The Notes: Week of August 11 - August 15, 2025

Hey there, Neighbors!  Thanks for waiting a bit for an alderman blog post this Sunday.  We just returned from a very soggy camping trip -- in tents! -- and I believe that I am still drying out from the weekend. :)

This week in City of Appleton government is a Committee Meetings Week.  And there is quite a lineup of meetings scheduled.  Here is your rundown of what you can expect to hear about this week:

Monday, 08/11/2025

Municipal Services Committee - 4:30pm  In what is likely to be a long meeting of hearing from constituents along Oklahoma Street, this committee will begin with a request for approval of the street reconstruction design for said street between Mason and Richmond Streets.  In the initial hearing for this street redesign for reconstruction of underground utilities and repaving of the street, many homeowners expressed concerns over the narrowing of the street and the subsequent plan for allowing parking on only one side of the street.  This narrowing is recommended by city staff so as to save as many mature trees in the terrace as possible. This is, unfortunately, a fact of city living.  Streets cannot remain the same width during reconstruction unless all terrace trees are eliminated in the reconstruction process.  Just as we learned as kids, the root systems of large wide trees are as large and wide as the tree tops above ground.  When streets are resurfaced, the construction process disturbs these roots and many trees cannot be saved.  Narrowing roadways allows the city to attempt to save as many viable trees as possible.  Though we all wish there were a better way, there just isn't a better solution.  I trust that the Forestry Division and the Department of Public Works folks have done their best in this redesign plan to balance the needs of that neighborhood and the city overall.  Unless a viable alternative is presented, I don't see how this redesign will not pass a committee vote despite the us all having empathy for the homeowners on this street.  

Finance Committee - 5:30pm  Committee members will be asked to approve the following items:

• Reimbursement for maintenance of veterans' graves at Riverside Cemetery ($10/each for 670 graves = $6,700)
• The 2026 Special Assessment Policy (A renewal of this policy is passed each year at this time of the year before the policy enactment date.)
• A request to approve a sole-sourcing for furniture for the remodeling of the Community Development Department offices.  The total is just over $350,000 to replace approximately 30-year-old furniture that is currently being used.  A sole source contract is being requested here so that the city can continue to use the same design for new furniture for all of the department offices which have been remodeled recently and will be in the near future. 
• A request to move ~$145,000 budgeted dollars from parks hardscapes projects to a Mead Pool resurfacing project which is under-budgeted by that amount.  What will be sacrificed in this budget transfer is the resurfacing of parking lot #1 in Memorial Park which will be pushed off into a subsequent budget year.
• A budget move (from a 2024 carry-over to the current purchase of a phosphorus analyzer) for the Appleton Wastewater Treatment Plant (AWWTP).  The purchase was already authorized by the council.  But this budget move was somehow not included in that approval process.     

Parks and Recreation Committee - 6pm  This meeting has been cancelled. 

Tuesday, 08/12/2025

Fox Cities Transit Commission - 2:50pm  This meeting has been cancelled. 

Library Board - Finance Committee - Appleton Public Library Cornerstone Conference Room 3pm  This committee (made up of some select library board members) will be reviewing and will be asked to approve a proposed 2026 library operational budget, a proposed 2026 capital improvement plan, and a proposed network attached storage (NAS) device capital purchase in 2026.  The program revenues presented in this budget show an increase of about 2% from 2025 while the proposed expenses would increase by over 3.5%.  This is a bit concerning and I sure hope that the members of this committee will ask about this discrepancy and how it can be narrowed.  

Utilities Committee - 4:30pm  There is only one action item on this committee's agenda -- potential approval of a root control contract (for chemical root foaming of some specified sanitary sewers in the city).  This one is also concerning to me as the budgeted amount is $25,000 and the contract request is for $35,000.  From where will be difference come? 

Wednesday, 08/13/2025

Board of Health - 7am  There are a number of policy changes on the agenda for approval by these early-riser board members.  They include updates to the Child Passenger Safety Program policy and procedures (including appointment and fitting procedure updates) and updates to the city's Tuberculosis Screen Program and skin testing procedure.  There will also be a presentation on the 2025 Appleton Community Health Assessment.  See the presentation slides and the report of this assessment and let me know if you have any questions.  

Appleton Redevelopment Authority - 9am  This group has not met since February of 2024 so there will be some housekeeping items (elections of chairman and vice chairman, etc) on this week's agenda.  There will be no other action items; but there will be several informational items including presentations of draft Comprehensive Plan Sub-Area Plans for Northland/Richmond, Oneida Street, and Wisconsin Avenue.  

City Plan Commission - 3:30pm  One action item -- potential approval of a Certified Survey Map change for "alteration of land" for public grounds around the proposed new downtown transit center -- and one informational item -- proposed draft text amendments to the municipal code related to Signs --complete the agenda for this commission this week.  The former seems like an easy combining of the recently vacated unnamed alley, the never-used Oneida Street street right-of-way surrounding the current downtown transit center, and the lot that the transit center is currently occupying into one lot "to facilitate the redevelopment of the site."  

Community Development Committee - 4:30pm  Interestingly, there are only informational items on this committee's agenda this week.  They will review the latest permit summary report and the mid--year 2025 budget report for the Community Development Department. 

Safety and Licensing Committee - 5:30pm  Five more liquor license holders in the city have been asked to appear in front of this committee regarding recent liquor license violations and demerit points assessed.  All points assessed were for Dispensing Alcohol to a Minor and all these establishments now carry 80 demerit points for this violation.  One establishment now has 120 demerit points total for recent infractions (where 150 is the maximum allowed before suspension).  The establishments are as follows:

• Mill City Public House
• Northland Amoco
• The Bent Keg
• El Azteca (Northland Avenue)
• Lindo Michoacan (now with 120 demerit points)

After the committee hears from these license holders how they intend to keep future infractions from occurring at their establishments, the committee will move on to action items including a pet store license renewal, some temporary liquor licenses for festivals/events, and a new liquor license for a vape shop.  The Appleton Police Department (APD) will then present their mid-year 2025 report and there will be an update from the Appleton Area School District (AASD) regarding the latest on their truancy policy initiatives.  No action will be taken on the latter as we are still in the "informational item" stage with the city's potential approval of a new truancy ordinance.  But if you have any questions or comments for me in this regard, please reach out and let me know.  

Human Resources and Information Technology Committee - 6:30pm  This committee has not met for a while since there have been no significant changes regarding human resources or information technology in the city.  But this week, they will meet and look to approve 

• A tentative three-year agreement between the city and the fire fighter's union for a contract extension.  You can see a recap of the terms in this memo.   
• Updates to the city's fringe benefits policy.

The committee will also then review the mid-year 2025 reports for the Human Resources (HR) and the Information Technology (IT) Departments and a memo from the HR Director regarding mental health supports offered to city employees. 

And with that, this week's committee meetings will conclude.  As you can see, there are a lot of items on agendas this week!  So if you see anything above that concerns you or if you have comments or questions regarding anything above, please do not hesitate to reach out to me and let me know.  I'm happy to hear from you at any time.

I wish you a wonderful week and look forward to being back here again next week for more on the happenings of your local government.  Take care!