Good afternoon District 6,
Wow, what a week it has been! I started off last Tuesday
attending two of the National Night Out neighborhood parties – one on N.
McDonald Street and one on N. Erb Street. What great events they both were. I
enjoyed talking to a lot of people and checking out all the delicious food
everyone brought. I had planned to get to the big event at Jones Park, but was
having such a good time at the two neighborhood events that I didn’t make it
downtown.
The last four days were all about Mile of Music, and I was
happy to see quite a few familiar District 6 faces over the weekend. It was so
exciting to have the Mile back after missing last year. I thought the
organizers and volunteers – ALL the volunteers! – did a spectacular job even
though they were hit (of course, it’s Mile of Music) with the weather on
Saturday that forced them to cancel all the outdoor shows. Because we are sadly
back to experiencing “substantial community transmission” of COVID-19 and because
the Delta variant is so much more contagious, even though I’m fully vaccinated,
I tried to attend mostly outdoor shows or shows at Lawrence where they were
requiring masks. I heard some great music and talked to several of the artists
who are just blown away by what Appleton does with this festival supporting
live, original music. We have a great reputation with the musicians who want to
come back here every year. I can’t wait until 2022!
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| "Natural Satellite" at the OuterEdge |
I also took part in Bike to the Beat on Saturday morning. My
friend and I opted for the 26.7 mile loop to Wrightstown and back, stopping at
a couple of places along the way to hear Mile of Music artists (musicians
getting up to play for cyclists at 7:30 a.m.!) and eat a ton of tasty snacks
provided by the wonderful sponsors of the event. I suspect that calories
consumed might have been greater than calories burned but it was still good
exercise and great fun.
Down to business – Common Council met as usual on Wednesday
evening. We began by hearing the winning poems from the 2021 Sidewalk Poetry
Contest being read by their writers. Look forward to seeing some new poetry around
town as these are incorporated into new/rebuilt sidewalks.
The mayor also presented certifications of appreciation to
the Bogenschutz Family for their work on a beautification project and to city
staff who were part of the Emergency Operations Center during COVID-19. He did
note later in the meeting during the COVID-19 update that the EOC could be
ramped up again on short notice if the need arises.
Jumping to the COVID-19 report from Interim Health Officer Sonja
Jensen; we heard what we were afraid of; that we are once again facing a high
burden of cases, with the numbers for the two week period being higher than
they have been since April. We know that
the Delta variant is far more contagious than the ones we were seeing earlier. We do not currently have the numbers for Appleton
cases in vaccinated people; the team at the Health Department is working on
getting them from the state. We do know that nationally that while there are
breakthrough cases in vaccinated people, the number of hospitalizations and
deaths in vaccinated people is incredibly small. We are currently at 52.1% of city residents
fully vaccinated and 54.8% having had at least one shot. These numbers do include
non-eligible children under 12, but they are still concerning. There are free
vaccines available at many local pharmacies and at the Outagamie County clinics
at Fox River Mall Tuesday through Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and at the
County Public Health office at 320 S Walnut Street weekdays 9:00 a.m. to
3:00 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome at the county clinics.
As a result of a
number of inquiries from members of the Common Council and others, Mayor
Woodford gave an update on the plans for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
funds that Appleton will be receiving ($14,891,841.00).
He gave the
update in the form of a timeline, where in March through June, city staff was
working to understand the parameters of the funding based on interim rules
which they understood could change.
The next step
will involve public listening sessions to assess the greatest community need.
September would
be spent on program development:
- ·
List
of recommendations for spending
- ·
Ensuring
eligibility of the recommended expenditures
- ·
Clarifying
the criteria for eligibility
- ·
Refining
and finalized recommendations
- ·
Establishing
a process for funds distribution
Staff
recommendations would be presented through the executive budget that will be
reviewed by the Common Council in October and voted on in November.
Some notes from
the mayor’s remarks included the statement that, because these are one-time
funds, they would not be used for permanent staffing – contract work for
specific goals is a possibility. He also emphasized that the usage of these
funds could not create additional overhead within existing policies.
This graphic
from the U.S. Department of the Treasury attempts to clarify the allowed uses
of these funds.
In items that
were separated from the rest of the committee reports for individual votes, we
approved zoning and comprehensive land use policies that will allow for
development of the former VFW site at N.
Richmond and W. Packard as a mixed-use development.
A proposed
change to the municipal code to require installation of solar energy systems by
licensed electricians only was referred again to the Municipal Services
Committee where it will likely be amended to make this change only for systems
that connect to the utility grid. There are small solar units on the market that
would thereby be exempted from the requirement.
We finally
resolved the allocation of the excess General Fund Balance from 2020 after much
discussion about the funding of a study of a Transportation Utility. My initial
reservation on this funding proposal was not based on being against the study
but was instead based on the initial procedure. The resolution calling for the study
was initially referred to the mayor’s office. The mayor proposed an amendment
to the resolution and proposed that funds originally allocated to avoiding
borrowing for the next enhanced pedestrian crosswalk and for upgrades to create
more shade in Jones Park be used to fund this study. I was not comfortable
voting for a measure that had not been discussed in committee where our due
diligence normally takes place and thus voted with my colleagues who referred
it to the Finance Committee. I attended that meeting and was relieved to hear thoughtful
discussion taking place as I believe it should have before coming to a vote of
the full council. We are going to have to do something about road construction
and repairs soon as our existing process is not sustainable. The wheel tax was
never designed to fully fund road construction; it was meant to replace
individual assessments. As costs increase, we have to borrow more and more to
keep our roads in decent repair. Hopefully the study will show that we can use
a transportation utility to equitably fund our roads. I look forward to see
what the study shows.
Committee
meetings are a little lighter than usual this week, with the Finance Committee,
Parks and Recreation Committee, and Utilities Committee all cancelling their
meetings for the week.
Municipal
Services Committee – Monday, August 9, 4:30 p.m.
· Reconstruction
of Bartell St. between Prospect and Pine, Reconstruction of Morrison St. between
Wisconsin and Glendale, Reconstruction of Summit St. from Prospect to 4th
St.
A number of residents of Summit St.
appeared at the public hearing and wrote opposing the street reconstruction,
particularly making the street narrower. However, narrowing the street would
save 19 terrace trees, and the required replacement of the water and sewer mains,
which date to the 1920s and have had a number of leaks in the last 10 years, would
require over 1/3 of the pavement to be removed anyway.
·
Changes to the municipal code related to
electric work on solar installations discussed above
· Resolution submitted by Alderperson Smith that would remove the ordinance that prohibits scavenging of items left on the terrace. The reasoning is that allowing people to pick up items from the curb (which is done universally now without any kind of enforcement of the ordinance) would help keep items from the landfill. I have a couple of concerns about this and want to hear staff recommendations.
Joint Review Board (Outagamie County)– Tuesday, August 10, 1:00 p.m.
The Joint Review Board consists of
representatives of the taxing jurisdictions (municipality, county, school,
technical college). The Board has to approve the creation or amendment of a Tax
Incremental District. The city has proposed to amend TID 3 and TID 12 to move
some properties from TID 3 to TID 12 and add some new properties to TID 12.
This will be discussed in more detail in the City Plan Commission meeting.
Board of Health – Wednesday, August 11, 7:00 a.m.
·
The only action item on the agenda is a resolution
introduced last week by Alders Doran, Hartzheim, Martin and Reed.
I was informed as chair of the Human
Resources and Information Technology Committee of the intent to introduce this
resolution but was unaware that it would be more than a request to expedite the
search process until I heard it read at the council meeting on Wednesday. I told
the authors that I did not believe the resolution to be necessary at the time I
heard about it as I know that the search for a new Health Officer is ongoing,
and interviews were conducted even before the retirement of Kurt Eggebrecht. We
have a capable Interim Health Officer who served at the side of Health Officer
Eggebrecht since the beginning of the pandemic. I believe this resolution stems
more from the authors’ objection to the city reinstating a mask mandate in city
buildings at the end of last week than from any concern about the hiring
process. Two of the authors appeared at a committee meeting today maskless in
spite of the city directive. I have spoken to the chair of the Board of Health
and to the Human Resources Director about the resolution, and they hope to get
the authors to withdraw it or at least get it held for the next Board of Health
meeting in September in light of the fact that more interviews for the Health
Officer position are scheduled before month end. If this resolution makes it out
of the Board of Health I will vote no and urge my colleagues to do likewise.
City Plan Commission – Wednesday, August 11, 3:30 p.m.
The meeting agenda contains only
the public hearings and action items to move parcels from Tax Incremental
Financing (TIF) District 3 to TIF District 12 and to add additional parcels to
TIF District 12. From the Director of Community and Economic Development:
The Department is proposing
amendments to the boundaries and project plans for Tax Incremental Financing
Districts #3 and #12.
TIF #3 was created in 1992 as a
blighted district. Objectives were to stimulate downtown and commercial
development, expand the property tax base and employment opportunities, and
reduce blight in the downtown retail area.
In 2011, it was designated a
distressed TIF following a $15.4 million decrease in the District’s valuation
from 2009 to 2010 resulting from the Department of Revenue (DOR) implementation
of a new valuation methodology and loss of valuation in the Richmond Terrace
project due to bankruptcy. A distressed TIF is not eligible for new projects,
nor can a new TIF be overlaid. TIF #3 expires in 2029.
TIF #3 is being amended to pull
undervalued/underutilized parcels out and add them to TIF #12 to encourage
redevelopment and reinvestment in our Central Business District. The proposed
Tax Incremental District #3 Project Plan amendment subtracts 13 tax parcels
from the District, which will be added to Tax Incremental District #12.
TIF #12 was created as a
rehabilitation/conservation district in 2017. The objectives were to eliminate
blight and stimulate the rehabilitation, conservation and redevelopment of West
College Avenue and the surrounding area.
The proposed Tax Incremental
District #12 Project Plan amendment will add to the District the 13 tax parcels
being removed from Tax Incremental District #3 along with 23 additional
parcels. The amendment will also revise the kind, number and location of
proposed public works or improvements within the District and the detailed list
of project costs to add approximately $2.3 million or $2,345,594 in additional
potential project cost expenditures. Project costs include potential cash grants
(development incentives) to be paid to owners, lessees or developers of land
located within the District.
Moving parcels to TIF 12 will allow
new projects to encourage their redevelopment.
Community and Economic Development Committee – Wednesday,
August 11, 4:30 p.m.
The only action item is the development
agreement with Merge, LLC for a mixed-use development located on the southeast
corner of E. Washington Street and S. Oneida Street in TIF 11. This is the
location of the former Blue Parking Ramp and the Conway Hotel. There would be
56 residential units with commercial space on the ground floor. Merge will buy
the property from the city for $283,000 and the city will pay the lesser of e
lesser of $1,386,000 or ii) Eighteen 18% of the Tax Increment Value as of January
1, 2024, plus interest by paying 90% of the Tax Increment Revenue attributable and
received from the property during the year. The estimated assessed value of the completed
development is $7,700,000.
The development will be done in
phases, with the “URBANE” section completed first and covered by this development
agreement. The second section would have 75 more residential units.
While I believe that development in
these areas, especially in the library neighborhood, is great, I do believe we
need more affordable housing, and more housing that can accommodate families in
the area close to downtown.
Safety and Licensing Committee – Wednesday, August 11,
5:30 p.m.
License applications and special
events
Human Resources and Information Technology Committee –
Wednesday, August 11, 6:30 p.m.
- · Request to approve Police department table of organization modification to move one Communication Specialist to a newly created Crime Analyst position and move reporting structure for two areas
- · Request to approve Police to over hire position of Lieutenant for remainder of 2021 and into early 2022
- · Request to approve Health Reimbursement Account administrator change to MidAmerica
Information items include an
update on the Health Officer search process as discussed under Board of Health.
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