MINUTES

CITY OF OAK CREEK AD HOC COMMITTEE ON FACILITY SPACE NEEDS

THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2006, 5:00 PM

1. This meeting was called to order at 5:00 P.M.
• Present were Mayor Richard Bolender, and all Committee members:  Joy Johnson, Isabel Haase, Cal Nowak, Fred Siepert, Frank Carini, Mike O’Brien, and Ed Siira.
• Staff present were:  City Administrator Patrick DeGrave; Fire Chief Brian Satula; Director of Community Development Doug Seymour; Facilities Manager Dick Kulka; City Librarian Ross Talis; and City Clerk Beverly Buretta.
• Richard Duchniak was present representing the Oak Creek Community Center
2. Mayor Bolender made brief opening remarks.  He explained that the Committee membership was a cross-section of the community, and that many would watch the Committee’s activity with interest.  The Committee is not designed to evaluate any proposals submitted as part of the RFP process, but to research things beneficial to the City in regard to the facilities of City Hall (and the City garage), the Library, and Fire Station #1.  He suggested the Committee consider the boundaries of Knights Way to Groveland, Howell to Puetz. The primary focus would be City Hall, the Library and the Community Center, recognizing that the Fire Station could be more easily relocated if necessary.  He has been contacting officials to determine the possibility of having the National Guard Armory turned over to the City, but has not received any definite answer at this time.  He challenged the Committee to “think out of the box” to envision the City Hall complex of the future; he offered examples of possibilities that could be considered, such as, joining the Community Center, City Hall and Library into one large building complex, include an auditorium that could be used for Council meetings, school plays, etc.  He noted that City Admin. Pat DeGrave would be the person to contact for any Committee needs.  The committee members, staff, and interested parties were then introduced.
3. City Clerk Buretta briefly reviewed the Wisconsin Open Meetings/Open Records laws, and explained how they applied to this committee.
4. It was moved by C. Nowak, 2^nd by F. Carini, to name Fred Siepert as Chairperson by unanimous vote.  All voted aye.  It was moved by F. Carini, 2^nd by F. Siepert, to name C. Nowak as Vice-Chairperson by unanimous vote.  All voted aye.   It was the consensus of the Committee to forgo choosing a Secretary, and to instead delegate minutes and agenda preparation to City staff.
5. Mayor Bolender suggested that the first thing for the Committee to do was to determine if the City Hall building could be improved or enlarged, and, if not, to determine alternatives. The Committee members then held a general discussion of their role, goals and timetable, and suggested some things to be targeted: 
• A copy of the OC Community Center mission statement will be brought in by F. Siepert and R. Duchniak for the members to review when establishing a mission statement for the Committee
• Information will be sought from communities that have had similar expansion issues, in CA, AZ, and IN, as well as any within the region.
• The Committee will take a facilities tour of the City Hall complex buildings.
• After reviewing information from Glenview, IL, the Committee could consider a bus trip there.
• By 4/18, the City Librarian is to obtain information on the “Library of the future” issue and effect of technology on the Library.
• By 4/18, the City Engineer is to provide information on the brief programming study done on the City Hall building.
• The Committee decided the first meeting should be a tour of facilities, and the meeting should include a review of a mission statement, while the second meeting would focus on staff assignments.  The Committee questioned the limits of their mission, and were advised by the Mayor to not set specific boundaries on the task.  The Committee would like to see copies of the City Hall RFP responses, but are not to become tied to those proposals in any way. Mayor Bolender anticipated the Committee’s work to take no less than 18-24 months. 
6. Committee members discussed holding meetings at a minimum of once per month, limiting the meeting to 1 – 1 ½ hours, beginning at 6:30 PM.  A specific regular meeting night was not determined, but the next meeting will be held on Tues. April 18^th  at 6:30 PM, in the Solarium, and the group will tour facilities as the second part of their meeting.
7. C. Nowak, seconded by F. Carini, moved to adjourn this meeting at 6:35 PM.  All voted aye.