Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for January 23, 2023

Photo from WBAY

Greetings District 6 Neighbors, 

I’m writing this in a slight state of shock at the blue sky and sunshine I’m seeing out my window. I’m sure it’s not for long as winter appears to be settling in after not being able to commit before now. 

Before I get into last week’s Common Council meeting and this week’s somewhat abbreviated committee schedule, I’d like to share some thoughts I had while attending the musical “SIX” at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center last night. This is not a review of the performance, although I did quite enjoy the very different take on the six wives of Henry VIII. While I was enjoying the show, I was thinking about all the shows we have been able to see there, including the first Wisconsin performance of the blockbuster “Hamilton”. Appleton would not have been able to attract these shows without the PAC, which I understand many in the community did not support, even though the city’s contribution was only about 10% of the total cost. 

This brings me right to the agenda item that took up most of Wednesday’s council meeting – a presentation on the status of the Appleton Public Library building project. In my mind, this is another public/private partnership that can benefit our entire community. As has been discussed, the original project got bids that were far more than the original of $40.4 million ($26.4 million from the city and $14 million from private donations), and several bid packages did not even receive bids. The council voted to reject all the bids and have the architects and construction manager re-engineer the design to reduce costs and re-bid the project. I have linked to the presentation we received, include a virtual reality tour. The new design dramatically reduces the original design of the south façade, which included three glass community pavilion areas. The new design has one much smaller glass pavilion. Overall, the overall square footage was reduced from 107,380 to 90,150 square feet (the current library is 86,600 square feet), and some of the planned spaces have been reduced in size or eliminated in favor of more multi-purpose spaces. The planned children’s garden and rooftop terrace have been removed from the design, although the terrace could potentially be added at a later time. Plans for geothermal heating/cooling have been retained. While geothermal is more expensive initially, the energy savings give it a relatively short payback in addition to being the more sustainable solution. The plan to install solar panels under contract with WE Energies also remains part of the design. In what will be good news to some, the reduction in the size of the south façade means that most of the current parking will be retained. 

http://cityofappleton.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=805362ca-ef6e-4d41-bdb0-458ac38fcce4.pdf 

After the presentation there were a number of questions from council members, some questioning why the original design was so much bigger if the revised design will be large enough. Library Director Rortvedt stressed that the reduction in space will mean a reduction in the number of programs that can be run simultaneously as some spaces will not be used for multiple programs but remains confident that the new design “will serve us well for several generations.” 

I have heard some questions/suggestions as well, including the thought that the library could just stay in its temporary location. Our library staff dismissed this option, reminding us that the temporary space has little room for the library programs that serve so many in our community. I was also asked again why the library moved before construction started, and I am repeating here that some of the design work, including the testing for viability of geothermal, required accessing areas below the current structure. The cost of the temporary facility is being covered in the operational budget rather than the new building project budget. 

I am still confident that we will have a library that the community can be proud of, and that we can have it within the budget that has been set. 

The other item in the meeting that generated a fair amount of discussion was the development agreement for the current Chase Bank building on College Avenue. Several alders expressed concern that the 24 apartments to be located on the upper floors of the building were to be market rate. They proposed that since TIF funds are being invested by the city (to be paid yearly from the tax increment) that at least some of the units should be reserved as affordable. Had this been an existing residential building that was being converted into higher priced units, I would have been adamantly opposed; however, increasing the supply of available apartments downtown should have some downward effect on rents, and the demand is clearly still there for this type of apartment. On the affordable housing front, we are voting tonight on a grant of ARPA funds to a development in the College North area just outside of downtown that will be bringing 43 housing units dedicated to households earning less than 60% of the Area Median income. 

As noted in the last meeting, the resolution to move the polling place for District 12 to St. Pius X Catholic Church here in District 6 (about a three minute walk from my house!) passed. I did attend the Safety and Licensing Committee meeting where the change was discussed and City Clerk Lynch talked about the process for assigning polling places, including how sharing a polling place between districts is not a viable option.  https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx# 

As mentioned above, we have a light committee schedule this week – only Municipal Services, Finance and the Transit Commission are meeting. 

Municipal Services – Monday, January 23, 4:30 p.m. 

The most interesting agenda item here is actually an information item – a presentation on the College Avenue Reconfiguration Project. We continue to have issues with traffic speed  - even racing – and noise along College Avenue. The proposal is to create a center turn lane from State Street to Drew Street and to have one lane in each direction with a bike lane on each side. This would involve striping only. From my trips downtown I think this would be a good idea. Eliminating two lanes would prevent racing, and adding the bike lane would hopefully get bike (and skateboard and Bird Scooter) traffic off of the sidewalks downtown. I will post more details when they are available. 

Action items include street occupancy permits, including one for the Avenue of Ice event on the weekend of February 17, and a change to the municipal code regarding driveway extensions in residential areas: http://cityofappleton.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=d43a6c67-3ecc-4d09-8f7e-a1548afb50be.pdf 

Finance Committee – Monday, January 23, 5:30 p.m. 

As mentioned above, the committee will be voting to award $1 million of the $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated for affordable housing to RISE Apartments, LLC. The project has already been awarded WHEDA affordable housing tax credits. This grant would help keep the project financially viable given escalating construction costs. We will also be voting on a sole source contract with Parker Coatings ($44,742) for the floor of the rig room at Fire Station #1. There is an action item on the agenda for the Vosters Park Redevelopment Project. The park is heavily wooded, but most of the trees are ash and are extensively damaged by the emerald ash borer. However, Alder Hartzheim, in whose district the park lies, would like to hold this item in order to allow residents to look at the plans and give their input. I have no objection to this and expect that it will be held. Information items consist of final payments for completed contracts. 

Fox Cities Transit Commission – Tuesday, January 24, 3:00 p.m. 

The commission will be voting to approve November and December payments and to award the contract for Computer Aided Dispatch/Automatic Vehicle Location (CAD/AVL) System to GMV (five year cost $557,557). They will also be reviewing the financial and ridership reports. 

 

Have a great week...and get ready for the cold coming next week!