The Notes: Week of July 25 - July 29, 2022

Howdy, Neighbors!  Welcome to our last week of July 2022 -- where has this month gone?! -- and a Committee Meetings Week to wrap up the month in City of Appleton government. 

This will be a full week of meetings as there are no cancellations.  Here is a rundown of what to expect this week with some bullet points of agenda items for each meeting:

Monday, 07/25/2022

Municipal Services Committee - 4:30pm

• A property owner would like to have the street snow removal assessments waived for their properties.
• A property owner would like a variance for his existing non-conforming (meaning: the property owner made some changes to his property which made it "illegal") driveway in his front yard.
• The committee will review the Bird eScooter June 2022 report.  (There were two accidents in June.)
• The committee will review the city's June 2022 year-to-date parking utility revenue report.  (Year-to-date, the parking utility is approximately $300,000 behind budget, "in the hole.")

Finance Committee - 5:30pm

• In 2021, the full council voted to approve American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the parking utility for lost revenues during 2021 (due to COVID).  But due to some audit challenges, the funds were not moved.  This committee will discuss the possibility of now finally using $1.5M in ARPA funds to the parking utility to make this happen in 2022. 
• The committee will discuss and look to approve the transfer of $27,000 from an Einstein Park project to the pickleball complex at Telulah Park.  This is needed due to "bad soils" found when the pickleball complex construction began.  
• The committee will also review the potential to approve a contract with Camera Corner (for ~$50,000) to upgrade the "tech" in the city's council chambers.  This contact will be about $10,000 below the amount council already approved for this project. 

Parks and Recreation Committee - 6:30pm

• There is a contract up for approval by this committee for ~$50,000 for a shade system for Jones Park.  Though this seems like a lot of money, the shades will be welcome for this park as there is little air movement in the park in the heat of the summer and when there are many bodies present in the park for events.  The dollar figure actually impresses me as a smaller amount than I had expected.  Please let me know your thoughts!  
• The committee will also be asked to authorize staff to begin discussions/further discuss the relocation of the  Trout Museum of Art to within the bounds of Ellen Kort Peace Park.  I'm not sure as yet how I feel about this prospect... so if you have thoughts or opinions in this regard, please let me know!

Tuesday, 07/26/2022

Fox Cities Transit Commission - 3pm

• The June 2022 payments of Valley Transit are up for approval by this commission.  
• The commission will also review the 2021 audit information for the transit commission and the June 2022 income statements and ridership reports.

Utilities Committee - 4:30pm

• This committee meeting will commence with a presentation of the city's stormwater management plan update. 
• The committee will also be asked to approve (and recommend for approval to the full council) a draft of the city's lead and galvanized steel water service line replacement program eligibility and participation policy.  This policy is a "paperwork step" towards getting the ARPA funds that the city set aside for the replacement of these lead/steel water service lines many months ago distributed to homeowners in need of these service line replacements. 
• There will also be a review of the city's June 2022 water main break/joint leak report.  In June 2022, the city lost approximately $340,000 in water loss revenue due to breaks/joint leaks.

Wednesday, 07/27/2022

City Plan Commission - 3:30pm 

• Commissioners will discuss and review a College North Neighborhood Plan, a "framework for future development for the area north of College Avenue that facilitates greater connectivity between the city, adjacent neighborhoods, existing businesses, and not-for-profits while recognizing the influences between buildings, social settings, and the surrounding environment."  This sounds like a lot of words for a tall order.  Take a look at the plan and let me know your thoughts!

Community and Economic Development Committee - 4:30pm

• This committee, too, will review and look to approve the College North Neighborhood Plan.  They will also review the mid-year budget reporting for the city's Community and Economic Development Department.
  

Safety and Licensing Committee - 5:30pm

• First on this committee's agenda is a new resolution submitted to council at last week's full council meeting.  Some council members are asking that the city add an "advisory referendum" to the fall election ballot to ask the following question of voters:
  
  "Should marijuana be legalized for adult use, taxed, and regulated like alcohol?"
  
  While I personally feel that the legalization of marijuana is not necessarily a bad idea, there is a lot to unpack here.  First, this referendum question, even though it is requested to be added to ballots which will already need to be printed for the purposes of other votes in the fall election, will not cost the city "nothing" to add.  The last advisory referendum in the city of Appleton cost the city approximately $1,500.  Second, and perhaps most importantly, what will the results of this referendum really do?  The legalization of marijuana is a matter of state legislation, not of the common council of the City of Appleton or of its citizens per se (except as Appletonians vote for our state representatives in Madison).  It seems to me that this resolution will be an added expense for the city that will result in little.  It will, in essence, be a public poll (at the expense of the taxpayers of this city) of those who turn out to vote which will result in no change to the state laws regarding marijuana.  As such, I'm hesitant to support this resolution.  I am, however, very interested in your thoughts in this regard.  Please contact me and let me know what you think as I am a member of this committee and have a say in how this will proceed to the common council for a vote! 
  
• The committee will also review and look to approve a great many temporary liquor licenses for more summer festivals yet to come in the city.  

Human Resources and Information Technology Committee - 6:30pm

• There are no action items on the agenda for this committee.  Committee members will, however, review and discuss the Human Resources Department and the Information Technology Department mid-year budget reports and the item regarding technology upgrades to the council chambers that will have already been discussed by the Finance Committee (as mentioned above).
  

And with that... our busy Committee Meetings Week will conclude.  As usual, I ask that you let me know if anything here is of concern to you or if you have any other questions or concerns with City of Appleton government you'd like to discuss.  I'm at your service! 

Have a fabulous last week of the month and we'll see you back here next week -- in AUGUST!