The Notes: Week of June 8 - June 12, 2026 (+ Special Note about June 13, 2026!)

Hello, Neighbors!  Thanks for tuning in again this week for more information about the goings-on in your City of Appleton local government. 

Last week, a major item that was to be discussed -- potential approval of a Tax Increment District (TID) on the Thrivent property here on the north side of Appleton -- was held at council until further information on a draft development agreement for the property comes forward through future committee meetings.  This means that the TID has not yet been approved by the common council and very likely will not be again discussed until perhaps late July.  Please keep your eye out for more information from your alderman in the coming weekly blog posts!

This week is a Committee Meetings Week.  Here's a summary of what will be discussed:

Monday, 06/08/2026

CEA Review Committee - 3:30pm  We start off the week with the meeting of a committee which only meets a couple times a year (at most).  The CEA -- the city's Central Equipment Agency -- is where all city fleet vehicles are purchased, disposed of, upgraded, etc.  Each department pays into the CEA commensurate with their fleet vehicle usage.  At this meeting, there will be a review and potential approval of the seasonal vehicle requests for all city departments, the 2027 proposed vehicle replacement schedule, and a request from the Appleton Police Department that future Community Service Officer (CSO) minivans purchased for the city be all-wheel-drive (AWD) instead of the current rear-wheel-drive (RWD).  RWD transmissions make these CSP vehicle nearly impossible to use in snow -- practically half the year here in northeast Wisconsin!  So the request to upgrade to AWD for future minivan purchases is totally understandable.  If you are interested in the CEA's equipment purchase logs for 2025 and 2026, please see here and here.     

Municipal Services Committee - 4:30pm  The first item on this committee's agenda is a revisiting of the potential approval of the 2028 paving and reconstruction of a stretch of Driscoll Street (from Prospect Avenue to the railroad tracks).  The city staff proposal has been protested by some of the residents of this street.  The residents do not want sidewalks on their street -- this is one of few streets in the city which was built without sidewalks before there was a city standard applied for all new streets to have sidewalks -- and the proposed narrowing of the street from the current 32' width to 26'.  The proposed narrowing can save three existing terrace trees along the this length of street.  This item was held by a former iteration of this committee for further review of traffic counts and parking along the street.  After the review was completed, city staff affirmed their original recommendations... so this one will be tricky due to resident push-back.  Perhaps the street width plan could be reevaluated; but I do not see how a foot or two more would make the difference in the issues that the neighbors seem concerned about (see their petition in this regard).  But a lack of sidewalks in this neighborhood is of concern to me.  While I understand that many folks have lived for a very long time without sidewalks, I do believe that drivers are overall far less attentive and drive far faster than is safe in neighborhoods nowadays.  It would be very difficult for me to believe that this neighborhood would not be safer for all with an "upgrade" to the standards now in place for the entire city: sidewalks along the roadway.  

Other items on this committees agenda include requests to approve:  1) hanging Edison lights in the alleyway public right-of-way between the 222 Building and the building across the alleyway from it, 2) a "trial period" for some proposed tree up-lighting along College Avenue from Badger Avenue to Drew Street, 3) a new pet waste station in the amenity strip on the 200 East block of College Avenue, 4) new Appleton Northside Business Association banners for installation on city light poles, and 5) to allow placement of display mannequins in the amenity strip in front of one storefront along College Avenue.  The last item will be interesting as there are currently no conditions put on this potential approval... so... could the mannequins be naked?  Will they be regularly taken in overnight?  What happens with these in inclement weather or when the city has to remove snow on the amenity strip in front of this store?   Oh, there's never a dull moment in local government!    

Finance Committee - 5:30pm  Committee members will be asked to review and approval several interesting items (and some run-of-the-mill ones, too):

• A renewed $25/hour pay rate for the citizen members (3) of the city's Board of Review
  
• A budget transfer to put an additional $350,000 into the library's solar fund for installation of a larger solar system than what was initially approved.  This will effectively double the cost of the initial solar plan for the library but is expected to reduce the utility costs of the library by $72,100/year (which is a ~7 year return on investment).  While this seems like a good return on investment (ROI), it is a steep upfront price to pay.  What do you think?
• The purchase of two trailers which will be the proposed temporary home of the transit operations center and public/employee restrooms while the city's new downtown transit center will be constructed.  The purchase of these trailers will be far less than the rental of them would be for the time period they will be needed.  But what will the city do with them afterwards...?
  
• The sole-sourcing of architectural and design services for the remodel of the 6th floor offices at City Hall (for ~$145,000 of the $1.85M budgeted for the total project)
• Several change-orders with contractors for city work
• A finally completed management agreement between the city and the current operator for the Fox Cities Exhibition Center (FCEC).  This one has been "in the works" for some time so it will be good to approve it and see how well it works to improve the success of FCEC.   

Parks and Recreation Committee - 6pm  A resolution that was presented in April regarding "vegetation analysis and data-informed mowing reduction strategy" for the city is back on the table for this committee.  This resolution was mentioned here and my concerns in this regard remain the same.  The amendments to the resolution that were approved at the last committee meeting do not change the fact that this is a non-action resolution.  There are still "therefore be it resolved" clauses containing words such as "supports," "encouraged," and "be considered" as the most actionable items contained in the amended resolution.  I don't have an issue with the gist of the resolution.  I still just don't see the need for this resolution.   

Tuesday, 06/09/2026

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

Utilities Committee - 4:30pm  One change order (resulting in a decreased contact amount due to some savings identified by the contractor) and one resolution approving the compliance maintenance annual report (for 2025) for the city's wastewater treatment facility are the only items on this committee's agenda this week.  

Wednesday, 06/10/2026  

Board of Health - 7am  This meeting has been cancelled.  (Early-riser board members get to sleep in!)

City Plan Commission - 3:30pm  This meeting has been cancelled. 

Community Development Committee - 4:30pm  This meeting has been cancelled. 

Safety and Licensing Committee - 5:30pm  At this meeting, the committee will review and look to approve the following:

• Denial of a bartender license for an applicant with a battery conviction, three Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) convictions, and a fourth OWI charge still to be adjudicated. 
• An official resolution which would allow this committee and the full council to review and possibly take action to renew the city's truancy ordinance.  The current truancy ordinance in Appleton was approved on a trial basis and that initial trial period is already up at the end of June.  I see the need for further examination of the effectiveness of this ordinance and am glad to see this resolution come forward so that the council could truly move forward with extending the trial period for perhaps another school year at least.  If no action is taken on this soon, we essentially will go "back to the drawing board" on the subject of truancy in the Appleton Area School District. What are your thoughts on this? 
• Acceptance of a $425,000 grant for the Appleton Police Department (APD) for robotic equipment and training for high-risk environments for officers 
• Late renewal alcohol license and cigarette/tobacco/vaping sales license applications
• Several new liquor licenses and amendments to current licenses throughout the city 

Human Resources and Information Technology Committee - 6:30pm  This meeting has been cancelled. 

And below is your Special Note for the week! 

Saturday, 06/13/2026

City of Appleton 75th Flag Day Parade - 2pm  

The Appleton Flag Day Parade is an American tradition.  The annual event is always held on the second Saturday in June.  Fox Cities citizens have honored “Old Glory” since 1950, making the Appleton Flag Day Parade the nation’s oldest. This celebration annually attracts hundreds of participants and more than 50,000 spectators to Appleton. 

NEW ROUTE FOR 2026: The City of Appleton announced a significant change for the 75th Appleton Flag Day Parade. Beginning this year, the parade will follow a more contained route, moving east along College Avenue from State Street to Drew Street. This is the same route used for the Downtown Appleton Christmas Parade. (For more information, please visit the city's News About Flag Day page.)

The Parade Grand Marshal is always the United States Flag.  The Appleton Flag Day Parade has been broadcast on WFRV TV5 since 1989 and will be again this year.  The event is organized by the Appleton Parade Committee, a group of dedicated community volunteers.

I hope to see you in and amongst the patriotic crowd this Saturday as we celebrate the flag and the coming of our Nation's 250th birthday!  Have a great week this week!