Candidate forum replay times

Last night, the candidates for school board and common council discussed the issues at the League of Women Voters forum. In case you missed it, below are replay times on CitiCable 10:

01/31 & 02/01: 7:00 p.m.
02/03: 12:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m.
02/04: 12:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.

I assume there will be additional replay times. Please check the OCAT website for updated information.

-Bryan

Election 2007 coverage

The Oshkosh Northwestern today unveiled their election 2007 website. Candidates were asked to respond to 10 questions and provide a 300 word or less candidate statement. We also were informed that responses and statements would be printed verbatim.

A direct link to my responses and statement are provided for your convenience. You also may visit my website for additional information about my re-election campaign.

As always, I welcome your feedback and responses.

-Bryan

Candidate forum

The League of Women Voters of the Oshkosh Area is again hosting school board and common council candidate forums on Tuesday, January 30th in room 404 City Hall.

The school board forum begins at 7:00 p.m. and the common council at 8:00 p.m.

Both forums will be broadcast live on OCAT Channel 10 and WOCT 101.9 FM. Please check the OCAT website for replay times.

-Bryan

January Fifth Tuesday Forum

The January Fifth Tuesday Forum will be on a Monday due to the League of Women Voters candidate forum. The date is Monday, January 29th at 6:00 p.m. at the Oshkosh Public Library rooms A&B. I hope to see you there.

-Bryan

Ohio Street project

I received the following information in Friday's council packet:

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Northeast Regional Office in Green Bay is announcing a public information meeting to discuss the design plans and construction schedule for Ohio Street (WIS 44) from South Park Avenue to Witzel Avenue in the city of Oshkosh. The meeting is scheduled from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at the Oshkosh Senior Center Willow Room, 200 North Campbell Road in Oshkosh. There will be a brief presentation at 5:30 p.m.

The proposed project consists of new concrete pavement, sidewalks, utilities and traffic signals. Construction is slated from March 2008 to October 2008, and costs are expected to be around $3.4 million. This project is related to the new Wisconsin Street bridge construction currently taking place. The new bridge and approach roadway construction is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2008.

WisDOT and city staff will be on hand to meet with people on an individual basis. Exhibits portraying the project concept will be on display. Design and right-of-way consultants will be at the meeting to answer questions or discuss concerns. The public is encouraged to ask questions and provide comments.

Citizens who are unable to attend or who would like more information are encouraged to contact Tom Buchholz in WisDOT's Northeast Regional Office by calling (920) 492-0142. Written correspondence can be directed to Tom Buchholz, WisDOT Northeast Region, P.O. Box 28080, Green Bay, WI, 54324-0080, or via email at tom.buchholz@dot.state.wi.us. Hearing-impaired citizens may request an interpreter by contacting Tom Buchholz by January 25, 2007 via the Wisconsin Telecommunications Relay System (dialing 711).

-Bryan

Good week for Oshkosh

In case you missed it, there has been a lot of press this week regarding economic development and job growth in the city of Oshkosh.

On Sunday, we learned that Oshkosh tops its Fox Valley neighbors in several economic growth indicators. We learned Wednesday that Miles Kimball is moving 100+ jobs to the city from Las Vegas, and that the city is making progress on clearing the old buildings in the South Shore Redevelopment Area. Then, today we learned that Lowe's has submitted plans for a new 139,000 sq. ft. building with an attached 39,000 sq. ft. garden center in the Highway 21 corridor that will net 175 new jobs, 70% of which will be full-time.

I also heard on the radio this week that a Comfort Suites is planning to build next to the new Golden Corral restaurant, although I cannot find anything online about it. UPDATE: There is now a story online about it. WHG Companies is behind the project. They also own other hotels in Oshkosh.

All of this, coupled with the 2006 year-in-review articles [here and here] about Chamco and OAEDC, is very good news for the city of Oshkosh. What are your thoughts?

-Bryan

Trash the fee

As reported in the Oshkosh Northwestern, I will introduce a resolution at Tuesday's council meeting to eliminate the garbage and recycling fee language from the city ordinance. Since this is an ordinance change, it requires two readings prior to council action. The council is slated to vote on the resolution at our January 23rd meeting.

In a December conversation I had with City Manager Wollangk, he said he would not be recommending a fee for service anytime in the near future. Keeping the language in the ordinance would have required a discussion and vote every year, even if we wanted to set a zero dollar fee. I felt it unnecessary to have this conversation over and over again, especially after the clear signal Oshkosh voters sent in November. That is why I am proposing to eliminate the fee language from the ordinance. I encourage my fellow councilors to join me in supporting this resolution.

-Bryan