Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for the Week of January 14, 2024

Greetings District 6 Neighbors, 

I assume that the weather is brought to us by everyone who was upset about the lack of snow for Christmas. It makes me grateful that my days of having a daily commute are over. I ventured out to the Y and to run a couple of errands yesterday and found the driving less than enjoyable.  

What I DID enjoy was a weekend where the snow and cold made it perfectly acceptable to sit inside and watch football for many hours. Although I am not a Wisconsin native, I have been a Packer fan since I was a child, mostly because they used to beat up on the team from north Texas which is generally despised by those of us who lived in the Houston area. While I am not one of the several million people who claimed to have attended the Ice Bowl, I do distinctly remember watching it on my grandfather’s massive console television.  

While the forecast calls for a double-digit high today and for general warming over the next week, I’m sharing the city’s winter page again as a reminder about not parking on the streets, clearing your sidewalks, etc. A big shoutout to the friendly folks in my neighborhood who were out helping their neighbors during the worst of the storm on Saturday. 

https://www.appleton.org/residents/winter-page 

The first full council meeting of 2024 will be held tonight, following an abbreviated committee week last week. 

One of the items that I wrote about from the Municipal Services Committee agenda is NOT on the council agenda for tonight because it was held until the February 12 meeting. Although it seems that committee members (and other council members in attendance) liked the proposal by the Department of Public Works for a staggered schedule that would keep both sites operating, with at least one site open every day, the committee wanted more information about the contract with the Town of Grand Chute, which currently pays Appleton $63,000 each year for their residents to have the use of the yard waste sites. 

Also from the Municipal Services Committee, Alder Doran’s resolution for a study of the Parking Utility was passed, though it was amended to remove language regarding the possible sale or lease of all parking facilities. During the committee meeting, I asked about the funding for the study and the potential cost and learned that the $100,000 allocated in the 2024 budget for wayfinding signs and marketing would be the source of funding but would not use all of the funds. I have read a number of articles about cities privatizing parking, from what is generally thought of as a disastrous program in Chicago to more successful ventures in other cities, but I still believe that keeping parking as a city utility is more beneficial to the public. With the language about selling or leasing the parking utility assets removed, I honestly don’t think the resolution is calling for anything that is not already happening. There would have to be a request for proposals and the council would have to approve any contracts over $25,000 out of that budget allocation – I just don’t see this as a necessary commitment and do not plan to vote for it. 

The other item that might generate some discussion is the contract for signage at the new library. During the committee meeting, Alder Doran expressed concern that the library might not meet the fundraising goal and wondered if it was time to cut back on some items in the project. Honestly, mere weeks after the public part of the capital campaign started, the Friends of Appleton Public Library have raised more than 86% of the $12 million goal, so I have little concern there. 

While on the subject of the library, I am happy to join Alders Van Zeeland and Meltzer in submitting a resolution tonight that would apply a $134,180 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) from the Department of Energy to the Appleton Public Library building project to offset other library project expenses. I have long advocated for sustainable features in the design of the new library and am grateful that these funds could be used to support those features. 

Have a great week and GO PACK! 

 

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