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Parks department gets funding; Chapter 26 tree protections moved into consultant RFQ
Summary
The parks department has secured grant funding to support two planning efforts — a strategic plan and a management plan — and has included a rewrite of Chapter 26 (trees and vegetation) in the consultant scope, staff told the Oshkosh Sustainability Advisory Board on Monday.
The parks department has secured grant funding to support two planning efforts — a strategic plan and a management plan — and has included a rewrite of Chapter 26 (trees and vegetation) in the consultant scope, staff told the Oshkosh Sustainability Advisory Board on Monday.
The board discussed how that shift affects earlier red‑line recommendations the Sustainability Advisory Board drafted; members said they want assurance the board’s edits will be considered as the parks department proceeds to hire a consultant and draft the new ordinance language.
A staff member said the parks department included language in its request for qualifications (RFQ) that the consultant’s scope should include review of tree protection zones and overall maintenance practices. "They got award funding for to do 2 different plans. 1 being a strategic plan and 1 being a management plan," a city staff member said.
Board members were told the draft and final copies of any new ordinance language will be routed to both the parks board and the Sustainability Advisory Board for comment, with the parks board ultimately making a recommendation that would proceed to the Common Council for municipal‑code changes. "It'll have to go to the Common Council because it's municipal code," a staff member said.
Some members expressed concern that the advisory board’s prior red‑line recommendations could be delayed or subsumed into the broader consultant project. One member urged staff to reiterate the Sustainability Advisory Board’s support for the edits so they are not dropped in the consultant process. Another member sought a timeline; staff described the rewrite as in the "very early stages," with the RFQ issued and consultants being solicited.
Board members asked about the scope of the parks‑department plans: the management plan will address maintenance practices, and the strategic plan will address parks‑department priorities and organization. Members also asked whether the parks department operates an on‑site greenhouse; staff replied that the department does not have a greenhouse.
Board members asked whether the Sustainability Advisory Board could make a separate recommendation directly to the Common Council should disagreement arise with the parks board; staff said the board could make a recommendation to the council and that the two boards may have opportunities for back‑and‑forth depending on scheduling.
Members asked staff to continue reporting updates as the RFQ yields a selected consultant and to clarify the timeline and how the advisory board’s red‑line recommendations will be incorporated.
