Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for the Week of April 1, 2024

Greetings District 6 Neighbors,

I hope all who celebrate had a lovely Easter yesterday. We got just enough break from clouds and wind for good egg-hunting.

Before I get into the serious business of the city, I want to give a big shout-out to Jacobs Meat Market for what I believe is the best (slightly city related) April Fools’ joke so far this year. They posted the “press release” below on social media early this morning.

Rest assured that there would be multiple public hearings and notifications to neighbors before the required zoning change for this type of construction could take place ðŸ˜Š. I hope everyone who sees it realizes the date or Alder Del Toro in District 4 where Jacobs is located is going to have a busy day.

Moving to real city business, this is your final (from me!) reminder that election day is tomorrow. District 6 votes at the Scheig Center in Memorial Park, 1313 E. Witzke Blvd. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. I had gotten in the habit of voting early at City Hall when I was there for meetings, but I plan to vote at Scheig tomorrow morning. Don’t forget that you need your valid ID to vote.

Spring yard waste collection starts next week:

Large item collection will also start this month for the spring and summer. You can find more information in the public works guide here: https://www.appleton.org/home/showpublisheddocument/25731/638204356637930000

The city is asking you to fill out the community health concerns survey if you haven’t already done so:

https://www.appleton.org/residents/health/appletons-community-concerns-survey

Finally, the deadline for housing rehab loan applications is April 19. More information can be found here: https://www.appleton.org/residents/housing-rehab-loan/homeowner-rehabilitation-loan-program

The Common Council meeting on Wednesday will be the last for outgoing alders Del Toro (District 4) and Thyssen (District 8) who did not seek re-election. I have enjoyed serving with both of them and wish them well in any future public service endeavors.

The committee item that generated the most interest from the public was the rezoning request for the parcel at E. Midway and E. Plank Rd. before the City Plan Commission last week. We will not be seeing that item on the full council agenda as most plan commission items come to the council on the second meeting after action by the commission. That item should appear on the agenda for the April 17 meeting – the first with the 2024 council.

Among items that do appear on the agenda, there are a number of board and commission appointments. I am grateful to our citizens who take on these important volunteer positions.

The items that I believe could be separated for individual discussion and votes (there could always be others) are:

  • Approval of the Complete Streets documents (Municipal Services Committee). I believe that the consultants did a really excellent job identifying a process and a design guide to make our streets safer for all methods of travel. The priority areas for pedestrian access include several in our district, including the infamous Richmond/Northland roundabout, and really all of Northland Avenue within the city limits. A couple of alders have expressed concerns with the methodology used to identify priority areas, specifically the use of equity as a component of the prioritization, so I expect we will hear from them this week.
  • Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) for allocation of ARPA funds for internal projects.
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  •                We heard some questions in the Finance Committee meeting about the allocations for several of these projects and would expect to                   hear them again in the meeting this week.

  • As always, you can read the agendas and minutes for committee and council meetings and watch meeting videos here:

 

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