Tonight's Common Council meeting should prove to be as interesting as always. Unfortunately I will likely miss the beginning if not all of it.
Some highlights:
- Harold Buchholz - Welcome the seventh member, but everyone wants to know what kind of tie he will be wearing...
- Liquor Licenses - I think this council is done pussyfooting around with unused licenses. The Granary may make a good case but HoJos is out.
- Res 09-209 is the Parking Lot Resolution. Mayor Esslinger's public opposition has made this a higher profile issue than it needs to be. This will pass 5-2, as Palmeri, Poeschl and Buchholz will join King and Tower in voting for the Parking Lot.
- Wastewater Treatment Plant (09-211 and 09-212) - the DNR gave the city wastewater treatment plant good marks (straight A's! but is there "grade inflation" occuring???). 212 calls for an end to the "emergency" that permitted the city to replace some equipment waiving the bid process. I know this "emergency" irritated Palmeri when it happened, will he take to the pulpit?
- Board Appointments - Oh no! Will the appointments be politicized??? What? Mayor Esslinger is appointing Polly Briley and Tina Haffeman to the Landmarks Commission? I thought he only appointed political allies... Stop the presses, "Esslinger Appoints Qualified Citizens to City Board." And the Chief was convinced he would appoint Michelle Monte? Even the best can be wrong sometimes I guess.
- City Manager Goals - Yawn. Will this just get finalized and put to bed?
- Recycling Bins - This one could be interesting. The Northwestern is backing the City Manager's suggestion that they just buy the bins with a one time charge rather than take out a million dollar loan. They compare it to charging a pack of gum and paying interest on it for years. I think they are right - buy the bins, no more debt.
- Poeschl and the Bike Plan - Poeschl has noticed a discussion on the Bike & Pedestrian Plan as part of Council Member Statements. It seems as if the public will be able to weigh in, at least the VP of the Oshkosh Cycling Club plans to do so. The City has just put together a 15 member committee that is charged with overseeing the development of an updated Bike and Pedestrian plan, but their job should be easy since the plan development has been outsourced to a third party. The President of the Cycling Club is on the Committee, as is a member of the Sustainability Advisory Board. Commuter biking in Oshkosh is a huge problem and will likely be a continuing topic of conversation as the new plan is developed and as major arterial roads are rebuilt with (or more likely without) bike lanes.
- Greenhouse Gas Inventory of City Operations - part of the City Manager's report, this is an undertaking of the Sustainability Advisory Board and the first step towards the development of a Sustainability Action Plan to reduce GHG emissions in Oshkosh. You can read the report yourself online here.
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