The Notes: Week of February 6 - February 10, 2023

Well, we've made it through January, neighbors.  Here we are in the first full week of February 2023 and into another Committee Meetings Week in Appleton city government.  

A few committees will not meet this week due to lack of agenda items.  They are as follows:

• Fox Cities Transit Commission
• Utilities Committee
• Appleton Redevelopment Authority (which is not a "regular" biweekly committee meeting, but would normally have been scheduled to meet this week)
• City Plan Commission
• Community and Economic Development Committee
• Safety and Licensing Committee

And with that, we can move forward with the week's "What You Can Expect" rundown!

Monday, 02/06/2023

Municipal Services Committee - 4:30pm  Folks interested in more information regarding the proposed restriping/lane changing of College Avenue downtown should plan to attend this committee meeting as there will be more information provided and, no doubt, more questions and answers from council and committee members.  There are some really informative links in this document which can help those who are uninformed or as yet on the fence about this potential change better understand what can be anticipated if the city proceeds with the restriping.  Being informed is always better, in my opinion, than "keyboard warrior-ing" against a change without any data to support complaints. The update discussion on this potential project is scheduled for the "informational items" portion of the agenda which will follow discussion and committee voting on a few action items.  These action items include:

• Discussion and potential approval of an agreement between the city and the state for the state to pay Appleton for an "urban program project" of rebuilding Lawe Street from College Avenue to Wisconsin Avenue.  The agreement includes the city providing 20% or any funds in excess of $339,441 (the federal/state aid amount) for design costs and 20% or any funds in excess of ~$2.4M (the federal/state aid amount) for construction costs for the project scheduled for 2026.  
• A request for waiver of a sidewalk snow removal assessment of $118.50 from a property owner on Edmund Drive.  No information on this property owner's reason for requesting a waiver of these fees for snow removal have been provided in the meeting agenda; but the city does have sidewalk snow removal rules that must be followed and a proper notification system from the city to non-complying property owners.  So there is little reason for waiver of this fee, in my opinion.
  
• A request to remove an existing two-hour parking restriction in two locations on Prospect Avenue and Fifth Street for a six-month trial period.  Apparently many who live in this area find the parking situation contentious.  I am interested to hear their thoughts on this situation before deciding if this trial period change is worth a shot or would cause more disruptions in the neighborhood.     
  

Finance Committee - 5:30pm  Two action items from the last time this committee met are back on the agenda after being placed on hold two weeks ago -- a sole-sourcing request (which, if you've been reading these blog update the last few weeks you'll know is of concern to me) for the floor epoxy coating for Fire Station #1 and a request to approve an initial contract for the removal of trees in Vosters Park here in District 13.  Don't worry, Vosters Park neighbors!  I will be at this meeting again to request a continued hold on that Vosters Park contract approval until we, as a neighborhood, get through our follow-up Vosters Park Reconstruction neighborhood meeting and the changes that the department will be proposing to us are included in any changed/new contract for work in the park.  Dean Gazza, Parks and Recreation Director, has already contacted the chairman of the finance committee to cue him up to a continued hold request.  So nothing will yet happen on this item at this time!   The committee will also take up various other contract approvals which all appear to be under budget (which is a relief to see!).  

Parks and Recreation Committee - 6:30pm  This committee will take up a request to approve the use of Jones Park for special ticketed private events on 06/06/2023 (SOL Dance) and 07/08/2023 (Sky Dance).  The event organizers put these two events on last year without any issues, so there is little to prevent the committee from approval for this second year of these events in Jones Park.  These committee members will also be asked, as the committee of jurisdiction, to approve the winning images selected by the Appleton Public Arts Committee for the Houdini Welcome Tower Photo Contest.  You can view the winning photos in this memo.

Wednesday, 02/08/2023  

Board of Health - 7am  In their usual bright-and-early time slot, the Board of Health will meet to discuss a few informational items:

• A presentation regarding the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) designating the city's health department a Level III Health Department,
• A table of organization adjustment in the city's health department (which is a mystery to board members as yet since no information accompanies this item on the agenda),
• A review of the noise variances approved for various live music events by the city's health department director,
• A declaration of a dangerous animal (a dog with two incidences of unprovoked attacks) in the city,
• The 3rd and 4th quarter reports for the health department, and 
• The Appleton Health Department newsletter

There are no action items on the table for these early risers.

Human Resources and Information Technology Committee - 6:30pm  Almost twelve whole hours after that Board of Health meeting, the HRIT committee meeting will commence with a few Table of Organization (TO) adjustments from the Appleton Police Department, the Legal Services Department (which includes the City Clerk's office), and the Public Health Department to discuss and potentially approve.  The informational items on the agenda include a note regarding an incentive program for the city to hire HVAC technicians -- a $2,500 sign-on bonus!  If you know of any HVAC techs looking for a great (public-pension-plan-included) job, please share this with them! 

Thursday, 02/09/2023

Vosters Park Redevelopment Project Follow-Up Neighborhood Meeting - 6pm   I invite any and all interested neighbors to attend this meeting regarding the updates to the plans to manage the dead/dying ash trees in the park (due to the emerald ash borer) and related changes to the wooded area of the park.  Please join us!   See the meeting details below:

I look forward to seeing many of you again this week at this meeting.  I always appreciate hearing your feedback on pressing matters such as this and really, on any issue of concern to you as Appleton taxpayers and my District 13 neighbors.  So please reach out to me if you have anything on your mind regarding any of the above items or anything city-government-related. 

Have a wonderful February week!  I hope you'll join me for another blog post again next week.