Hello City of Eau Claire residents, staff, and Council Members,

I'm writing to share news from the City of Eau Claire. Prior updates can be found here. Take a look at our weekly newsletter to stay on top of what we are working on. Pass it along to friends who can sign up for different City updates here, and feel free to send me feedback.

CITY UPDATES: Here's some news from around the city.

Clear Water Parade: Please plan to join in on this year's Clear Water Winter Parade! Parade planning and registration is ongoing, with 21 out of a possible 65 entries as of mid-October. This winter kickoff community event will be held on Friday, December 1st. The parade begins with fireworks from the Grand Avenue foot bridge at 6:30PM, followed by a parade running from the County Courthouse parking lot, following along Grand Ave and First Ave, ending at First Ave and Chippewa Street. This year’s theme is Festival of Cartoons. Additional parade information is located online at https://www.eauclairewi.gov/recreation/family-fun/clearwater-winter-events. In addition to watching the parade or having a float, many volunteers are needed for successful delivery of the parade. The Recreation division strongly encourages everyone to consider volunteering for this fun event! Sign up to volunteer online at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E45AAA822A1FD0-44625184-clearwater#/.

Pollinator Project: Recently, a volunteer group planted over 400 pollinator plants on the Xcel Property on Forest Street. The City Parks Department teamed up with Xcel Energy to create this pollinator garden under the Supervision of Lane Berg and Park Supervisor Brendan Osborne. The City stripped and removed the sod and replaced it with 25 truckloads of black dirt processed at the Jeffers Brush City over the past 1.5 years. The Parks Department spread the dirt and created an intersecting woodchip path through the garden. Crews augured 400 holes so the volunteers wouldn’t need to fight the tough soil under our black dirt. Xcel Energy had 35 to 50 volunteers ranging in age from three years old to seniors, and the news media was on site today on a sunny Friday morning. Pollinator gardens normally take three years to establish. Excel Energy will supplement the plants with pollinator seeds and will tend the garden. It is on their property, and they have an initiative to create pollinator gardens in their service area.

Resettlement Agency: There has been interest and questions about resettlement of refugees in the Eau Claire community. Our City Attorney’s Office shared information about the legal requirements relating to refugee resettlement, which can be read here. Refugee Resettlement | City of Eau Claire, Wisconsin (eauclairewi.gov)

Volunteer Orientation for Haven House: Haven House will be hosting a volunteer orientation on October 30th at 4:30 PM at the Haven House. Their staff invite all interested residents to attend. They wrote: “In preparation for our seven-day-per-week opening starting November 1st, we want to connect with both past, current, and prospective volunteers, as well as any other interested members in the community. Staff will provide a presentation detailing Haven House's history, mission, policies, expectations.” While the Haven House is not directly tied to the City, the City has allocated ARPA funding to the Haven House to provide a day shelter. More information is here.

New Risk Manager: We are pleased to announce that Jasmine Dutton will be our new Risk Manager position. This position was formerly held by Colleen Schian, but Colleen has been working as both the Human Resources Director and the Risk Manager. As Colleen gets closer to retirement, we are working to cover the many different roles she plays. Jasmine’s experience prepares her well for her new role. She has extensive insurance industry and legal experience, a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, and an Associates in Risk Management. Jasmine has worked in administrative roles at the Police Department since 2016. The Risk Manager position is a very important role in the City and works with all departments. The Manager ensures both staff and resident safety and protects the City from liabilities and dangers, ranging from cyber attacks to car crashes. Chief Matt Rokus said this about Jasmine: “Jasmine is unquestionably hard-working, dedicated, and loyal. She is a consummate professional who will serve the City and her fellow employees well as Risk Manager.” We are excited about her new role!

Recreation Seasonal Changes: Our Recreation Department has some seasonal updates, as follows:

• Open Skating: Hobbs has evening public open skating now underway on Wednesday and Sunday evenings from 6:30-8:30PM. Full open skating and public drop-in activity schedules are available online at https://www.eauclairewi.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/40097/638279484574270000. The outdoor rinks are planned for opening after Christmas, so Hobbs is a great place to get early season skating in before the outdoor rink season. The next session of the EC Figure Skating Club Learn-to-Skate program begins on Sunday, November 5th. More info including how to register is located online at https://www.ecfigureskate.org/learn-to-skate. ECYH Mini-Mites (introductory hockey) for four-to-six-year-old children begins on Sunday November 5th, with registration info located online at https://www.ecyh.com/page/show/15674-registration. The UWEC and WIAA hockey seasons are also getting underway.

• Park Cleanups: The Adopt-A-Park program has had a lot of activity recently as leaves are falling everywhere and volunteer groups assist with cleanup work.  So far in 2023, the Recreation Division has coordinated over 4,000 registered volunteers and over 14,000 hours of documented volunteer work in City parks and on City trails. Pictured here are the Young Professionals of the Chippewa Valley who helped beautify areas of Phoenix Park on Tuesday October 17th.

• Pool Winterization: Winterization of Fairfax is now in progress. For those already thinking ahead to 2024, season pool passes will go on sale beginning in December. Pool improvement projects for 2024 include: the addition of a third pavilion, addition of shade features along the grassy side of the 50-meter pool area, replacement of the diving boards, and repainting of both pool basins. 

Zoning for Neighborhoods Workshop: The City of Eau Claire Planning Division is hosting a workshop in collaboration with UW-Stevens Point Center for Land Use Education on Tuesday, November 7th from 11AM to 1PM at Banbury Place. The two-hour program includes lunch and an interactive exercise on potential land use changes involving representatives of neighborhoods, builders, developers, realtors, and other community stakeholders. Registration is required and limited to 40 participants: RSVP here.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Recycled Plastic for Benches

Question: “Is it possible for the City to use recycled plastic for our benches?”

Answer: Our Parks Manager, Steve Plaza, said: “We are slowly converting our picnic tables to recycled plastic tables. Our benches we ordered for the boardwalk trail are also recycled plastic. We have some old slated benches that have seen better days. We are looking to replace these with recycled plastic and put those back in the parks. Our memorial benches that we have been using for over a decade are metal and we will keep that design to be consistent with the program.”

Accessibility of Bus Stops

Question: “What can the City do to make our bus stops accessible to people using wheelchairs or other mobility devices?”

Answer: Our City Transit Manager, Ty Fadness, said: “We are doing a complete inventory of bus stops to try to make as many ADA-compliant as possible and put bus shelters at high-boarding bus stops throughout the city. This will help with the heat/cold issue, though you can never truly get away from that in Eau Claire.”

Unregulated Intersections

Question: “There are intersections with no stop signs in my neighborhood. Is there a way we can change the setup of unregulated intersections?”

Answer: Our Deputy City Engineer, Leah Ness, said: “Our department receives requests from different neighborhoods regarding traffic control changes, stop/yield sign control, and signal timing changes. We need to carry out data collection prior to making changes to intersections, which is very time consuming. We currently have a more than 30 requests for changes to intersections that require traffic studies. Right now, we’re trying to prioritize this list by volume, speed, crash history, and number of intersections to determine what we can immediately address. We are slowly addressing what we can and will continue to add to our list as concerns are sent in to us.”

Fire/Police Service Costs

Question: "Does it cost the taxpayer when the police, fire, or ambulance are dispatched to a business?"

Answer: Apart from the general funding that goes to Police and Fire, there’s generally no additional charges to businesses. Our two chiefs (Matt Rokus and Matt Jaggar) responded as follows:

• Police: “There is generally no cost to City residents or business owners when the Eau Claire Police Department is dispatched and responds to a call for service. There is one instance where costs may be incurred by residents or businesses when the department is called in by an alarm company. In a calendar year, with the first false alarm, they receive an advisory letter. With the second alarm and more, they may be billed.”
• Fire: “There is no cost to City residents or business owners when the Eau Claire Fire Department is dispatched and responds to a request for service. However, costs may be incurred by an individual when medical care or transport is required due to a medical emergency.”

EAUSTAT NEWS: The City holds weekly meetings with departments to talk about their data, their goals, and any challenges they may be facing. This program is called "EauStat". Read on below for some data from the meetings we held this week.

Fire: In each EauStat meeting, we are looking for metrics that we can monitor on an ongoing basis and share with the City Council and public. Among other metrics, the Fire Department tracks calls for service, ambulance runs, and responses to fires. The Department responds to a very large number of health-related emergencies. Their responses to fires, though, also continue to be critical for protecting against loss of life and property damage. Larger fire responses require the involvement of multiple engines and crews, including sometimes from neighboring jurisdictions. Below is an excerpt of a table that shows the number of incidents year to date for 2023.

Engineering: One topic we have returned to at each Engineering EauStat meeting is the increasing cost of lighting for streets and trails. Though some of the cost has been offset over the years by shifting to more energy efficient lighting, we continue to add lighting and the costs of electricity continue to rise. We have discussed whether or not there’s a way to reduce lighting without impacting public safety. The table below shows the relative high spending on electricity for lighting, which may require subsidy from other lines in the Engineering budget year end.

Library: At our Library EauStat meeting, we discussed the Library’s ongoing Strategic Planning process. They are currently doing a “time study”, which entails having each staff person document how they spend their time over the course of the day. They will also be taking a look at how visitors use the library and where they spend their most time. Both studies will help the Library make decisions about resource allocation. Below is an excerpt from the meeting. The number of people visiting has rebounded after COVID and the Library's move, and the circulation has seen a shift from physical books to digital books.

Recreation: We met this week with our Recreation Department. A key take-away from this meeting is how much this Division is able to accomplish with such a small staff. There are five full-time staff, and many, many part-time staff and volunteers. They run so many programs, and those programs are popular, filling up fast and often with a waiting list. We need to continue to think about how we can support this team.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: We have the best employees! Get to know one of them this week. (And submit your suggestion for an employee to spotlight here…)

Today we highlight Betty Klee! (She is pictured here in 2006 at Fire Station 9 at her husband's retirement party.)

A co-worker said this about Betty: “Betty is the calm in the storm. She consistently excels at her job, focuses on work, and gets the job done! You can always count on Betty to complete her piece of the puzzle with a smile on her face - even when things get chaotic. Additionally, Betty is always looking for ways to improve the workflow - from simple changes to big ideas Betty is never afraid to throw out a suggestion and she is always willing to try something new.”

Here is some more information about Betty:

• Your position: “I've worked for the City of Eau Claire as a library circulation page since 1997.
• What people may not know: “Growing up on a dairy farm north of Stanley, WI was a special opportunity.”
• Favorite activities: “I enjoy visiting our two daughters and their families. I also like walking, gardening, jig saw puzzles, and reading of course!”
• Best part about working for the City: “The City of Eau Claire provides a safe, clean, professional atmosphere in which to work. Employees are friendly and helpful.”

COUNCIL CALENDAR (Tentative – Please see: City Calendar | City of Eau Claire, Wisconsin (eauclairewi.gov) for most complete and up-to-date list of public meetings)

• November 3rd – City Council Budget Amendments Due
• Monday, November 6th, 4PM, Library River Room: Joint Plan Commission and City Council Meeting for Zoning Overhaul Discussion, and Housing Study Presentation
• Monday, November 13th, 7PM, Council Chambers: Council Public Hearing/Discussion Night (Public Hearing #2 on 2024 Proposed Operating Budget)
• Tuesday, November 14th: Council Meeting (City Council action on 2024 Proposed Operating Budget and levy)
• Monday, November 27th, 7PM, Council Chambers: Council Public Hearing/Discussion Night
• Tuesday, November 28th: 4PM, Council Chambers: Council Meeting
• Monday, December 11th, 7PM, Council Chambers: Council Public Hearing/Discussion Night
• Tuesday, December 12th: 4PM, Council Chambers: Council Meeting
• Monday, December 18th, 4PM, Banbury Place, Eau Claire Room: Joint Plan Commission and City Council Meeting for Zoning Overhaul Discussion