What You May Not Know: Week Of December 10

There's always a lot happening with the Appleton City Council, but frequently you wouldn't know if you didn't go looking for news yourself. There's a lot of information buried in the agendas and minutes of various meetings, but most voters probably don't have or make the time to slog through all of that looking for news that impacts their lives.

If you're one of those voters, here's something you may have missed: The city's Parks and Recreation Committee is meeting on Wednesday night at 6 pm at City Hall, and one of the items on the agenda is discussion of improvements at Vosters Park. This park is down the street from my house, and presumably also near many of yours.

Here's a quick look at the sidewalks as planned. A better version of this picture is available in this week's meeting agenda:

This is a relatively large amount of work being done in the park, and its layout could have a pretty significant impact on further improvements planned in the space in the future (a pavilion and basketball courts have been discussed). However, it's likely to be approved in committee tomorrow and by the full council next Wednesday and this week was the first time I'd heard about it.

Because work wasn't done to inform neighborhood residents that this decision was pending, the decision is going to be made without insight from many of those with strong opinions on the matter: neighbors whose houses border the park, whose children use the facilities and whose property will be most impacted.

Discoveries like this are the primary reason I decided to run for city council. There's a lot going on with city government that I simply don't feel like we're hearing enough about. I think our district needs an alderman that will work to keep his constituents informed about the issues that impact them, and I'd be honored to have the opportunity to serve in that role.