The Notes: Week of August 1 - August 5, 2022

Hello, again!  It's Full Council Week!  Thanks for joining me back here for a preview of what you can expect to start off August 2022 in City of Appleton government.

This Full Council Week there are two other meetings scheduled.  To get this blog post rolling, here's "the skinny" on those two meetings:

The Appleton Public Arts Committee will meet on Wednesday, 08/03/2022, at 8:30am.  The last time this committee met was in March 2022.  So they do have a little bit of housekeeping to do... starting with the election of a vice chairman for the group.  After that, the committee will discuss forming plans for renewing/changing the artwork on the Houdini Plaza Welcome Tower.  Way back when the committee last met is when the artwork was last changed.  So the group will look to determine the best path forward to make some changes in the artwork soon.  If you're interested, please tune in to or attend the discussion. 

The Finance Committee of the Library Board will meet on Thursday, 08/04/2022, at 9am.  This committee of the Library Board will begin discussions on the 2023 budget for the library and an overview of the city budget process will be presented to this group.  Please note that these are the first steps in the budgeting process for the operation of the library in 2023 (and not discussions regarding the construction process or construction budget for the library). 

The "Main Event" of the week, though, occurs on Wednesday, 08/03/2022, at 7pm.

Appleton Common Council

As I'm sure you've come to expect, what will be discussed at the full common council meeting is basically a rehashing or reaffirming of what was discussed and decided at the committee meetings from the week before.  As a refresher of what was discussed, have a read of last week's post (if you haven't already!). 

This meeting will begin with two proclamations from the mayor's office -- one for Breast Feeding Awareness Month and one for Creative Economy Week (re: the economy of arts and culture).  Then we get right into the meat of what was discussed last week.  I will highlight two important pieces that I expect will take up the most time and garner the most discussion on Wednesday.

• From the Safety and Licensing Committee: There will no doubt be a robust (which may not be a strong enough term) discussion of the potential for an advisory referendum on the fall election ballots in the City of Appleton.  The question (as amended in committee) would be:
  
  "Should marijuana be legalized for adult-use, taxed, and regulated like alcohol in the State of Wisconsin?"
  
  Thank you to all those blog readers who replied to me regarding your thoughts and feelings on this potential referendum!  I heard many good arguments in this regard and I appreciated greatly the interactions we had on this topic.
  
  My primary concerns on the question of this referendum are two-fold:
  

1. The resolution requesting this advisory (meaning: "this is just a poll of the voters who turn out for this election and the results are not binding on any governmental body") referendum quotes a statewide poll conducted by the distinguished Marquette Law School.  (More information here.)  It seems to me that (within a 3.8 percentage point margin of error), this Marquette Law poll has already garnered the information that the resolution presented to Council for this proposed referendum would request. 
   
   "The poll found that 61% of the respondents favored legalization, with 31% opposed to ending the state prohibition.  The survey found majority support among Republicans, with 51%, as well as independents (60%) and Democrats (75%)." 
   
   So... what more information could we get from an advisory referendum of City of Appleton residents?... But perhaps more importantly...
   
   
2. What can or will be done with the results of said referendum in the governing of the City of Appleton (should this resolution pass at the full common council meeting)?  The answer: NOTHING.  
   
   The governing of the City of Appleton cannot and will not be changed by the results of this referendum.  This is not even a question on which the City of Appleton can act!  Note the exact verbiage of the proposed referendum question: "...in the State of Wisconsin."  We all know that marijuana legalization is a state government issue which must be undertaken by those who represent us in Madison (our state senators and state representatives).
   
   The question, though an interesting and pressing political one, is not something which can be affected or legally changed by the common council or administration of the City of Appleton.  So I ask "Why this use of public money (the added cost of adding this referendum to the ballots in the city) and public resources (the added time and efforts of staff, hired poll workers, and even the city council members thus far) for something the result of which has no effect in governing the City of Appleton?"  I can think of no reason to do so.  But perhaps there is some other reason some of the common council members want this question on the ballot...? 

If you have any further thoughts, questions, or concerns in this regard, please contact me.  At this time, however, I am in opposition to this advisory referendum and intend to vote as such for the reasons I mentioned above. 

• From the Parks and Recreation Committee:  There is a request on the table for the full council to grant the city's staff (namely the Parks and Recreation Department staff) to further discuss with the Trout Museum of Art the potential to build a new museum location on the grounds of the Ellen Kort Peace Park (on the riverfront in the downtown area).  At this time, there are plans in place for the development of the Peace Park to be a "contemplative park."  And also at this time, the Trout Museum is outgrowing its home adjacent to Houdini Plaza.  The folks on the board at the museum would like to chat with city officials about the potential of long-term leasing some of the land that makes up the as-yet undeveloped Peace Park to build a new museum home.  
  
  It's important to note that nothing has yet been set in stone regarding how and under what terms this construction can or even might occur.  The request of the Parks and Recreation Committee members last week and the full council this week is for city staff to "engage in further discussions... to continue exploring the feasibility of locating the museum within Ellen Kort Peace Park."
  
  I have no problem whatsoever with city staff engaging in those conversations though I understand the concern of some who would prefer that the park lands be kept as park lands and not as a home for a museum of art.  I can see the advantages and disadvantages of this potential.  But I believe it behooves us all to explore the possibilities.  As such, I'm in favor of the request on the table (to "engage further").  We, as citizens of Appleton, will still have plenty of say in and/or the ability to preclude this museum building on park grounds in the future.  Until then, there is, I feel, no harm in discussing the matter further without any commitment either way. 
  
  Let me know if you agree or disagree!  I'm happy to entertain all sides of this discussion and would love to hear from you. 

If you read anything last week or above that is of concern to you and you want to talk it out with your alderman, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.  I am happy to chat with you about these or anything else in city government that is of concern to you.

Happy August, all!  Enjoy these waning days of summer.  I'll see you back here next week for more on the goings on in governing the City of Appleton.