Appleton District 6

 Good afternoon District 6, It’s definitely nice to have the NCAA basketball tournament back after last year’s cancellation, although the schedule change is a bit odd with back-to-back games on a Monday. While we were sorry to see the Badgers come up short yesterday, it was great to see the Wisconsin women’s hockey team capture the national championship after having their season cancelled last year as well. It’s nice to feel the warm weather and to know that baseball starts on time in just a couple of weeks, too. Once we get some more shots in arms, including mine, I’m looking forward to catching some Timber Rattler and Brewer games, but I am definitely going to have a tough time calling the ballpark “American Family Field.”    Now that the sportscast is over, back to the business from City Hall. The COVID-19 update showed that cases continued to be about where they were before the spike last September. We are still listed in the HIGH category based on the total number of cases a

  Little Italy Branch Library, Chicago (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) Good afternoon District 6, I normally send updates after the Common Council meeting, but I wanted to make sure that everyone is aware of a couple of items of interest in tomorrow’s council meeting. As expected, the Finance Committee recommended approval of awarding the contract for design and engineering services for the library building to Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in the amount of $2,721,389 with a 5% contingency of $136,070 for a project total not to exceed $2,857,459. Close budget-watchers might remember that the 2021 budget included $2,400,000 for the design. The following explanation is from Director Gazza: “The 2021 Budget includes $2,400,000 for library design services. It was anticipated design would begin in 2021 and construction would begin in 2022. This contract also includes construction administration services to be completed in 2022. Rather than creating two separate contracts, it is standard

  Good afternoon District 6, While I know that we often get a big snowstorm in April, I can’t help but sense that spring is coming when I look out my window and see all the grass and when I look at forecasts in the 50s for this week. I’ll enjoy it while I can, but I’m not packing my snow boots away just yet. In the Common Council meeting last week, we approved two new appointments to city boards and commissions – Deborah Wurth, a retired school nurse who has worked with the Health Department on a number of issues,   will be joining us on the Board of Health, and former State Assembly Representative Penny Bernard Schaber will be joining the Task Force on Resiliency, Climate Mitigation and Adaptation. The mayor also issued a proclamation for Be Active Wisconsin Month. The Parks and Recreation Department is inviting everyone to participate in the Community Fitness Challenge where we will compete against 39 other Wisconsin communities to achieve the greatest number of active minutes