Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for June 27, 2023

Greetings District 6 Neighbors,

Apologies for the delay in getting the update out this week. We got back late last night from a visit to our daughters (and granddaughters!) in Arkansas, celebrating a first birthday for one little girl and a second birthday for her cousin. It was an eventful trip, with a big storm taking out the power for a couple of hours where we were staying (and the internet was still out when we left yesterday). Sadly, a lot of the damage was in the same areas that were devastated by the tornados there in March.

We returned home to find Wisconsin still enveloped in smoke – we could actually smell it as we hit the jetway in Milwaukee. I assume everyone is taking the appropriate precautions – we aren’t even letting the cats go out on the deck this morning.

Obviously, the big news last week was the vote to award the contracts for the library renovation/expansion.  There was a small change in the bid package after the finance committee meeting after city staff discovered a discrepancy in the bids for polished concrete. They determined that one bidder had bid the job with a coating and the other had not, so the bid package was amended to reject those bids and send out a new bid request that clarified that the bid was to be without the coating. We expect that this will save about $75,000.

I reviewed the discussion from the Finance Committee about the increase in the architect contract, including the additional fees for what was pretty much a total rework of the original design. That same discussion was repeated in the Common Council meeting. There was also a great deal of discussion about the funding – the Friends of the Appleton Public Library have proposed to raise $12 million, of which they already have pledges for $8 million. Two alders voted against the bid package because they were not comfortable that the city would not be on the hook for the additional funds. I am confident that the Friends will be successful in their capital campaign, especially after hearing from their board president Don Hietpas and Capital Campaign Committee member Walter Rugland during the public participation session at the beginning of the council meeting. I will not be voting for any additional commitment of funds by the city, but I don’t think I will be asked to. I am looking forward to work starting very soon.

The only other item separated for individual consideration was the resolution calling for Appleton to join the Wisconsin Local Government Climate Coalition. As I noted in the June 12 update, this resolution came at the request of the Project and Resiliency Manager and the Advisory Council on Sustainability and Climate Resilience. At the Parks and Recreation Committee, the resolution was amended to remove all of the “Whereas” clauses except the one stating that the Advisory Council requested that the city join the coalition. The “Therefore be it resolved” clause was amended as well:

Original:

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Common Council of the City of

Appleton that the City of Appleton officially joins the Wisconsin Local Government Climate Coalition in their efforts.

Amended:

 

 NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Common Council of the City of

Appleton that the City of Appleton officially joins the Wisconsin Local Government Climate Coalition.

 

Based on the objections of some alders who do not serve on the Parks and Recreation committee, the committee voted (3-1 with one member absent) to strip all the language submitted by city staff in order to remove any actual mention of the climate crisis, Appleton’s climate mitigation actions, and removed any language that might give the impression that we support the efforts of a body that includes local governments representing a third of the state’s population, all of this while our community remains under an air quality alert resulting from the wildfires in Canada. The Environmental Protection Agency points to multiple studies indicating that climate change has already led to an increase in wildfire season length, wildfire frequency, and burned area.

While the result of the resolution is the same – Appleton has already joined the WLGCC – the language in a resolution gives the background for why we are taking a particular action. I moved to substitute the original resolution language and eight of my colleagues agreed, so what passed was the original resolution. With that language being restored, two of our colleagues chose to vote against Appleton joining the body – a group that works together to find solutions to the unique problems that local governments face from climate change, and for which there is no cost to join.

The committee amended and original resolutions are linked in the meeting minutes here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=M&ID=1099774&GUID=B50E3228-D573-4299-9DD2-3DCD609F7077

Moving to committee meetings this week:

Municipal Services Committee – Monday, June 26, 4:30 p.m. (note that the minutes and videos are not available yet)

The committee was to vote on a street occupancy permit to allow the RISE apartments to have an awning with the name. This is a normal process for any part of a building that extends into the area over the street. They were also going to get an update on the College Avenue Reconfiguration project.

Finance Committee – Monday, June 26, 5:30 p.m. (note that the minutes and videos are not available yet)

The committee was to vote on applying for a Safe Drinking Water Program loan to assist property owners with the costs of replacing private lead service lines. There are some areas in Appleton which would qualify for loans with principal forgiveness – the city will only apply for loans where there would be that principal forgiveness.

Unfortunately, the committee also had to vote on rejecting the single bid for the replacement of the rubber surface on the Memorial Park Miracle League Field. Goodwill was funding the whole project, with a budget of $175,000, while the city was to manage the bidding and the project. The only bid that was received was for $319,550. Staff is recommending rejecting the bid and reworking and rebidding in the spring of 2024.

 

The committee will also be voting on a bid for the flooring in the new dance studios in the Northland Mall (CMG Flooring, $65,943 with a contingency of $10,000). The developers of the new Fox Commons project will be reimbursing the city some expenses for moving the dance studios, but those funds will not be available until min July, while the work must be completed by the end of July to ensure that classes can begin on time. As a veteran dance mom, I know that these floors are highly specialized. The city has funds left over from the elevator replacement in City Hall that can be utilized for the project, so the item also includes a budget amendment to transfer those funds.

 

Finally, they voted to accept the report of the Central Equipment Agency (CEA) to purchase a fire truck and provide a letter of intent to purchase a new asphalt paver.

 

Fox Cities Transit Commission – Tuesday, June 28, 2:50 p.m.

 

The Commission will do the monthly review of payments for May. They will then vote on a bid for six new bus shelters with solar lighting packages. Valley Transit has grant funding budgeted for this purchase (Brasco, $68,250).

 

They will also vote to renew the contract with STAR Protection & Patrol, at an increase rate of $25.00/hour (up from $21.86), starting July 1, 2023. The contract is a three-year contract with automatic extensions for two one-year periods.

 

City Plan Commission – Wednesday, June 29, 3:30 p.m.

 

We’ll be voting on rezoning to multi-family and a special use permit to allow the expansion of The Heritage assisted living center and the addition of a memory care unit.

 

We will also be voting on the dedication of land for the right of way for the N. Providence Ave. and Baldeagle Dr. extensions.

 

Finally, we have the designation of the boundaries for Tax Increment Financing District 13 in Southpoint Commerce Park. As discussed earlier, the formation of this TID will allow the city to construct infrastructure that will allow us to sell more parcels in Southpoint Commerce Park.

Human Resources and Information Technology Committee – Wednesday, June 28, 4:30 p.m.

 

The one action item on the agenda is the request from the police department to reclassify a Support Services Administrative Support Services Specialist to a Professional Development Support Services Specialist. The Support Services Lieutenant will be reassigned to patrol on January 1, 2024, resulting in the assignment of some of those duties. This increase in duties is the reason for the reclassification, with the new position moving from Pay Grade 5 to Pay Grade 6. There will be no financial impact in 2023. There would be some expected impact going forward, which I assume will be reflected in the APD budget for 2024 and beyond.

 

Information items include the plan for “sunsetting” the legacy iSeries computer as of December 31, 2025. All remaining applications will be fully operational in the Tyler Munis System by that time.

 

We’ll also be talking about a referral bonus of up to $2500 for current employees who refer a Valley Transit driver.

 

Safety and Licensing Committee – Wednesday, June 28, 5:30 p.m.

 

The two action items  other than the normal license applications and renewals involve the alcohol license suspensions. The first is for Sushi Lovers restaurant for exceeding the allowed demerit points. The restaurant had a violation for no licensed operator on the premises in March of 2023, resulting in a conviction in May. This was a 40-point violation and they already had 120 demerit points. 150-199 points in 24 months can result in a license suspension of 10 to 90 days. The hearing allows the license holder to discuss planned remediation measures. Core’s Lounge is looking to regain a license in an action that was held from the last meeting due to lack of a police department recommendation.

 

The Parks and Recreation, Utilities and Community and Economic Development committees will not be meeting this week.

 

Have a great week and stay safe out there. I understand we might get a break on Thursday. Here is some information on the Air Quality Index and a tracker.

 

https://www.airnow.gov/?city=Appleton&state=WI&country=USA

 

https://www.airnow.gov/aqi-and-health/