Appleton District 6

  Greetings District 6 Neighbors, I hope everyone is enjoying holiday preparations without too much stress this week. I’m headed into a bit of a whirlwind of travel over the next couple of weeks, but the chance to enjoy some time with family makes it worth the normal travel irritations. The Common Council meeting last week was, as predicted, brief and without much drama. We approved the hiring of Kara Homan as the new Director of Community and Economic Development. Ms. Homan was in attendance, and we were able to chat briefly with her after the meeting. She comes to the city with great qualifications, and I believe that she will be a worthy successor to Karen Harkness, who is retiring as of January 3. Only a couple of items were separated for individual consideration. The proposed $5 increase the price of a monthly parking pass (from $35 to $40) was a cause of concern for the Executive Director of Appleton Downtown, Inc., who urged the Council to vote against it. Although we were told

Hello District 6 Neighbors,   It’s been a while since I’ve sent out an update – after budget adoption, things tend to get a bit quiet around City Hall until the end of the year.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and that we’re not getting in too much of a tizzy over the upcoming holidays. (To be honest, that was directed more at myself.)  The last Common Council meeting (November 16) was brief. Only two items were separated for individual votes.  We voted to approve a special use permit for (another) car wash on E. Calumet St. I don’t love the idea that developers believe the best use of land around the city is for car washes, but the city and the Council have limited recourse when it comes to allowed uses of private property, as long as the plan meets legal requirements.   The street reconstruction plan for Linwood Avenue between College Avenue to Summer St. was approved.  The balance of the agenda included the recommendation to keep alder salaries the same for 202