Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for September 21, 2026

Greetings, District 6 Neighbors,

Happy Monday morning to everyone! The Packers managed to save the game yesterday, the Brewers set a franchise record with their 98th win, and it looks like the days of heat a humidity are over for a while. What’s not to like?

The weather also mostly cooperated with the Fox Cities Marathon events over the weekend. I stuck to the 5K this year, but I was out and about on the course yesterday cheering on friends who were racing, and I know it was a relief to have cool, dry conditions for a change. Congratulations to everyone who raced and to the thousands of organizers and volunteers who make these big events happen in our community.

While I’m on the subject of things that make me proud about our community, I need to mention opening night for the Fox Valley Symphony. The orchestra is wonderful, and the programs are a great mix of new music and familiar works. Continuing the observation of the 100th anniversary of Harry Houdini’s passing, the opening work by Appleton composer Alex Drossart was accompanied by a short film made by Appleton residents Frank and Oliver Anderson. After intermission, we heard Beethoven’s “Emperor” concerto played by Lawrence University professor Michael Mizrahi. The music was glorious; the venue is beautiful. If you are a classical music fan, make sure to take in the pre-show talk, where Maestro Sutterlin and soloists or orchestra members talk about the program. I feel like I always learn something new about the orchestra or music in general.

Back to council business: As I expected, last week’s council meeting was relatively short, with the only items separated for individual votes being those where an alderperson needed to abstain because they might have a conflict of interest – usually because their day job is with a party involved or they are on the board of an organization involved.

This week’s committee meetings will likely result in the next council meeting being a bit more involved, especially since that meeting is the one where Mayor Woodford will present the proposed budget for 2027. The Fox Cities Transit Commission, the Utilities Committee, and the Human Resources and Information Technology Committee will not be meeting this week; otherwise, we have a full committee schedule.

Municipal Services Committee – Monday, September 21, 4:30 p.m.

The committee will vote on a relocation order – which is the official term for the city acquiring some small pieces of property for the reconstruction at the intersections of College Avenue, Badger Avenue and Story St.

They are also being asked to approve the request from Appleton Downtown, Inc. for free parking at meters and in the city ramps on Small Business Saturday (November 28). ADI will pay the city $1600 to compensate for the estimated lost revenue. This was approved last year and seemed quite successful. Visitors will be given QR codes to access the ramps, allowing the Parking Utility to assess parking demand and to streamline the parking experience for shoppers.

The final action item is a request to change the speed limit on French Road between County Road OO and the south city limits from 45 MPH to 35 MPH. The Town of Grand Chute recently changed the speed limit on their portion to 35 MPH, leaving only the Appleton portion at 45 MPH. This change will make the speed limit consistent for all of the roadway.

Finance Committee – Monday, September 21, 5:30 p.m.

The committee will consider Resolution #15-R-26 Supporting Transparency for Taxpayers Regarding State-Mandated Private School Voucher Funding submitted by Alder Meltzer and me. The Appleton Area School District Board of Education approved a resolution on August 10 requesting that property tax bills in the communities served by AASD include a line-item stating the amount of the AASD tax levy withheld from AASD to find vouchers for private and independent charter schools. Many of our neighboring communities have already done this in order to allow their taxpayers to know where their tax dollars are going. The City of Appleton breaks down tax bills by county, municipal, AASD and Fox Valley Tech already; this resolution would add a line showing the percentage of the AASD tax that is going to fund vouchers. We have already received guidance from Outagamie County (which actually prints the city tax bills) and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue about this change. While the change can be made administratively without council action, we are bringing this forward to show council support after a large number of constituents have reached out in support of the change.

We are being asked to approve a sole source contract (Heartland Business Systems - $631,865.74 with contingency) for equipment required for the Utilities Department network upgrade project. The construction portion of the project was approved back in August with the understanding that the network equipment would be purchased by the Information Technology Department through an existing authorized vendor “…to obtain advantageous state pricing, maintain City equipment standards, and address network security considerations in coordination with the Information Technology Department.”

Heartland is the City's contracted managed network service provider and an authorized fulfillment partner under Wisconsin's participation in the NASPO ValuePoint Cisco Master Agreement #AR3227 (Wisconsin Participating Addendum #505ENT-M21-DATACOMMUN01). The agreement provides eligible purchasers with a minimum 35% discount on Cisco hardware and on-premises software and a minimum 10% discount on cloud services. Heartland’s familiarity with the city's network architecture and its role as the city's managed network service provider also provide consistency with existing city network architecture, equipment standards, configurations, licensing, security practices, and ongoing network support.

A couple of other contract approvals on the agenda include Unit Y-26 Lead/Galvanized Water Service Replacement (VanRite Plumbing, Inc. - $444,250 with contingency) and the MSB Maintenance Garage Trench Drain Replacement Project (IEI General Contractors - $62,080 with contingency). The city has received a number of grants over the past few years to aid with the lead/galvanized pipe replacement.

The last item on the agenda is a proposed agreement with AASD that would create a revolving line of credit for the district for an amount up to $20 million to meet temporary cash flow requirements. The city would charge an interest rate of 2% over the federal funds rate at the time the funds are advanced. Any funds advanced would be payable by June 30, 2027. The memo provided did not give much more detail. Director Messerschmidt and I had to reschedule our normal Friday before committee week meeting last week, so I have not had a chance to speak with her yet about this proposal. I will share more details when they are available.

Parks and Recreation Committee – Monday, September 21, 6:00 p.m.

The committee has no action items for tonight’s meeting, but they will review the Reid Golf Course Revenue and Expense Report for August and the minutes of the August and September meetings of the Advisory Panel on Sustainability and Climate Resiliency as information items.

The committee will also get an update on the renaming of Veterans Park (the small park off Memorial Drive that needs to be renamed after Memorial Park became Veterans Memorial Park). After the process is completed, the new name will go to the council for approval in November.

Joint Review Board (Winnebago and Calumet Counties) – Wednesday, September 23, 2:00 p.m.

The Board will review the 2025 Annual Reports for TID 7 and 13 (within Calumet and Winnebago Counties).

City Plan Commission – Wednesday, September 23, 3:30 p.m.

The commission will hold a public hearing and vote on the associated action item for the rezoning of property at 1893 W. Spencer St. The property was annexed into the city in August as AG – Agricultural, which is standard for newly annexed property. The current action will classify it at M-2 General Industrial District consistent with the property use.

The commission will also vote on several “text amendments” or changes to the zoning code that would eliminate barriers to creating more housing in the city. The housing task force and the process to update to the city’s comprehensive plan highlighted the benefit of these changes.

• Changes related to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs – sometimes called “granny flats”). A few years ago, we passed a resolution allowing these to be built in the city but found that very few of them were actually possible because of the complicated formula considering the square footage of all the accessory buildings on the property. The proposed change would just mandate that the new structure be smaller than the existing house.
• Minimum lot size to construct a duplex. The current code requires a lot size of 7,000 to 9,000 square feet. The proposed change would allow a duplex on a lot size of 6,000 square feet or greater with a minimum lot width of 50 feet.
• Residential design requirements. The current code requires a minimum square footage of 900 square feet for one story or 700 square feet for the first story of a two-story home. The proposed change would remove these minimums and also remove the minimum roof pitch and minimum home width requirements. This would allow construction of very small houses.
• Changes to Public Institution (PI) zoning generally limited to schools, churches, assisted living facilities and nursing homes. The proposed change would allow single, multi-family and duplex housing on the property on the same lot as a church, school, etc.
• Expanding zero lot line development. Zero lot line housing allows separately owned units to share a wall (like a townhome). This type of development is currently allowed only in R-2 (single and multi-family) and C-1 and C-2 commercially zoned districts. The proposed change would allow zero lot line development in all zoning districts.
• Ground floor units on commercial sites. The current code does not allow residential units on the ground floor of stand-alone commercial buildings. The proposed changes would allow ground floor residential units in commercial buildings except on or within 120 feet of College Avenue.

The most common issue I hear about Appleton is the shortage of affordable housing. We heard from developers that both the process and the zoning code are barriers to building more of this type of housing. The changes above would make it easier to build smaller units and would allow creative use of existing properties, so I plan to support them.

The commission is also being asked for extraterritorial plat approval for the Clarity Ridge subdivision in Grand Chute (north of Evergreen and west of Richmond). Appleton has plat approval on any development within our extraterritorial jurisdiction. This is another development of larger homes (19 lots on 15.31 acres).

Finally, the Plan Commission will take up Resolution #11-R-26 Hyperscale AI Data Center Moratorium submitted by Alders Firkus, Hayden and me. This resolution would set an 18-month moratorium on any data center larger than 20,000 square feet. The city legal department has developed a draft ordinance consistent with state law. A report prepared by a professional engineer is also a requirement of state law and will be obtained as part of this process. During the moratorium, the Community Development Department will be tasked with evaluating the potential impacts of data center development and determining whether amendments to the Municipal Code may be warranted. The draft ordinance and resolution are included as information items on the agenda.

Other information items include the proposed text amendments to the city code related to subdivision development.

Community Development Committee – Wednesday, September 23, 4:30 p.m.

The committee has no action items on the agenda but will hold a public hearing and review information items related to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Notice of Funding Available and Community Needs for the 2027 Program Year (4/1/27 - 3/31/28). They will also get an update on the Neighbors in Action Workshop Program and review the Inspection Division Permit Summary Report Ending 8-31-26.

Safety and Licensing Committee – Wednesday, September 23, 5:30 p.m.

As usual it seems, we’ll start with alcohol license demerit point hearings – for Antojito’s and Sai Ram restaurants, both for selling alcohol to minors and having no licensed bartender on premises.

In addition to normal license applications and renewals, the committee will review a late special event application. This one was submitted 32 days prior to the event. All applications submitted less than 45 days in advance are administratively denied and can be appealed to the committee. We are approaching the two-year point for the policy change. I am not in favor of getting rid of the appeal process; we have them for other administrative denials. However, I would not oppose adding a late fee to help cover the administrative costs of handling the applications on a shorter timeline. I’m sure this will be proposed by one or more of my colleagues at some point.

The committee will take up two resolutions related to excessive vehicle noise. Resolution #13-R-26 Requesting State Review of Intentional Disruptive Motor Vehicle Noise and Driver Demerit Point Penalties submitted by Alders Meltzer and Schultz asks (from the resolution summary) “…Wisconsin Department of Transportation  to review state statutes and administrative rules governing intentional disruptive motor vehicle noise and consider changes that would distinguish ordinary equipment violations from deliberate operator behavior. It specifically requests evaluation of a separate traffic offense for intentionally creating excessive noise through engine revving, throttle manipulation, modified exhaust systems, popping or cracking, or similar conduct, along with appropriate demerit points or escalating penalties for repeat violations. The goal is to give communities a more effective statewide enforcement tool for behavior that can significantly disrupt downtowns, neighborhoods, and public spaces even when it does not involve speeding, racing, reckless driving, or unnecessary acceleration.

We are often reluctant to approve resolutions that propose no action for the city, but state law on vehicle noise in many ways prevents local governments from enacting laws that prohibit certain disruptive behavior, so I believe that this is a case where we should support the request.

In a related resolution, the same alders propose to increase fines for excessive engine revving, tire squealing, or throwing up stones or gravel while accelerating to $1,000 for a first offense and $2,500 for second and subsequent offenses. I think that these offenses are absolutely deliberate and meant to be disruptive and I am fine with making the fines high enough to really be a deterrent.

Next week has a fifth Wednesday, so there are no committee or council meetings. The next council meeting will be October 7, where the mayor will present the 2027 budget and the council will receive our giant budget binders to review in detail until “Budget Saturday” which falls on Halloween this year. I’ll share more about the budget in the coming weeks.

I’ll close with a reminder that the next non-recycling week (this week or next) is the last bulk item pickup until spring. The crews switch to fall yard waste pickup and then (gasp!) snow removal.

Have a great week!

Denise