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 in March. The
suggested goal is 200 minutes a week, but there is no requirement – it’s your
personal goal. And…you can get those minutes any way you want – walking,
running, biking, yard work, snow shoveling (NO!!!)…
https://appletonparkandrec.org/programs-activities/special-events-trips/be-active-wisconsin/
It does cost $10 to participate but you get a T-shirt. You’ll
be sent a form to log your minutes each Monday for the prior week. The first
login will be Monday, so you will have time to register.
In the COVID-19 update, we saw a bit of an uptick in cases from
the prior week and two more deaths. We remain in the HIGH category where we have
been in the last few weeks. I just received an update that the vaccination
clinic at the Expo Center is once again taking appointments for next week – a quick
check showed available appointments.
As you probably know, additional groups became eligible for
the vaccine on March 1, including educators and child care workers and caregivers
in congregate living facilities. The Appleton Area School District is having a
vaccination clinic at the Expo Center on March 13 in hopes of getting as many
of those teachers as possible vaccinated and plans to continue holding clinics
on Saturdays.
The current list of eligible groups is below:
No Mow May was approved for this year, but without the 7-day grace period that was in last year’s program. Households that participate will not be issued weed citations during the month of May, but you would have to have the lawn back to normal limits by June 1. There are seven other Fox Valley communities that have adopted or are considering similar policies this year.
Pollenablers-Fox Cities will provide the yard flags designating
your participation and will also work with community gardens to provide free
disposal of grass clippings at the end of the program. You can sign up to
participate here:
One agenda item that led to quite a bit of discussion in the
meeting was a request from the Municipal Services Committee. A resident on the
south side had requested a curb cut to add a second driveway to a new garage – a
permit for the garage had already been issued. Per the city code, the request
can be denied if one of the two adjacent neighbors objects. One of the
neighbors did object in this case. The property owner appealed, and the
committee recommended approval, and it was eventually approved by the full
council with a 9 to 6 vote. I voted to uphold the committee’s recommendation as
the complaint from the couple next door (who spoke at the meeting) seemed to be
more about the garage itself becoming the view from their sunroom/breakfast room
than the proposed new driveway. That led me to think about some of the items in
our municipal code where a permit can be denied because of a neighbor’s objections,
and I am wondering if this actually causes more friction than simply issuing a
permit for changes to a homeowner’s property if it is within the building code.
I’d be interested in knowing what you think if you have a moment to drop me a
note. I see in the Municipal Services Committee agenda for next week that they
are going to consider dropping the language about neighbors’ objections to the driveway
opening policy.
The big news in committee and board meetings in the coming
week is the selection of the design and engineering partner for the library
project. The contract award to Skidmore, Owings and Merrill will be voted on in
the Finance Committee on Monday. I am attaching their letter to the community.
It includes photos of some of the library projects they have worked on. Closer
to home, the firm designed the Mulva Cultural Center in De Pere, which is
scheduled to open in 2022. Bids were received from eleven firms, and a
committee of eleven city staff, elected officials and citizens made the
selection from those proposals. The plan is that design would take place in
2021, with construction beginning in 2022.
For the pickelballers out there, the Parks and Recreation Committee
is voting to award the contract to design and install a new pickleball complex
within the Appleton Parks system. I need to find out exactly where this will be
located – more when I get the information.
Municipal Services, in addition to the driveway policy item
above, is going to vote on installing standard parking meters in the Soldier’s
Square parking area. This is based on feedback during the trial period where
only the Passport app was available for payment. Thanks to all who provided
feedback to me or directly to the Public Works Department.
Municipal Services is also going to vote on using tax
increment funds of up to $1,309,140 or 18% of the tax increment value,
whichever is less, from TIF 11 to assist with redevelopment of the property at
318 W. College Avenue – the empty building that had the Subway on the ground
floor. From the development agreement: The Developer plans to transform this
property into a state-of-the-art, 75,000 sq. ft. building with over 16,500
square feet of Class A commercial space subdivided for multiple business
occupants. The mixed-use improvements to Park Central will include a
redeveloped second floor and an additional three floors of new construction slated
for rental apartment use. The new apartments will offer a mix of one, two and
three-bedroom units, yielding a total of 51 bedrooms in 39 apartments. Through
careful planning, design and the use of quality construction techniques and
premium building materials, including glass, steel, brick and high-end
finishes, they will provide modern, luxurious, yet affordable, residential
units and commercial spaces serving Appleton residents and businesses. The
estimated incremental value of this project would be $7,273,000.
The Safety and Licensing Committee is taking up a resolution
that would prohibit large scale breeding of dogs or cats and the sale of dogs
or cats by pet stores in the city. The intent is to prevent “puppy mills” or “kitten
mills” which often abuse or mistreat animals from being able to operate in the
city. The resolution would not prevent private breeders from selling animals,
nor would it prevent organizations that seek adoptions for dogs and cats from having
them available in pet stores. These resolution was inspired by a constituent of
Alderperson Thao and Alderperson Meltzer and I have co-sponsored it.
At the risk of turning this into a book, there are just a
couple of other items I want to mention –
You can watch the Police Community Advisory Board meeting at
6:00 Tuesday night via this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85212357002
It does not allow participation; only viewing.
The spring election is on April 6. The odd numbered
aldermanic districts are up, along with the Appleton School Board. There is
also the Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction and Wisconsin Court of
Appeals judge on the ballot. We will have a non-binding referendum allowing us
to vote in favor of non-partisan redistricting on the spring ballot as well.
You can go to https://www.vote411.org to
get information on the candidates. The League of Women Voters website has recordings
of candidate forums as well.
https://my.lwv.org/wisconsin/appleton
You can request absentee ballots at https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/
Note that even if you requested ballots
for all of 2020, you must request them again for 2021. You will not have to
upload your photo ID again if you did it last year.
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