The Notes: Week of August 4 - August 8, 2025

Hello, again, Neighbors!  Thanks for tuning in for a Full Council Meeting Week alderman blog post.  There was one other meeting scheduled this week… but it’s been cancelled.  And normally, that would leave only the full council meeting agenda for us to talk about.  Except that this week... there will be a special meeting held by the Appleton Area School District as well.  Here’s what you can expect:

Monday, 08/04/2025 

Appleton Area School District (AASD) Public Listening Session on Student Attendance Policy Initiatives - Appleton Public Library's Mary Beth Nienhaus Community Meeting Room - 5:30 to 7pm:  I would not normally include school district meetings in this alderman blog.  But this meeting is important to city government as it deals with the school district’s request of the council to bring back a truancy ordinance in the city’s municipal code.  The city has a somewhat tricky history with a truancy ordinance on the books and, due to some troubles with the previous iteration in the city — so called “truancy court” —  references to any truancy policy were removed from the city’s municipal code several years ago.  Post-COVID, the school district has seen a rise in truancy and is now asking that city put a new truancy ordinance in place as an additional “tool in the tool box” to help to get a small (but still important) portion of non-school-attending students back to school.  I am certain that any new truancy ordinance will not at all be like the previous iteration (“truancy court”); yet there remains a proverbial bad taste in some community members’ mouths about having any sort of truancy ordinance whatsoever in the city’s municipal code.  I do believe that there should be something in place and am happy that AASD is holding this session to hear from the community.  The feedback garnished from this session will no doubt help common council members and city leaders to formulate the most useful and least egregious truancy ordinance possible when the time comes for the council to vote on adding a truancy ordinance back to city code.  

What are your thoughts on this?  Please let me know.  And please, if you are able and available, attend this session and let your thoughts be heard by all district and city leadership in attendance!

Wednesday, 08/06/2025

City of Appleton Common Council - 7pm:  After the mayor gets the ball rolling with a very reasonable three proclamations, we get to the heart of the agenda.  There is one public hearing regarding the revision of the comprehensive plan and zoning change for one of the new annexations into the city -- the property west of the Northland Avenue and Hwy 441 interchange.  This was mentioned here and involves the future land use map for this portion of land changing from business/industrial to commercial and the zoning of this newly annexed land from agricultural to C2 General Commercial.  I expect there will be no resistance to these changes in council.  

There will also be a special resolutions vote for the vacation (the city "getting rid of") the small portion of Oneida Street between Washington and Franklin Streets and a tiny little portion of an unnamed alleyway in that same area.  This item was approved by both the Municipal Services Committee and the City Plan Commission last week.  It, too, should see little resistance as these little pieces of land are expected to be used in the eventual grant-dollar-funded downtown transit center construction project. 

Everything else on the agenda was last discussed two weeks ago during that Committee Meetings Week.  Here are the items which may be separated for further discussion (but likely not since they were approved without much fanfare):

• From the Municipal Services Committee: Official ordinance changes to codify the parking changes on Baldeagle Drive and Providence Avenue now that the final concrete and curb and gutter have been completed.  Once these ordinance changes are passed, parking will officially be prohibited on the north/east side of Baldeagle Drive from Peregrine Boulevard to Lightning Drive and on the east side of Providence Avenue from CTH JJ to Aquamarine Avenue. 
• From the City Plan Commission:  Approval of the preliminary plat maps for Glenmore Park (a new subdivision planned north of the Apple Hills subdivision on the far northeastern corner of the current city limits) and for Mission Ridge North (a new subdivision planned between the new Lightning Drive extension and French Road north of Emerald Valley subdivision).  Both were easily passed by the commission so will likely pass full council.  As the alderman for the district in which both subdivisions are planned, I see no issue with either preliminary plat and am happy to see well planned new developments in this area.  Both include plans for proper subdivision drainage/stormwater management and the streets are platted to follow the city's current Smart Streets plans. 
• From the Finance Committee:  Approval of four resolutions allowing the city's issuance of bonds for 2025 budget funding.  This year, there is a new process in place in which the council would  authorize these bond issuances/sales (as the city does every year at this time) but within specified parameters during a "window of opportunity" rather than "on a specific date."  The issuance/sales can now take place under the best market conditions during a specific window of time and within restricted parameters included in each resolution.  It had always been assumed that the council must authorize a specific issuance/sale date and, no matter the market conditions on that date, the city would proceed with the sales.  This year, though, it was determined that these resolutions can be written to allow for some date flexibility as far as market conditions to best benefit the city (and taxpayers!).  
• From the Community Development Committee: During the committee meeting for initial approval, not a question was asked nor a comment made about the city's poor grammar suggested in the municipal code changes regarding electrical installations by homeowners.  The changes to include some "non-gendered language" was mentioned by me here.  I know it seems like no big deal to some... but I am irritated by the city's official municipal code containing such poor grammar that we as Appletonians look the fools.  Regardless, I suspect that this item will pass unamended and poor grammar will be immortalized in yet another portion of City of Appleton municipal code.  

And that will wrap it up for this week of meetings.  If anything above sparked your interest or led to you asking any questions, please contact me for clarification or to let your opinion be known.  Thanks for tuning in again this week.  I'm happy to finally be back to bringing you a regular Sunday edition of this blog.  

Have a great first full week of August 2025!