 I'd like to call to order the first meeting of the 2015-2016 common counsel with a clerk. Please read the quote for today Thank You mayor. I Hope her achievements in life shall be these that we will have fought for what was right and fair That we will have risked for that which mattered that we will have given help to those who are in need That we will have left the earth a better place for what we've done and who we've been Thank you very much Next is a roll call There are 14 present. I'm sorry 14 present Alderman Donahue and Alderman Ben Akron are excused next I'd like to Call on the Sheboygan police departments honor guard for presentation of the national callers. Please stand Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance Indivisible with liberty and justice for all Next I'd like to call on musical group HHT quartet to come and give us a patriotic song And Gentlemen, thank you for joining us tonight Next I'd like to call on Pastor Andy Hopp pastor at Zion evangelical Covenant Church for an invocation Andy also serves as chairman of our police and fire commission and we're grateful to have his help on that group honorable mayor van der steen clerk Richards attorney Adams distinguished members of the Common Council esteemed chiefs and city officials friends family and fellow citizens It is truly a privilege for me to invite you to join me in a prayer of invocation as We give thanks to God for his blessing on our city and ask him to continue to bless us through all of you Let us pray Gracious and almighty God We truly do thank and praise you for it is a wonderful blessing That we can live here in this great city of Sheboygan We have so much to be thankful for and tonight We are especially thankful to you for these men and women who have been elected and appointed To serve all of us who live and work here in Sheboygan Heavenly Father, we ask that you help and guide all who are in these chambers tonight and Through your presence in your power We ask that they always aspire to have the wisdom like Solomon That by your presence, they might truly understand the people the way Moses understood your people and That by your great grace They might be able to have the very character and servant heart of Jesus So that together they might serve us all with humility and in great grace Loving God, we pray that you brought bless and guide each and everyone here and help them to stay always strong in their convictions But also help them to be open to listen and to hear the opinions of others Help them to always desire to speak the truth But to do as you command to speak the truth in love and when there is disagreement dear God and we know there will be We ask that you help them to treat each other with respect and with honor Bless and guide everyone here that they can always remember that they all share the same goal your goal and Purpose and that is to truly Seek what is best for each and every citizen of this great place by a great lake You have blessed everyone here with a great variety of gifts and talents And so we trust and we ask that you continue to bless all of us through these men and women Keep them safe Guard their hearts and minds watch over their health and may they always find the joy in the work They do in serving us Understanding it is for your glory alone in Jesus name. We pray Amen. Thank you very much pastor Hobbit Next we have a new person up here at the head table and I'd like to introduce the new deputy city clerk Meredith de Bruin Meredith next item is the swearing in of the city clerk elect Constitution of the United States And the Constitution of the state of Wisconsin and the Constitution of the state of Wisconsin and we'll faithfully and impartially discharge And we'll faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office of city clerk And the next we will swear in the new city attorney elect Charles Adams Okay, raise your hand and repeat after me, please I please state your name I Charles Adams Where that I will support swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States And the Constitution of the state of Wisconsin And we'll faithfully and impartially Faithfully and impartially discharge the duties discharge the duties of the office of city attorney To the best of my ability So help me God And then next we'd like to have our newly elected alderman all come forward, please come behind the desk to be sworn in Swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States And we'll faithfully and impartially Discharge the duties of the office of all the person To the best of my ability The next order of business is to adopt the rules of the Common Council alderman Hammond thank you, mr. Mayor I am moved to adopt the rules of the Common Council second. Thank you for the motion and support. Is there any discussion on the rules? Seeing none all those in favor, please signify by saying aye opposed motion passes Next is the election of the president and vice president of the Common Council Alderman Hammond Thank You mr. Mayor First election of the president of the council I moved that nominations be received from the floor voting to be done by closed ballot And if more than two candidates are nominated the candidate with the lowest number of votes be dropped from the list and balloting to continue Until one candidate receives a majority Second thank you for that motion and support Nominations are then received from the floor and let's see Alderman Carlson. Thank you mr. Mayor I would like to nominate all the person Don Hammond for Thank you very much Alderman Heidemann We need a second on the first one first second Thank You Alderman Bellinger and then we have Alderman Heidemann nominating Alderman Thiel. We need a second on that Thank You Alderman Damro. Okay, we have two candidates on the ballot. Is there any other candidates? Is there any other candidates? Is there any other candidates? Then we'll close the nominations And ballots will be distributed all the persons can you please? Print your name so we can read what you voted Thank you And the council president for the next year is Alderman Don Hammond. Congratulations Don and Bill. Thanks Next is election of the vice president of the Common Council Alderman Hammond Thank you mr. Mayor I move that nominations be received from the floor voting to be done by closed ballot And if there are more than two candidates if more than two candidates are nominated the candidate with the lowest number of Votes be dropped from the list and balloting to continue until one candidate receives a majority second Thank you for the motion in second Alderman Carlson, thank you mr. Mayor. I'd like to nominate all the person Maryland on you Thank you very much Alderman Hammond Alderman Vanderweel Okay, that's a second. Are there any other nominations Alderman Hammond? Thank you mr. Mayor I'd like to nominate all the person John Bellinger second. Thank you very much and Alderman born as a second. Are there any other nominations? Except the motion to close so moved. Thank you for that motion in support We will distribute the ballots The Common Council vice president for the next term is Alderman John Bellinger. Congratulations Congratulations John. Thank you Next to move on to the election of the representative on the city planning commission Representative in the board of contrast your examiners and two representatives on the capital improvements commission Alderman Hammond Thank You mr. Mayor. Do we want to do them all together start with please do them all together All right I move that nominations be received from the floor voting to be done by open ballot and if more than two candidates are Nominated the candidate with the lowest number of votes be dropped from the list and balloting to continue until one candidate receives a majority Okay nominations are open then for the Planning Commission member Alderman Bellinger. I mean Alderman born. Did you have yes? Thank you mayor I'd like to nominate Alderman John Bellinger for the city plan commission second Thank you for that motion and support. Are there any other nominations for the planning Commission? Alderman Lissard, yes, I'd like to nominate Brian. Okay. Thank you for that motion and support and the nomination Are there any other nominations? Alderman Lissard got you okay, I didn't take a motion to close nominations for city plan Okay, we'll distribute the ballots and the results are in Alderman Bellinger Congratulations on the position Next move on to the board of contract examiners are there any nominations for the board of contract examiners Alderman Hammond Thank You mr. Mayor. I move to nominate all the persons Susie Lissard. Thank you for that motion in second Is there any other nominations for board of contract examiners? Are they another nominations other than the other nominations? Alderman Hammond, thank you, mr. Mayor Move to close the nominations and direct the city clerk to cast unanimous ballot for Susie Lissard Second. Thank you for that motion and support all in favor signify by saying aye. Aye Motion passes Congratulations Alderman Lissard. Next we'll have nominations for two representatives on the capital improvements Commission nominations are open Alderman Hammond, thank you again mr. Mayor. I move to nominate all the person Bill Thiel for capital improvements second Thank you for that nomination Are there any other nominations? Alderman Heidemann Thank you very much for that nomination in second are there any other nominations Are there any other nominations? Are there any other nominations? Alderman Hammond, thank you again mr. Mayor I move to close nominations and direct the city clerk to cast unanimous ballot for all the person Jim Born and all the person Bill Thiel. Thank you for that motion and support all those in favor Please signify by saying aye. Aye Opposed motion passes Now we'll have a short recess for the election of the committee of the whole chairman Different view isn't it Mike Alright, we'll start out. We'll open the floor to nominations all the person Carlson I move that nominations be received from the floor voting to be done by open ballot And if more than two candidates are nominated the candidate with the lowest number of votes be dropped from the list and balloting to continue Until one candidate receives a majority Is there a second? All right nominations are open Let's see all the person bellinger Motion in multiple seconds any other nominations from the floor Any other nominations from the floor Going three times all the person Carlson Thank You chairman. I moved to close nominations and direct the city attorney to Cassie unanimous ballot for Daryl Carlson Is there a second there's motion in multiple seconds again all those in favor say aye post Chair votes. I carries Thank you. It's fun up here Okay, well we'll reconvene and ask for the council president to report on the election or the committee the whole chair person a big surprise Congratulations other person Carlson Next we'd like to call in the council president for a message for the year Good evening everybody. I Would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation and gratitude First to the great people of the 7th district for their vote and opportunity to serve this great city to my fellow council members who elected Elected me to serve as president as Before my commitment to you is to continue to represent this body with honor vision and And with the city's best interest in heart and mind To the city staff your tireless effort your tireless and often under-appreciated work Has helped move Sheboygan forward and will be instrument instrumental to the future success of Sheboygan Please know that your efforts are appreciated To attorney McLean is he here? Nope I'll take the joke out then I Appreciate your advice and friendship. You've been a great resource for this body and for me I wish you the best in retirement and look forward to having a beer as non-elected officials someday To my wife and kids who I believe Are watching at home and hope my kids have their homework done That's what happens when you do these on a train on the way here since 2010 since 2010 They have supported my efforts often at great inconvenience You see I have this character flaw like many of you There requires me to give my all into everything I do They have tolerated the many meetings which have taken me away from dinner playtime and Evening in school events with almost no complaints I'm proud of them for what they have dealt with The good and the bad and assure them that soon The only chamber I will be frequently frequenting on Monday nights is our living room Last year has been a transformation has been trans has been transformational for Sheboygan now. We'll get back on track From economic development to community initiatives the efforts of the past year will positively impact Sheboygan for generations to come Despite the rhetoric of a few of the past couple months the city has much to be proud of While the community as a whole may not always see the successes. I assure you there have been many Revitalization of Erie Avenue with our partners at Habitat for Humanity this effort has begun to re-energize a neighborhood looking for a reason to be proud again Tourism continues to strengthen in fact 2014 in in fact 2014 generated the highest level of room tax collections in the city's history Additionally, we submitted and had approved the marine sanctuary proposal to NOAA Creation implementation of a master plan for our downtown with our partners from the bid Harper Center bid improvement district This plan recognizes our changing demographics and addresses key needs including housing for young professionals and Necessity to have vibrant arts culture and entertainment district to attract and retain a quality workforce To that end redevelopment efforts for the former Boston store We saw the vision of what our downtown could be and this body took action See by seizing the opportunity to acquire this property when the Boston store vacated Contrary to some this effort is not for the 1% of the community. This benefit this vision will benefit all We'll provide green space in our downtown We'll provide increased tax base We'll provide amenities and housing for the changing gender graphics of our workforce and Help promote the downtown's vision as a place for arts culture entertainment and entertainment for all citizens and visitors alike New development is happening all around us Although we can't take credit for all of it. It demonstrates It does demonstrate that our business community believes in Sheboygan as a great place for business Just look around acuity poly fab Nemac a lion energy and several others in various stages of the process 2015 once again, we'll provide another opportunity to show off Sheboygan when we host the 2015 PGA championship At whistling straights in August for non-gulfers This major is one of the most widely watched tournaments of the golf season and can boost the status of the area on a national and international stage However, I recognize that all is not rosy The city faces challenges as well workforce development continues to be an issue Many of our great employers would like to expand. However, there's just not enough qualified labor to meet that demand This could hopefully won't result in our employers looking elsewhere to grow and expand There are several initiatives ongoing to address this issue Including leaders from the city school district LTC the chamber SCEDC and our business community Harsh winters continue to wreak havoc on our roads and bridges over the last several years We have continued to make Fixes make to continue to make fixing our roads a priority Have a plan to do so and have made progress last year DPW completed over 80 different road projects and invested over a million dollars in street sanitary and sidewalk reconstruction However, we recognize that there's more to be done Our budget will continue to be a challenge However, we are making strides there as well Over time we are leveraging federal and state monies to make each city dollar go further from capital improvements to economic development We are working with our business with business and developers along with our partners at the SCEDC to encourage new development and expansion to grow our tax base We continue to lower our debt which reduces our interest payments. In fact at 35 million We are at the lowest level since 1992 These challenges did not develop overnight know where they be fixed overnight over together will continue to implement strategies to address them Over the lot over the year. This body has been vocally criticized by a few on topics such as armory development aurora development and the Boston store redevelopment to name a few and while I welcome and appreciate constructive input from the community unfortunately Unfortunately, many of you have been subjected to conduct that I can only consider shameful from name-calling to outright threats These people proudly brag on Facebook and social media about their antics believing that others will be impressed. I assure you That is not the case There is no place in the public discourse of this great city for this type of conduct and I would suggest to those That believe this to be appropriate to run for office Put yourself in the shoes of these fine citizens who have essentially Volunteered their time to make this community a great place to live work and play with an eye to its cherished history and a vision for the future Theodore Roosevelt once said and knows that know me well No, this is my favorite quote. It is not the critic who counts Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles Or where the doer of deeds could have done better The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena Whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood Who strives valiantly who airs who come short again and again? Because there's no effort without air or shortcoming But who does actually strive? To do the deeds who knows great enthusiasm the great devotions who spends himself in a worthy cause Who at the best knows knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and Who at worst if he fails? At least fails why daring greatly So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat Ladies and gentlemen of the council I give each of you credit for entering that arena for little or no personal gain Just a desire to see your community grow and prosper We may not always agree the debate will be rigorous, but please know that I'm proud And honored to be in the arena with you. Thank you. Thank you very much Alderman Hammond Next we'll move on to the committee of the whole chairpersons message Alderman Carlson, this is a different view from up here I do want to thank the residents of the third district. This will be my third term here in the city council I'm quite humbled to be here for this long. I also want to thank my fellow fellow all the persons past and current We've got a good group here So I want to thank the city staff Chad, Jim, the mayor, Sue, The new city attorney and the former city attorney to name a few we've got a really great staff here They work really hard to do the great things that are going on in the city and last but not least my family As with Alderman Hammond, our families make a lot of sacrifices, especially those of us with little kids I've got two little girls and they're they're always wondering How long meetings are gonna last so it's not always easy I'm gonna start with a quote that we actually just voted It was part of the document that we voted on tonight as part of our rules And I think made me short of foreign policy or military policy This quote is pretty much spot-on when it comes to city government and the quote goes as follows I think local government is the hardest job in the country because it is the one thing to be at the federal level Where you can talk about grand thoughts talk about things in policy terms and encourage legislation that channels your decision-making into certain goals It is another thing to pick up the garbage to plow the snow to sweep the street and to make sure your signal lights are working Local government is really hard. That is where the rubber meets the road and is much harder than the federal government a quote by Pauline a Schneider and I think that's pretty spot-on we make every decision we make here in these chambers affects somebody in this town Individually and every single thing we do and I think it's pretty important. I think people take that for granted We have some challenges ahead of us in the next few weeks and months But more importantly we have the opportunity to make significant improvements to our city and I for a woman looking for it Hence the reason why I'm back for a third term We've got great leadership in place both in the mayor's office and in the city administrator's office and As well as our reelected president and our new vice president in addition We've added a few new I'll be familiar faces to our council. Welcome Eldon and Job I'm excited for what we're going to be able to accomplish over the next year I implore everyone to stay engaged and informed on the issues that will be coming before us and be active in our discussions We've got a diverse group of individuals with all sorts of skill sets and I know it will keep us moving in the right direction Let's make it a point to continue looking downrange at the bigger picture at the greater good for the city of Sheboygan Once again, we've got a lot of good things happen happening and we need to continue that trend To keep it short. I'll show my philosophy on the committee of the whole meetings as with other person Donahue I do not believe we should just have meetings to have meetings Committee of the whole is only going to be used to discuss pertinent issues issues such as the budget and long-term planning Once again, I look forward to that. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as the vice president for the past three years I believe and thank you for the opportunity to be the committee of the whole chairman. Thank you Thank you very much Alderman Carlson Next we'll go on to the public forum city clerk right first on our list this evening is Debbie Ronke is Debbie here Second on our list. How about Michelle? Michelle Calwards All right, Bob you're up Bob can you state your name and home address, please certainly? My name is Bob. Heck. I live at 1720 Elm Avenue here in Sheboygan You will have five minutes or you I was kind of expecting to have a few more minutes to gather my thoughts But here I am so that's fine No, no problem at all you can't help it people don't come and use this opportunity I first want to start out by thanking all the members of the Common Council for the service you provide this city I've lived in this community for 55 of the 60 years. I've been on this earth and I will be honest. I've never been real involved in city government March 16th was the first time I ever entered this room never been to a common council meeting before And I think everyone knows what got me here And that was the issue that we've all been talking to death in this community right now and that's the field of dreams But I've gained an appreciation for the jobs all of you do whether you agree with my position or you don't you're here to serve you're stepping up to the plate and You're doing a very selfless thing and I appreciate that. I mean that sincerely and I look forward to I've spoken to the mayor and Looks like I'm gonna have an opportunity to be part of a committee As a citizen and I appreciate that opportunity too My wife has pointed out to me that it's often actually better to go and do something than just talk about doing something And so I appreciate that opportunity I wanted to talk a little bit tonight if I could About the Milwaukee Brewers and Miller Park and a man named George P. Tack in 1995 George P. Tack was a state senator representing Racine and Kenosha areas and at that time they were debating The construction of Miller Park and the financing of Miller Park in the state Senate and Everyone pretty much knew that without Miller Park the Brewers were gonna leave, Milwaukee and Yet it was a very politically contentious issue and it was debated in the state Senate they took a vote Mr. P. Tack voted no because The residents in Racine County in his district did not want to be subjected to a one-tenth of one percent stadium tax or a sales tax And so he stuck with his constituents views and There was more debate and they took another vote and once again, Mr. P. Tack voted no and Yet the supporters of the stadium continued and the debate went on into the night and They looked for ways for mr. P. Tack So that he could vote yes, which he wanted to do But he wanted to represent his constituents also but in the end in the very early morning hours of October 6th 1995 George P. Tack in a moment of what I would call both political courage and clarity Saw what needed to be done. He changed his vote and he voted yes To build Miller Park and that stadium stands Today as his legacy and I don't know how many people think about it when I go to Miller Park I think of George P. Tack now in the interest of full disclosure that vote cost George P. Tack his Senate seat He paid a political price, but he's never regretted the vote he made Now we have a we're not building Miller Park here in Chevrore again But we are trying to build a surgical center within the city limits and we are trying to Put together a athletic complex in the south side We're trying to do something good for this community. I think everybody wants to do something good for this community The proposal on the table that a roars put forth involves millions of dollars For the citizens of this community and it's not tax dollars. It's private money It's two and a half million dollars for the Schwerging area school district It's two point two three three million dollars toward the boots and complex its Tax revenue there are estimates two hundred thousand three hundred thousand dollars a year But there's significant tax revenue connected with building this facility within city limits and Aurora has been clear that without the rezoning vote that you're going to be making on April 29th They're going to leave the city limits and locate somewhere outside of the city limits. I Want all of you in this room. I realize that Based on the Sheboygan Press article. I read there's 11 votes or 11 People leaning toward yes or yes, and we need one more and I would like to urge Everyone in this room those committed to vote. Yes, and those who are still thinking about what they're going to do To have a George P tag moment and To say that you're going to vote for what's good for this community What's good for the community as a whole Even if that means it's going to upset some people even in your own districts. Thank you very much. Thank you Bob Next I have Catherine. It's Catherine here pull up. I know Gerald's here Gerald it's your turn And Gerald can I have your name and full address, please my name is Gerald Closterer I live at 1638 Division Avenue Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Thanks, and you will have five minutes. I've lived on that street for over 30 years I Back out of my street. I'm back in out of my rather when I'm back out of my driveway I'm back in into holes that are three to four inches deep that have sharp Concrete that have black top popping out which I have on the desk over there That I just picked up today After the city had come and cleaned up what I had already cleaned up now I don't think the the council over the past years or prior Console has done anything for our inner structure in our city My cars are going the heck My wife's new Subaru has rattles in because of that street There's basins that are sticking up cement is broken away from them the patches have broken away So I think you need to concentrate on our inner structure a lot better than you have in the past Now I might you alderman and older ladies Excuse me. I'm not I'm kind of nervous up here. I think Maybe you people can fix this because prior ones have not mares You have not taken and you have not done that job for the citizens of Sheboygan and as far as That bald diamond what is it going to cost us to relocate all these Facilities and these two different areas That's going to cost taxpayers money for roads and inner structure That stuff could be paid On put into our streets and as far as this act 10 Is hurting the city I'm going to go to The depression on city workers down at city hall We had one person take his life Because of the Nile of workmen's comp There has to be a better job done you affected somebody's family Act 10 is hurting this city in our state You need to talk to the mr. Walker about it. What's happening in the city of Sheboygan. Thank you Thank you Gerald That's it for public form Thank you very much Next is the mayor's appointments You'll find those documents before you tonight Pursuant to section 277 and missful code standing committee assignments are made by the mayor on april 21st and subject to confirmation by the full council on april 27th The code further states that the mayor's responsibility is to make appointments that will best serve the interest of the city of Sheboygan To assist me in that process I asked all of you to rank your committee preferences And I made every effort to take those preferences into consideration for the standing committee appointments I've prepared tonight and present for your consideration This list under the missful code each older person shall be appointed to at least one committee But not more than two standing committees In addition to the list of appointments for the standing committees I've shared the committee preference spreadsheet with the rankings of all the older persons I'm happy to report that 11 of the 15 older persons received their first choice for a committee appointment Three of the 15 older persons have received their second choice And uh one received a third choice I trust that you as common council members will agree that these assignments and elections Held held tonight in the positions for the city of Sheboygan and it positions us for successful Council year in the coming year And those appointments will lie over until our meeting on the 27th Chuck, would you please proceed to the honorable members of the common council? I hereby submit the following appointments for your confirmation To finance committee don hammond chairman julie koth vice chairman daryl carlson Maryland donahue eldenberg public protection and safety daryl carlson chairman michael damro vice chairman john bellinger bill field Susan lasard public works john bellinger chairman bill field vice chairman jim boran brian bidders joe jose Salaries and grievances maryland donahue chairman joe heidemann vice chairman julie koth don hammond jim boran And law and licensing jody vander wheel chairman susan lasard vice chairman david van akron mark herman and eldenberg Thank you very much those will lie over until the 27th Additionally, there are various appointments to the other boards and committees as well. I'm not going to read all of those And then one more honorable members of the common council I hereby submit the following appointments for your consideration Larry samet to be considered for the appointment to the board of police and fire commissioners to fill the unexpired term of val schultz Whose term expires april 25 2016 and todd wolf to be considered for appointment to the city plan commission to fill the unexpired term of jose arrajo Whose term expires april 27 2017 Okay, thank you Well, it's great to be here with all of you tonight as we start a new council year there's a lot of enthusiasm and And we we look for many Great things to happen in sheboygan A lot of people are talking about the progress that we've had and i'm proud and enthusiastic about sheboygan's future Millions of dollars in construction are is currently underway and people are starting to really notice the face of sheboygan is changing Acuity polyfab, plenco, nemac, sacral polymers, and a lion energy are all working on plant and office expansions Beccanal industries will is soon going to be break ground on a manufacturing plant on the southwest side of sheboygan And we're looking forward to that The city has always had a strong manufacturing base of employment. In fact, recently the bureau of labor certificate Bureau of labor statistics identified sheboygan for the high percentage of the population that is employed in manufacturing We have 33.1 of our population of adult residents employed in manufacturing And that's tied for the third highest percentage in the nation of any city It's quite a quite an accomplishment Over the last year sheboygan's unemployment rate has dropped from 6.4 percent down to 4.8 percent And new data is due tomorrow and i'm looking for further improvement in those numbers This year the sheboygan this year in sheboygan county. There were over 1,900 more employees earning paychecks than last year across sheboygan county There are 1,333 manufacturing jobs that are currently open Manufacturers are looking for more skilled workers than are currently available And the city is working with our partners on the sheboygan county economic development corporation and the sheboygan chamber of commerce To address this workforce development challenge The sheboygan area at school district has also stepped up and responded They work with mere area manufacturers to develop curriculum to train students for future manufacturing jobs That are needed by the workers of tomorrow There are ambitious plans there to establish the red raider manufacturing And start students on a path to be trained for manufacturing positions this will be done at both north and south highs in the future With these partnerships sheboygan is poised To to be and stay one of the strongest economies in wisconsin And ltc has also opened new facilities to retrain workers that want to gain the skills to fill the available manufacturing positions Our downtown and harbour center is reestablishing itself is the heart of our great city We work with business owners to in this area to draft a master plan to guide the future development in this area These efforts have seen great cooperation the john michael kohler art center the mead library the wild pac And the above and beyond children's museum Are the cultural attractions that draw the majority of the traffic into the center of this business district Once their dining offices hospitality and shopping are the additional attractions that makes this mixed use development work We have enhanced the connectivity with new wayfinding signage for the motorists and the pedestrians And added the harbour center express to provide good traffic circulation This area will soon be going through a rebranding and remarketing campaign Look forward for more flowers and banners to enhance the looks in the downtown harbour center The city planning has been meeting with developers to find the best development to replace the buildings on the old boston store site But until that happens, we will use this area to To host a new series of concerts every thursday night from late june to early september They really want to make sheboygan's downtown the place to be on thursday nights this season It was great news to recently hear of the purchase of memorial mall by meyer foods We look forward to working with this company as they revitalize the retail attractions and add their store to this mall On the south side strip mall. We are also happy to see a new sears appliance and hardware store locate And we also have a new business that's taking over the furniture store on the east side of the street the dowhouse dance studio The urie avenue corridor is the entrance to our city and it's also getting a facelift with new businesses like the cvs store Remodeled dominoes and additions along with current businesses We'll again make this one of the busiest corners in sheboygan Heading east on eerie avenue. You can see the progress on the Habitat housing replacement project that's spirited spirited by habitat for humanity lakeside City planning has partnered with them to revitalize this block in the gateway neighborhood Two homes are almost done and four more will soon be built This will give this block an amazing transformation Other projects are pending in this neighborhood because of the investment and the change of this partnership And making the the gateway corridor a real gateway to our city To again look for better neighborhoods city planning continues to offer training to landlords The next training session is going to be held at the quarry At the jc park quarry view center on tuesday april 28th from 5 30 to 9 If anyone is still interested their spots open to participate and they can register with city development We want sheboygan to be the safest city The policy of the sheboygan police department that have produced significant decrease in crime over the years The department has promoted a neighborhood focused to policing They're prioritizing their response and dealing with the most important calls on a more timely basis All calls are addressed, but some will be followed up on By neighborhood assigned officers a few days later Chief domigalski reported at the staff meeting today that part one crime stats for the first quarter of 2015 Are down from 280 last year to 220 Reportable crimes this year. This is a 20 drop in crimes during this period If these numbers continue to hold up through the rest of the year We have a chance to see the crime statistics in sheboygan drop by 40 percent over the last five to six years Just an amazing change hats off to the chief and his department The police department recently had all officers participate in crisis intervention training to allow them to better deal with offenders who have been repeating um interactions with law enforcement because of these policies and efforts sheboygan is a safer city This last year we reviewed and renewed the contract with the sheboygan county chamber of commerce to manage Our tourism program the tourism marketing continues to be successful and the room taxes have been increasing every year And with the pga championship coming to sheboygan this benefit will put us on a national and worldwide exposure Tourism also has steered the efforts to develop an application to be designated as a no-a-marine sanctuary We've worked with port washington two rivers manned walk the state historical association and the governor's office To enhance this app applications approval potential The application has gone through the first step Six steps of evaluation and now has been included on the inventory list for future marine sanctuary sites On may 9th. There's an a day of activities planned at the spaceport in sheboygan to draw attention and provide information on the marine sanctuary project Jeff gray who is the director of the marine sanctuary in thunder bay Will be presenting a story of the alpina experience how they went through the process of forming the The group there and they had a couple of referendum votes on it And now they have a very successful operation that brings over a hundred thousand visitors to their community every year Steve radovan and avid wreck diver Will present a video and commentary of shipwrecks that he's found in lake michigan And ellen brody the regional NOAA representative from the sanctuary division Will also make a presentation to the chamber of commerce friday forum at the elks club at noon Early this year the sustainable sheboygan task force in the city began an education effort to encourage more recycling in the city According to the epa 34 percent of municipal solid waste that's generated in 2012 was recycled In 2014 sheboygan only recycled 23 three percent of the waste that was generated in sheboygan We've got some work to do and we hope that this education campaign Will increase the reuse and recycling in sheboygan A new brochure was developed to show residents what they can to help Increase sheboygan's recycling and the water department is mailed a brochure to every residents in the city So that it's and it's also available on our city website Tonight i've highlighted some of the recent achievements by different departments I'd like to give the highest praise to all of our department heads and their staff who provide excellent services to our sheboygan residents Our vision of the future is to have more effective and efficient government that serves the residents and the businesses of our community With teamwork and communication at city hall and between our staff and elected officials We can continue to be successful It means having open discussion active debates and some compromise to make sheboygan prosper I look forward to working with all of you to make this Happen in the coming year and thank you again for all your service to the city Okay, next we'll go on to reports of officers item 2.1 is An aroh by the chief of police submitting the quarterly report for activities in the period commencing 115 through 315 that will be referred to the public protection and safety committee Under resolutions 3.1 is a resolution by alderman hamman requesting that the mayor reactivate various special committees for the 2015 2016 council year alderman hamman. Thank you. Mr. Mayor. I move the resolution be put upon its passage Thank you for that motion and support Is there any discussion Seeing none all those in favor of the motion, please signify by saying aye. Aye opposed Motion passes Items 3.2 and 3.3 will be referred to the finance committee And item 4.1 will be referred to the finance committee also And we're up to number five alderman hamman. Thank you. Mr. Mayor move to adjourn This is my second or last one. So i'm going to hold out for a second Second Thank you for that motion and support all those in favor of adjournment, please signify by saying aye. Aye opposed Passes stand adjourned