Residents protest closed meeting with Five Rivers developerThis is the headline for today's article in the Northwestern about the closed-door meeting about the Five Rivers Resort project.
An exerpt from the articles says
"
The TIF money will build a public river walk, new seawall, street improvements and land preparations on and around Five Rivers Resort's footprint west of Jackson Street on the Fox River. The package also includes an up to $6 million public development grant intended for Five Rivers.
The growing value of the Five Rivers property, as it's improved, would generate property taxes to pay back the public debt in site infrastructure improvements. "But wait a second. How can the city generate money from the Five Rivers Resort under the Wisconsin state property tax freeze? Or am I missing something here?
When a city vehicle damages a person's property and the city is then told to pay for the damages, how do the damages get paid for?
How often does this happen?
Is this a concern for the taxpayer?
Well, I'm comfortable with saying that I didn't finish this story because I didn't start writing it sooner. I didn't even go out this weekend yet I still found that I didn't give myself enough time to write this...I work way too much.
But I don't want to get a super zero on this so this is what I have so far...
-Laura
This year isn’t going to be pretty one for the Oshkosh Common Council.
The council is already receiving grief for proposing a $10-per-month garbage pick-up fee, to make up for the money it won’t be able to collect due to the state-imposed property-tax freeze.
“How are we going to pay for things now?”— Was the question revolving around last Thursday’s Oshkosh common council candidates forum.
But because of a one-minute and thirty second time limit imposed on candidate responses, only a very broad discussion of money-saving strategies emerged from the forum.
“We need to do an efficiency study and do well thought-out budget cuts,” candidate Michael Domke said.
In lieu of several budgetary concerns, are also issues regarding recent constructions projects like the $285,000 of city dollars used to purchase floating docks off Leach Amphitheater.
“Where are our spending priorities? ” Dennis McHugh said.
“We spend all this money for a new boat ramp by the amphitheater and our streets are in pathetic condition.”
Many candidates also agreed that a better analysis of the actual wants and needs of the city should be considered.
random note and starts start here:
The nine candidates vying for the three three-spots
that will be filled after the election April 4,
Nine people are vying for three open positions on the council despite the dark cloud of budgetary concerns that may befall on them if elected.
On top of that, three seats on the council will be open
But the garbage-fees won’t be enough to get the city back on to it’s feet without looking to other ways to save money.
The garbage-fee was one of the many budgetary issues that revolved around last Thursday’s primary common council candidates forum
Even under expected budgetary issues that don’t just stop a the cost of
How are we going to pay for it all?–was the big question revolving the Oshkosh Common Council primary candidates forum
Nine-candidates are still vying for three-open spots on the Oshkosh Common Council,
As even great questions, like how are we going to pay for it all?
With the upcoming reaction to the garbage feeze,
Under major budgetary concerns stemming from the recent state-imposed property-tax freeze, Oshkosh is now searching for ways to replace the revenue it will lose from the freeze.
Money saving issues were the revoling issue of last Thursday’s Oshkosh Common Council primary candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters.
Nine-candidates vying for three open spots on the council each states how they though the city could save money.
On Feb 9 , nine candidates viying for a three open spots on the council
But under the dark cloud of budget
Under major budget concerns that are
A proposed property-tax freeze for the state of Wisconsin is forcing Oshkosh to put on a cap on the amount it can collect from property-taxes–forcing the common council into debate on how the city will
Yet under the dark cloud of budget concerns stemming from a property-tax free fresh from the capitol steps, nine people are looking to fill three vacant spots
another problem to deal with, a huge chunk of the money used to pay for the city
In the midsts of bigtime renovation and building projects, the commo
As Oshkosh is in the midsts of bigtime renovations and buildiing projects
the state of Wisconsin propsed a property-tax free
\Ten-dollars can buy you a lot of things but it isn’t enough to buy Oshkosh citizens complete happiness of the city’s handling of new budget concerns
The proposed property-tax freeze for the state of Wisconsin has many cities, including Oshkosh, scrambling for ideas on how to save money.
Under the property-tax free Oshkosh will be short handed on
the Oshkosh city council scrambling to find solutions to money
The cost of a cheap take-out pizza has many Oshkosh citizens in disagreement
a take-out pizza, or even a cheap
The newly put property-tax freeze put on the state of Wisconsin forces
proposed property-tax freeze for the state Wisconsin has direct effects
The cost of
Bits and pieces....
What building goes up, will always come down to one question. How is it going to be paid for?
Budget and redevelopment issues regarding downtown redevelopment and the proposed Five Rivers Resorts were the most heated issues discussed in the Primary Oshkosh Common Council candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters Thursday.
A large base for budget concerns regarding development is the recent income tax free imposed by the state of Wisconsin.
"We don't need pretty buildings because we can't afford it," Esslinger said.
"Yay, I love building things," Castle said.
"I don't know what's going on," Bogden said.
Candidates Forum. Primary Election Candidates Forum. Oshkosh Area School Board at 7:00 pm, Oshkosh City Council at 8:00 pm; Winnebago County Circuit Court Branch 4 Judge at 9:00 pm. Broadcast live by Oshkosh Community Access Television CitiCable 10 and WOCT 109.1 FM, Oshkosh
7:00 - 9:30 pm Oshkosh City Hall, 215 Church Ave.
In lieu of the recent property tax freeze for the state of Wisconsin, how can Oshkosh make progress when now we need to keep an close eye on the city budget?
What are the biggest concerns relating to this?
Staff cuts to save money?
Street Repair?
Downtown Development?
Oshkosh Common Council candidates showed the community last night that there are more issues the city faces than a garbage collection fee.
The nine council candidates gathered for a forum to discuss the many issues that will affect the city in the coming year, including the city budget, public school enrollment and community development.
Of all the issues discussed, the city budget was the focus of many questions. Some candidates used the budget problems as justification for the garbage fee.
Candidates also focused on the development of the downtown area. All supported development, but incumbent Paul Esslinger warned that the city must be careful when choosing what to spend money on.
Click on the link to view a full page
of businesses and buildings downtown including photos and assessed values.
HERE
Monk-Reising Gallery during a gallery walk event..
An article in the Oshkosh Northwestern today informed us on the future closing of the Monk-Reising gallery located in the Wagner Opera House building. The building is one of the few free-standing historical structures left in the downtown area.
The gallery was one of the main stops on the monthly gallery walks.
It was big news when Monk-Reising first moved into the space so a huge question is, what is going to move into the empty space?
By looking at this issue we can also analyze other aspects of current and future revitalization of downtown Oshkosh.
Let's review some of the business that have recently opened downtown..a store that sells expensive purses
a store that sells VERY expensive womens clothes.
a nail salon.
another salon.
a new bar.
Being a current resident of downtown I see that the streets are gererally empty at night. During the day few people are seen walking alon gthe sidewalk. I question how the committee that oversees buisness improvement defines actual DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION.
Sure, the stores that recently opened are located in buildings that may look nicer, but what do these stores give to the general public?
How do these stores cater to the needs of residents on the north and east sides of town?
The answer is that, in general, they don't.
Urban communities that have successful downtown areas utilize a basics need of the surrounding community.
For example- a grocery store, a place to eat, a place to do something.
Obviously a boutique shop does not have regular customers because of the price of the items that are sold. The west side of Oshkosh is where the wealthier population lives. These people are also typically the customers of come-and-go businesses like a high-priced cafe (Planet Perk), a boutique purse shop (Lulu) and a boutique women's clothing store (The Whtie Russian).
How are we helping to rebuild downtown Oshkosh if more and more stores that cater to citizens that live on the other side of town help the greater Oshkosh?
Downtown....
Where is a grocery store?
Where can I get some milk when I run out?
Where can I hang-out when I don't want to sit at home?
What if I don't want to drink?
Where can I do something with my family downtown?
---the ampitheatre is a solution to this but obviously you can't go there in the winter.
Where can I sit and have a nice meal, besides the WaterCityGrill?
So what is going to happen to the empty space at Monk-Reising gallery?This is a question of business improvement and renovation concerns of downtown.
In order to make this a successful downtown revialization, lacking of mistakes, and financial burdens (like the tax situation of the lack-lustre 100 N.Main apartment) what can we provide to our general Oshkosh citizens that can prove to be a sustainable business?
Duh! We need to start something that has easy acess to a larger income bracket while also pertaining to those people's wants and or needs.
If the downtown area can provide for the general needs of the GENERAL public of north and east Oshkosh , it then, will be able to become a self- thriving community.
Other points of Note:
The
Park Plaza mall, once comparable to the Fox River Mall, was once located in downtown Oshkosh. The mall was occupied by major stores like: Younkers,Pragne Way, JC Penny,Deb, and others and also had a full food court. The building is now a empty building containing phone centers for catalogue companies.
Mercy Mecical Center, once the only hospital in Oshkosh it is now a buildling that still hasn't been fully restored. The hospital was rebuilt on the west side of town. A second hospital was built less than a mile from it.
There was a popular
Chinese food restaurant that used to be located in downtown Oshkosh. It burned down and was never replaced.
A large movie theatre once occupied the current location of the Mainview Apartments on Main Street. The theatre was one of the biggest in the Wisconsin area. The theatre was closed and is now a provider of low-income housing. This buildling has MANY rooms. Is this fully occupied?
Another theatre downtown closed less than five years ago. The space used to host regular plays and theatrical performances that were inexpensive to attend. The building has continued to be vacant downtown and efforts to make the space into a club that hosted live musical acts was turned down by the city.
A WARNING
Do whatever you can to not access this blog using Internet Explorer.
I have already written two very long postings that were deleted because of errors and freezes caused by Internet Explorer malfunctions.
Also, if you writing a fairly long post, I suggest you first write it in Microsoft Word and then copy and paste it into the blog.
I find that the most internet freezes happened when I was working in a busy computer lab.
Take this measure of precaution!!!! If you don't, I will guarantee that it will happen to you at least once and when it does happen you will only regret that you didn't save you work.
-Laura
Near East Neighborhood Improvements
http://thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060207/OSH0101/602070319/1128/OSHnews
Interesting article about the city looking to improve housing. This article could be a good topic idea to build from.
New story on Pollock Pool Waterpark in Oshkosh Northwestern
here
My Search Topics: Oshkosh City Budget and Oshkosh Road Development/Construction
More information
that would be good to know about the city.
It would be good to know issues that city faces but knowing
more about the city in general.
This info was taken from:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Oshkosh-Wisconsin.htmlMedian resident age: 32.4 years
Median household income: $37,636 (year 2000)
Median house value: $86,300 (year 2000)
Races in Oshkosh:
- White Non-Hispanic (91.8%)
- Other Asian (2.4%)
- Black (2.2%)
- Hispanic (1.7%)
- Two or more races (1.0%)
- American Indian (0.8%)
- Other race (0.5%)
Ancestries: German (49.7%), Irish (9.8%), Polish (6.9%), English (6.7%), Norwegian (4.6%), French (3.9%).
Houses: 25,359 (24,026 occupied: 13,833 owner occupied, 10,193 renter occupied)
Median price asked for vacant for-sale houses in 2000: $76,500
Median rent asked for vacant for-rent units in 2000: $463
Median gross rent in Oshkosh, WI in 2000: $487
Housing units in Oshkosh with a mortgage: 8,478 (986 second mortgage, 1,359 home equity loan, 72 both second mortgage and home equity loan)
Houses without a mortgage: 3,958
More information.
A large area of interest is downtown redevelopment.
I know there are many people who are happy to see where the development is going,
but I also know that many would like to see further improvements.
The 100 N. Main apartments are tied into this. This was built along with the effort to revitalize downtown Oshkosh but look at all the problems the buildling has.
Ganther has tax issues.
And the proposed businesses that were suposed to occupy the bottom portion of the structure are not there.
Economic Development - Downtown Oshkosh Business Improvement District (BID)
The Downtown Oshkosh Business Improvement District (BID) was created in 1987 to retain free parking in the downtown area as well as to proactively support revitalization efforts by means of a special assessment. Oversight of the expenditures of these funds are delegated to a 10-person board, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Common Council. The board, which meets the third Tuesday of every month in City Hall, develops the budget for approval by the council, and establishes the priorties for uses of the funds.
Members of the 2006 BID Board:
* Norm Packer, Chair
* David Sparr, Vice Chair ------- a lawyer in Oshkosh
* Barb Baier
* Mark Bohrnstedt
* Dave Hetzel
* Megan Hoopman--------------she's the gal has renovated buildings downtown. She owns the buildling that Lulu's, a nail salon, and something else occupies.
* Kurt Koeppler
* Al Martin
* Jeff Robl---is he part of Robl properties? If so, these people own several of the historic buildlings downtown.
* Jim Stapel
Go to:
http://www.oshkoshchamber.com/ecodev/ecodev_bid.htm
and a link will take you to a map of the business improvement district.
The following facts are interesting and are good to know, but they may not be as helpful in dealing with issues we've discussed regarding City Council.
This information was taken from
www.oshkoshchamber.com
| Water and Sanitary Sewer Systems |
Oshkosh Water System
Supplier - City of Oshkosh
Source - Lake Winnebago
System Capacity - 20 million gallons/day
Average Consumption - 7.6 million gallons/ day
Peak Consumption - 11 million gallons/day
Treatment Type - Conventional water treatment plant, ozonation, carbon filter and chlorine added |
Wastewater SystemSupplier - City of Oshkosh
System Capacity - 20 million gallons/day
Average Load - 12.036 million gallons/day
Peak Load - 38.29 million gallons/day
Treatment Type - Activated sludge plant with phosphorus and nitrogen removal
Solid Waste Disposal - Regional
Local Property TaxNet Rate per $1000 of assessed Value - $27.09
Housing issues near campus and why these problems continue...
Why are landlords allowed to rent out houses that have- poor insulation systems,pest problems, poor plumbing etc?
Are these houses being overlooked by the city?
Why is this a continuing problem?
How much profit do landlords make by neglecting these issues?
What are the laws for conditions a house must be in, in order for it to be rentable?
How is the city inspector a part of this?
What can he do to help solve the problem?
What are some of the major renters near campus?
Three Useful Sites and Three Not Useful...
1. I think that two old A-T articles give us an idea of landlord and off-campus housing problems. Both articles are older, but both discuss city proposals that were up for aproval at one time. I am trying to see if both were inacted or are revised in some way over the years. I guess I find this interesting because students could relate to something like this and get involved in elections if it was an idea proposed by a candidate.
http://www.advancetitan.com/story.asp?issue=10708&story=1318 and
http://www.advancetitan.com/story.asp?issue=10708&story=1314
2. http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/Community_Development/Municipal_Codes/Codes_Index.htm
I find this useful because it lists all the city ordinances. There are probably some on here that people have problems with but never discuss.
3. Something interesting but not too useful: http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/Community_Development/Municipal_Codes/Codes_Index.htm
This discusses the new water park that is being developed. I guess i find it cool that the millions needed to build it was collected through donations.
4. http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=381802a33d78d698123aebc65fb716d7&_docnum=23&wchp=dGLbVzb-zSkVb&_md5=0f627f5bba75ad10c042af102d5cae4e
I find this an interesting article, again related to student housing, from Ohio State University. It doesn't really pertain to city council project, but it shows what other schools do to help people with poor housing and bad landlords.
5. http://michelle4oshkosh.blogspot.com/ This is one of the candidates blogs. Interesting, but not much here. It could become useful in the future.
6. http://www.oshkoshpolitics.blogspot.com/ An interesting blog about wisconsin politics, but it seems to focus on state rather than local oshkosh. I guess it isn't useful for what we are doing now, but maybe he will post about the elections for council sometime (doubt it though.)
I find this useful because this show goes over the city council's agenda but then the city manager explains why a certain issue was discussed and what decision was made on it.
This show is also broadcasted on 90.3 WRST. I'll post the times when I find them.
-Laura
OCAT CitiCable 10 Program Schedule & Listing (Last Update 6/05)
(This listing is for series programs only, for all other special productions see our website or call our offices at 236-5260).
City Manager’s Report 2 nd & 4th
Monday @ 5 p.m., 7 p.m., 9 p.m. & 11 p.m.
2 nd & 4th
Tuesday @ 1:30 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.
City Manager Richard Wollangk previews the agenda of the next Oshkosh Common Council meeting.
City Manager’s Report (ENCORE) 1 st, 3rd & 5th Monday @ 5 p.m., 7 p.m., 9 p.m. & 11 p.m.
1 st, 3rd & 5th Tuesday @ 1:30 p.m.
During non-council meeting weeks this encore presentation presents segments of past CMR programs with interviews with city department heads, special projects and more.
