Good
afternoon District 6,
We began the
new term of the Common Council this week with the swearing in of the newly
elected and re-elected alderpersons in the odd districts at Houdini Plaza on
Tuesday evening. This was a change made to allow friends and family to attend
safely by not having to congregate inside, but I really liked it and hope that
it is something we will continue when life is back to “normal”. I told some
colleagues that it was definitely an improvement over last year when I took my
oath of office via Zoom and had to go by City Hall later in the week to sign
it.
After the
swearing in, we held an informal organizational meeting where we reviewed the
Council rules, committee functions and the code of conduct. On Wednesday
evening before the regular council meeting, we held the formal organizational
meeting where we voted to approve the mayor’s assignments to standing
committees and boards. I was appointed chair of the Human Resources and
Information Technology Committee, where I have served as a member since my
election in September of 2019. It will be an interesting committee this year,
as we will be filling both the Human Resources Director and Information Technology
Director positions, with Sandy Matz having retired last month and IT Director
Dean Fox having submitted his resignation last week. I will also serve on the Municipal
Services Committee, which basically has jurisdiction over all city infrastructure
except Utilities. I will continue to serve on the Task Force on Resiliency,
Climate Mitigation and Adaptation as that was designated as a two-year term by
the resolution that formed the task force. I was elected by my colleagues to continue
as the alderperson on the City Plan Commission. I look forward to chairing my
first committee and to service on the other committees.
We also
voted on proposed changes to the Council rules. I voted against three proposed
changes. The two that failed were removing the ability for a 2/3 majority to
object to an alderperson referring an item back to the committee of
jurisdiction and to remove the requirement that the chair inform the body how
many alderpersons were in the queue to speak when an alder moves to “call the
question” or stop debate on any item. The one that passed will enable alderpersons
who submit a resolution to provide a summary rather than having the whole
resolution read in the meeting. An amended version passed, changing the
language to leave the option of having the whole resolution read rather than
the original version which would have required the summary and never have the
full resolution read. I honestly do not think it is a burden on anyone to hear
the full resolution and that we sacrifice a measure of transparency by not
having a full public reading, but the amended version is at least an acceptable
compromise.
The regular Common
Council meeting began with proclamations for Earth Day and Arbor Day. We
received the normal COVID-19 update, where we heard that based on burden and
trajectory we are still in the HIGH category. Testing is still down. The spike in
case numbers in some nearby states such as Michigan is a cause for concern. The
vaccine clinic at the Expo Center has given 27,600 doses as of today. 40% of
Outagamie County residents have received at least one dose and 29.6% have received
both doses. This is good, but short of the 70% that scientists are saying is
the minimum threshold for “herd immunity” to the virus. The Saturday clinic
that was planned for those ages 16-18 has been opened to anyone 16 or over and
appointments are available.
https://foxcitiescovidvaccine.com/
I had my
second Pfizer shot at the Expo Center clinic Thursday and the whole process took
a bit over an hour, including my walk from home and back and the 15-minute
observation period, which was enhanced by music from cellist Nancy Kaphaem of
the Fox Valley Symphony.
The meeting
began with 12 people who spoke in support of Resolution #6-R-21- Resolution
Condemning Xenophobia, Racism, and Violence Against The Asian Pacific Islander
Desiamerican (APIDA) Community and one who spoke in support of Resolution
#3-R-21 Prohibition on Large Scale Commercial Dog and Cat Breeding.
As expected, those two items were separated from
the balance of the agenda for individual consideration. Alderperson Siebers of
District 1 referred the first resolution back to the Safety and Licensing
Committee. Mr. Siebers had served as chair of that committee when it considered
the resolution and voted for it in the meeting where it was recommended for
approval. When asked to give a reason for his referral, he stated that he
wanted the resolution to pass unanimously and that he felt it needed to be
reworked to pass unanimously. I worked closely with the lead author of the resolution,
Alderperson Maiyoua Thao of District 7 and co-sponsored it along with several other
colleagues. She wished the resolution to pass with the original wording.
Therefore, I seconded the motion to object to the referral and take up the
resolution during Wednesday’s meeting. As noted in the discussion of the council
rules above, an objection takes a 2/3 vote and it failed by 1 vote, so the
resolution will be taken up again in the Safety and Licensing Committee Wednesday,
April 28 at 5:30 p.m. There was another attempt at the end of the meeting to suspend
the rules and consider the resolution in a “committee of the whole” at Wednesday’s
meeting, but this vote failed as well.
I was
personally disappointed in this outcome. The testimony by the people who spoke
of verbal abuse, threats and near assaults that took place right here in the
city of Appleton was heartbreaking. When we are in chambers, Maiyoua Thao is my
seatmate and was open and helpful to me as a newcomer on the Common Council. As
we grew to know each other better, I heard the story of her family’s escape from
Laos when she was a toddler, her time as a child in a refugee camp in Thailand
and the hard work it took for her to get her education and become a successful
business owner and community leader. She has invited me to attend family events
such as the birthday celebration for a beloved uncle and the funeral of another
family member. Many of us on the Common Council were guests during the celebration
of the Hmong New Year in 2019 where we were introduced and invited to take part
in a ceremony celebrating the New Year. This resolution is something the
Alderperson Thao introduced as a way of trying to let the community know that
the city supports and protects them. Some of the objections noted that the
resolution asks the Attorney General to work with state and local agencies to prevent
hate crimes and question the City of Appleton’s role in interacting with other
agencies. Other objectors felt that we should not be singling out the Asian
American community, but rather should be condemning all discrimination. This resolution
addresses the dramatic increase in acts of racism and harassment against the community
since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore I believe it is
correctly specific to the AAPI community.
My colleague
Alderperson Katie Van Zeeland wrote of our role in advocating to other levels of
government in a letter she wrote to all her colleagues citing a paper on the Hmong
community in Milwaukee:
The
higher level of respect given to us by the Hmong community is a product of
Hmong humility. Hmong people are taught not to promote themselves as most
Americans do. As one woman put it, “Hmong are taught and conditioned to listen
and not challenge their elders,” this applies to leaders as well. The community
sees our position as representatives as those who speak for them to other
leaders, including state government. This is similar to the way Hmong clans
operate.”
I will be
speaking again in favor of this resolution at the committee meeting next
Wednesday.
The other
item that was separated was Resolution #3-R-21 Prohibition on Large Scale
Commercial Dog and Cat Breeding. This item passed unanimously. As discussed in
the last update, there are no pet stores currently selling dogs or cats and all
the pet stores in the city supported this preventive ordinance. It will not
prevent breeders from selling to individuals, nor will it prevent adoptable
animals from being shown in pet stores.
Highlights for
committee meetings next week include:
Municipal
Services Committee, Monday April 26, 4:30 p.m. – my first meeting as a member of
this committee
· Adoption of the Downtown Streetscape
Design Guide
I hope some of you got a chance to attend the webinar review
of the plan earlier.
· Street occupancy permit for the YMCA
parking garage
· Multiple permits for tables in the
amenity strip along the sidewalks on College Ave. – it’s outdoor dining season
again.
Finance
Committee, Monday, April 26, 5:30 p.m.
·
Award
contracts for park pavilion roof replacements, electrical distribution upgrades
and sidewalk replacement
· Postponing some sewer and water
construction projects due to significant future changes to abutting properties
is likely or where negotiations for required access/easements are still in
progress. Design will continue but these will be re-bid in 2022.
Fox Cities Transit Commission, Tuesday, April 27, 3:00 p.m.
· Award design
contract for 2021 Valley Transit Whitman Avenue Facility Renovation Project to
Kueny, LLC.
· Approve
purchase order for 5 new Flyer Xcelsior Buses – these are funded through the
Volkswagen Mitigation Program Grant, with five clean diesel busses purchased in
2020, these five in 2021 and five more in 2022.
·
Authorization
to Establish a Free-Fare for "Service Connected" Disabled Veterans
Community and Economic Development Committee, Wednesday,
April 28, 4:30 p.m.
·
Resolution
#4-R-21 – CEDAW
This is my resolution asking the City
of Appleton support the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all
forms of Discrimination Against Women. The resolution asks that Appleton affirm
the principles of fundamental human rights and equality for women in our
community and the elimination of political, social economic and cultural
discrimination against women and express our support that the United States
ratify this convention as we are one of only 6 countries in the world who have
not. More than 200 national and international organizations have endorsed
CEDAW, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution in 2014 in
support of the Cities for CEDAW campaign. Both Mayor Woodford and I spoke at a
webinar about CEDAW last month. Mayor Woodford spoke about Appleton’s
commitment to equity.
Safety and Licensing Committee, Wednesday, April 28, 5:30
p.m.
· Resolution
#6-R-21- Resolution Condemning Xenophobia, Racism, and Violence Against The
Asian Pacific Islander Desiamerican (APIDA) Community – this will be
reconsidered in committee after being referred back.
·
A
temporary amendment to allow alcohol sales in sidewalk cafes
I am so sorry for the length of this update – there is a lot
happening and I really wanted to write about the resolution on racism against Asian
Americans. Hopefully we will have a less eventful next couple of weeks.
I am attaching an update on the library project as well – things
are moving forward.
Library Project Update
TO: Members of the Appleton Public Library Board of Trustees Members of the City of Appleton Common Council
FROM: Dean Gazza, Director of Parks Recreation and Facilities Management Colleen Rortvedt, Library Director
DATE: April 19, 2021
RE: April Library Building Project Update
As you are aware, in March the Library Board and City Council selected Skidmore, Owings and Merrill to work on the library project. SOM is a passionate collective of architects, designers, engineers, and planners, dedicated to designing treasured public buildings and have significant experience in library design. SOM is known as a leader in design with extensive experience and is often entrusted with highly significant projects. Currently, SOM is the selected firm to design the Mulva Cultural Center in DePere, WI. SOM made the decision to propose on our project realizing Appleton is a vibrant community and this a unique project that will have a significant impact on the neighborhood and residents.
Upon approval of the recommendation to select SOM, staff and the City Attorney worked with SOM to finalize and execute the contract.
The initial activities include completing an existing building and site audit and developing the preliminary building program explaining operational functions and spaces as well as important adjacencies. This program serves as the initial plan for the architects to begin to develop early concepts that capture these operational needs. In addition, an audit of the current facility and the site is being conducted.
Recent progress:
March:
• Began survey work of the library property utilizing a drone
• Kick-Off meeting with SOM and city staff
• Building Condition Assessment was initiated with numerous SOM engineers and consultants on-site.
• Programming interviews conducted with library staff.
April
• Workshops with library staff and continued work with staff on programming
Upcoming activities:
April
• Finalize Building Condition Assessment
• Perform a building scan utilizing a LIDAR scanning technology. This will include the interior and exterior of the facility. A building scan identifies current conditions and minimizes change orders during construction
• Boundary and topographic surveys will be completed
• On-going work with staff on programming to best understand library operations
Public participation and opportunities for community engagement in the design process are in development we will be able to provide additional information in the coming weeks as we finalize this essential part of the process.
Finally – if you registered for No Mow May, signs are
available at McFleshman’s downtown today (Sat 4/24) and next Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. The signs this year are bigger than
the little flags we had last year so your neighbors should be more clear about
your shaggy lawn.
As always, you can view meeting minutes and watch the videos
at:
Have a great weekend!
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