Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for the Week of July 8, 2024
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| Viola St. - Photo From the Post-Crescent |
Greetings District 6 Neighbors,
First, I hope everyone weathered the storm on Friday OK. I know that there was serious flooding in the area between Northland and Pershing around Meade St. and that Viola St. was hit particularly hard. Mayor Woodford declared a State of Emergency on Friday afternoon and many city workers, including a number who were on vacation for the holiday week, were deployed to help with the situation. It appears that the waters receded rapidly and, unlike some other communities in the state, Appleton’s water system didn’t suffer any breaks so there was no need to issue boil orders. I do know of a few homes in the district that had some water.
I continue to watch the weather as much of my family lives near the Texas Gulf Coast and are anxiously monitoring the progress of Hurricane Beryl.
We have a bit of an odd council week coming up as we voted to cancel the July 3 Common Council meeting. This is a fairly common practice to allow city department heads to take vacation during the holiday week when they would otherwise have to attend the council meeting. We will have action items from two committee weeks to consider when Council next meets on July 17.
The Municipal Services Committee will not meet this week due to a lack of action items. During the June 24 meeting, the vast majority of the discussion was around the resolution submitted by Alders Croatt and Hayden that would discontinue No Mow May, thus restoring the enforcement of the tall grass and week ordinance for the entire year. I wrote earlier about the divisive and I believe in some cases inaccurate language in the “whereas” clauses of that resolution and had drafted a substitute resolution that removed that language. I also worked with city staff to determine if some kind of registration process for No Mow May participants would be feasible, so that only people who registered would be allowed to let plants exceed the ordinance maximum. There did not seem to be a lot of support for this from staff. Alder Schultz reached out with what I believe was a really good substitute resolution, which addressed the issues caused by the recent warm and wet spring and the evolution of scientific thought on the best ways to support pollinators in the early spring. The original resolution called for changing the allowable height of growth from 8 inches to 12 (the current limit for undeveloped lots in the city), and we eventually narrowly passed a change to 10 inches.
There was a lot of (in my opinion) extraneous discussion about the impossibility of cutting a lawn to 12 or 10 inches – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mower with an 8-inch deck, either. The vegetation that exceeds that height is “weeds” – dandelions, violets and other wildflowers. The substituted resolution passed 3-2 with Alders Siebers, Meltzer and me voting aye and Alders Firkus and Doran voting nay. I honestly don’t know what will happen in the full council meeting.
Finance Committee – Monday, July 8, 5:30 p.m.
The meeting will start with a presentation on the 2023 Audit and Executive Summary by Leah Lasecki, CPA with CliftonLarsenAllen, LLP, the accounting firm which performs the city’s annual audit.
The committee will also be voting on a project plat relocation order for the Olde Oneida Street bridge and on an agreement with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to pay the water utility approximately $704,000 for the cost of relocating water mains at the N. Ballard Rd. and I41 interchange. There is also a budget amendment to approve funding from the 2022 and 2023 budgets for the public safety camera program. ($110,904)
Finally, we will vote on awarding the contract for roof replacements on park pavilions (Schulze Exteriors, LLC - $52,775 with contingency).
Parks and Recreation Committee – Monday, July 8, 6:15 p.m.
The committee does not have any action items on their agenda, but they will be reviewing the Parks and Recreation Mid-Year Report. The number of programs offered by APRD is truly amazing. I have been a participant in fitness classes since 2020 but everyone should check some of the programs, especially as the kiddos get into that “I’m bored!” part of summer vacation.
The committee will also be reviewing the Reid Golf Course June Revenue and Expense Report. In spite of all the rain this spring and early summer, the golf course is about $46,000 ahead of 2023 in total revenue.
City Plan Commission – Wednesday, July 10, 3:30 p.m.
The commission’s only action item is the approval of the final plat for Lumbini Estates at E. Plank Rd. and E. Midway Rd. The subdivision will consist of 27 single family lots.
There is an information item on the awarding of the contract for updating the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Sub-Area Plans to SmithGroup. I was able to sit in on the presentations by the firms bidding on this project and I am confident that the team from SmithGroup understands the goals of the City of Appleton and will do excellent work on this project. This contract will be an action item on the agenda of the Community Development Committee.
Community Development Committee – Wednesday, July 10, 4:30 p.m.
The committee will hold a public hearing on the 2024 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program Annual Action Plan. The plan discusses the CDBG activities planned by the city for the program year from April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025.
They will vote on the contract discussed above for the Comprehensive Plan and Sub-Area Plans update and on a contract for the Neighborhood Leadership Academy (approved recently as a used of ARPA funding) to Neighborworks Green Bay ($80,000 with contingency).
The committee will also vote on extending the contract for purchase of approximately 14.23 acres in the Southpoint Commerce Park by F Street Manager 3, LLC to June 20, 2025 (from June 20, 2024). In exchange, the purchase price will increase from $41,000 per acre to $43,000 per acre. The committee may go into closed session to discuss contract details.
Information items include the CDBG AAP discussed above and the Inspection Division Permit Summary Report for June.
Safety and Licensing Committee – Wednesday, July 10, 5:30 p.m.
In addition to the normal license applications, the committee will consider the non-renewal of the alcohol license for The Corner Pub on Mason St. Failure to use a license for a period of one year is considered grounds for non-renewal. The building suffered damage in 2023 which has not yet been repaired to the extent required for operation.
They will also address the license application for Mr. Frogs on College Avenue. The owner was associated with family members involved in the cocaine distribution from the former Mr. Taco. After the hearing at the last meeting, the owner withdrew the application.
The Police Department is also requesting approval of a sole source contract with Time Clock Plus, LLC for five years at approximately $13,000 per year. The sole source contract is due to this vendor providing a required feature that no other vendors offered.
In fun news, there are several requests for temporary permits for Mile of Music (my personal favorite Appleton event).
Human Resources and Information Technology Committee – Wednesday, July 10, 6:30 p.m.
The committee’s single action item is the request to purchase 58 endpoint switches and 10 uninterruptible power supplies (Heartland Business Systems - $256,000). Quoting IT Director Popp: “Endpoint switches secure, prioritize, and route digital data over the City of Appleton’s computer network. Some of the City’s endpoint switches are 15 years old, with a typical age of about seven years. We expect to get 10 years of life from this new cloud-managed hardware.”
The funds for this purchase were budgeted in the 2023 budget, but the IT Department elected to wait until the network remediation project was completed.
The flooding that we suffered made me think about the two constitutional amendment questions that will be on the August 13 primary election ballot. While (thank goodness) Appleton’s flooding was not at the level of a federal disaster declaration as might happen in Manawa, when a disaster happens, we want to get resources to those who need them as quickly as possible. These two ballot questions both take the power granted by the constitution of the State of Wisconsin to the Governor and delegate it to the state assembly and state senate, requiring a joint resolution or legislative rule before funds can be disbursed. I believe that this will add unnecessary red tape that will prevent our federal tax dollars from being used quickly to aid in a disaster, or as in the case of the COVID pandemic, to provide essential resources to police, fire and public health departments to protect our citizens. The amendment questions were deliberately placed on the primary ballot, where the proponents are hoping that a low turnout will allow this major change to our constitution to pass unchallenged.
I try to avoid state and national politics as I hold a non-partisan office, but I do feel compelled to speak out on issues that directly affect the citizens of Appleton. Absentee ballots are going out now. I would urge you to flip your ballot over and vote NO on both of these constitutional amendment questions or vote NO in person on August 13.
Have a great week!
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