Appleton Common Council District 6 Update - July 15, 2023

 

Greetings District 6 Neighbors,

I am REALLY late on this update – our daughter and our granddaughters (5 and 1) have been visiting this week and I’ve forgotten what a full-time job entertaining the little ones is. We had a great time – Bay Beach, the Downtown Farm Market, Erb Pool and the playground (multiple visits), Building for Kids – a full range of Appleton and the Fox Valley fun.

I hope everyone had a wonderful July 4 holiday. The Common Council had voted at the beginning of the term to cancel the July 5 meeting. This allowed city directors and/or council members to take vacation during the holiday week.  We’ll have committee actions for two meetings of some committees to consider when we next meet as a full council on July 19.

Note that work is starting on the College Avenue Reconfiguration Project this week. You can keep up to date on the project here:

https://www.appleton.org/government/public-works/smart-streets

The site explains the project and gives construction updates.

Highlights of committee meetings for the week of 6/26:

Municipal Services Committee:

Recommended approval of the request by the RISE Apartments to place an awning 10 feet above part of the sidewalk on N. Oneida and W. Harris Street and received an update on the College Avenue Reconfiguration project.

Finance Committee:

Recommended approval of the request to apply for a Safe Drinking Water loan and the resolution to reimburse the city for expenses undertaken in replacing lead service lines. The committee noted that the city will only apply for loans with a principal forgiveness option.

They also voted to reject the bids for resurfacing the Miracle League field in Memorial Park. Goodwill had offered $175,000 for the project, but the bids came in at over $319,000. The hope is that either more money could be raised or that the bids would come down next year.

There was also a vote to recommend approval of the bids for the flooring in the new dance studios in the Northland Mall ($75,943). As noted, we expect compensation for this expense from the Fox Commons developers, but the work needed to be done before the development agreement is finalized.

Fox Cities Transit Commission:

The commission recommended approval of the request to purchase six replacement bus shelters with a solar lighting system ($68,250). The purchase will be grant funded.

They also voted on the extension of the security contract with Star Protection with an increase in the hourly rate to $25 per hour.

City Plan Commission:

The commission voted to recommend approval of the rezoning request to allow for the expansion of The Heritage assisted living center near Valley Road and Memorial Drive. The creation of TIF District 13 was also recommended for approval – creating a Tax Increment Financing District in Southpoint Commerce Park.

Human Resources and Information Technology Committee:

The one action item on the agenda was a position change in the Police Department. The Support Services Lieutenant is moving back to patrol in January of 2024 and some of those duties are moving to the Administrative Support Specialist. Due to the increase in duties, the department requested that the position be reclassified to Professional Development Administrative Specialist – a one pay grade uplift. There would be no salary effect this year, but there would be an increase to be addressed in succeeding years.

The committee also received an update on the sunset plan for the existing iSeries computer – all of the applications will be moved to the Tyler Munis enterprise system by the end of 2025.

We also got an update on the planned relocation of the Connecting Care Clinic due to a large proposed rent increase at the current location.

Safety and Licensing Committee:

The big items here were alcohol licenses. There was a hearing on the demerit points issued to Sushi Lovers restaurant – the last violation (not having a licensed server on duty) takes them to within one violation of being subject to a license suspension. They had the opportunity to discuss the measures they will take to avoid future violations. Core’s Lounge applied for a Class B license after having lost their alcohol license a year ago after multiple violations. The application was recommended for denial.

Those items will be considered along with the items from this week’s committee meetings when the Common Council meets again on July 19.

Municipal Services Committee – Monday, July 10, 4:30 p.m.

The committee voted to recommend contracting with EPlan Exam to review variance requests for commercial building plans. EPlan has been reviewing commercial plans since March of 2022. EPlan is able to turn the reviews over faster than the state Department of Safety and Professional Services and at no cost to the city.

They also voted to approve the request to “vacate” or turn over a portion of E. Circle St. between E. Drew St. and E. Durkee St., on land already occupied by the Kaleidoscope Academy. The area is not being used as a street and the issue with the property lines was actually discovered when the Appleton Area School District proposed additions to Kaleidoscope.

Parks and Recreation Committee – Monday, July 10, 6:30 p.m.

The committee voted to recommend approval of the revised agreements for a stormwater pond on Reid Golf Course and two in Appleton Memorial Park. The Stormwater Utility pays for having those ponds – since the utility is a separate fund which is supported by user fees, they pay the city. Since land prices have increased, the proposal was to increase the payment from $40,000 to $41,769 for Memorial Park and from $15,210 to $21,060 for Reid Golf Course.

They also voted to recommended approval for the final design of the Sexual Assault Survivors Monument to be placed in Ellen Kort Peace Park. Note that the City Plan Commission voted on the actual location of the monument.

The committee also heard the June Revenue and Expense report for Reid Golf Course. Total revenue is up over $120,000 from 2022.

Library Board Finance Committee – Tuesday, July 11, 8:00 a.m.

The Board voted on the 2024 budget to submit as part of the overall city budget that will be reviewed in late October and voted on in November of this year.

Board of Health – Wednesday, July 12, 7:00 a.m.    

The Board voted to recommend adding a new position for a Community Health Coordinator which would report directly to the Health Officer. This position would address a need pointed out in the most recent compliance audit by the Wisconsin Department of Health for a dedicated community health department. Additionally, the Coordinated Entry Specialist in the Community and Economic Development Department would be moved to the Health Department, reporting to the Community Health Coordinator, but physically housed in the Police Department. The Coordinated Entry System is a process that matches the most vulnerable homeless residents with available and appropriate housing resources. Funding for the new position is available through external services through 2026, with the expectation that additional revenue streams and/or external funding would provide permanent funding.

Note that this action will also be before the Human Resources and Information Technology Committee.

 

City Plan Commission – Wednesday, July 12, 3:30 p.m.

 

The commission voted to recommend approval for a special use permit to allow outdoor display of automobiles for sale at an existing business located at 1524 W. Civic St.

 

Other items were the street vacation of E. Circle St. and the placement of the Sexual Assault Survivors Memorial in Ellen Kort Peace Park discussed in other committee agendas. These items were also recommended for approval by the Plan Commission.

 

Human Resources and Information Technology Committee – Wednesday, July 12, 4:30 p.m.

 

The only action item was the organizational change discussed above in the Board of Health Agenda. HR/IT also voted to recommend approval.

 

Safety and Licensing Committee – Wednesday, July 12, 5:30 p.m.

 

In addition to the normal license applications and renewals which were recommended for approval as a block, the committee reviewed and voted to recommend approval of a service  agreement between the Fire Department and Gold Cross Ambulance Service. Gold Cross has provided ambulance service to the City of Appleton for over 35 years, but there has never been a formal agreement. This agreement provides for Gold Cross to be the exclusive provider of ambulance service for three years, with an evaluation every year. There is no cost to the city for the service; Gold Cross will continue to bill directly for its services. The full agreement is linked below.

 

https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=714ea7e5-8ca9-400d-86d2-36b4d8443c5e.pdf

The committee also voted to recommend approval of accepting a grant from the Wisconsin Elections Commission for $7559.83 to offset the expense involved in the redesigned absentee ballot envelope. The City Clerk’s office has been faced with rising expenses for absentee ballots, as more people continued voting absentee through the pandemic and beyond, so any additional funds will be helpful.

Community and Economic Development Committee – Wednesday, July 12, 6:30 p.m.

The committee voted to recommend approval of an update to an offer for purchase of 30 acres of land in Southpoint Commerce Park. Essentially, the developer wanted to split the two parcels because they have a project for 16 acres and want to close on that part sooner, with the other 14 acres remaining under contract.

We also heard the Fox Cities Regional Partnership/Chamber Economic Development update. The Chamber has created a program that gives small businesses access to membership benefits free of charge. They highlighted that program along with a number of other initiatives.

https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=53f797b3-49c6-45d2-b7bb-a7c44bd3aa6a.pdf

https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=2e9aad4d-60d4-4880-8dc5-539132ded3d7.pdf

That does it for a couple of weeks of committee meetings.

On the more entertaining side, we have a lot going on in Appleton over the next few weeks. The Downtown Farm Market is in full swing, the Heid Summer Concert Series every Thursday night in Jones Park is bringing some of our favorite local acts, Brats, Beer and Beethoven is Saturday night at the Fox Cities Stadium, Art at the Park is next weekend at City Park, and Mile of Music is coming up in a couple of weeks – I refreshed the app and the schedule is up!

We have an event that a lot of people have been waiting on for 15 years – there is going to be a community groundbreaking event for the library on July 25 from 2-4 p.m. with speakers, music, digging photo opportunities, etc.

https://apl.org/groundbreaking-is-right-around-the-corner-join-us/

Have a great weekend!