Half-Flip or Full-Flop?

Photo from Appleton Parks and Recreation

I guess we can officially say that summer is winding down with the closing of the Mead and Erb Park pools last week. Mead Pool closed the season out with the very popular dog swim. Based on the photos, the pups had a great time.  Last Wednesday’s Common Council meeting began with the appointment of Clair Jamison to the Appleton Public Arts Committee. There were no mayoral proclamations, which is pretty unusual. 

As expected, one of the items separated for individual consideration and votes was the resolution creating a volunteer Advisory Panel on Sustainability and Climate Resilience. There had been a vote against creating a permanent panel at committee, and the same arguments were presented at Common Council. Having worked with the members of the Taskforce on Resiliency, Climate Mitigation and Adaptation during that body’s term, I found it difficult to believe that there were objections to having a volunteer panel of community experts to provide input to the mayor, Common Council and city staff. The resolution passed with one nay vote, and the positions will be posted in the fall when community boards and commission applications open. 

Another item that was discussed separately was the application for a special use permit to build a car wash in about half of the former Shopko building on Northland Avenue in District 6. There was a very active discussion on social media last week, with most people objecting to another car wash. However, as I noted in last week’s update, it is not the job of the city to determine if a private party’s business plan is wise or if the business is likely to succeed, or even if we believe that there are too many similar businesses in a given area (if that were the case, I suspect that the bar population on College Avenue would be smaller), but only if the application met all the requirements for granting the special use permit. I stated in the meeting that a car wash would not be my first choice for a new business in that location, but that I preferred it to the building remaining empty. Perhaps this all-indoor concept will be a smashing success during the Wisconsin winters. The owner of the property is considering other retail for the remaining space. In the end, the item passed with a close 8-4 vote (three alders were excused from the meeting). 

We return to an almost full slate of committee meetings this week (only Parks and Recreation and Community and Economic Development will not meet). 

Municipal Services Committee – Monday, August 22, 4:30 p.m. 

The committee will once again be considering the variance request (I believe for the third time as it was postponed in committee once and referred back from Common Council last week) for a driveway extension more than four feet into the yard. The driveway was installed in violation of the policy. 

They’ll also be considering a request to waive the fee for the city cutting tall weeds – I’m not sure what the grounds for this would be as it appears that the proper notice was given a week in advance. 

Finally, the committee will be taking up Resolution #7-R-22, which would allow more flexibility for residents to plant in the terrace (between the sidewalk and the curb) and allowing Appleton Downtown, Inc. to install permanent Edison bulb light strands at several intersection along College Avenue. 

Finance Committee – Monday, August 22, 5:30 p.m. 

This is a pretty packed agenda, which starts, unfortunately, with the request to reject five bids for budgeted projects where the bids came in higher than the amount budgeted: 

• Telulah Pavilion Renovation: budget $175,150, lowest bid $220,187 
• Wastewater Treatment Plant Building F-1 Remodeling Project: budget $275,500, only bid $631,600. 
• Red Ramp Elevator Upgrade: budget $264,100, lowest bid $724,500 
• Wastewater Treatment Plant Asbestos Remediation Project: budget $105,500, only bid $173,806. 
• Wastewater Treatment Plant H & J Buildings HVAC Upgrades Project: budget $250,000, lowest bid $302,200. 

The process recommended is to reject the bids, review the project scope documents to determine what would be deferred to a future year, and rebid the projects with the reduced scope.  

Related to these bid rejections is a request to increase  the design contract for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Building F-1 Remodeling Project by $20,000 to break out the project into two parts for rebidding. 

We will also review a request to award a consulting contract for administration of the ARPA funds to Booth Management Consulting, LLC. for $150,000. The record keeping requirements for ARPA funds is quite rigorous, as are the requirements for the grant recipients. Council allocated administrative funds during the ARPA allocation. 

Finally, we will review the proposed allocation of the excess General Fund Balance of $5,273,273 (less $475,000 from the 2020 fund balance allocated for website redesign, pedestrian safety and technology upgrades by Common Council) at the end of 2021 now that the audit is complete. This is a much large than usual fund balance due to developers in four of the five TIF districts repaying advances ($4,000,000). We also have $560,000 in CARES and ARPA funds that replaced budgeted amounts in public health and public safety areas. Per city policy, 75% of the fund balance $3,598,705 will be used to reduce long-term liabilities – either paying down existing debt or reducing 2023 borrowing (which might seem to be a good plan given higher interest rates going forward). This leaves $1,199,568. The proposal is to allocate $1,175,000. 

The Mayor and Finance Director have proposed the following allocation: 

• $20,000 Aerial Imaging for GIS – Cover the city’s portion of aerial photography costs in partnership with Outagamie County to update the GIS imagery to the present day.  
• $130,000 College Ave. Traffic Safety – Appropriates funds for the Traffic Section of DPW, in partnership with Community and Economic Development, Police Department, and Appleton Downtown Inc. to plan, design, and pilot/implement interventions aimed at improving the safety and multimodal functionality of College Avenue.  
• $50,000 ARA Business Enhancement Grants – Renews funding for the ongoing Appleton Redevelopment Authority citywide business enhancement grant program.  
• $150,000 Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Mitigation – Appropriates funds jointly to Forestry Section of DPW and the Parks, Recreation and Facilities Management Department for the purpose of EAB remediation, prioritizing Vosters Park, followed by a prioritized list of projects to be developed by staff.  
• $550,000 Information Technology Updates & Security – Funds Migration of Munis System to Tyler Technologies services. Any remaining funds in this allocation will be directed to areas of greatest need within Information Technology as determined by staff.  
• $275,000 Current Year Operating Reserve – Holds funds aside for current year needs to mitigate the effects of high inflation. Unspent balance at the end of the year will either be carried forward to maintain additional cash reserves or recommended for other purposes. 

All of these projects would have to be budgeted regardless of the fund balance. I particularly think the Information Technology portion is a good plan. The migration to the new integrated system from the old mainframe system has been a multi-year project and needs to be completed to allow all the departments to increase efficiency. A consulting project has identified some areas in Information Technology that need to be addressed, and the additional funds will be useful in that area. Our new IT Director has made great strides in modernizing the department and I support those efforts. 

You can read the full memo here: http://cityofappleton.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=282fcb45-38e7-41f0-8097-3a711ea13b47.pdf 

Utilities Committee – Tuesday, August 23, 4:30 p.m. 

The committee will be voting to approve the Stormwater Quality Management Plan, updates to the municipal code related to plumbing, and to award a contracts for plastic tank relining to Fiberglass Solutions, Inc. ($50,406) and for compost screening to Vandenberg Transportation, LLC. ($82,100). These items were planned for a meeting on August 9, but the meeting was cancelled due to a policy of not holding city meetings on Election Day. 

City Plan Commission – Wednesday, August 24, 3:30 p.m. 

Another car wash special use permit is on the agenda, but this one has a twist. It’s for the removal of the existing car wash and replacement with a new one – so no gain of car washes. This is at Longview and Ballard. The Plan Commission will also review a rezoning request to make the zoning consistent for two parcels to be used by the same business, and will review the Downtown Appleton Business Improvement District (BID) operating plan. 

Safety and Licensing Committee – Wednesday, August 24, 5:30 p.m. 

There are no action items other than the usual license approvals. Information items will include another presentation of the traffic stop heat map as part of the Police Chief’s Directors Report. 

Human Resources and Information Technology Committee – Wednesday, August 24, 6:30 p.m. 

We don’t have any action items, but we will be reviewing the Valley Transit Drive Sign-On Bonus program. Preview: it’s been quite successful so far. When I met with HR last week, I heard that they had been able to increase weekly hours by 240 per week with the new hires and will be able to look at adding back some routes. We’ll also be looking at a proposed organizational chart change for the library, and the new Human Resources Department budget dashboard. 

As always, you can view meeting videos and minutes and preview agendas here:  

https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx 

 

I hope everyone can take time to savor these last weeks of summer amid the bustle of back to school, etc. I hope to participate  

in some of the sessions of the Imagine Fox Cities Strive to Thrive program this week. You can find more information here: 

https://imaginefoxcities.com/thrive/