The Notes: Week of August 29 - September 2, 2022

Hello, All!  It's Fifth Week here in City of Appleton government so there are no meetings whatsoever scheduled for this coming week... which is a good thing as it's the end of summer, the first days of school are here for many Appleton children this week, and we are heading towards the long Labor Day weekend.

In today's blog post, I'd like to further discuss a couple of issues that went through Committee Week last week which will likely be discussed during the meeting of the full council the first full week of September. 

• The Municipal Services Committee discussed some changes to the municipal code for the potential for property owners to plant gardens in the street terrace (the area between the sidewalks and the street curb).  Here is a snapshot of the changes which were approved by the committee last week: 
  
  
  
  
  While I understand that some feel that these changes may make for some "messy" terraces, I do feel as though this policy change is a sort of a compromise that can be acceptable for the city so long as the plantings of the property owners who choose to take advantage of this policy change do not interfere with city utilities (underground utilities and fire hydrants, for example) and the work of the public works employees (plantings which interfere with fall leaf collection and/or weekly garbage and recycling collections).  The changes outlined above make it so that, should one of your neighbors be inappropriately using their terrace for nuisance or unsightly plantings, there are now some avenues through which those problems can and will be addressed by the city's public works department.  That, to me, is much better than folks willy-nilly using terrace areas for plantings which could really become an issue for neighborhoods in terms of weeds, tall growth that makes driving hazardous, etc.
  
  But I'm interested in your thoughts on this!  Please email me and let me know. 
  
  
• The Finance Committee this week rejected all bids on five total capital projects in the city.  So... despite these five projects being scheduled for completion for this budget year, they will not be done (at least not with the bidding companies for their excessively high bids).  Director of Parks and Recreation/Facilities Dean Gazza mentioned that there are various reasons he can imagine the bids came in so far above the city's budgeted amounts.  But he expressed great disappointment with the bidding companies for such outrageously bloated bids.  While I'm proud that the city is rejecting over-budget bids, I am again expressing my concern over the issue of so many project bids coming in over budget.  What could this mean for the library project?  And for the future of the city's budget overall?  This is a vital issue we need to keep our eyes on for the future!  Nothing good can come of bids for city projects that all come in way over our budgeted amounts.   
  
  A bit later in their meeting, though, this committee unanimously approved a contract for $150,000 for a management consultant to help the city award/distribute American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds grants.  This means that the city is slated to spend money ($150,000) to help itself spend the "free" ARPA money that the federal government granted the city.  Is this wise policy? 
  
  A District 13 item of importance passed through this committee as well -- the allocation of some general funds balance dollars ($150,000) to help remediate the emerald ash borer issue in Vosters Park.  I will be in contact with the Parks and Recreation Department in this regard (assuming this item gets full council approval) and will be able to share more information with neighbors regarding the changes we can expect in the coming months at Vosters Park. 
  
  Do you have any thoughts or concerns about the above items?  If so, please share them with me! 
  

I wish you all a wonderful week.  I will be sending my sophomore out for her first day of school this week and then my family will be spending the holiday weekend gathered for my sister's wedding on Saturday!  I hope to have the time to write another Sunday post this coming weekend as we move forward into the first full week of September.  But if it's not posted that day, look for a Labor Day (Monday) post from me.  

Blessings and good wishes to you all!