Appleton District 6

  Hibiscus Along the Newberry Trail Much as we might try to make it last, summer is coming to an end. High school football has already started and AASD students are back in school next week. The Packers have played two preseason games and baseball’s pennant races are heating up. Here’s hoping that the Brew Crew is playing late into the fall! I walked past the Erb Park Pool yesterday and saw that it was packed with people enjoying the last day of the season (I think the Mead Pool closed on Friday). It was so good to have the pools open again this summer. It was a busy week/weekend for me, too. I ran the Sole Burner 5K from City Park Saturday as part of the City of Appleton team. This was another event that was back in person this year after being virtual in 2020. City employees who participated raised over $1200 for the American Cancer Society. Immediately after the race, Alderperson Vered Meltzer and I rushed to Menasha’s Jefferson Park for the Celebrate Diversity Fox Cities co...

Good afternoon District 6, For those who have not seen the Post-Crescent story online (I suspect that it will run in the hard-copy paper in the next day or so), the architects for the library project presented a conceptual plan for the library renovation/addition at the Library Board meeting yesterday. Drawing from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill The conceptual plan will be on the planning website in the coming days: https://apl.org/planning In the meantime, you can see more of the drawings in the Post-Crescent story here: https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/local/2021/08/17/architect-unveils-plans-renovate-and-expand-appleton-public-library/8167793002/ The presentation included a virtual reality walk-through of some of the spaces, which was very interesting. The basic shell of the building will be retained, with the new space being added on the south side. The conceptual plan includes access from the yellow parking ramp, but not a walkway like the one to City Center...

  Good afternoon District 6, Wow, what a week it has been! I started off last Tuesday attending two of the National Night Out neighborhood parties – one on N. McDonald Street and one on N. Erb Street. What great events they both were. I enjoyed talking to a lot of people and checking out all the delicious food everyone brought. I had planned to get to the big event at Jones Park, but was having such a good time at the two neighborhood events that I didn’t make it downtown. The last four days were all about Mile of Music, and I was happy to see quite a few familiar District 6 faces over the weekend. It was so exciting to have the Mile back after missing last year. I thought the organizers and volunteers – ALL the volunteers! – did a spectacular job even though they were hit (of course, it’s Mile of Music) with the weather on Saturday that forced them to cancel all the outdoor shows. Because we are sadly back to experiencing “substantial community transmission” of COVID-19 and be...

  Art From Chalk on the Avenue Good afternoon District 6, I assume a lot of us are still basking in the glow of the Bucks’ championship and the Brewers being on a roll getting into the second half of the season. Maybe that will keep us from worrying about the Packers for a while as we enjoy this summer sunshine (and heat!). It’s nice to see summer activities back in full swing – I took a walk to check out Art at the Park earlier today and managed to escape without buying more than I could carry back with me. Walking through Erb Park just as the pool was opening, it seemed like lots of people were planning to enjoy the water this afternoon. A note on the pools – you may have seen the story in the Post-Crescent about the issue with lifeguard certification. As far as I can understand, it was an administrative issue that resulted in some course materials not being delivered. As noted, Mead Pool is closed until it can be fully staffed by certified lifeguards and Erb Park Pool is o...

Good morning District 6, The last update was written while I was in Arkansas with one daughter’s family welcoming a newborn granddaughter; this one is being written with the other daughter’s family, including our three-year-old granddaughter, visiting us. It’s been fun showing them the sights and experiencing our city from a young family’s perspective – the playground at Erb Park has been a big hit and I’m sure we’ll hit the one at Memorial before the visit is done. We’ve been to the Building for Kids (makes me want to borrow a child just so I can keep going back), the Thursday concert at Jones Park, the Farm Market, Butterfly Gardens of Wisconsin (shoutout to Jack and Marty Voight again – if you haven’t been up there, it’s really wonderful). We had brunch on the river yesterday and are took the riverboat cruise in the afternoon, and the young folks had a night on the town Friday while the toddler hung out with the grandparents. Yes – this does sound like a tourist brochure, but I re...