Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for the Week of May 4, 2024

Greetings District 6 Neighbors,

We’re back to our normal council and committee schedule this month after having a “fifth week” in April with no council or committee meetings.

A little housekeeping before I get into the agenda for Wednesday’s Common Council meeting:

Spring yard waste pickup continues through Friday with one more pickup on the day after your garbage pickup this week. Details here.

Thursday, May 8 is the last day to get discounted summer pool passes. Details here. I was reminded about this because I subscribe to the Appleton Parks and Recreation newsletter – you can sign up here.

For those folks who have been having issues with large groups of people playing volleyball on the Erb Park tennis courts – as of tonight, the lights will be turned off on the courts and new signs are going up today that specifically state that the courts are for tennis and pickleball only. I’ll be monitoring the situation over the next week – please contact me if the problems continue. Note that amplified music is not allowed in the parks – if there is loud music, you can call the police non-emergency number (920) 832-5500.

Wednesday’s Common Council meeting seems to put us in the thick of proclamation season, as the mayor will be announcing ten proclamations this week:

·       American Legion Poppy Day

·       Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

·       City Celebration Day

·       Jewish American Heritage Month

·       Municipal Clerks Week

·       Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month

·       Nurses Month

·       Public Service Recognition Week

·       Safe Boating Week

·       Teacher Appreciation Day

I expect that the only items that will be separated for individual consideration and votes will be an operator’s license (bartender license) for an application with a conviction for an “exempt” offense – one which does not allow the applicant to show evidence of rehabilitation and for which we cannot by state statute grant the license. I would honestly like to see our procedures for this situation change as we still allow an applicant to appeal the denial, but there is not anything we can legally do to change the result.

The other item that I expect we’ll discuss at length is the carryover request from the Facilities Department. Facilities is proposing to use up to $107,625 in leftover funds from the Park Pavilion Roof Replacement project for consulting on a climate action plan for the city. That item was split out from the other two carryover requests totaling $20,006 that would be earmarked for the city’s contribution to new signage in City Center/Fox Commons after the remodel of the complex. This item was recommended for approval by the Finance Committee contingent on Council’s approval of the city’s portion of the project cost. The concern was that we had not seen bids for the signage and that the amount seemed high without knowing the scope.

The committee recommended the funding for the climate action plan for denial, with mine being the sole vote for approval. I have written extensively about my views on the need for a concrete climate action plan, particularly now that this work is becoming the sole responsibility of local and state governments. I hope that two-thirds of the council agrees with me that hiring experts to steer us to the most cost-effective mitigation strategies for a problem we cannot ignore is a responsible choice.

We have a closed session “…for the purpose of conferring with legal counsel regarding matters associated with flooding that occurred in July, 2024…” on the agenda as well. The rules of a closed session preclude my sharing information until such time as any action might be proposed.

I hope everyone is enjoying what (we hope) is the real arrival of spring and that all the moms, grandmothers and all the other givers of healing hugs, finders of lost treasures and sharers of great advice enjoy your special day on Sunday.

Have a great week!

Denise

 

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