Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for August 21, 2024

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 Greetings District 6 Neighbors,

If school supplies being displayed in every store (although I guess that’s been the case since July) and the fact that Mead Pool closed last week and Erb Park Pool will close this Sunday doesn’t tell you fall is on the way, the cool temperatures in the morning certainly should.
Heading into tonight’s full council meeting, I don’t anticipate that there will be too much discussion about any of the agenda items. Most of the committee agenda items passed pretty easily.
We are likely to have some more discussion of the liquor license for the Corner Pub, in spite of the fact that the owners completed the required repairs to the satisfaction of all city inspectors and the bar was deemed ready to open. Alder Doran, a member of the committee and Alder Hartzheim, who attended the meeting of the Safety and Licensing committee,  expressed their vociferous disagreement with the vote, expressing the concern that other businesses were denied the opportunity to acquire a regular alcohol license while the committee and council granted an extension to this business due to the extraordinary circumstances that they faced. There was some discussion about the disparity between the renewal of this alcohol license and the vote in the Municipal Services Committee to deny a homeowner’s request for a variance for a driveway extension installed without a permit that violated the zoning ordinance. As the city attorney pointed out, the Safety and Licensing Committee had the ability to apply the best judgment of the members, and this was a hearing that required us to determine whether the license renewal should be denied. In the case of the driveway extension, I sympathize with the homeowner because the house is on a busy street. However, it appeared that other options were available had he worked with the city to obtain the permit. Since the contractor apparently told the homeowner that a permit was not required, I hope that said contractor will ultimately be responsible for some of the cost of the extension which will have to be removed. Ultimately, I don’t expect either committee’s action to be changed by the full council.
There might be some more discussion on the resolution from Alder Croatt that would require a 2/3 majority vote on any change to the wheel tax. Alder Firkus voted against it in committee after asking some questions to confirm that the resolution could be overturned with a simple majority.
City staff has asked me to amend an item from the Municipal Services Committee – the special use permit for the awnings to be installed on the College Avenue frontage of the Fox Commons project. We would make the special use permit contingent on the developers fulfilling their agreement to restore the site of the Blue Ramp to its original condition – meaning a grass field. They exceeded the limit on the original permit to stage construction equipment in that location and the site has not yet been restored although the deadline was August 1. We have a pending agreement for the sale of that property for the second unit of the Merge apartments.
The council agenda includes the proclamation for Women’s Equality Day and there will be a presentation in council chambers on Monday, August 26 at 9:00 a.m.
As always, you can read the agendas and minutes for council and committee meetings and watch live or archived videos here:
Have a great week!

Denise

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