Appleton District 6

Happy Rainy Monday District 6 Neighbors, I admit that   I was doing other things (sending budget-related questions to city department heads) during most of the Packer game yesterday, but I passed through the living room (and heard my husband alternately cheering and groaning) enough to take note of the almost comeback. I’m still rooting for Jordan Love, but times are tough. At the Common Council meeting last week, we had a number of items separated out for individual discussion and votes, including the item from Appleton Downtown, Inc. requesting free parking for Small Business Saturday, which was referred back to the Municipal Services Committee. The committee had voted unanimously to recommend the item for approval, but several alders (including myself) were interested in knowing what the potential lost revenue would be. I still think it’s a good idea for out downtown businesses. The council voted 13-1-1 to award the $1 million ARPA grant to the Thompson Center on Lourdes. Alde

Greetings District 6 Neighbors,  I’m jumping right into the subject that is in the news and all over social media today – the relocation of the temporary library.   The library has a lease through the end of the year at the former Best Buy location on S. Kensington Drive. It was originally through August of 2023 and extended through the end of the year after the initial bids necessitated re-engineering of the original design.    My understanding is that the city would attempt to renew the lease until the downtown library rebuild/remodel is completed. However, city staff were informed just a few weeks ago that we would not be able to renew the lease because the property has secured a market rate rental with a national company to take over that space. Obviously, bringing a new retail tenant to the property is a good thing, but it would leave the library without a temporary location.  City and library staff immediately began looking at other options, some of which (the old Shopko in the N