current issues, he would be happy to meet with them. He recommended they reach out to department heads to receive general information. Mayor Palmeri stated the goal was to make newly elected Council Members feel welcomed and to make the learning curve as seamless as possible. DISCUSSION OF COUNCIL RULES MOTION: ADOPT COUNCIL RULES (Mugerauer; second, Herman) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Allison-Aasby, Herman, Krause, Mugerauer, Poeschl, Mayor Palmeri Mayor Palmeri questioned if there were any concerns or suggestions regarding the Council rules that had been provided to Council. Council Member Herman reminded his fellow Council Members and the community that Council had approved the civility pledge and it was important to keep in mind. He explained there was considerable discourse on national, state and local levels and all citizens needed to be respected, Council needed to listen to their constituents and respect each other. He stated it was possible for topics to become emotional and it was important that Council led by example. Council Member Poeschl questioned if it would be appropriate to continue to operate under the Council rules that had been approved the previous year, and allow the newly appointed Council Member to provide insight at a future meeting. Ms. Lorenson stated the Council rules could be adopted and if changes were requested they could be adopted at any time in the future. Council Member Poeschl questioned if a change was not made during the meeting, if 6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—APRIL 16, 2019 Council would continue to operate under the existing rules. Ms. Lorenson stated that was correct. Council Member Poeschl stated it would then be appropriate to wait and discuss the rules when the new Council Member was appointed. Ms. Lorenson explained the rules would need to be adopted for Council to continue to operate under them. She stated if Council wished to make a change in the future they could do so. Council Member Poeschl stated what he understood was that if Council did not adopt the rules today, they would continue to operate under the previously adopted rules, which were the same. Ms. Lorenson explained she recommended Council adopt the rules. Council Member Herman stated it had been longstanding practice that Council adopted the Council rules at the organizational meeting. He explained they could be reviewed again after the appointed Council Member was selected, however, from a procedural standpoint the rules should be adopted. DISCUSSION OF AGENDA FORMAT Mayor Palmeri explained in the present format there were two opportunities for citizens to speak. She questioned if there was any additional discussion related to the agenda format. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she believed that both opportunities for citizens to speak should remain to allow individuals with time constraints to participate. Council Member Mugerauer explained he agreed with Council Member Allison-Aasby about maintaining the two opportunities for the public to speak. He stated he believed the speaker registration was a positive addition and allowed Council to be able to contact citizens afterwards correctly and easily. He explained he believed the format worked well and did not require many changes. Mayor Palmeri stated there had been repeat items listed at the end of a series of agendas, often under City Manager announcements. She questioned if there was interest listing status updates regarding ongoing projects on future agendas. 7 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—APRIL 16, 2019 Council Member Herman questioned if there would be a line item on the agenda specific to ongoing items. Mayor Palmeri stated yes. Council Member Herman explained there had been confusion with timelines in the past and believed it would be beneficial to have a spot on the agenda for such items. He stated it would help provide direction to City staff and keep projects on a schedule. Council Member Krause stated he was under the assumption if there was an agenda item that it was Council's responsibility to request items to be continued on future agendas. Council Member Allison-Aasby questioned the proposed part of the agenda would be for short term items. Mayor Palmeri explained examples would include items such as the transportation utility fee, key performance measurements and workshop items in which there had been Council discussion or direction. She stated it would be a line item under City Manager direction that would contain topics that carried over and Council could remain aware of status updates. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she appreciated the idea and could prevent items from being overlooked. Mr. Rohloff explained he believed there was value to the idea; it would help with accountability. He stated in the past he had seen other municipalities list an item regarding status of outstanding issues. He explained an example of an ongoing item that would be listed would be the Oshkosh Corporation update. Council Member Poeschl questioned if Council would be open to adding an item regarding committee reports. He explained he believed it would be valuable for Council to report about ongoing topics from the various boards and commissions they were appointed to. Council Member Allison-Aasby stated she would not necessarily be opposed to it, however, the boards and commissions did not necessarily meet each month; it was dependent on whether or not there were active items to discuss. She explained she would support the discussion quarterly, however, she did not believe a monthly discussion would be appropriate. She stated there were meeting minutes that Council should review. 8 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—APRIL 16, 2019 Council Member Poeschl explained he had not considered the timeline; his thinking behind the idea was to better inform citizens about topics. He stated citizens often found out about an item when it was listed on a Council agenda. He explained he did not believe quarterly would be sufficient, however, he would be comfortable with a monthly update. He stated it did not need to be discussed every meeting. Council Member Herman explained he understood the logic behind the idea and appreciated providing citizens with more information. He questioned if it would require additional City staff to attend Council meetings, because if the Council appointee were to discuss an item from the board or commission, the staff liaison may wish to be present to add supplemental information. Mr. Rohloff stated Council liaison reports could be added to the agenda, and any Council Member wishing to provide an update could do so. He requested that Council let him know the Thursday morning prior to a Council meeting if they anticipated providing an update to remain compliant from an open meeting standpoint. He explained it would also help City staff prepare to discuss the applicable topics. He stated it may help Council become more aware of items prior to voting on them. Council Member Mugerauer explained he believed the current process of updating Council regarding various boards and commission topics during Council Member statements worked well. Mayor Palmeri stated she liked the idea of a quarterly update as there were several boards and commissions. She explained if there was a time sensitive topic it could be addressed during Council Member statements. Council Member Herman stated he was concerned that there were times in which Council would engage in discussion to the point where a decision was nearly reached without a vote. He questioned if that would result in Council being in violation of the rules. Ms. Lorenson recommended Council be specific with an item for the agenda so that it was clear what would be discussed. Council Member Herman stated he agreed with Council Member Mugerauer; the ability already existed to provide updates during Council Member statements or direction to the City Manager. 9 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL—APRIL 16, 2019 Council Member Poeschl explained he would like to see a line item on the agenda titled 'committee reports' and if a Council Member wished to share information, they would let City staff know ahead of time to allow it to be specifically listed on the agenda. He stated he did not anticipate it would result in extra work. Council Member Krause stated he appreciated the idea of updates, and believed Council Member statements was a sufficient way to provide them. Council Member Allison-Aasby agreed. She stated she initially thought Council Member Poeschl was suggesting the reports be mandatory, however, since that was not the case, Council Member statements would be sufficient. She indicated Council would need to remain disciplined and stick to a statement and not engage in discussion. Council Member Poeschl explained the Council liaison would be reporting publicly available information, and simply taking it one step further by sharing it at the Council meeting as opposed to only having it available in the minutes. Mayor Palmeri stated there would not be a change at this time in regards to committee reports. OTHER BUSINESS Mayor Palmeri requested that Council email her their preferences for board and commission appointments by noon on Friday, April 191h. She stated any current member of the public who served on a board or commission would need to send an email indicating they would like to be reappointed as it was not automatic. Council Member Herman questioned if that would include members whose term limits were not up. Mayor Palmeri explained she was referring to those members whose term was up. Mr. Rohloff stated City staff would follow up and contact those members whose term was expiring and instruct them to contact Mayor Palmeri or his office directly if they wished to be reappointed. Mayor Palmeri explained there was a revised application for any new applicants to the City's boards and commissions, which was available on the City's website and could be printed or submitted electronically. She encouraged members of the public to apply. 10 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL-APRIL 16, 2019 MOTION: ADJOURN (Mugerauer; second, Allison-Aasby) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting adjourned at 12:56 p.m. PAMELA R. UBRIG CITY CLERK 11