The Notes: Week of April 17 - April 21, 2023

Hi, Neighbors!  Did you enjoy our "false summer" last week?  I know I did!  This week, we are back to our regularly scheduled Wisconsin spring weather and... a new Full Council Week.  And by "new," I mean... a new council year subsequent to the April elections begins this week. 

Here is a your synopsis of the scheduled meetings for the week:

Tuesday, 04/18/2023

The Library Board kicks off this week with a regular meeting (not a library subcommittee meeting) at 3pm.  They will look to approve the March 2023 financials for the library, the minutes and a recap of the last meeting of the board's personnel and policy subcommittee, and a policy update regarding the conditions of employment at the library.  In non-action items, they will discuss National Library Week (04/23/2023 - 04/29/2023), some more trustee development (this one titled "Intellectual Freedom"), and their regular staff updates. 

Then there will be a Aldermen Swearing-In Ceremony for the newly elected and re-elected aldermen in the odd-numbered districts in the city.  This will begin at 5:15pm in Houdini Plaza (weather, of course, permitting).  The aldermen and the mayor will then move to council chambers in City Hall for a 6pm Informal Organizational Meeting of the council with its new makeup of members.  Spoiler alert: There is really only one new member of the council (from District 7) and all other council members from odd-numbered districts are returning as re-elected.  The aldermen from the even-numbered districts remain as they are elected/re-elected in even-numbered election years.  

Before this meeting, members of the "new council" were asked to review the current rules of the council and make suggested amendments to the rules.  This informal meeting is for the open discussion of these proposed rule changes prior to them being voted on at the next meeting of this council.  

Wednesday, 04/19/2023

And everyone who attends the Informal Organizational Meeting returns the following night (Wednesday) at 6pm to have final discussions and a vote on the proposed rule changes for the new council year in the "formal" Organizational Meeting.     

Then at 7pm, this new council will hold their first Full Council Meeting.  It's probably a good thing that the mayor does not have proclamations to present at the meeting as it will likely be a bit of a fiery one.  Here is the one likely candidate for further discussion before full council vote this week: 

• From the Municipal Services Committee:  Resolution to Eliminate No Mow May.  You've read my take on this (most recently here but also in many previous posts regarding this policy as linked in that linked post) and I've heard from many of you as well in this regard.  The one thing that all of us in the city seem to have in common is that we understand the importance of and fully support pollinators.  The thing that we seem to disagree on is whether our city code should allow grasses on private properties to grow longer than eight inches (the limit currently imposed by city code all year long, except in May with the current No Mow May policy).  Alderman Doran, who wrote this resolution to eliminate No Mow May, has gathered some simple points of information regarding grasses and the other things that can grow in grasses whose growth is the aim of those who believe they are supporting pollinators through No Mow May.  Here are the four findings that seem to contradict the need for the "unlimited grass growth length" portion of the No Mow May initiative:
  
  
• The typical maximum height of dandelions (the plant most often thought of as an available early food source for pollinators) is 6-8".  Knowing this, the 8" maximum in the city's current code for the entire year (except in No Mow May) is sufficient to allow for dandelion growth to support pollinators.
• The typical maximum height of clover (a close second in the early spring race to help support pollinators) is 4-8".  Again, knowing this, the 8" maximum in our current code allows for clover growth in yards to support pollinators.
• The recommendation for cutting of lawns to help dandelions grow is 4".  So... why is unlimited grass growth in May suggested by No Mow May to help support pollinators?  
• A US Department of Agriculture study shows that the optimal mowing frequency for bee habitat is two weeks.  So... why is a whole month of no mowing in May suggested by No Mow May to support pollinators? 

I have no issue with the educational piece of a "support pollinators" initiative such as No Mow May.  However, the four points above -- combined with the retraction of the scientific paper which was used as direct evidence to support the codifying of No Mow May in our city -- seem to contradict the logic of No Mow May to support pollinators in the early growing season in Appleton. 

There were other interesting pieces of information presented at the committee meeting during which four of the five committee members voted to defeat this resolution (and therefore keep No Mow May on the books in Appleton).  You can read a lot more about them and the developments surrounding public access to the data that was reportedly used to support No Mow May in Appleton here. 

As I've mentioned in the past, what most bothers me about all of this is that only a small portion of loud voices in the city are being listened to by most council members and that logic (as simply pointed out in the four above points) is not being used in decision making by this governmental body.  I'm interested in your thoughts on this... so please contact me and let me know!

If you are concerned about the lack of logic being employed here and are wanting to speak out against unlimited grass growth in our city (even for a month), please do join us for this meeting and make your thoughts known.  The four points above are just four of the many reasons No Mow May should be significantly rethought in our city.  Your voices are as important as those of the proponents of no limits on grass growth in May and all of the downsides that come with it!   

All else that was presented to you in last week's blog post passed through committees without much debate or heavy discussion.  I am grateful to all of you who have taken the time to contact me regarding those things about which I've written in the last few weeks.  It is really helpful to me to hear from "not loud voices" as well as the very loud ones so that I can get a better feel for the true "temperature in the room" in this city and in our district in particular.  If you have any more to share with me before the full council vote on the No Mow May issue -- or on any other issue! -- please do reach out!  

I hope that you all have a good "true spring in Wisconsin" week as we wait for a real summer to arrive.  I hope that you'll be back to read another blog post next week!  Thank you again for all of your feedback!