Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for November 18, 2025

Greetings District 6 Neighbors,

Happy first snow day of the season to all who celebrate! (There might have been a few flurries earlier, but I’m counting this as the first snow day).

The snow hasn’t interfered with leaf collection – I’ve seen both the vacuum trucks and other collection trucks in my neighborhood today. Stay warm, DPW folks! Note that the city has announced that there will be a bonus collection the week of November 24, so if you didn’t take advantage of the mild weather last weekend, it looks like you’ll have another decent weekend to finish up before the bonus collection.

Last week was committee week, but it was unusual because of the special full council meeting for adoption of the 2026 budget and the cancellation of most of the Wednesday committee meetings because of the budget adoption meeting. The budget adoption meeting was the shortest in my time on the common council – less than twenty minutes. There were no amendments presented by council members, so the only amendment we had to vote on was the one making small adjustments in the mayor’s office budget to account for the merit pay adjustment for the three staff members in that office (the mayor’s salary is determined by council action prior to the beginning of each mayoral term). Because there were no structural changes in the budget and the only increase other than inflation-driven costs is the 3% merit increase for non-union city employees, there wasn’t really any room for adjustment.

This week is an actual full council week, with just a couple of other meetings scheduled.

The Board of Zoning Appeals met Monday, November 17 to discuss the appeal of a denial of a permit to extend the driveway eight feet into the front yard. City code limits driveway extensions to four feet. City staff is recommending denial as they do not believe the case for a hardship has been met.

The Library Board is meeting Tuesday, November 18 at 5:00 p.m. in the Cornerstone Conference Room at the library. They will review and approve the October bill register, budget amendments to record various donations and the proposed closed dates for 2026:

They will also vote on the board meeting schedule for 2026.

There is an action item to approve the transfer of remaining funds from the “Reach Out and Read” program, which will be administered by another entity to the “No Questions Asked” collection. No details were included in the agenda for this item. Finally, they will vote on the report of the Personnel and Policy Committee meeting of November 10 and to approve the Library Director’s 2025 end of year performance review.

The Community Development Committee will hold a special meeting at 6:30 on Wednesday, November 19, just ahead of the Common Council meeting. The committee will vote on the selection of a consultant to perform environmental assessments on the property just north of the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. The city has an approved offer to purchase this property by the PAC contingent on the city conducting grant funded environmental assessments on the property. The city has been approved for $40,000 from Calumet County’s portion of the USEPA Brownfield Coalition Grant and has applied to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Site Assessment Grant (SAG) which can award up to $150,000. The consultant contract would cover the site assessments and grant fund administration.

The full council meeting at 7:00 will begin (no proclamations or other business presented by the mayor appear on the agenda) with a public hearing on the adoption of Plan Appleton, the update to the city’s comprehensive plan. From the hearing notice:

“The Comprehensive Plan establishes a vision for future land use, physical development, and quality of life in the City, as well as provides a comprehensive set of goals, policies, and initiatives to achieve that vision. It is a coordinated and unified plan used to maintain and enhance conditions within the community and provide guidance on private and public development issues. The Comprehensive Plan addresses the entire geographic area of Appleton and its extraterritorial planning jurisdiction. It is a long-range plan, addressing current issues while also looking beyond to future issues and opportunities within the City.”

The plan can be found here.

We will vote on approving the comprehensive plan after the public hearing.

We will also vote on a special resolution moving the polling place for District 15 on the south side of the city. The current polling place, Hope Lutheran Brethren Church, is unable to meet the terms for use as a polling place regarding storage of election supplies, so the city is requesting approval to change the polling place to Eternal Love Lutheran Church at 1011 Midway Road.

Items on the agenda that might be separated from their respective committee minutes include the Providence Trails Drainage Study recommendations (the Utilities has recommended pursuing the mid-level recommendation at an estimated cost of $330,000). We might hear from some homeowners impacted by the July 2024 flooding on this item.

With the adoption of the budget, we’re beginning to wind down the 2025 portion of the council year as we head into the holiday season. The Finance Committee meeting for next (Thanksgiving) week has already been cancelled, as have those of the Fox Cities Transit Commission and the Safety and Licensing Committee. I understand that we might be hearing the first truancy update from the Appleton Area School District at the first Safety and Licensing Committee meeting in December.

Don’t forget the 54th Downtown Appleton Christmas Parade on Tuesday, November 25. The parade kicks off at 7:00 p.m. at College Avenue and State Street, moving through downtown to Drew Street. The long-range weather forecast looks pretty good, but if you would prefer to watch from the comfort of your sofa, it will be broadcast on WFRV Local 5.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Denise