Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for the Week of June 8, 2025
Greetings District 6 Neighbors,
The Memorial Day holiday gave us a less active committee
week leading into last week’s council meeting, but we have an almost full slate
of committee meetings this week. The Appleton Redevelopment Authority, the
Human Resources and Information Technology Committee and the Fox Cities Transit
Commission have cancelled meetings for the week.
Even with an abbreviated committee schedule, we managed to
have quite an eventful Common Council meeting last week. We started with a
special meeting of the Safety and Licensing Committee to hold a hearing for the
non-renewal of the alcohol license for Tandem Wine and Beer due to third OWI conviction of George Koenig, a
member of the LLC which owns the business. You might remember that the
committee recommended, and the full council approved change of agent for this business a few weeks
ago – making the agent the other partner (who is the wife of Mr. Koenig) in the
LLC the license holder. For a license renewal, however, all of the members of
the LLC must be eligible to hold an alcohol license. For this reason, after
hearing testimony from the owners and several customers of the business, the
committee voted unanimously not to renew the alcohol license. Per state law,
the only way the committee could renew the license given the record of Mr. Koenig
would be by accepting evidence of rehabilitation, which was impossible given that
the last conviction was only a couple of months ago (for an OWI in late 2024). The
owners stated that they wished to delay action in order to give them time to
transfer ownership to the other partner. I questioned the failure to take that
action ahead of the renewal application, since the owners should have been
aware that they would not be able to renew the license given the record of one
of the partners, but did not really get an answer. We were not able to hold the
item because all license renewal paperwork has to be completed by June 15. I
also asked if a transfer of the business to a partner who is the spouse of another
partner presented any legal issues and was advised by the city attorneys that
it would not. It was already noted during the change of agent process that Ms.
Thompson has no criminal record.
While we expected to hear the same testimony at the full council
meeting that immediately followed, when the item came up, we were presented
with a handwritten document recording the sale of Mr. Koenig’s interest in the
business to his wife, Ms. Thompson. I found out after the meeting that one of
the witnesses called at committee was an attorney.
After a recess to allow the city attorneys to confer about
that development, the attorneys suggested that it was possible to grant a
provisional license renewal contingent upon all the required documentation for
the change of ownership being completed and filed by July 31. There was a fair
amount of discussion about this, resulting in an amendment to require that an
amended license and proof of ownership transfer be submitted by June 30, which
is the date of the expiration of the current license. This amendment passed 10-2,
with two people abstaining because of business or personal conflicts and one
person absent. However, when the amended item was put to a vote, three more
alders voted against (7-5, with two abstentions and one absent) and we were
left with the original recommendation of the committee to deny renewal of the
license, as the vote required a majority of the full council, not just those
voting.
At this point, Alder Hayden, who had voted against the first
amended item, proposed yet another amendment “to approve a renewal of the
license subject to the following conditions: that the applicant provides
formal, legal documents showing the transfer of ownership in the LLC, a revised
alcohol license application, and any other documents required by the Clerk's office
by June 30, 2025.” This version passed 9-3 with two abstentions
and one absent.
I honestly did not feel right about any of this, but once
the city attorneys advised that the transfer of ownership was legal, I felt
that I had to give Ms. Thompson a chance to renew the license. As noted, she has
no record, and the establishment has operated for 10 years without any
demerits. Mr. Koenig does not hold an operator’s license and thus would be
unable to serve patrons without a licensed operator on the premises. I
sincerely hope that Mr. Koenig proceeds with his stated plans to focus on other
non-alcohol-related businesses and that Ms. Thompson is able to continue to
operate Tandem without any issues.
This recounting seems almost as long as the meeting itself,
which finally ended with the introduction of a resolution that would rename
Appleton Memorial Park to “Veteran’s Memorial Park.” I plan to attend the Parks
and Recreation Committee meeting tonight to hear the discussion as I have a
number of questions about this proposal:
·
Is this resolution in response to a citizen
request?
·
What happens to the current Veterans Park on S.
Memorial Drive?
·
What would be the cost of changing the name on
all signage, city documents, etc.?
·
What existing memorials would be relocated to
the park?
Speaking of committee meetings – this week’s agendas:
Municipal Services Committee – Monday, June 9, 4:30 p.m.
We have a jam-packed agenda for the meeting, but the
majority of the items are pretty straightforward. There are street occupancy
permits for new signs on the 222 Building (U.S. Venture), pavement markings for
safe walking route to the Building For Kids (adding the route to the library),
for construction of the Lundgaard Park Pavilion, for dumpsters for the downtown
farm market at S. Allen and E. Lawrence St., and for tables and chairs outside
in front of Bowl 91. We have new stop signs at Edgemere Drive and Kensington
Drive, making the change from a no-parking zone to a two-hour no-parking zone
on Florida Avenue in front Einstein Middle School permanent after a six-month
trial, making the loading zone on the east side of Durkee St. by Kaleidoscope
Academy permanent after a six-month trial, and creating no-parking zones around
Sandy Slope Elementary school on Ashbury Drive, Providence Avenue, and Lightning
Drive in anticipation of the school’s opening in the fall.
We’re being asked to approve a sole-source contract (Desman
Design Management - $96,400) for the 2026 repair and maintenance program for
the Red, Yellow and Green Parking Ramps. The city has a five-year agreement with
Desman for planning, design and administrative services for the structural
maintenance of the city’s parking ramps.
The committee will also vote on the 2025 pavement marking
contract (Brickline, Inc. - $177,505.70). This estimate was 15% above the
engineering estimate, but sufficient funds remain from other maintenance
projects in the traffic budget to cover the difference. There are only two
contractors in Wisconsin who provide this service.
We’ll be acting on the approved recommendation of the Appleton
Public Arts Committee for painting a mural on the interior wall of the Red
parking ramp. This was described last week in the notes about the Public Arts
Committee meeting. I confirmed with Public Works staff that there will be no
additional expense to the city for preparation and maintenance of the mural.
Finally, the committee will vote on the street designs in
the Wilden Portfolio Park. Full descriptions here,
but it covers the extension of Evergreen Drive from Ballard to Meade, the
extension of Milestone Drive from Ballard to about the location of the current
Thrivent headquarters building, and two new streets, currently called “Road C”
and “Road D” which will connect Evergreen to Milestone.
Finance Committee – Monday, June 9, 5:30 p.m.
The committee will be voting to approve a Safe Drinking
Water Loan application for 2026 from the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources. These are interest-free forgivable loans for the purpose of replacing
private lead service lines.
We will also be voting on the resolution to accept principal
forgiveness for the 2025 loan of $510,523 and the corresponding budget
amendment to transfer the funds.
We’ll be voting to approve resolutions for the development
of a corridor study on County Highway KK (Calumet St.) between John St. and
State Highway 55 and for a comprehensive bike and pedestrian plan. These
projects are 80 % funded. The 20% for the corridor study would be divided
between Calumet and Outagamie counties, with the municipalities being responsible
for the proportion of the mileage of KK within their boundaries. Appleton would
pay 11.5% or $18,343 if the total grant of $1 million is totally funded.
Appleton would pay the full match for the bike and pedestrian plan and
demonstration kit. The demonstration kit would allow the city to gather
real-time information on road user behavior and safety. That part of the
project would be $40,000.
The committee will be voting on a contract for a “polymer
make-down system” for the wastewater treatment plant (Polydine, Inc. - $89,500).
I honestly don’t know what this is, other than that it services the belt filter
press equipment, so the meeting will be a learning experience, and I will share
what I learn.
There is a change order for the wastewater treatment plant
sludge piping and heat exchanger replacement project (Rhode Brothers, Inc. -
$111,247, bringing the contingency amount down to $23,110).
The Finance Department is asking to increase the contract
amount with Booth Management Consulting, LLC for ARPA grant administration and
reporting by $70,000 due to the complexities of compliance reporting for
internal and external projects. They are asking that these funds be taken from
the ARPA reserve fund previously established.
Information items include recording of a $7925 grant to
create a native habitat at Ellen Kort Peace Park.
Parks and Recreation Committee – Monday, June 9, 6:00
p.m.
The only action item is the aforementioned resolution to
rename Appleton Memorial Park.
The information item is the Reid Golf Course Revenue and
Expense Report. They are a bit behind last year’s numbers in rounds and
revenue, likely due to weather in May.
Utilities Committee – Tuesday, June 10, 4:30 p.m.
The committee’s only action item is approval of the
Electronic Compliance Maintenance Annual Report (eCMAR) for 2024. The water
treatment plant received a score of 92 out of a possible 100 points.
Information items include a letter of intent with Renewable
Natural Gas Company (RNG) to investigate the purchase of biogas being generated
at the wastewater treatment plant. The biogas would be refined for use as a
replacement for some fossil fuels.
The committee will also look at the water main break reports
for February, March and April.
Board of Health, Wednesday, June 11, 7:00 a.m.
The Board will review the 2024 Health Department Annual Report
and the new approved noise variances – summertime brings lots of outdoor festivals
and concerts. They will also, sadly, review another dangerous animal declaration
for a dog that left his property and attacked and severely injured another dog.
City Plan Commission – Wednesday, June 11, 3:30 p.m.
The commission will hold a public hearing and take up the associated
action item for the rezoning of the DeWitt annexation of about 72 acres at 6000
N. French Road that was annexed into the city from the Town of Grand Chute on
May 28. Annexed property automatically comes in zoned as AG - agricultural district.
The developer is requesting that the property be rezoned as R-2 Two Family
District which identifies the property as future one- and two-family land use.
Community Development Committee – Wednesday, June 11,
4:30 p.m.
The committee will hold public hearings and vote on the
associated action items for the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation
Report (CAPER) for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program and for
the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan for the Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) Program. Both are linked here:
https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=2ff2c9cd-d47a-4a6c-8098-600b4879a17a.pdf
https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=cdf035e4-fb14-407d-b9d1-0d30e0503e18.pdf
We will also be voting on the revised block grant allocations.
The amount awarded for the 2025 program year was $12,372 less than the
anticipated allocation, so adjustments are proposed as shown:
Safety and Licensing Committee – Wednesday, June 11, 5:30
p.m.
I’m hopeful that this meeting is uneventful – it looks like
just the normal late, late 😊 license renewals, a
few new license applications, and quite a few temporary licenses for summer events
including Mile of Music.
Information items include alcohol license violation convictions:
No Licensed Operator
·
Lindo Michoacan, 211 N Richmond St
·
Walgreens, 700 W College Ave
Alcohol Sales to a Minor
·
Foxtrot Saloon, 812 S Oneida St
·
Stucs Pizza, 110 N Douglas St
There is an item for an AASD Truancy Initiatives Update but
I do not know if they plan to appear.
The directors reports include an update from the City Clerk
on the Special Events Policy.
As I said, a busy committee week ahead of us.
Don’t forget about the Appleton Flag Day Parade on Saturday,
June 14. It will step off at 2:00 at the corner of Wisconsin and Oneida St.,
then head west on Wisconsin, south on State St. and east on College Avenue and
will end at the corner of College and Drew in front of Lawrence University. There
are pre-parade concerts in Houdini Plaza at 11:30 and 12:00 and a Fifth Quarter
performance by the Badger Band in Houdini Plaza at 4:30.
Speaking of parades, the latest edition of the Appleton Engaged
podcast features the chairperson and assistant chairperson of the City of
Appleton Parade Committee, Corey Otis, and Eric Stadler.
Appleton Engaged is a weekly podcast that features people,
organizations and resources that make Appleton the wonderful place it is. Give
it a listen wherever you get your podcasts.
The Erb Pool will be closed for a swim meet Saturday, June
14, reopening Sunday, June 15 at 3:00 p.m.
Have a great week!
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