Appleton Common Council District 6 Update - February 15, 2023
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| Walking Trail EKPP (APRD photo) |
Greetings District 6 Neighbors,
I am so torn by the weather we had early this week. I love the sunshine and relative warmth, but I remember the folks whose businesses depend on winter recreation and those who are missing that winter recreation. It’s concerning that Milwaukee and Green Bay have experienced two of the five fastest warming winters in major cities across America over the past half-century, with their average temperatures warming by about 6 degrees Fahrenheit. https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/climate-change-is-warming-wisconsin-winters-faster-than-other-seasons/#:~:text=Winter%20average%20temperatures%20in%20large,5%20degrees%20Fahrenheit%20by%202060
I expect that that it will not be the action items on the Common Council agenda this week that will generate the most interest. Before we get to that agenda though, I have a couple of notes on the proposed College Avenue reconfiguration. The Municipal Services Committee took up the proposal as an information item once again since they had to end the discussion due to time constraints in the previous meeting. There was some concern about the legislative process since the original timeline did not have the proposal going back to the Municipal Services Committee for approval, but to the Finance Committee once a contract was to be approved. The timeline has been revised to allow the Municipal Services Committee, and subsequently, the full Common Council to vote to approve the project. Bids would not be solicited without that vote. Once the bidding process is complete, the committee would vote to approve the recommended bid and the project would begin in the summer. Full project information is now posted on the city website here:
https://www.appleton.org/government/public-works/project-information
There was a meeting yesterday where downtown business owners and Appleton Downtown, Inc. received a presentation about the proposal and were given the opportunity to the opportunity to share their thoughts. Only six people representing local businesses attended. I attended the meeting via Zoom (until technical issues prevented me from hearing) and there was a range of opinions. Some were excited about the potential reduction in traffic and noise, while others were concerned about parking and about people bypassing College Avenue in favor of other routes. They were concerned that they could lose business if people stop driving down College.
Moving on to the Common Council meeting, the mayor will be presenting updates on ongoing issues. First, we’ll hear an update about the Christmas week incident at the wastewater plant where a de-watering polymer was pumped into the wastewater intake, ending up in the anaerobic digester. The digester had to be taken offline and there were a number of other issues that had to be addressed as well.
We will also get an update on the proposal by the Trout Museum to locate a new building in the Ellen Kort Peace Park. We on the council have heard nothing on this since the vote was taken (I voted no) to continue the process. The Post-Crescent ran a story last week about the study:
The story quotes Trout Executive Director Christine Turner as saying the first phase of the feasibility study would be completed soon, but there was no indication of any findings. There has been some misinformation on social media after the article quoted Director Gazza about contamination on part of the site. There was the implication that the city know of the contamination but did not share this information. In reality, the original master plan for the park that was published in 2020 clearly states that there is residual pollution that requires remediation:
The plan to use the area as a passive park would minimize the remediation requirements, but digging for a building foundation, etc., might have much more impact.
I took advantage of the beautiful weather on Sunday to take a long walk, part of which took me along the newly completed walking path through EKPP. I am certainly not an engineer or an architect, but the site just seems really small for a 30,000 square foot building. From the walking path, I felt like I could almost have a conversation with people sitting on the porches of the houses along Water St. I will continue to vote against a plan that would change the park from its current purpose. I understand that we don’t have funding to complete the development, but the park is usable now as open space and I have hopes that some kind of public/private effort could bring about the completion.
Finally, we’re going to hear about a presentation of PBS’s “Hometown Stories” on March 15th. The series has profiled many communities in Wisconsin and I am looking forward to seeing their take on Appleton.
As to the actual meeting agenda, I am not sure what items might be separated out for individual discussion and votes. There may be some discussion of the Lawe Street reconstruction project with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The initial documentation states that the state is funding 80% of the project, but since the cost is over the state’s maximum amount, the true contribution from the state will be 66%. Work would begin in state fiscal year 2026.
As expected, the redevelopment of Vosters Park was held from the agenda of the Parks and Recreation Committee, but more meetings with the neighbors seems to have resulted in a revised plan that is acceptable to both the city and the neighborhood. I would expect that we would see that move forward at the next committee meeting.
I would be surprised if anything else on the agenda (covered in the committee updates last week) generates a great deal of discussion.
I know some of these warmer days have gotten folks moving around outside, so I’d like to take the opportunity to remind you about the Be Active Wisconsin Challenge. This is a virtual challenge to promote active lifestyles where communities across the state compete for the most active minutes. “Active minutes” can be anything – running, walking the dog, shoveling snow (you know we’re going to get another big one before winter is done) – you just have to keep track. Registration is $15 and you get a cool t-shirt. Sign up here – the program starts March 1, but you can sign up until the 13th.
https://appletonparkandrec.org/programs-activities/special-events-trips/be-active-wisconsin-2/
Finally, we have the primary election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Outagamie County Executive next Tuesday, February 21. You can vote early in person at the City Clerk’s office on the 6th floor of City Hall from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. through Thursday, February 16th and from 8:00 a.m. until noon on Friday, February 17th. Election Day voting is at our normal polling place – the Scheig Center at Memorial Park, 1313 E. Witzke Dr. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. I was at a Board of Health meeting last Wednesday and finished just in time to pop across the hall and vote. I hadn’t used the new machines (some of which will be at our polling place next Tuesday) but the friendly staff at the clerk’s office were very helpful and the whole process took just a couple of minutes.
As always, you can read meeting agendas and minutes, watch recorded videos and the livestream of Common Council and committee meetings (when the technology isn’t acting up) here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
Have a great week!
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