Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for the Week of March 3, 2024

Greeting District 6 Neighbors,

Back to work after the adventures of the last week or so. As I wrote in the last update, I was planning to spend last week in Arkansas helping out with my youngest granddaughter (2 months old) between my daughter’s return to work and when she would be eligible to start day care at 12 weeks. Our visit became more of an adventure when the whole family (except for the baby) came down with the flu. Luckily, we were all on the mend by the end of the week and were able to enjoy a beautiful weekend with the whole family.

Because a number of committee meetings were canceled last week, we have a relatively short Common Council agenda this week. One item that will not be appearing on the council agenda is the report on the College Avenue Reconfiguration Project for Pilot Period 1 (July 2023 through January 2024), which was received and filed by the Municipal Services Committee. The results have been quite positive, including a 48% reduction in crashed over the like period in the prior year. Input from local businesses and citizens has also been positive. I look forward to the next reporting period which should include more information about pedestrian and bicycle traffic moving into the spring and summer.

The full presentation can be found here: https://www.appleton.org/government/public-works/smart-streets

Still on the subject of streets, I attended the virtual open house on the Complete Streets study last week. The study has produced a number of draft documents, including recommendations for priority improvement locations. You can watch the recording of the open house and read the draft documents here: https://www.appleton.org/government/public-works/complete-streets-study

Draft Priority Project Locations

You can also comment on any of the documents on that same page.

In the last update, I discussed the proposal to accept matching funds from the Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau to acquire kayaks and the infrastructure to start a rental program in Telulah Park. As noted, this service will be managed by a third party which has experience in neighboring communities. We were able to get answers to the questions proposed in the previous Finance Committee meeting and the item was recommended for approval in last week’s meeting. I am excited that the grant and small amount of city funding will be used to provide a low-cost recreational opportunity on the Fox River for our citizens and for visitors.

The Municipal Services Committee voted to recommend approval of new proposed hours for the Whitman and Glendale yard waste sites.

Alder Meltzer voted against the proposal because his constituents had expressed concerns about neither site being open on weekends during the winter. Please let me know if this would present a problem for you.

Municipal Services also voted on one of the three proposals to increase safety in the downtown area – spending $15,000 in ARPA funds to update lighting at College Avenue and Walnut Street.

The committee voted to hold a second proposal – restricting the hours of food trucks on College Avenue from the current 4:00 a.m. to midnight. The Council has received many emails on this subject, the vast majority of them opposed to the proposed change. I can understand the reasoning behind the change – the food trucks obviously provide an incentive for people to remain downtown after bar closing time. Large groups of people, some number of them under the influence of alcohol, COULD certainly increase the likelihood of fights, but I would like to see some kind of evidence that removing the trucks would reduce that likelihood before agreeing to remove what is a large source of the business for the food truck operators. In addition, I wonder if restricting the hours of the food trucks increases the likelihood that people might drive to get a meal when they would otherwise be able to get a meal and sober up before driving. Please let me know your thoughts.

The final proposal came as an information item before the Safety and Licensing Committee. APD is proposing that all establishments with a Class “B” liquor license be required to have security cameras at customer entrances and exits and to produce that footage when requested by law enforcement. The memo pointed out the footage from OB’s Brau Haus in identifying and arresting the suspect in the Christmas Eve shooting downtown. There was a lively discussion at the committee meeting and a number of citizens spoke at the committee meeting. The majority of the speakers had concerns about the proposal, including costs to small businesses, overreach by police, privacy concerns, and lack of effectiveness.

I expect that we will see this as an action item in the near future. I’m honestly torn about this – it puts a burden on the owners and operators of the businesses and the penalties for failing to cooperate in a timely manner would put an establishment at the threshold of losing their liquor license for a first offense. I have concerns about privacy for law abiding citizens as well – I don’t read anything in the proposals about needing a warrant to get access to the recordings. Please let me know what you think about this proposal.

As a final note, I’d like to remind everyone that applications are being accepted starting March 11 for the Housing Rehab Load Program. This is a no-interest, no monthly payment program for low to moderate income homeowners needing improvements to their homes. More information and a link to the application is here: https://www.appleton.org/residents/housing-rehab-loan/homeowner-rehabilitation-loan-program

Remember that you can always watch meeting videos and read agendas here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

Have a great week!