The Notes: Week of June 21 - June 25, 2021

Hi Neighbors!  We're again approaching "Committee Meetings Week" in Appleton.  And while I would usually give you a run-down of all of the meetings by date/time, I thought I'd instead give you a highlights package in the order of what seems like it would be most interesting to you first.  

First, a revisit of the change to leaf/yard waste/bulky item/city snow sidewalk snow removal plans from the Department of Public Works (DPW) will be examined at both the Municipal Services Committee meeting (Monday, 06/21/2021, 4:30pm) and the Utilities Committee (Tuesday, 06/21/2021, 5pm) meeting.  I mentioned this in my blog post a couple weeks ago.  In the time since, DPW staff developed and will be presenting a revised plan that will balance our city being better stewards of the environment (managing Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) requirements to help reduce the amount of phosphorus that leaches into our groundwater from fall leaves being raked into our streets) with the other requirements of the department.  The department, led by Paula Vandehey (a District 13 neighbor!), deserves a lot of credit for taking the feedback that many have provided and making some modifications to their original plan to hopefully better serve all of the varying needs of the city.  Below are plan comparisons for your review.  Let me know your thoughts! 

Here's how our current plan and the original proposed process stack up against some neighboring municipalities:

The revised proposed plan will again be presented to these two committees as an informational item and will not be voted on just yet.  So there's still time for you to provide feedback to me or to the DPW directly before any decisions are made by the full council in this regard.  

Besides discussing the proposed DPW changes:

• The Municipal Services Committee will also take up a couple minor changes to the municipal code and a street occupancy permit for US Venture for some temporary parking lot spaces in the new street right-of-way formed after US Venture dedicated some of their property to the city to improve and widen East Lawrence Street (slated for 2023).

• The Utilities Committee will discuss the awarding of a contract for stormwater consulting services for the city's "Bluff Site" and a rate increase for septage tank waste with a simultaneous rate reductions for holding tank waste (due to the difference in cost required to process each type of waste).  

The Finance Committee meets on Monday, 06/21/2021, at 5:30pm and they will discuss the city's 2020 audit.  I know... you're saying, "How does this qualify as the second most interesting thing happening in Committee Meetings Week in Appleton, Sheri?!"  Well... it might not be to you; but it is to me (as an accountant and former business owner)!  The audit report shows that the opinion of the external auditors is that our 2020 books are "clean."  But... that's not the only reason you might find the Finance Committee meeting to be of interest.  This committee will also discuss:

• A revisiting of Resolution #8-R-20 (from 2020) calling for a rebranding study to be performed for the City of Appleton.  This item was held by the Finance Committee in February 2021 and is now back for further discussion.  The Request for Proposals for this study and the launching of a new brand for the city (excluding the implementation expenses that will come with a redesign) is slated to cost between $50,000 and $75,000 (between the "low" and "average" cost below):

I find it interesting to note that the proposed cost of this study is on par with the proposed cost of  updating the technology in the common council chambers to allow for remote participation of common council members (which was approved last week - see below for more information).  

I think it's very important to all citizens for Appleton to have an updated brand image.  Our current branding was commissioned in the early 1990s and the city has changed and grown a great deal since then.  If we want our city to remain an attractive city to businesses and industry and a point of pride for us as citizens, I think it important that we revise and update the city's branding.  (I studied public relations and marketing at UW-Milwaukee long ago... but it helped to build in me a recognition of how important branding can be.)  Let me know your thoughts!  Should we choose between two $50,000 to $75,000 projects as a city and only invest in one?  Or should we do both and find the dollars to do it in other ways (service changes/tax or debt increases)?  Or should neither project be added to the upcoming city budget?  I know how I feel about it... but what about you? 

• A revisiting of Resolution #5-R-21 (from earlier in 2021) regarding political signs on city property, including properties owned by the city but leased to separate entities.  The city attorney's office took up this resolution and requests an update to the verbiage of the resolution should the council agree to approve this resolution.  There are currently five city-owned privately-leased properties in Appleton -- including the USA Youth fields and facilities in District 13.  The city attorney suggests that only at the time of lease renewal of these properties should contractual language be added to the leases to disallow political signage on those properties.  Elsewise, there are First Amendment rights of lessees to consider and the city is ill-advised to attempt to squelch them. While I understand why this resolution was proposed, I think it imperative that the First Amendment rights of the lessees of any property not be impeded.  I believe that this resolution is unnecessary as it is already against city policy to display political signs on un-leased city property.  But should the council wish to proceed to approve the resolution, the city attorney's additional suggested verbiage regarding addressing political signage in each individual lease is most definitely required.  I will only vote to approve the resolution with an amendment to that effect.

The next few meetings and items of discussion all fall into the "not overly exciting but necessary for the business of the city" category.  They will round out the committee meetings for the week as the Safety & Licensing Committee, the Human Resources and Information Technology Committee, and the Community and Economic Development Committee meetings are all cancelled for lack of agenda items this week.   

• The Board of Building Inspection meets at 3pm on Monday, 06/21/2021 to discuss a property on Weimar Street in which the property owner is wishing to remodel his basement but the stairwell to the basement doesn't conform to Uniform Dwelling Code.  The contractor for the basement remodel suggests a second handrailing on the basement staircase and a head bump pad at the top of the bottom entryway to the basement area as a compromise; but the owner still needs an approved exception from the Board of Building Inspection to make this remodel happen.  Here again is a human interest story that will be played out in committee meetings in Appleton.  I'll be interested to see how it goes!

• The Parks and Recreation Committee meets on Monday, 06/21/2021, at 6:30pm.  On the agenda:
• A request for the Trout Museum to use Houdini Plaza for a fundraiser on 08/27/2021
• A review of the Reid Golf Course reports for May 2021 and a Summer 2021 update on the Erb and Mead pools

• The Board of Zoning Appeals meets on Monday, 06/21/2021, at 7pm.  They are taking up another issue of fencing on the "back yard" of a double-frontage yard within the city limits.  This property owner would like to erect a 6' privacy fence along West Winnebago Street (the street that borders their "back yard") to try to stop trespassing and littering by Appleton West High School students in their "back yard."  This is another Zoning Appeals meeting that should be interesting to listen in on!

• The Fox Cities Transit Commission meets on Tuesday, 06/22/2021, at 3pm.  On the docket for this meeting are the review of financial and ridership reports and a review of the transit commission portion of the 2020 audit.   

• The City Plan Commission meets on Wednesday, 06/23/2021, at 3:30pm.  They will discuss:
• The rezoning some former VFW post lots on Richmond Street, the former Family Video lot at the corner of John Street and Calumet Street, and a lot at the end of Coolidge Court
• A special use permit for alcohol sales and consumption at Poplar Hall on Riverheath Way 

• For those neighbors interested in the issues surrounding the expansion of the Outagamie County landfill at Holland Road (our close neighbor in Village of Little Chute jurisdiction), there will be a concerned citizens meeting at the Little Chute Civic Center at 6pm on Tuesday, 06/22/2021.  You don't have to be a Little Chute resident to attend.  I won't be able to attend but welcome your feedback as I can share it with others who will be attendance.  

As I mentioned above, the full Common Council took up some rules changes this past week.  One of the things that our now amended rules allow is remote participation by aldermen in committee and full council meetings.  Remote participation was of course allowed (and was the only option for a while) during the period of the city's temporary ordinance for COVID19.  But since that temporary ordinance is lifted effective 07/01/2021, the council needed to discuss making allowances for remote aldermanic participation moving forward.  

The discussion took many turns and I appreciate all of the District 13 neighbor feedback that I received in this regard.  Ultimately, it was decided that remote participation by aldermen will be allowed... but at a cost of between $50,000 and $75,000 to upgrade the council chambers to provide a more robust system for remote participation.  The current system is a "band-aid" that is not expected to remain in place for long and potentially won't even last much longer due to the age of some of the hardware being used.  While I understand and appreciate occasional remote aldermanic attendance at city meetings, I am concerned about the cost/benefit analysis of this initiative.  

The financing of this is yet to be determined.  It could be an item in upcoming budget debates or it could be (depending on what the eventual guidance on COVID funds from the federal government tells us\) paid for by federal taxpayer funds.  Either way, it will show up as a cost to taxpayers.  And as mentioned above, there are other things on which the city can be spending $50k-$75k... like a branding study which would, in my opinion, better serve a larger swath of Appletonians.  Of course, this is not an easy "either-or" discussion as budget discussions are much more complex than that.  But I think can understand where I'm going with this.  

I promise my neighbors in District 13 this: I will be in in-person attendance at every possible meeting to best represent our district.  I will make every effort to plan to be in-person unless I am ill (not wanting to share any illnesses with my colleagues) or out-of-town on occasion (summer vacation is coming up!).  And should my in-person or remote attendance be impossible, I will be sure to make the position of this district clear to the council president so that we never go unheard.

As always, please let me know your thoughts on anything city government-related.  I'm happy to help!  

Have a great week and I'll see you back here next week.