The Notes: Week of November 22 - November 26, 2021

It's Thanksgiving Committee Week, Neighbors! 

To save us all some time this turkey-cooking week, the following committee meetings have all been cancelled due to the impending holiday:

• Parks and Recreation Committee
• Fox Cities Transit Commission
• Utilities Committee
• City Plan Commission
• Community and Economic Development Committee
• Safety and Licensing Committee
• Human Resources and Information Technologies Committee

The only other meetings on the schedule for this week will be held on Monday, 11/22/2021.  Here are the agenda items of interest:

• Municipal Services Committee, 4:30pm: This meeting will start off with a public hearing on the designs of the future paving projects for a grid of streets in downtown Appleton to the tune of $2.645M.  The proposed designs call for colored stamped concrete terraces, a dedicated bike lane along Lawrence Street, and many raised intersections (among other improvements).  Underground utilities improvements for these projects are slated to begin in 2022 and the actual concrete paving program is on the 2023 Capital Improvement Program schedule and some of the tab is TIF #11 funding.  At this time, there is only a hearing scheduled at this meeting; so no action will yet be taken on these projects on Monday.
  
  The action items on the agenda include discussion of a couple contracts for materials testing, making a temporary stop sign on Pine Street permanent, holding a municipal code change for downtown street vendors until the December 6th committee meeting, and a revisit of the 15mph speed limit on Washington Street (referred back in full council last week). 
  
  
• Finance Committee, 5:30pm: The committee will discuss awarding a couple contracts for lighting upgrades and new light fixture installations in city facilities, allowing the write-off of some obsolete wastewater and water inventory items (book valued at roughly $17,000), and a couple contract changes for water/sewer upgrades/repairs/installations.  There will be a presentation of some non-action items of interest as well... the most important of which is a library project update.  
  
  The big news with the library project is that, based on initial cost estimates, the current design will cost an estimated $39M... and the city has only budgeted $26.4M.  I wrote last week about
  the additional $2M in ARPA funds for the project as well. 
  
  While I understand and fully appreciate that the costs of construction are on the rise, I am quite concerned by this estimated $39M price tag.  The city is not the only entity feeling the economic crunch.  Your pocketbooks are seeing increases everywhere right now as well!  So is this the right time to proceed with such a large investment by the city... when everyone is seeing prices rising everywhere?  
  
  I know this statement will evoke feelings of consternation in those who are and have been fervently advocating for this library project... but unless private donations and grants are received to make up the difference, this project should either be held until a better economy allows it to proceed within the promised $26.4M budget -or- this project should be revamped/re-envisioned to remain under the promised $26.4M budget.  It was my campaign promise and remains my goal and promise to you, District 13 neighbors, to make sure that the city sticks to its budgeted promise of investing only $26.4M of taxpayer dollars (city budget dollars) into this project (as is affirmed below in a memo from the city's Facilities Manager, Dean Gazza). 
   
  
  
  

  
  So long as that promise is kept every step of the way, I will not work to put a stop to this library upgrade project; that has never been my goal.  However, my goal has always been that I will work to make sure that no more than that budgeted amount of your hard-earned dollars that you provide this city in the form of property taxes goes towards this project.  We can build and upgrade our library to something quite remarkable within our budget parameters.  And if more is wanted by proponents of this project, I am open to the city allowing that... but only if the city budget's portion does not exceed $26.4M.  
  
  The fact that the common council did not amend the 2023 budgeted amount for this project to reflect the $2M ARPA funds allocated to the project does not sit well with me.  The lack of concern about making a promised $26.4M into $28.4M in the blink of an eye is disturbing to me.  If that was so easy for the majority of this common council to do and for the mayor to not speak out against, then what's to stop the freight train of pressure from strong library proponents from convincing that same majority to allow for further budget increases for this project? 
  
  These are my concerns as far as the library project.  I know some of you hold these same concerns as well.  I hope that they are taken seriously by all involved and I encourage you, neighbors, to make your opinions on this known.  Please contact me with your questions and concerns on this.  It's important for me to hear all of your feedback so that I can take that to the council chambers when future votes regarding this project are being taken.
  
  

To wrap up this week's post, I want to wish you all the best family time, the most moist (*cringe*) turkey, the happiest of grateful holidays this week.  Happy Thanksgiving!!