Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for the Week of June 22, 2025

Graphic from Freepik

Greetings District 6 Neighbors,

Yikes! The first day of summer came in like a blast furnace, didn’t it? I’m looking forward to a couple of cooler days, even if some thunderstorms come along. The heat didn’t stop a busy weekend in the city. We had the Pride flag raising at City Hall early on Friday morning, then Mayor Woodford and I presented the Pollinator Week proclamation to State Representative Lee Snodgrass, who introduced pollinator protection bills and resolutions in the state assembly each year that she has represented the City of Appleton in the state legislature. In the afternoon, it was on to the grand opening and ribbon cutting at the Mary Beth Neinhaus Activity Center (the renamed and relocated Thompson Center on Lourdes). The new space is beautiful and functional and includes a gym space and indoor pickleball courts. Check it out here: https://mbnactivitycenter.org/  On Saturday, I made my first trip of the season to the downtown farm market, where it seemed that most everyone had the same idea that I did to go early before it got brutally hot, then enjoyed some music at Fox Valley Pride in Jones Park. As I noted last week, there are more choices than time for things to do in Appleton during the summer.

You might have seen the stories on the news or online that we did approve the renaming of Appleton Memorial Park to Veterans Memorial Park, not without quite a bit of discussion at the Common Council meeting last Wednesday. An amendment to designate a portion of the park to veterans failed to pass, and the resolution to rename the park passed 13-1. Representatives of several veteran’s groups spoke in support of the renaming. Director Gazza advised that the contractor who maintains the signs offered to change the existing signs at a substantial discount in honor of our veterans.

The current Veterans Park will be renamed, but I am not completely sure of the process at this time. I have heard that perhaps a colleague will be introducing a resolution with a proposed name change, but I have not confirmed this directly.

The park renaming was the only item that was discussed separately from the rest of the agenda at the meeting. A couple of items were separated for individual votes because interested parties were present – the preliminary plat for Wilden Portfolio Park (the Thrivent property) and alcohol licenses and renewals for two Lawrence University venues, but both of those passed unanimously without any discussion.

The Common Council voted at our organizational meeting in April to cancel the July 2 council meeting. We generally do this, not just to give ourselves the holiday week off, but because all city departments are required to be represented at council meetings, and canceling the meeting gives department heads and others who staff our meetings the opportunity to take some well-deserved time off during the holiday week.

Don’t forget that we will have fireworks at Veterans Memorial Park on July 3, following an afternoon of family-friendly activities starting at 4:00 p.m. Festival Foods is sponsoring the fireworks, with U.S. Venture is the sponsor of the other activities, which include:

• Music by Yo-DJ 
• An inflatable area for children 
• Food trucks provided by Fox Valley Food Trucks 
• Beverages available from Stone Arch Brewpub 

Admission is free thanks to the sponsors.

 

Because there will be no council meeting on July 2, a number of committees have canceled meetings for this week, including the Finance Committee, the Parks and Recreation Committee, the Safety and Licensing Committee and the Human Resources and Information Technology Committee. On the agendas for committees which will be meeting this week:

 

Municipal Services Committee – Monday, June 23, 4:30 p.m.

 

We have a couple of parking changes to approve after 6-month trial periods – creating a loading zone on Johnston St. (behind Acoca and across from the Performing Arts Center) where there had previously been a no-parking zone, and creating a bus loading zone in front of Foster Elementary School.

We will also vote on awarding the pavement marking contract for paint – the epoxy contract was awarded a few weeks ago – (Crowley Construction Corporation - $42,386).

The final action item is a street occupancy permit for a temporary generator exhaust line on Superior St. for the 222 Building. Whenever something – a sign, awning, etc., extends into the right of way, even if it is fairly high above ground level, it requires this type of permit.

 

Fox Cities Transit Commission – Tuesday, June 24, 2:50 p.m.

The commission will vote on approving the May 2025 payments and on approving a contract for installation and support of a new Computer Aided Dispatch/Automatic Vehicle Location (CAD/AVL) system. The tablets used for the current system have passed their useful life and are no longer supported by the manufacturer. A new fleet-wide hardware replacement is required to maintain the CAD/AVL system. Full hardware cost is $328,896, which is 80% funded by federal grants. The software as a service fee for the 2028-2032 extension would be $38,853 per year which is 60% federally funded.

 

Information items include the May financial and ridership reports. Ridership is down about 20% from last year, which Valley Transit attributes to the service changes brought about by the inability to staff driver positions.

 

Utilities Committee – Tuesday, June 24, 4:30 p.m.

The committee will be voting on approval of a contract for  Sanitary & Storm Sewer Cleaning and Televising (Green Bay Pipe & TV, LLC - $307,500). They will also be discussing a contract amendment to the Phase I Solids Dewatering Equipment Upgrades at the wastewater treatment plant – a REDUCTION of $5,461 due to a credit in recognition of the costs required to relocate the Belt Filter Press Conveyor #2.

The information item for the committee is of great interest to both folks in District 6 and our neighbors in District 14 who were impacted by last summer’s flooding. They will be getting an update on the Northland – Bellaire Flood Study. The update is linked here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=848980df-7e0a-40a3-b01e-100fc83bd42a.pdf

City Plan Commission – Wednesday, June 25, 3:30 p.m.

All of the commission’s agenda is related to the Chris J. Hartwig Revocable Trust Annexation of property north of Northland Avenue and west of Highway 441. The property was annexed into the City of Appleton on June 10. There will be public hearings and related action items to update the future land use designation to Commercial use and to rezone parcels to C2 – General Commercial District. Plots already within the city were zoned M-1 Industrial Park District and the newly annexed plots were zoned AG – Agricultural District (as newly annexed property always is). The commission will also vote on a new Certified Survey Map which would combine all the parcels into three proposed lots and one outlot and release the city’s interest in a public utilities easement on the property. The owner of the property plans to construct a 77,000 square foot multi-tenant industrial style building on the property.

Community Development Committee – Wednesday, June 25, 4:30 p.m.

The committee’s sole action item is a request to approve the release of deed restrictions and covenants for two parcels in the Northeast Business Park. This is related to two of the parcels in the development discussed in the City Plan Commission agenda. Even after rezoning to C-2 Commercial District, deed restrictions for the business park restrict the property to industrial use. Because the planned development is more commercial, the owners are requesting the release of those restrictions and staff is recommending approval.

The committee’s information item is a presentation by Pam Seidl, Executive Director of the Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau on the impact of tourism on the greater Fox Cities. Sneak preview: it’s a lot!

The FCCVB notes that each household in Fox Cities would need to be taxed an additional $633 per year to replace the tourism taxes received by state and local governments.

As I wrote earlier, there will not be a Common Council meeting next week, so unless there are urgent developments, I won’t send out a newsletter.

Have a fun and safe Independence Day holiday! Remember that it is not legal to use most fireworks in the city. Appleton follows the state statutes related to fireworks, which allow such items as sparklers, stationary cones and fountains, snakes, smoke bombs, caps, noisemakers, and confetti poppers. Items that require a permit include roman candles, firecrackers, bottle rockets, and mortars. Basically, anything that explodes along the ground or leaves the ground is included in the “permit-required” items. Permits are generally not issued except to professional operators for specific events. Be safe and protect yours and your neighbors’ property, not to mention the nervous system of pets everywhere, and just attend Appleton’s fireworks display or another spectacular professionally produced show.

Denise