Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for June 8, 2026

Greetings District 6 Neighbors,

Last week’s Common Council meeting was fairly short. The item that I expected to generate some discussion, the creation of Tax Increment District #14 for the Thrivent property development, was held for a future council meeting. I understand that there is a development agreement in process for part of the property and that city staff wishes for the items to be taken up together. Both the City Plan Commission and the Community Development Committee have cancelled meetings for this week, so I expect that it will be later in the summer that we take up the TID.

As expected, Alder Croatt submitted a resolution that the Safety and Licensing Committee “shall review all options related to the existing truancy ordinance language and the trial period and possibly take action on options presented by Legal Services.” As I noted last week, if the council takes no action, the ordinance will sunset on June 30. We are expecting additional data from AASD now that the school year has ended. Per the City Attorney’s office, the other options are to repeal the effective dates and let the ordinance become permanent or to amend the effective dates and/or the substance of the ordinance. Based on the language of the resolution, there is not necessarily the expectation that action will be taken this week by the committee.

Alder Smith submitted a resolution that would direct the Appleton Police Department and the Health Department “to evaluate methods for collecting and analyzing vehicular noise data within the city, with an emphasis on identifying the number and frequency of extreme incidents that most disrupt the ordinary life of residents. The city should return to Common Council within 90 days a report outlining available options and estimated costs.” It would also require the city to investigate methods for monitoring vehicle noise, “including but not limited to fixed decibel monitoring stations, temporary mobile monitoring equipment, citizen reporting agreements, and automated noise-detection technologies.” The resolution was referred to the mayor’s office. This resolution seems to contradict the executive/legislative separation of duties. The council can enact legislation, i.e., create/change/repeal city ordinances and can create city policy, but we do not have day-to-day jurisdiction over the duties of city departments. The mayor might direct departments to provide some information, but I am not sure how far this goes other than that. We have already added an additional traffic enforcement officer, and we now get a monthly report of the traffic stops/warnings/citations for this type of activity. I suspect that nothing is going to stop the behavior of people who get their kicks racing around in vehicles modified to be extremely loud. I personally find it incredibly annoying not to be able to walk down College Avenue or have a cup of coffee outside without hearing the roar, but I also don’t want to pull resources from preventing or investigating more serious crimes in favor of policing the noise.

Moving to this week’s committee agendas:

CEA Review Committee – Monday, June 8, 3:30 p.m.

The Central Equipment Agency Review Committee generally meets a couple of times per year. It consists of the Finance Director, the Public Works Director and representatives of the Municipal Service and Finance Committees. I will serve as the Finance Committee representative, and Alder Van Zeeland will serve as the Municipal Services Committee representative this year. Vehicles and other equipment are “owned” by the CEA rather than individual departments, with the departments having a budget allocation for the vehicles and equipment they use.

As you may recall, the council approved going forward with a plan to change some of the financing measures for acquiring equipment, but any changes would only be effective for the 2027 budget year. We will address request from departments for seasonal use of vehicles from the fleet and will review the 2027 vehicle replacement plan. Most of the equipment being replaced is at least 10 years old, the exception being 8 police vehicles from 2019. These vehicles are subject to much harsher use conditions than our civilian vehicles. The police department is also asking to upgrade 3 Community Service Officer vans to all wheel drive vehicles when they are replaced in 2027, with the initial upgrade difference being funded through the APD budget.

Information items include a review of the 2025 and 2026 equipment purchase logs.

Municipal Services Committee – Monday, June 8, 4:30 p.m.

After holding the vote on the street design for Driscoll Street during the last council year pending a new traffic and parking study, the committee will once again consider the design for the reconstruction of Driscoll between Prospect Avenue and the dead end at the railroad tracks. Residents submitted petitions against the addition of sidewalks and the narrowing of the street, although the residents of the small apartment complex did not appear to be included in these discussions/petitions. The new traffic and parking study, conducted on a Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, resulted in volumes consistent with the original classification of the street as a low-volume local residential street, with parking utilization at less than 50% 97% of the time, indicating that sufficient street parking would exist with the new one-side-only parking configuration. Staff is recommending that the original design be approved.

The committee will also take up some street occupancy permits – Appleton Downtown, Inc. for permanent Edison light strands in the Johnston Street alley behind the 222 Building, for tree planter uplighting along College Avenue, for a pet waste station in the 200 block of West College Avenue, Appleton Northside Business Association for light pole banners on Richmond and Wisconsin, the Mission Church for a street encroachment of a bit less than a foot into the Appleton Street right of way, and for Beatnik Betty’s to place mannequins in the amenity strip.

Finance Committee – Monday, June 8, 5:30 p.m.

The committee will vote on the recommendation to keep the pay rate for the citizen members of the Board of Review at $25 per hour for 2026. The Board of Review is responsible for adjudicating appeals to property assessments.

We will also review and vote on a request from facilities for a budget transfer of $350,000 from the $2,454,306 reimbursement from the Inflation Reduction and Jobs Act for the library geothermal system to fund a solar energy system for the library. There is already $350,000 allocated for the solar system; the additional funds would allow for a larger system and other energy upgrades. The estimated utility savings would be approximately $72,100 per year, for an estimated simple payback of 6.9 years.

The committee will also vote on a request to purchase an office trailer and restroom trailer as a temporary transit center operations site (Elk Creek Trailers - $141,720). The temporary terminal must provide functional accommodations for both Valley Transit staff and the public. This includes office space where Valley Transit employees can work, a public facing area where customers can purchase bus passes and ask questions, and restroom facilities for employees and the public. Because the temporary transit terminal will be located in a parking lot and may need to be adjusted as construction progresses, the city needs portable, non-permanent structures that can be easily moved when needed. Both the office trailer and restroom trailer also need to be fully ADA accessible.

There will be a vote on a sole source contract for the architectural and engineering services for the 2026 City Hall 6th floor remodeling project. (Chet Wesenberg Architect, LLC, - $144,448.50 with contingency). Interior renovations to City Hall are being completed in phases. This year’s work will focus on the Human Resources and Finance area, but the design will include the Mayor and Finance areas which will be completed next year. The sole source is justified by the standard practice of retaining the same architectural firm from initial design to project completion for consistency and cost control. I recently got a tour of the completed Community Development area, and it is truly a workable and efficient space.

We will be voting on several change orders to wastewater treatment plant, water and sewer construction and parking ramp repairs, all within the contingencies for those projects.

The new agreement for the operation of the Fox Cities Exhibition Center with Appleton Hotel Holdings, LLC. (the owner of the Paper Valley Hilton Hotel) has been finalized and is before the Finance Committee for approval. The agreement is for five years, and key provisions include revenue sharing dedicated to a capital reserve fund, operator responsibility for operating shortfalls, enhanced reporting and booking transparency, market-based pricing flexibility, and expanded opportunities for sponsorship and ancillary revenue generation.

We will also be looking at a sole source contract with Full Source Organics to help drain and clean the interior of ESD 1 and ESD 2 (egg-shaped anaerobic digesters) to facilitate an inspection and provide a safe environment for equipment replacement and various upgrades. ($188,832 with contingency – a higher contingency of 20% is included due to the unknown conditions of ESD 2 since ESD 1 had far heavier grit accumulation than expected in the 2025 cleaning).

Utilities is also asking for approval of a contract for the purchase of a Vulcan EWP 400/600 Wash Press used in the wastewater treatment process. (Vulcan Industries - $68,518.00) The existing unit is damaged and needs replacing.) Vulcan Industries is the original equipment manufacturer of this item.

The Matthias water tower is up for recoating (painting) after being inspected in 2025. The Utilities Department is recommending awarding the sole source contract to Dixon ($98,662.50 with contingency). The sole source justification is that Dixon performed the 2025 inspection and has site-specific knowledge of the tower’s coating system, structural conditions, and operational context.

Another construction season contract – this one for the Z-26 Sewer & Water Main Reconstruction – is recommended for award to Kruczek Construction ($566,000 with contingency).

Finally – we’re in for a longish meeting this evening – the Department of Public Works is requesting approval to apply for a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP) loan to replace private lead service lines. The city has some areas that qualify for principal forgiveness loans and will only accept funding for those loans.

Parks and Recreation Committee – Monday, June 8, 6:30 p.m.

This committee has a single action item – a resolution supporting completion of a city-wide vegetation analysis by the Appleton Sustainability Advisory Panel (ASAP) and the development of recommendations related to reduced mowing practices, native plantings, invasive species management, and other land management strategies and the consideration of these for inclusion in the Sustainability Master Plan currently being developed.

They will review the Reid Golf Course May Revenue and Expense Report as an information item. Personal aside – the course looks lush and busy when I have had occasion to drive by.

Utilities Committee – Tuesday, June 9, 4:30 p.m.

The committee will vote on a contract amendment to the Lindbergh Standpipe recoating project (Dixon Engineering, resulting in a decrease to the contract amount from $51,465 to $7,343). In a bit of good news, inspection resulted in less work being required than originally estimated. This allows the Matthias project to proceed. (an item in the Finance Committee agenda this week).

They will also vote on approval of the Electronic Compliance Maintenance Annual Report (eCMAR) for 2025. The eCMAR is how the state of Wisconsin evaluates wastewater utilities throughout the State of Wisconsin. Appleton has received a 4.0 GPA.

Safety and Licensing Committee – Wednesday, June 9, 5:30 p.m.

The committee will start with another bartender license that is recommended for denial by the Appleton Police Department. Recommended is not actually the correct term, because, as was the case with some other recent denials, state statute does not allow us to grant a license to applicants who were convicted of certain “exempt” offenses. In this case the offense was battery with a domestic abuse modifier.

The truancy ordinance is also on the agenda – as discussed earlier, the committee MAY take action but is not required to do so by the resolution.

The Appleton Police Department is requesting approval to apply for a $425,000 COPS Technology and Equipment Grant that would be used to purchase robotic equipment and initial training that would enhance response to high-risk situations.

We also have the late Cigarette, Tobacco, and Electronic Vaping Device License renewal applications and the Late, Late (love this categorization) Alcohol License renewal applications in addition to a number of normal license applications.

The Fox Cities Transit Commission, Board of Health, City Plan Commission, Community Development Committee and Human Resources and Information Technology Committee will not be meeting this week.

I haven’t written much about the Flock camera situation since Mayor Woodford announced that the city would be discontinuing our relationship with Flock and asking that those cameras be removed. Unlike some other communities, this is requiring some negotiation since Appleton is still in a contract with Flock – these negotiations are in process. In the meantime, I have been working with Alder Katie Van Zeeland from District 5 on a resolution that would establish requirements that would have to be met before the Common Council would approve any trial or purchase of Automatic License Plate Reader technology, including a thorough report describing the technology, purpose, cost, types of data collected, data handling practices, and safeguards related to the system’s use and protection of individual civil rights. We would also ask that the same terms apply to any new technologies involving automated mass surveillance/data collection and analysis using artificial intelligence that APD may seek to employ.

Alder Van Zeeland and I had a very productive meeting today with Mayor Woodford, City Attorney Behrens and Police Chief Olson where we negotiated some details and believe we are close to resolution language that we can all support. We plan to finalize the language and submit the resolution at the next Common Council meeting after which it will likely be considered by the Safety and Licensing Committee.

Alder Van Zeeland and I understand that this type of technology is an important tool in preventing and solving crimes and we have no desire to remove the tools, but we believe that it is equally important to make sure that there are safeguards to protect the safety and privacy of our citizens from the misuse of the technology.

I expect that APD will investigate acquiring APLR technology from another vendor; my hope is that we can pass this resolution quickly so that any purchase and implementation will be subject to the safeguards we propose.

In other city happenings, we had a beautiful (WARM) opening Saturday for the Downtown Appleton Farm Market. There were so many people out enjoying the weather, fresh produce and tasty treats. I noticed that the new Meridian barriers were in place on the sidewalks at the Drew Street end of the market.

It was fun to see crowds already at the Erb Pool – if you travel on Oneida Street or Morrison Street this summer, please be extra vigilant. There are kiddos on foot and on bikes who are probably thinking much more about getting to that pool than about traffic.

I also really enjoyed the Friends of Appleton Public Library Celebrate Our Stories event last night. While the new library has been open for over a year, all of us are clearly still celebrating.

Denise