Oshkosh City Council members and staff on Oct. 15 reviewed the proposed 2026 Capital Improvement Program and updates on major ongoing utility and street projects, directing staff to present the CIP for council consideration at the Oct. 28 meeting with the pedestrian bridge held for a later public hearing and workshop.

City staff highlighted several near-term schedules: bids for the Clearwell replacement will go out in November with a bid award expected to return to council in January 2026; the tertiary filtration and phosphorus removal project at the wastewater treatment plant is in 60–90% design and is scheduled for bidding in February 2026 with a March 2026 award; and staff recommended adding ultraviolet (UV) disinfection to replace gaseous chlorine at the wastewater plant and advancing that work in tandem with the tertiary filtration project.

The UV disinfection addition was presented as a public-safety measure tied to risk management at the wastewater plant. Staff said gaseous chlorine currently presents a significant community risk because a 1.3-mile radius around the plant would be affected in the event of a leak, a zone that includes portions of downtown, Lourdes, Oshkosh West and the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh. James, a city staff member leading the presentation, said the fire department’s hazardous-materials team was enthusiastic about removing that risk and advised adding the UV project into the CIP while doing the filtration work.

Staff also briefed the council on other utility and infrastructure items: replacing an outdated automated water-meter test bench that must meet Public Service Commission testing requirements; structural and pump improvements at the Washburn booster pump station to resolve low pressure in the west-of-I‑41/south-of‑20th Avenue pressure zone; inspections of large-diameter sewer river crossings (including the Rockwell Avenue interceptor) that require specialized inspection technology; relocation of street-sweeper and jetter dump operations to reduce debris and sand entering the wastewater plant; and generator upgrades tied to increased electrical loads from the filtration and UV projects.

Water-system reliability and winter frazzle-ice problems at the primary intake also drew attention. Staff said the city has experienced two winters in the past decade with frazzle-ice blocking the primary intake and is beginning design work for backup intakes and intake modifications. The presentation cited operational risk where, when an intake blocks, crews may need many hours of pumping to clear it and the fire department has previously prepared dive teams in case of emergency.

On street and surface projects, staff described changes since the June CIP draft. The city removed routine city-owned decorative street lighting from many 2026 reconstruction projects, replacing it with utility-owned cobra-head street lighting except in targeted corridors such as Bowen Street, which staff said will retain city-owned decorative lighting because of its gateway character and because design work is already advanced. The Oshkosh Avenue–Sawyer Street intersection was budgeted at just over $1 million across 2026–27 for remaining land acquisition and final design; staff said timing for construction is being coordinated with Wisconsin Department of Transportation pavement and bridge maintenance plans for roughly 2032 to avoid multiple closures.

Council members asked for more clarity on several items. One council member requested an explanation of why large, previously approved projects (for example, the Clearwell work) do not appear in the 2026 CIP as line items; staff and finance said part of the issue is how past budgets remain recorded in the ERP system (Munis) and that finance will clean up legacy entries and improve CIP tracking. Council members also pressed for an estimate of utility rate impacts from the proposed utility projects; staff said that analysis will be provided as part of upcoming work, but noted timing and staffing changes have delayed returning that information at the same point in the calendar as in prior years.

Councilors discussed the stormwater-lateral program and a $750 per-residence charge for installing a lateral at time of reconstruction. Staff explained the lateral program’s purpose is to remove “clear water” (foundation drain/sump pump discharge) from the wastewater system, a practice the presenters characterized as illegal under state and municipal code when connected to the sanitary sewer. Staff said private-side inflow and infiltration work and an education campaign are planned to improve compliance and effectiveness of laterals installed during reconstruction.

Finance staff reviewed fund-balance policy and special-revenue funds. The presentation noted the general fund target range is 16–30% and projected general fund balance at year-end 2025 was approximately 35% on its own, while combined fund balances across funds would be around 28%. Finance staff identified a negative balance in the internal service fund (about $2 million) caused by past billing oversights and said the 2026 proposed budget includes steps to bring that fund back to zero and that the council will likely see a year-end budget adjustment to eliminate the deficit. The Pollock Aquatic Center special-revenue deficit was flagged for a $102,000 transfer from the general fund in the proposed 2026 budget.

Staff identified a small group of capital items they would like council blessing to move forward quickly because of external grant timelines: a $2 million request to refresh the convention center (to meet hotel franchise requirements and to make the project eligible for a competitive state grant with an Oct. 31 application deadline), a potential $5 million city match commitment to Grand Oshkosh if the organization reaches its fundraising goal to renovate and expand the theater, and a $4 million request toward a joint public-safety training center for police and fire. Council members agreed staff should bring most of the CIP forward for formal action on Oct. 28 while carving out the pedestrian bridge to be considered after a Nov. 4 public hearing and subsequent workshop.

Councilors and staff emphasized next steps: staff will return to the Oct. 28 council meeting with the CIP (excluding the pedestrian bridge), provide follow-up information on rate impacts and legacy budget entries in Munis, refine project estimates where possible, and proceed with grant applications that require council approval by the end of October. No formal votes were recorded in the workshop.