Because of the way the calendar falls, we’ll be having a Common Council meeting two weeks after the committee meeting week. This will be the last meeting for alders who chose to retire this year and for any incumbents who lose their seats. The new council members will begin their terms on April 20. 

Of note to District 6 – there will be a public hearing on the assessments for sanitary laterals with the Alvin St. reconstruction. I talked to a couple of residents on Alvin St. today and it seems that city staff is doing a good job of keeping residents informed about the process. The meeting is at 7:00 p.m. in the council chambers on the 6th floor of City Hall if anyone wants to speak. 

We will also be voting on some incentives for seasonal Parks and Recreation Department employees – this was discussed in the last update on the committee agendas. With retail firms increasing pay rates and students opting to do other things in the summer, we are having trouble filling some of these jobs. The incentives approved in committee are: 

• Hiring Bonus - $100 (Must work through July 31st)  

• Retention Bonus - $100 (Must work through August 26th)  

• An increase of $1 per each hour worked on Friday, Saturday & Sunday  

• Referral Bonus - $50 for each person referred and hired  

• An increase of $1 per hour during the months of April, September, and October 

If you know a young person (or any person) who might be interested in jobs such as lifeguarding, refereeing sports or groundskeeping, here is the application link: 

https://appletonparkandrec.org/about-us/employment/?fbclid=IwAR3BEiBpNwmnNqh_TJiegnBmSohe8DgBz-wppICOH0l8L59eCGcnDVZeUvM 

For those interested in lifeguarding, there are two Lifeguard Certification classes this spring. April 8-10, 2022 (online and in-person blended learning) and May 7-8 & 14-15, 2022 (all in-person learning). Get your certification, work for Parks and Rec this summer, and the city will reimburse for the class. 

https://appletonparkandrec.org/pools-aquatics/certification-classes/?fbclid=IwAR2RZCWbv9tcsiOvtLrH7UCr2zgeCaCp2hpQSZW8Zea4RABGVuK5yNJvSQg 

The rest of the council meeting seems to be pretty straightforward. None of the committee items caused a whole lot of discussion.  

The mayor will issue a number of proclamations:  

  • Arbor Day 
  • Library Week  
  • Public Health Week  
  • Autism Acceptance Month  
  • Earth Day 
  • Golden Rule Day 
and we will recognize the poems selected for the 2022 Sidewalk Poetry Program. I have gotten to speak to a number of you, some for the first time in person, the last few weeks while I rang doorbells across the district during the campaign. I appreciate hearing your ideas and concerns about the city and I am glad that many of you find these updates useful. Other than places that are inaccessible to the public, I have personally been to every home in District 6 and am close to getting to every house again where someone didn’t answer the first time. Whatever happens on Tuesday, I have been honored to serve as your representative on the Appleton Common Council for the past two and a half plus years. Anyone who runs for a seat on the council is driven by a desire to serve their community. No one gets rich or famous from being an alderperson – a disheartening number of people I met at their doors had no idea who I was or what an alderperson does. I am therefore grateful to everyone who is running. I urge everyone who hasn’t already voted to do so Tuesday, April 5 at the Scheig Center in Memorial Park – 1313 E. Witzke Blvd. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. The alder whose district has the highest turnout in the election gets to display a small American flag on their desk for the next term – I would dearly love for District 6 to have that honor in 2022-2023. 

 


Denise

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