Candidates prioritize housing, brownfield cleanup and neighborhood resources at Oshkosh forum

Housing affordability, redevelopment of the South Main/Sawdust District and neighborhood stabilization emerged as the forum’s most persistent policy topics, with candidates outlining how they would use municipal tools and partnerships to address those issues.

Joe Stevenson, an incumbent candidate and East Central Planning Commission program manager, called housing a “top priority,” saying the city has “done a lot of creative things over the past couple years” but must “bring down housing costs, make it more attainable for people to be a homeowner.” Stevenson also described contamination and brownfields as “the biggest hurdles” for South Main Street redevelopment and urged use of state grant programs and city tools to clean sites and attract mixed-use development such as the Mill On Main project.

Carl Bulow, an incumbent and director of development for Grand Oshkosh, also listed housing, childcare and communication as themes identified during a recent strategic-planning retreat, and recommended converting vacant infill lots into “pocket parks” or other uses where building single-family homes is not feasible. Bulow said the council had given “very, very clear direction to our team to focus on” housing and credited staff with delivering “awesome results.”

Paul Eslinger, an incumbent with 13 years on the council, framed housing as a cost and called infrastructure — police, fire and roads — essential priorities before expanding other spending. Bridal Spanbauer, a sustainability director at UW Oshkosh, said she would bring “energy” and data-driven approaches to reduce utility costs and support equitable, environmentally sound decisions.

On redevelopment, candidates described the Sawdust District as a major opportunity and said tax-increment financing (TIF) and other incentives have been necessary to make projects feasible where contamination and remediation raise costs. Bulow and Stevenson both pointed to the Herd Arena area and the Mill On Main development as catalysts for further investment.

Candidates repeatedly mentioned neighborhood associations and nonprofit partners as channels for stabilization work. Bulow noted Greater Oshkosh Healthy Neighborhoods Inc. and said the organization’s city funding from ARPA will sunset in a few years, making continued private and public funding a “huge challenge.” Stevenson and others advocated for using TIF and other tools to support home revitalization programs and to prioritize green spaces where neighborhoods are deficient.

Candidates offered specific examples: Bulow said vacant infill lots near Dale Avenue could be rethought as pocket parks; Stevenson said cleaning brownfields would require state grant programs; and Spanbauer pointed to energy-savings projects at UW Oshkosh as an example of how data-driven teams can reduce costs.

No formal council decisions were made at the forum; candidates described priorities and options they would pursue if elected.