Total in attendance: 12
Council members in attendance: Bain, F. Tower
Location: Oshkosh Police Department Meeting Room
Next Fifth Tuesday
Forum: October 30 at 6:00 p.m., location TBD
Below is a list of topics and, if applicable, concerns/issues/questions raised within each topic and follow up from city staff. For more information about the forum or the items discussed, contact Oshkosh Common Council Member Bryan L. Bain at bbain@ci.oshkosh.wi.us or 651-9329.
TOPIC:
PARKS DEPARTMENT
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Concerns/Issues/Questions |
Referred to, if applicable |
Follow up, as received, if applicable |
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Why are not all of the minutes from the Parks Advisory Board on the city’s website (March, April and July are missing)? |
The procedure for getting the minutes on the website involves having the Parks Department's Office Manager, Trish Wendorf, forwarding the minutes to the IT Division once the minutes from the previous meeting are typed and ready for distribution. From what I've been told, IT did receive the March minutes and, for some reason, did not get the minutes posted. The IT Division claimed that they did not receive the April minutes, even though, Ms. Wendorf stated that she did move them to the division (I have been told that the person in IT that takes care of posting the minutes was on vacation at the time the April minutes were forwarded). Anyhow, both sets of minutes should now be on the website for review. With regard to other recent minutes. There are no minutes for the month of June, as that meeting was cancelled due to a lack of business. There are also no minutes for July, as the annual tour of park properties was scheduled with the Advisory Parks Board for that month's meeting. |
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Was Little Oshkosh
designed for a specific age group? If
so, why can’t it be enforced? |
There is a national age standard that is used for the
design of playgrounds - that age standard is 2 through 12 years of age.
Typically, smaller playgrounds are designed for ages 2 to 5, and larger
playgrounds cater to children ages 5 through 12. Little The use of Little Oshkosh can be enforced by means of playground rules, or through ordinance language. As many may know, the Advisory Parks Board has recently been discussing Little Oshkosh use regulations. |
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Could the Parks Department
look into a “Big Oshkosh” for the 12-18 year old age group? |
First, I absolutely like the idea of a playground that would accommodate the above age group. Of course, a teen playground would be designed quite differently than the Little Oshkosh playground - there wouldn't be the likes of spring toys, slides, etc. It would be designed with mazes, climbing apparatus, etc. And, what would be important in considering the design of such a playground is to have teens on the design team. The primary issue would be cost. The cost to construct the Little Oshkosh playground was between $300,000 and $500,000 - the $300,000 was for direct cost of materials, and the other $200,000 included donated materials. All the dollars were generated from community donations and fundraisers. The Parks Department could look into a "Big Oshkosh". I'm not sure how soon it could be done considering the many projects, staff issues and functions that the department is currently dealing with. Along with that, the Little Oshkosh project required many human resources, a very defined organizational group, and an inordinate amount of time. Planning, fundraising and coordinating the project took more than a year before construction of the playground began. Working on a "Big Oshkosh" would require a similar project itinerary. Of course, everything is possible, and I wish such a project (a teen playground) could get off of the ground in the near future. I believe a teen playground would be another great project for our community, and would enhance what is offered to the community through out parks system. |
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Will the Police
Department step up patrols, including the use of auxiliary police, in the
area of Little Oshkosh to address some of the recent issues? |
The Oshkosh Police Department is aware of the problems that have been occurring at Little Oshkosh in the Park. Over the past couple of weeks, we have increased patrols in the form of added attention given by our area squads, as well as assigned special details of officers on certain nights. Also, in the past couple of weeks, we have assigned Auxiliary officers to observe activities and various times of the day and night with the responsibility to immediately report any suspicious or disorderly behavior directly to the area officer and the Oshkosh Police Department. In the near future, we will be pairing Auxiliary officers up with sworn uniformed OPD officers to increase presence during times that we believe are the most problematic. |
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Concerns/Issues/Questions |
Referred to, if applicable |
Follow up, as received, if applicable |
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Regarding the brochure that was mailed to all city residents: What was the cost to produce it? What was the cost to mail it? Is it required by law? Could it be posted in The Northwestern rather than mailed? Could it be online instead of mailed? Could it have been included in the regular billing mailing instead of mailed separately? |
$2,898.27 $1,541.71 Yes. Per EPA requirements, the State of No. That waiver is only allowed for communities serving fewer than 10,000 people. No. That waiver is only allowed for communities serving fewer than 10,000 people. No. The City does not own the proper equipment to allow this brochure to be included with the utility bill. Also, we want to distribute this info to all residents at the same time versus sending out in the quarterly utility billing over three months. |
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What is going to
happen with the beacon on top of the water tower? |
The Otter Street Fishing Club owns and maintains the warning light on the old water tower at the Water Filtration Plant. I have not heard anything about their plans for relocation of this light. FYI, the Coast Guard was not happy about the location of this light. I believe this sort of light was supposed to direct boats to a safe harbor but that was not the application in this instance. |
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Concerns/Issues/Questions |
Referred to, if applicable |
Follow up, as received, if applicable |
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There was
discussion regarding the 100 Block of N. Main St. |
N/A |
N/A |
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Concerns/Issues/Questions |
Referred to, if applicable |
Follow up, as received, if applicable |
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There was discussion regarding Council Member Bain’s proposal to move workshops to a new meeting time – the first Tuesday of every month. |
N/A |
N/A |
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Concerns/Issues/Questions |
Referred to, if applicable |
Follow up, as received, if applicable |
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There was discussion regarding this project, specifically
the proposed office building. It was
suggested to look at the positive impact an office building had in downtown |
N/A |
N/A |
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Concerns/Issues/Questions |
Referred to, if applicable |
Follow up, as received, if applicable |
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When can we expect to see development/work on the riverwalk project? What will be the first area/location? |
At the present time JJR (the City's planning consultant
firm from |
TOPIC:
CONVENTION CENTER
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Concerns/Issues/Questions |
Referred to, if applicable |
Follow up, as received, if applicable |
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There was a discussion regarding the convention center, recent council workshops and future action being taken by the council. |
N/A |
N/A |
TOPIC:
CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
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Concerns/Issues/Questions |
Referred to, if applicable |
Follow up, as received, if applicable |
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Can there be a
central location on the city’s website for all boards and commissions to post
agendas and minutes? Can you follow up
with city staff to ensure all agendas and minutes are being posted online in
a timely manner? |
I will work with our IT Department to accomplish this request. At our next staff meeting I will remind all of the Departments that work with the various boards and commissions to make sure that all minutes are posted in a timely manner. |
TOPIC:
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Concerns/Issues/Questions |
Referred to, if applicable |
Follow up, as received, if applicable |
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What steps are
being taken to address some of the issues raised regarding the early morning
and late evening noise? |
Richard Wollangk, City Manager, Richard Wells, UW Oshkosh Chancellor, Ron Heilmann, Oshkosh Area School District Superintendent and Tony Blando, Unified Catholic Schools President |
Wollangk: I have followed up with the Oshkosh Police Department and they have been working with the neighbors on the issues and have also been in contact with the University about the concerns. They offered to have a neighborhood meeting but in discussions with the neighbor it was decided to wait and see if some of the things that the University is working on will alleviate the problems. Wells: Available online at www.bryanbain.com/Wells_OSC_Documents Heilmann: No response as of 08/24/07. Blando: We do not hold any events at Titan in the early morning hours. We do have 4-5 football games in the evening but always have a very small crowd and no band. The only noise we make is the announcer and I do not believe there are any steps we could take to reduce that noise. I will ensure that our parents and students are respectful of the neighbors as they depart the stadium. I will also ensure that we make multiple announcements during the games to ask all spectators to be respectful of the neighbors when they depart. |
No tax dollars were used to produce or maintain this document.
Last updated:
August 24, 2007