Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for the Week of October 5, 2025
Happy rainy Monday. I hope everyone was able to get outside and enjoy what might be the last of our summer weather over the weekend. With the Brewers and Packers both having off days, yesterday was a great opportunity to get out.
You may have read that the Common Council passed a truancy ordinance last week by a close 9-6 vote. The ordinance will be effective November 1 and will sunset on July 1, 2026, unless extended by the council. The ordinance limits the “dispositions” or penalties that can be assessed to a student convicted under the ordinance – excluding such penalties as suspending a driver’s license, stay at home orders, or orders to attend a program when not under adult supervision. The suspension of a work permit is included as an allowable disposition but will likely not apply to very many students as work permits are only required for people under sixteen years of age. The maximum fine is the same $500 as in the state statute, but judges have flexibility in the amount of the fine, and AASD has expressed that a $250 maximum fine is its preference. The hope is that fines would very rarely be assessed; that a court order to attend school would be sufficient for most students who are ticketed for truancy.
The Common Council will conduct periodic reviews of the success of the ordinance through the Safety and Licensing Committee during the trial period.
AASD is asked to provide data to ensure that a truancy citation is only issued after exhausting all other support measures to get a student back in school and to provide additional avenues for families to seek help dealing with attendance issues and to provide a vehicle for anonymous feedback about the process.
The Appleton Police Department and the City Legal Services Department are also asked to provide data about the number of citations issued and dispositions, along with any concerns related to enforcement of the truancy ordinance.
The full resolution text is here:
I intend to take the oversight responsibility very seriously, and will not be hesitant to vote against continuing the ordinance if we see that the citations are being overused or if AASD does not continue the progression of attendance supports that it has been providing since the original truancy ordinance was repealed.
Moving on to this week’s committee agendas:
Municipal Services Committee – Monday, October 6, 4:30 p.m.
We have a couple of occupancy permits – one for a dumpster for residential construction on Pine Street, and an extension of the permit for a dumpster, temporary fencing and meter bags for construction on the 222 Building. There are two more meter bags requested to allow for a small construction crane to operate, along with some temporary sidewalk/traffic pattern alteration.
We’ll also vote on the preliminary plat approval for the Comet Ridge Subdivision between N. Richmond and N. Haymeadow north of W. Crossing Meadows Lane. There are 10-foot side paths planned as trails along Apple Creek Road and N. Haymeadow south of Apple Creek Road. While the full plat is up for approval, the initial development will be just the eastern part of the subdivision.
About this time every year, we get a request from Appleton Downtown, Inc., to have free parking on Small Business Saturday – the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I’m happy to report that it appears we have reached a good compromise this year, after the committee and council denied the request last year. ADI has offered a $1600 contribution, which is the estimated meter revenue for a Saturday. Because ramp parking is already free on city holidays, which includes Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving, and on Sundays, the Parking Utility has advised that it makes sense to keep the ramp open and free for Saturday as well. The estimated ramp revenue for an average weekend day is $2000.
Finally, the committee will look at some not-so-great news. In 2020 we approved the State Municipal Agreement (SMA) for reconstruction of the Olde Oneida St. Bridge. At that time, the total project estimate was $2,489,187. The city would be responsible for 20%, or $497,838. Under these agreements, the state funding is limited to 80% at the time of that estimate. The city used the consultants designated by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for the estimates, and everything was done according to state rules. The project was originally scheduled in state fiscal year 2025. It is now scheduled in state fiscal year 2026. We all know what has happened to construction costs since 2020 – the revised estimate for the project is now $4,083,546, making the city’s share $2,092,197. The city appealed the state funding limit, but that appeal was denied. The bridge needs to be replaced, and if the project is not finished by 2028, we would lose all state funding. The funds budgeted in 2025 and in the proposed 2026 capital improvement budget are sufficient for funding the project.
Finance Committee – Monday, October 6, 5:30 p.m.
The committee will be voting on approval of a contract for water tower booster pump improvements (Rohde Brothers, Inc. - $824,740 with contingency). These improvements are for the Matthias Street water tower (upsizing the booster pumps) and for the Glendale Water Tower (which currently does not have booster pumps). The booster pumps help stabilize water pressure for users and improve efficiency by better aligning operations with demand. The bid was under the budgeted amount of $1,220,300.
Also for Utilities, we’ll be looking to approve a budget amendment to fund valve repairs at the Midway Road lift station. There were unforeseen valve failures which were not included in the capital improvement budget, so the request is to transfer $86,460 in unused funds from the 2024 Aeration Process Upgrades project and the Sludge Storage Building project to cover the valve repair costs.
Finally, we’re being asked to approve a change order to the contract for parking ramp repairs. There was some additional deterioration identified in the Green Ramp during ongoing work, and DPW would like to proceed with the repairs because the parking stalls are not usable until said repairs are completed. The change order would add $40,000 to the contract, for a new total of $1,388,594.50, reducing the contingency amount to $0.
Fox Cities Transit Commission – Tuesday, October 7, 2:50 p.m.
The commission will review and vote on approving the September payments, and to approve the 2025 Updated Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP).
The 2026 Valley Transit proposed budget is presented as an information item. Note that we will be seeing budget presentations for all city departments to their committees of jurisdiction in the next couple of weeks as we prepare for budget adoption.
Utilities Committee – Tuesday, October 7, 4:30 p.m.
The committee will vote on approving the contract for the Midway Road Lift Station Valve Vault Modifications (Sabel Mechanical - $86,460 with contingency). This was the item for which the Finance Committee needs to make a budget adjustment for the funding.
The committee is also being asked to approve a 4% increase in the wastewater rate for utility customers. Utilities are funded by ratepayer charges rather than through the taxpayer funded general fund. From the memo provided:
The 2026 budget review has indicated the need to move forward with a 4% rate increase to meet cash flow and operating expense needs as presented in the proposed budget. The capital improvement plan continues to increase from that which was reviewed as part of the 2020 study. The 2026 budget also includes a reduction of revenue received from the hauled waste program as the 2025 project for digester inspection and maintenance activities will continue into 2026, (one digester will be offline at a time) because the amount of waste received must be curtailed to maintain Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit limits by the Department of Natural Resources. The proposed rate increase is projected to provide $325,000 of additional revenue in 2026 and continues to provide a reasonable rate for the service provided when compared to area communities. The average residential customer will see a quarterly increase of $6 on the City service invoice.
Even with the increase, Appleton’s sewer rates are still at the lower end of our neighboring communities.
The committee will also vote on a $5.00 truck scale fee to be assessed to contractors hauling special waste to the water treatment plant.
The Utilities Committee will look at the Providence Trail Drainage Study and consider the recommendations presented. This study was initiated after the flooding events of July of 2024.
Three alternatives are proposed, and the committee will vote to accept one of these.
Alternative 1: Lot Improvements
· Public infrastructure: Replace up to 14 Yard Drain Inlet Castings
· Private improvements at the discretion of homeowners
· Estimated Cost to Stormwater Utility: $25,000
Alternative 2: ROW (Right of Way) Improvements
· 1,800 Lineal Feet of Storm Sewer Main Upsize (up to 54”) – Fallcreek Lane from Apple Creek to Sableridge Drive
· 480 Lineal Feet of Yard Drain Lead Upsize – 3 Easements South of Fallcreek Lane
· 460 Lineal Feet of New 24” Storm Sewer – Providence Ave to Apple Creek
· Add Dry Pond Flood Storage South of Apple Creek Trail
· Replace up to 14 Yard Drain Inlet Castings
· Private improvements at the discretion of homeowners
· Estimated Cost to Stormwater Utility: $1,600,000
Alternative 3: ROW/Easement & Lot Improvements
· 164 Lineal Feet of Yard Drain Lead Upsize – 1 Easement South of Fallcreek Lane
· 460 Lineal Feet of New 24” Storm Sewer – Providence Ave to Apple Creek
· Add Dry Pond Flood Storage South of Apple Creek Trail
· Replace up to 14 Yard Drain Inlet Castings
· Private improvements at discretion of homeowners
· Estimated Cost to Stormwater Utility: $330,000
The Department of Public Works is recommending that the committee and the Common Council vote to pursue the improvements in Alternative 3. This does not preclude additional improvements in the future or, of course, any private improvements by homeowners.
The committee will review the similar study for the Northland – Bellaire area as in information item. This is the area that affects some of our district residents and those neighbors in District 14 who experienced flooding last July. Full memo is linked here. We expect another update on this study in January of next year.
Board of Health – Wednesday, October 8, 7:00 a.m.
The Board has no action items, but they will review the 2026 Heath Department budget and 2026 Health Department Grants as information items. They’ll also review the Respiratory Virus Surveillance and Wastewater Report. Covid levels are increasing again – Appleton is showing high levels in wastewater. The Board will also review the noise variances granted and look at the October Health Department newsletter.
City Plan Commission – Wednesday, October 8, 3:30 p.m.
The Plan Commission will hold public hearings and vote on updates to the Municipal Code relating to wetlands and shoreland zoning pursuant to DNR requirements and on rezoning of the two parcels on Melody Lane that were recently annexed into the city. Annexed parcels are always classified as AG-Agricultural District and then re-zoned to the planned use, in this case R-1-B Single Family Residential as there are already single-family homes located on the parcels.
The Commission will also hold a public hearing and vote on the adoption of the new City of Appleton Comprehensive Plan. This is the culmination of over a year of work by city staff, elected officials, other stakeholders who volunteered their time, and lots of public engagement and input from community members. I believe that the work has resulted in a document that provides a clear and readable vision of the priorities for the city (housing, housing, housing!) as we move forward. You can review the plan here.
Finally, the commission will vote on the Comet Ridge Preliminary Plat described under the Municipal Services Committee Agenda.
Community Development Committee – Wednesday, October 8, 4:30 p.m.
The committee is being asked to approve an amendment to the development agreement with MF Housing Partners, LLC for RISE apartments at W. Harris St. and N. Oneida St. The project has been completed on time, but assessed value was to be $3.9 million by January 1, 2025. Because leases are part of the assessed value calculation and the project had not reached full “lease up” by January of 2025, the date for reaching full assessed value is updated to January 1, 2026 and payments of the tax increment in August of 2027 rather than having to wait until August of 2026 but is still required to fulfill all the terms of the development agreement.
The Inspection Division Permit Summary for September is presented as an information item.
Safety and Licensing Committee – Wednesday, October 8, 5:30 p.m.
For the first time in a while, the committee won’t be hearing from the AASD, but the agenda looks familiar in that we have a bunch of hearings for alcohol license violations – all for selling alcohol to minors. I would honestly think the word might have gotten out over the summer and that these establishments would be putting some safeguards in place to make sure they were checking IDs properly. Six establishments have been served notice to appear, and we have seven others noted that will soon receive notices.
We also have the return of the Mad Elephant amusement machine license. The item was referred back to the committee during the last council meeting, and I am sure we will have another appearance from the applicant’s attorney. This is a tough situation. The machines are almost certainly illegal gambling machines. Online information has made it easier to determine which machines can be classified as such, but it’s also clear that many establishments in the city have similar machines, some of which were granted amusement licenses before it was as easy to determine if they were legal.
Special events continue into the fall – all but one of the license applications is a temporary license for an event.
The Parks and Recreation and Human Resources and Information Technology Committee will not be meeting this week due to a lack of agenda items.
We received our budget books at the beginning of the council meeting last week and will begin the process of reviewing them and submitting questions for department heads in anticipation of the budget review on November 1. I have asked Mayor Woodford’s office for the slides from the presentation he made to the council and will share some of the highlights when I get them. Opportunities for input:
Budget listening session: October 20, City Hall, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
“Budget Saturday”: November 1, City Hall, 8:00 a.m. until we’re finished
Public Hearing: November 5, City Hall 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Budget Adoption: November 12, City Hall
Just when I thought we were done with this, I got the mail and found ANOTHER letter from SLWA advertising water and sewer line coverage. As explained before, the company is legitimate, and they had an agreement with the city in 2020 to offer this coverage. This round of letters is based on their view that the memorandum of understanding automatically renewed. This coverage is completely optional, and the city is not recommending or advising against purchase. I personally would advise checking with your homeowner’s insurance provider to see if they offer coverage that might be less expensive as an add-on to your existing policy.
Have a great week and Go Brewers! Game 1 was impressive, but I fear that the network is trying to keep me up too late with these 8:00 p.m. starts.
Denise
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