The Notes: Week of February 12 - February 16, 2024

Hi, Neighbors.  Thanks for joining me here on this Super Bowl Sunday for a glimpse into what to expect this Committee Meetings Week.  It looks to be a pretty full week so let's dive right in!

Monday, 02/12/2024 

Municipal Services Committee - 4:30pm  The first action items on this committee's agenda is the potential approval of a preliminary resolution for the concrete paving and sidewalks on Amethyst Drive (from Bluetopaz to Aquamarine).  This is the first step in the process to get this paving done and this item, when approved, will move on to the Finance Committee for a determination of the assessment rate for the homeowners affected by this project. Folks living on this street should be receiving their assessment letters in the near future.  But remember... you will be granted the "old" lower rate for this project due to the project having to be delayed by the city.  (See here for a recap of that.)  

Another item that's been discussed in previous meetings of this committee will come back up for discussion this week: a resolution proposing the closure of the Whitman Avenue yard waste site as a duplication of city (and county) services.  See here for more information on this.  According to this memo, it is unlikely that the city will close the Whitman site -- despite the fact that Appleton is one of the only communities in the region to keep open hours for two yard wastes sites within only miles of a robust county waste site -- due to a contribution from the Town of Grand Chute for the use of the city's sites by citizens of the township.   

There will also be an update on the city's Complete Streets initiative/study presented to this committee (and anyone else present at this meeting). 

Finance Committee - 5:30pm  This committee will look to approve some contract awards for large sidewalk/street construction, water reconstruction, lead and galvanized water line replacement, and concrete paving.  Also on the agenda is a request to use some "open space" funds in the Parks and Recreation budget in order to receive a matching grant from the Visitors and Convention Bureau for a kayak launch at Telulah Park.  The $15,000 that the city will contribute to this will be 1-to-1 matched by the Bureau for a total project (concrete pad, kayaks, and rack).  Since the memo for this request states that kayaks will be purchased, I will be interested to see how this program will work, the costs users can expect to pay, how kayaks are expected to be returned to the launch, etc., etc.  What questions do you have in this regard?  

An important item of note on this committee's agenda is also a request to reject all bids that were received for HVAC system upgrades at two of the city's fire stations.  The budget for these upgrades is ~$450,000 and the bids received came in at $629,200 and $655,533!  Yikes!  This seems like a big miss on the part of either the city's budgeting staff or a result of some pretty hefty inflation -- or both.  A memo in this regard simply states that the project will be reviewed and "rescoped" and items that can be deferred to a future year will be.  

A last item of discussion will be an update from the Finance Director regarding the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds status.  See here for the latest summary of the funds received from the federal government, those funds already spent or committed, and those funds remaining. 

Parks and Recreation Committee - 6:15pm  This committee will vote on whether to approve a bid of $93,400 (including contingency) for design and consulting for the shoreline redevelopment at Lutz Park.  This means that the design and consulting for this project will be about 10% of the total budget for the project of $900,000.

This committee will also look to approve the 2024 proposed policy and rate changes for pool rentals, recreation hardship fee waivers, and swimming passes at the city's pools.  The only rate increase proposed is a $5 annual increase for a youth pool pass.

There are also 2023 annual reports up for review by this committee this week.  This bit of information is included in the Parks and Recreation/Facilities Management Department's 2023 Grounds Report:

Tuesday, 02/13/2024

Fox Cities Transit Commission - 2:50pm  This meeting has been cancelled due to lack of agenda items.

Utilities Committee - 4:30pm  This meeting has been cancelled due to lack of agenda items.

Wednesday, 02/14/2024

Board of Health - 7am  Starting their day off bright and early, these board members will be asked to approve a new vendor for the health department to move from paper health records to electronic Health Records (EHR) and to allow the health department to seek grant funding aimed at helping increase correct usage of child safety seats in vehicles.  On the former, I will be interested to hear about the online privacy safety measures that the vendor will have in place to protect private citizens' health records held by the city.  On the latter, I will be interested to see whether accepting these grant funds will require additional work above and beyond what the city health department already provides on vehicular safety seats for children (like the safety seat installations and fittings occasionally offered at fire stations throughout the city).  What questions or concerns might you have on these topics?

Appleton Redevelopment Authority (ARA) - 9am  There are some vacancies to fill and reappointments to affirm on the ARA Exhibition Center Advisory Committee as some folks have stepped down or moved out of the hotel/hospitality business.  Members of this Authority (committee) will convene to discuss those changes.  The ARA is also seeking to fill another vacancy as well.  Interested parties can find out more about the position and apply here. 

City Plan Commission - 3:30pm  This meeting has been cancelled due to lack of agenda items.

Human Resources and Information Technology Committee - 4:30pm  The Appleton Police Department (APD) is looking to create a  lead position in their forensics evidence unit.  This civilian-staffed unit is currently mostly self-supporting and self-regulated and supervised generally by a police lieutenant.  According to the police chief and  Captain Wallace of APD, this unit would benefit from one of the three positions in the unit being "lifted" to a Lead Forensic Evidence Specialist to help manage the unit on a day-to-day basis.  The financial impact would be minimal (estimated at $2,000) and would result in some overtime savings in the department as well.  As such, I do not have an objection to this request.  What are your thoughts on this?

Safety and Licensing Committee - 5:30pm  Committee members will start this meeting hearing from representatives from McGuinness Irish Pub regarding their recent assessment of 50 demerit points for "Open After Hours."  Demerit points accumulate and accumulations of 150-199 points in a two-year period leads to the suspension of a liquor license.  So... McGuinness is not near there yet; but their agent is asked to appear to share with the committee what is being done at the establishment to avoid further incidences leading to more demerit points. The committee will then move on to potential approvals of a slate of liquor licenses, license agent changes, and temporary liquor licenses.  

Community and Economic Development Committee - 6:30pm  This meeting has been cancelled due to lack of agenda items.

As you can see, there are lots of items on this week's agendas.  So, the relative lull in excitement in city government business is apparently coming to an end.  Please let me know if you have any specific questions regarding any of the above mentioned items or regarding anything else city-government-related that might be on your mind.  I'm always happy to hear from you! 

And I'll wrap this post up with a quick update on last week's council vote on adding grant funds to the library project without lowering the local taxpayer burden for the project.  The bottom line is that the majority of council members present at last week's meeting rejected an amendment I proposed to make sure that these added grant funds would not break the mayor's promise of a maximum of $26.4M in taxpayer funds for the library project.  Eleven of the thirteen present voted to "up" the library project budget with these grant funds and not refund the taxpayers that same amount.  Only two of us -- your alderman and the District 15 alderman -- voted 'no' and, in doing so, held true to the mayor's word to you, dear Appleton Taxpayers.  If you want more information in this regard, please reach out to me. 

I hope that you have a great week and I look forward to sharing more local government goings on with you next Sunday!