07-27-98 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF JANESVILLE, WISCONSIN
REGULAR MEETING
JULY 27, 1998
VOL. 49
NO. 8
Regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Janesville held in the Municipal building on July 27,
1998.
The meeting was called to order by Council President O'Leary. Councilmember Schneider led the
Council in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Present: Council President O'Leary, Councilmembers Westphal, Murphy, Stehura, Brien, Noll, and
Schneider.
CONSENT AGENDA
Minutes of the regular meeting of July 13, 1998.
Minutes of the closed session of July 13, 1998.
Licenses; and Recommendations of the Alcohol License Advisory Committee.
Financial statement for the month of June, 1998.
Action on final Certified Survey Map #98051-C, City of Janesville, 1 lot on Venture Drive.
Action on final Certified Survey Map ~O8047-C, Mulligan, Inc., 1 lot at the southwest comer of Milton
Avenue and Kettering Street.
Council President O'Leary stated that the Consent Agenda would be approved if there were no
objections. There were no objections.
(All applications of licenses are on file in the office of the City Clerk and are
incorporated by reference herein and may be examined upon request at all reasonable
times.)
OLD BUSINESS
1. Requests and comments from the public on matters which can be affected by Council action.
David Shank, representing the CDA Board, presented the prestigious John J. Gunther award for "Blue
Ribbon Practices in Housing and Community Development" to the Council. This national award
recol~izes the quality of work of our Community Development Department. He also recol~ized Jay
Winzenz, Judy Adler and Gail Terrell for their work in achieving this award.
2. A public hearing on a proposed ordinance rezoning property located at the southwest comer of East
Milwaukee Street and Shannon Court from Ri to R3M was canceled due to the applicant's withdrawal.
No action necessary. (File Ord. No. 98-1198)
3. A proposed ordinance allowing the display and storage of merchandise and personal property on any
sidewalk if it meets specified criteria received its second reading and public hearing. Vic Boyer,
representing Forward Janesville, spoke in favor of this ordinance. Councilmember Noll moved to adopt
said ordinance, seconded by Councilmember Schneider and it passed by the following vote: Aye:
Council President O'Leary, Councilmembers Westphal, Murphy, Noll and Schneider. Nay:
Councilmembers Stehura and Brien. (File Ord. No. 98-1195)
4. & 5. Council President O'Leary combined action on proposed resolutions approving an Offer to
Purchase a 30.44 acre industrial site in TIF No. 6 for $275,000 (No. 98-2332) and the continuation of
a public hearing for the associated utility and street assessments (No. 98-2317). Councilmember Noll
moved to adopt said resolutions, seconded by Councilmember Brien and it passed unanimously. (File
Res. Nos. 98-2332 and 98-2317)
NEW BUSINESS
1. Recommendation of the Plan Commission: Council President O'Leary combined action on
proposed resolutions approving the final plats of Loch Lomond West Fourth Addition (No. 98-2329)
and Prairie Wood Estates Second Addition (No. 98-2330). Councilmember Schneider movedto adopt
said resolutions, seconded by Councilmember Noll and it passed tmammously. (File Res. Nos. 98-2329
and 98-2330)
2. Action on a proposed resolution reallocating Community Development Block Grant and Wisconsin
Rental Rehabilitation Pro.am funds. Councilmember Schneider moved to adopt said resolution,
seconded by Councilmember Brien and it passed unanimously. (File Res. No. 98-2328)
3. Action on a proposed resolution authorizing the City Manager to exercise Option to Purchase
property located at 22 S. Jackson/306-310 Dodge Street for $70,000 using CDBG Blip~ht Elimination
Funds. Councilmember Noll moved to adopt said resolution, seconded by Councilmember Schneider
and it passed unanimously. (File Res. No. 98-2331)
4. Report on Marcus Cable/Status of franchise violations. Council President O'Leary allowed citizen
input on this issue by opening a public hearing. The following individuals commented on their
negative experiences with Marcus Cable: Betty Mallu, Celia Koeberl and Ed Hoppe, residents of
Riverplace Apartments; Paul Lembrich, 2206 W. State St.; Kathleen Moran, 105 Sunset Drive; and
Robert Smith, 2711 W. State St.
The ~oup complained about poor cable reception, difficulty reaching costumer sex-Ace representatives,
credits on cable bill ~ven only to customers who requested a credit, premium channels requiring a box
costing $3.95 per month, poor planning for the system up~ade, unavailability of pro~amming guide
for the up~ade area and the hip~h cost of cable.
Marry Robinson, District Manager for Marcus Cable, responded to the public's comments and how his
company would address costumer dissatisfaction and franchise violations. He stated that during a two
week period, they received 280 complaints with 443 complaint issues from Marcus Cable customers.
The majority of the complaints were from customers who experienced outages, poor reception and the
inability to reach a customer service representative. To minimize customer frustration with outages,
he has directed the contractors up~ading the system to work only between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. Monday throup~h Friday. Before the conlractors leave the job site, they are required to restore
the system to full functionality. In addition, he stated Marcus Cable will slow down the up~ade
process by upl~ading one area before moving on to the next area. This process will disrupt fewer
customers and shorten the duration of time worked in one area.
Mr. Robinson stated that their customer service center will be staffed with additional representatives
so they can meet the standard of answering 90% of the calls within 30 seconds during normal operating
hours and conditions. He stated beginning August 3, 1998 Marcus Cable customer service center will
be fully staffed and will meet the franchise standards.
Also, Mr. Robinson stated Marcus Cable will up~ade at no charge the wiring in homes or commercial
property that are not compatible with the new upl~ade wire.
Councilmembers asked Mr. Robinson multiple questions about the up~ade and the number of
complaints the City has received from Marcus Cable customers. They requested that the City
Adminislration provide the Council with the Marcus Cable customer service test results as soon as they
are available.
5. A proposed ordinance rezoning property located at 1901 Beloit Avenue from B3 to M2 was
introduced, referred to Plan Commission and scheduled for public hearing on August 24, 1998. (File
Ord. No. 98-1201)
6. Matters not on the Agenda.
Councilmember Brien requested information on Dawson Ball Park concession revenues. He is
concerned that they are not using the cash register to record all transactions. Also, he expressed
concern over using our TIF districts for companies that may negatively affect our air environmental
standards.
Councilmember Noll and Council President O'Leary requested that the issue of allowing beer in City
parks be put on a future agenda.
Councilmember Murphy asked about seal chipping in the Wuthering Hills area.
Councilmember Stehura requested an update on the City's Y2K pro.am.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 9:34 p.m.
These minutes are not official until approved by the City Council.
Jean Ann Wulf
City Clerk-Treasurer