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

Here are some updates for around the City! As a reminder, prior updates can be found here, and people can sign up for updates here. Feel free to send me feedback.

CITY UPDATES: Here are some updates from around town…

Parking: At next week's Council meetings, the City Council and community will once again be considering parking in the downtown area.

Here’s a recent history of parking policies in the downtown, based on the records we have. It has been a topic of repeated discussion and study for decades. The general concerns over the years have focused on wanting to make sure that the downtown area doesn’t lose business, needing to be able to pay to maintain parking spaces, and pricing parking properly so as to manage the supply and demand of parking spaces.

• 1952: In 1952, consultants to the City studied parking, and they shared: “Shopping and business facilities in the City of Eau Claire are rapidly decentralizing principally because of the congestion in the downtown area and the lack of adequate convening parking facilities.” The proposed fees in the 1952 study were 10 to 20 cents per day, or two to five dollars per month, depending on the quality of the parking space. You can read the full study here. Pictured below is a table with a sample inventory of metered spots at that time.

• 1956: A parking study carried out in 1956 starts this way: “There has developed a rather widespread impression during the last year that there is a great deficiency of available parking spaces for anyone wishing to trade in the downtown section, and there is considerable concern that this is driving shoppers away from the old established mercantile sections out into the outlying new commercial districts or even to neighboring cities or villages.” You can read the full study here.  Pictured below is a map of the downtown from the study, showing a count of metered parking spaces by block.

• 2009: By 2009, a study emphasized the need to replace our mechanical meters, which were failing. The study encouraged the City to increase enforcement and develop sufficient revenue to improve parking supply, customer service, and marketing. That year’s study reads: “All mechanical parking meters should be removed and replaced as soon as possible… for higher use on-street areas, such as the Public Library, … we recommend either replacing existing mechanical meters with newer electronic meter inserts, and/or replacement with newer pay and display multispacer pay station technology.”

• The Last 15 Years: Additional parking studies occurred in 2012 and 2014. Around that time, the downtown had less activity, and the City and community felt that we needed to do everything possible to get people to come back downtown. In 2013, Barstow Street and Graham Avenue were converted from one-way to two-way streets. With that conversion, a decision was made to remove meters and instead restrict parking to two-hours. 

Between 2014 and 2019, businesses, apartments, Pablo, and the Lismore Hotel opened, and there were more people wanting to park downtown. Another study was conducted in 2019, and that study recommended restoring paid downtown parking and adding permit parking in near-downtown areas to help manage the supply of the best parking spots. Right after the 2019 parking study occurred, however, Covid hit. Remote work reduced the demand for daytime parking, while additional evening entertainment options increased the demand for evening parking. Additionally, increased downtown residential development and evolving parking technology impacted parking trends.

This brings us to present day, when we have just completed another study. At Monday’s City Council public hearing night, our current parking consultant, Jon Forster, will share a summary of the study he carried out over 2024. All are welcome to attend or tune in online for the report at the City Council meeting. The study recommends implementing paid downtown parking, generally reiterating the 2019 recommendations with a few modifications. Please find the following study documents here:

• 2024 Parking Study Exec Summary
• Draft Eau Claire Parking Study Recommendations
• Eau Claire Parking Recommendation Matrix 2024
• Comparable Cities Eau Claire Parking Study

Here are a few questions and answers put together by our staff about the most recent parking proposal:

• What kind of public input was used to develop these recommendations? Over the past year, the consultant, City staff, and the DECI Parking and Infrastructure Committee met extensively with stakeholders. The meeting opportunities included online meetings, in-person in City Hall discussions, and in-person walking tours of the districts, both during daytime and evening periods. Also studied was the use of parking spaces over different times of the day, week, and year.

• Why do we need paid parking? Our general fund – meaning property taxes paid by residents and businesses – subsidizes the cost of downtown parking, costing taxpayers about $355,000 for the 2025 budget, up $110,000 from 2024. Our goal is to have a sustainable parking fund that pays for itself, while offering services that the public needs. With the need for replacement of structured parking at a cost of about $30,000 per parking stall, future costs to maintain parking will be even higher.

• Why should drivers pay for on-street parking? Visitors to the downtown generally prefer parking on the street, close to businesses they are visiting or working at. Currently, these spots are free, while ramp spots incur a charge for use. The consultant calls this situation “inverted pricing”, meaning that the most desirable spots cost the least. The study recommends incentivizing ramp use by allowing for free ramp parking for a visitor’s first hour, followed by a low hourly fee. For the more desirable on-street parking, the study proposes an hourly charge of $1. As mentioned above, in the early 2000s and decades before, the downtown on-street parking and surface lots were metered. Since that time, the meter technology has changed, computer technology has changed, and development has occurred downtown.

• What will happen to the ramps and lots? We believe it is essential that we maintain a supply of structured and lot parking. Two of our parking garages have reached the end of their lifetimes, which means we will be losing parking spaces. The Graham Riverside Parking Deck (with 134 parking stalls) is scheduled for demolition in 2025. The Gibson Parking Ramp (with 405 parking stalls) is scheduled for demolition in 2027. We currently plan to replace approximately 250 to 300 stalls back at this location with potentially commercial or other development, but that will depend on future design input, analysis, and funding constraints. The new Transfer Center will have 129 stalls (with some EV charging stations and some ADA van accessible spaces), which is a net gain of 82 stalls over the prior surface lot. The Schlegelmilch-McDaniel Lot (with 75-100 stalls) has also been discussed as a potential redevelopment site, as have other privately owned parcels that are currently used for parking. 

The downtown parking study helps us understand future downtown parking demands. The City will explore opportunities to work with development to add parking stalls and will look at public-private partnerships related to parking. Careful parking supply management will help guide and forecast future parking needs and how to best address those.

Parking-related goals remain similar to the goals of stakeholders from the generations before ours, starting from when cars became part of our lives, including:

• We want our downtown to thrive;
• We need to have enough money to maintain our parking spaces;
• We seek to have suitable parking close to businesses; and
• We hope to have clear and easy-to-use parking transactions and excellent customer service.

We hope that this round of discussion will yield a system that will last for several more decades and address the community’s top priorities. Pictured below is a map from the current report that shows off-street public parking supply. 

Streets Presentation: In preparation for the 2025 CIP street improvement meetings, please find attached a link to the first presentation on the planned street and alley projects for 2025. This overview is related to street improvement projects that are administered through Engineering. The half-hour presentation provides an overview of what goes into the CIP process and explains project-related details for the first set of projects Council will be hearing about on Monday, January 27th and discussing on Tuesday, January 28th. 

https://www.eauclairewi.gov/our-city/construction-projects/past-projects/2025-project-information

This initial presentation covers improvements on the following alleys and streets:

• Alleys: East of Bellinger Street (Cameron to Maxon, and Maxon to Platt); South of Clairemont (Patton to E. Lexington); South of Cleveland Street (Fisher to Cleveland); South of Cedar (Eleventh to Ninth); and West of Ninth (Lakeside to 250 Feet North)

• Street, utility, and sidewalk improvements: Brookline Avenue (Clearwater Ridge Drive to Winsor Drive); Seventh Street (Walnut Street to Marshall Street); Winsor Drive (Abbe Hill Drive to Brookline Avenue).

Property owners who will be impacted by assessments associated with improvements have already been contacted by mail, and all are welcome to come to the public hearing on Monday. If you have project-specific questions, e-mail or call Engineering at Engineering@eauclairewi.gov or 715-839-4934.

Specialized Fire Training: Our Fire Department shared this update on recent training they participated in. “We recently received training from a new transport company in our area that is hauling methane gas from Rock Creek to Augusta. Renew Gas Transportation hauls 400 mcf of methane daily from a dairy farm that uses a manure digester to extract the gas. The gas is then compressed at 4500psi into four large tanks on a semi-tractor, where it is then transported to Augusta. The gas is then directly injected into the natural gas line that supplies service to area businesses and homes. ECFD firefighters, as well as other fire departments, were trained on how to handle a crash or fire if one of their vehicles were involved.” Pictured below are crews receiving training both in the classroom and outside on this type of transport.

Facility Tour: The Fire Department also shared about a facility tour. Tours helps responders understand how to approach emergencies at complex manufacturing facilities. They shared: "This week and next week, firefighters have been getting tours of the Johnson Litho Graphics facility. Founded in 1915, Johnson Litho Graphics is a commercial printing company located on Galloway and Moore Streets. Firefighters were given a tour of the facility to have a better understanding of the interior of structure and its contents. This allows them to pre-plan strategies and tactics in the event of a fire. Tours like these also allow the firefighters to mentally recall areas of egress and obstacles inside the structure if visibility is reduced by smoke." The facility is an interesting historical site. It has a Typesetting Machine built in the late 1800s and original Heidelberg printing presses (pictured below) that were built in the early 1900s and are still sometimes used today. Also pictured below are staff on the facility tour.

Stormwater Pond Maintenance: The unusually mild winter has afforded the City of Eau Claire a rare opportunity to engage in important maintenance of the City’s stormwater retention ponds. These ponds are essential to water management, and their maintenance prevents flooding of homes and businesses. To make sure that the ponds are serving the role they are intended to, the City is required by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to perform annual detention and retention pond inspections and maintenance. We are required to ensure that:

• There are no trees on the floor or embankments of the ponds;
• Grasses are mowed to a height of four inches or less; and
• No underbrush or other invasive plants or brush take over the ponds.

Some of the tasks associated with this maintenance include inspection of pond structures and embankments, removal of debris and vegetation, mowing, cleaning and inspection of drainage systems, and identifying any other issues to ensure optimal functionality. Additionally, many of these ponds are home to numerous ash trees. The City is actively working to remove all of the city-owned ash trees due to the destructive emerald ash borer.

City of Eau Claire’s Street and Fleet Manager Aaron Nicholson said that residents will see crews performing this work. Sometimes neighbors are worried when they see trees or brush being removed, however, the work is required. While these operations are changing the looks of some of these ponds from what people may be used to, the changes are in the best interest of the functionality of these stormwater ponds. Many of our ponds have been needing this maintenance for many years, and this winter’s weather (and last winter's as well) has afforded us the opportunity to make great progress. Residents' support and cooperation are crucial in this process, and we welcome you to reach out with any additional questions or concerns. By phone, call the Streets Division at 715-839-4963 or email communityservices@eauclairewi.gov. Pictured below is a staff person working on pond maintenance.

Homicide: The ECPD shared this notice on Saturday: "The Eau Claire Police Department is investigating a homicide that occurred at a residence on Western Avenue in Eau Claire on Saturday, January 25th. A 911 call was received just after 2AM for a report of a shooting at a residence. On scene, Eau Claire Police Department officers and EMS personnel performed life-saving measures on the victim, but the victim ultimately succumbed to their injuries. One suspect was quickly apprehended. This is an isolated incident, and no other suspects are being sought. More information will be released as it becomes available. Our thoughts are with the family and friends impacted by this incident. The Eau Claire Police Department would like to thank the Eau Claire County Sheriff's Office, Altoona Police Department, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Police Department, Wisconsin State Patrol, Eau Claire County District Attorney's Office and Eau Claire County Medical Examiner's Office."

Change to Transit Free Fare Threshold: Last week’s cold weather triggered a discussion about what kind of temperatures or weather events lead to the City waiving Transit fares. Council Member Joshua Miller pointed out that the National Weather Service has replaced reliance on wind chills with new advisories, thus we can use the new alerts that have been established. Using these alerts will peg the decision to the advisories and give us more clarity of decision making and (we hope) time to get messaging out. The alert levels can be found below, and we would look to implement the fare waiver if any of the alerts below are activated, as described in this link. Understanding Cold Weather Alerts

• Extreme Cold Warning: Temperatures expected to drop below -35 degrees

• Extreme Cold Watch: Temperatures below -35 degrees are possible

• Cold Weather Advisory: Temperatures expected to drop below -25 degrees

Pictured below is the river on the coldest of recent days.

Transit Equity Day: Eau Claire Transit is proud to celebrate Transit Equity Day on Tuesday, February 4th, honoring Rosa Parks and the pioneers who championed public transportation as a civil right. Enjoy free bus rides, sponsored by the Chippewa Valley Transit Alliance, and free paratransit rides within the City, sponsored by JONAH. Join us for a special program at 12:30 PM in the Carnegie Room (Room 104) at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, featuring remarks from local legislators and transit advocates. Light refreshments will be served as we come together to celebrate Rosa Parks' legacy.

MLK Day: City of Eau Claire employees gathered on Monday to participate in a training for MLK day, which the City celebrates as not a day “off”, but a day on, carrying out service and learning. We are grateful to Neighbor to Neighbor/Vecino a Vecino and Hope Lutheran Church who helped make the event happen by hosting the employees for a day of community-building and learning about Latin American/Hispanic culture. Presenters shared information about the history of people of Latin American and Spanish ancestry living in the United States. They also talked about some of the barriers that residents of Latinx descent experience, and how we may help overcome them as a City government and community. Two of the presenters shared very personal stories about their experiences in North Central Wisconsin. They said that sometimes it can be lonely, and that people may make assumptions about them and not feel comfortable reaching out to form connections. One presenter shared this thought: “By nature of being an immigrant, many find themselves navigating a world that feels unfamiliar. But what I’ve come to realize is that, despite our differences, we share something important. We share a desire for community, for progress, and for a sense of belonging. And that is what I believe Dr. King’s vision was all about – a community that values each person as an individual, not defined by their race, but by their shared humanity.” Our presenter shared encouragement that people should feel free to reach out to others, even if they are of a different background. That connection will mean a lot, and we will figure out how to overcome any differences that may make an initial connection seem more challenging.

Pictured below are: staff riding on the bus to the church, church volunteers decorating, staff listening to the presenter, presenters sharing experiences, an activity after lunch, and our third annual MLK day musical performance. The presenter slide lists obstacles (e.g. transportation, language and literacy, isolation, finances, navigating a complex society, cultural expectations, fear/stigma) and it suggests possible solutions (e.g. trusted community partners, in-person communications, respecting logistical constraints)

QUESTION & ANSWER: Feel free to share your question here and we will work on answering it: Service Request Form - City Manager | City of Eau Claire, Wisconsin (eauclairewi.gov) Send questions or comments to the City Council via this form: https://www.eauclairewi.gov/government/city-council/city-council-members/city-council-contact

Accessing Paratransit

Question: “How do I learn about Abby Van transportation for senior citizens?”

Answer: Paratransit is a specialized public transportation service designed for individuals whose disabilities prevent them from using the fixed-route bus system. The City of Eau Claire contracts Abby Vans to provide these services. This service provides safe, reliable, and accessible transportation to ensure everyone in our community has the mobility they need to live, work, and connect.

To apply for paratransit services, which we contract with Abby Vans to provide, click here: https://www.eauclairewi.gov/services/transit-services and scroll down to find the application. Once your application is submitted, you will receive a notification of whether it was approved or not within 21 days. Please email or call me if you need help or have questions. The image below shows where to click to access the application online.

WAYS TO SERVE:  Here are a few roles that we hope to fill with awesome contributors.

Job Openings: The City of Eau Claire offers a wide variety of positions. We hope you will keep an eye on our job openings and come serve the community! View the full list of our current job openings, applications, complete job descriptions, and more at www.eauclairewi.gov/jobs.

City Surveyor: Are you looking for a challenging, yet rewarding employment opportunity? Interested in working on municipal construction projects? Join us! The City of Eau Claire is currently seeking qualified candidates for the City Surveyor position. Deadline to apply: January 27th at 11:59PM.

NEW: Utilities Intern: Are you majoring in a science related field? Are you looking for an internship for this summer? Then check out this amazing opportunity! We are currently accepting applications for a Utilities Intern in the Utilities Division of the Community Services Department for the 2024 summer. This internship will have you performing technical analysis of water and wastewater on a daily basis, conducting soil sampling, maintaining records/results, operating various equipment, and more!  Deadline to apply: February 16th at 11:59 p.m.

Neighborhood Services Specialist I: Are you passionate about keeping the community clean, safe, and well-organized? As a Neighborhood Services Specialist I, you’ll play a key role in ensuring compliance with municipal ordinances related to trash collection, parking, zoning, housing, and more. This position offers a mix of fieldwork and administrative tasks, including inspections, investigations, and community engagement. We have two vacancies for this position. One of the openings is a full-time, limited term position that is grant funded through December 31, 2026. Continuation of the position beyond 2026 is dependent on future budget appropriation. The other opening is 0.25 grant funded and assessed yearly. Continuation of the position as full-time beyond 2025 is dependent on future budget appropriation. Deadline to apply: January 27th at 11:59PM.

Seasonal Laborers (Limited Term Employment): Don't want to spend your summer stuck in an office? Join us in the outdoors! Our Community Services & Engineering Departments are hiring Seasonal Laborers for the 2024 Summer Season. Deadline to apply: Open until filled.

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 are highlighting Christina Writz. Co-workers shared this quote about her:

• “You make a difference every day, and we appreciate everything you do.”
• “Christina is a genuine person who brings a calm presence to the team. She is dedicated to making a difference with all that she does.”

Here’s some more information about Christina:

• Your Job: “I am a public health nurse in the communicable disease division with the Eau Claire City County Health Department. I have been a nurse for 11 years and worked as an inpatient and emergency room nurse before coming into public health. My job centers around follow up and case management of those individuals and facilities with reportable disease diagnosis, and I also manage our vaccine program.”

• What People May Not Know. “Our new daughter was born on leap day last year, and we are excited to make this unique birthday a fun experience each year.”

• Activities Outside Work: “I enjoy doing almost any outside activity with my husband, two kids, and our two dogs. I enjoy gardening, and our family is working to become more self-sustainable. We enjoy exploring the Chippewa Valley that has been my home for the last six years.”

• Community Involvement: “I enjoy building one-on-one relationships and serving within our local faith community. My husband and I have volunteered at local races and hope to get our kids involved in helping our community in this way as well.”

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)

• Monday, Jan 27th Public Hearing, Council Chambers, 6PM
• Tuesday, Jan. 28th Council Meeting, Council Chambers 4PM
• Monday, Feb. 10th Public Hearing, Council Chambers, 6PM
• Tuesday, Feb. 11th Council Meeting, Council Chambers 4PM
• Monday, Feb. 24th Public Hearing, Council Chambers, 6PM
• Tuesday, Feb. 25th Council Meeting, Council Chambers 4PM