What you may not know: Week of March 31

Before I get started with this week's council update, I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that our 2014 city and school elections will be held on Tuesday, April 1. Here in Appleton we have four candidates vying for three spots on the school board and three contested races for spots on the Common Council. Polls will be open from 7 am-8 pm on Tuesday, and you can find your voting location by typing in your address at my.appleton.org and clicking on the "voting" tab.

After that, the Appleton Common Council will meet on Wednesday and the three items on my radar are things I also discussed last week. Here are the updates on them:

Bike lanes on Fremont Street

After nearly an hour of debate last Tuesday (the third time they've debated this issue) the Municipal Services Committee voted 4-1 to reaffirm their decision to install bike lanes on Fremont Street this summer, which will require the removal of some on-street parking. The issue will come before the council again this week, and will likely receive a final vote.

The real challenge of the bike lane debate is that we're frequently pushed to seek "compromise" when the only available alternatives are really not all that viable. In this case, we've heard arguments in favor of creating a "sharo" on the street, a shared lane for bike and vehicle traffic. I'm not sure how that's significantly safer than doing nothing at all. We've also heard arguments for closing a lane of traffic on each side of Calumet Street to make room for bike lanes there. Calumet Street is one of the city's busiest arterial streets, so removing traffic lanes could create major backup issues.

I anticipate that on Wednesday we as a council will again be accused of "not listening" to concerns of neighbors and others that do not want to see bike lanes on Fremont Street or other parts of the city. That couldn't be further from the truth. By the time this issue is taken up on Wednesday we'll have heard debate on this issue on five separate occasions. Public comment has been taken into account in each and every one of those meetings, concerns have been addressed where possible and further steps have been considered.

At the end of the day, we as a council need to make a decision. No matter what we do hear, not everyone will be happy with it. But please allow me to assure you that the concerns addressed by both sides were not ignored.

Carryover budgets

Last week the Finance Committee voted unanimously to approve dozens of requests to carry unspent dollars from the 2013 budget over to 2014. A significant share of these dollars will be used to complete projects that were budgeted for last year but could not be completed before the end of the year for various reasons. However, 22 of these items are "special considerations," additions to the budget using leftover unspent funds.

A large number of those 22 items are requests for "pay for performance" salary adjustments. These are pay raises specifically granted to employees who received exceptionally high scores in their evaluations for 2013. There are also projects in here like $150,000 for storm sewer relocation and reconstruction under the Banta Bowl, $99,000 for replacement of computers, hardware, software and phones and $36,500 for the installation of indented parking on a couple of blocks of Mason Street.  All told, the "special consideration" portion of the carryover requests is $672,548.

As I mentioned above, this passed Finance unanimously last Wednesday. It's probably unlikely to be dramatically altered on the floor at council.

Farm Markets

Two weeks ago the council referred a request to hold a Wednesday Farm Market in the grassy area behind the City Center back to the Safety and Licensing Committee, where it was scheduled to be heard again last Thursday. Unfortunately, that meeting had to be cancelled, so Safety and Licensing will hold a special meeting before council at 6 pm on Wednesday to take up this item and the others on their agenda.

The conversation, best as I can tell, is still about finding the best place to hold this market. Once we settle on that I think the large majority of us will all be happy to have another event to help make local food more available and draw more people downtown in the process.

You can see agendas for all of this week's meetings and the full schedule at the city's Legistar page.

Keeping you informed on issues that may impact you around the city is one of my primary goals as an alderman. Making the council's activity as accessible as possible to as many people as are interested is part of my goal to make it easier for more people to get involved with issues that matter to them.

What you may not know: Week of March 24

It's a relatively light committee week for the Appleton Common Council, with three cancelled meetings on Monday and another on Wednesday. There are still a few items worth watching, though. Here's what's on my radar:

Municipal Services, Tuesday, 5:30 pm

Last week at our full council meeting the issue of Fremont Street bike lanes was referred back to committee, and a vote to block that refer-back failed by one vote. So on Tuesday the committee will again hear arguments for and against the installation of bike lanes on this street, which would require the removal of some on-street parking.

Last week I posted a list of frequently-asked questions regarding bike lanes, and I think many of the ongoing concerns on this issue are addressed there. With that said, we'll get another opportunity to hear spirited debate on this issue on Tuesday.

Finance, Wednesday, 4:30 pm

Part of our annual budgeting process is a review of money budgeted but not spent in the previous year for a variety of reasons. Causes of this issue include projects expected to happen last year that weren't completed, salary dollars budgeted for positions that were vacant for some or all of the year, items that came in under budget and the like. On Wednesday the Finance Committee will consider several "carryover" requests that would allow a portion of 2013's unspent dollars to be used on projects this year.

The proposals the committee will consider are divided into two groups: The first is dollars budgeted for projects that were not completed in 2013 but will be completed in 2014 with the carryover funds. The second group is called "special considerations," and contains extra tasks that could be funded with remaining unspent dollars.

The large ticket items in that second group include:

• $150,000 for storm sewer relocation and reconstruction as part of Lawrence's planned upgrades to the Banta Bowl.
• Three items worth a combined $99,000 for replacement of computers, computer hardware, software and phones.
• $36,500 for the installation of indented parking on the 900 and 1000 blocks of Mason Street to replace some parking removed when bike lanes were installed last year.

Safety and Licensing, Thursday, 5 pm

UPDATE: This meeting has been postponed, and the action items will be discussed in a special meeting before council on April 2.

Two weeks ago the Safety and Licensing Committee received and voted to unanimously approve an application from Appleton Downtown, Incorporated to host a weekly Wednesday farmers market this summer on the grassy area behind the city center where the apartment building was torn down last year. However, at council last Wednesday the issue was referred back and the committee will discuss it again on Thursday.

Last week I heard a concern that holding a market may tear up the grass in this area, which was just planted last year. At the same time, the market could be more visible if held in the new Houdini Plaza.

I am strongly in favor of providing more opportunities for people to get local food here in the city, so I'll support this farm market both as an alderman and a customer regardless of where it ends up being located. However, I do think there's an interesting conversation to be had about ideal locations for it.

You can see agendas for all of this week's meetings and the full schedule at the city's Legistar page.

Keeping you informed on issues that may impact you around the city is one of my primary goals as an alderman. Making the council's activity as accessible as possible to as many people as are interested is part of my goal to make it easier for more people to get involved with issues that matter to them.

What you may not know: Week of March 17

The Appleton Common Council will hold its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday night at 7 pm, and it could be an interesting night with the following items on the agenda:

Bike lanes

Last Tuesday the Municipal Services committee voted 4-1 to approve a plan calling for bike lanes to be installed on Fremont Street from Oneida Street to Telulah Avenue, which combined with a "bike route" east of Telulah would form a pretty significant east-west passage in the city's developing bike lane network.

As has typically been the case, installation of bike lanes has been a hot topic because it requires the removal of some on-street parking in front of homes on this route. The committee heard from residents of this street and others for multiple hours last Tuesday, and may of the concerns expressed will sound familiar to anyone who followed last spring's debate on bike lanes on Mason Street.

If you haven't been following the debate, here are some frequently asked questions about bike lanes:

• Do they really make a difference? Adding a stripe of paint to concrete may not seem to add a lot of safety for bicyclists, but statistics show it does. Raising driver awareness of the possibility that a bicycle may be nearby has a significant impact on driver behavior.
• Why do bike lanes have to be installed on busy streets/my street? Major streets are often the best place for bicycles to operate because they have controlled intersections when they cross other busy streets. Take the intersection of Fremont and Lawe Streets, for example. It's a four-way stop. It's much safer for a bicycle to cross Lawe Street there than it would be if the bike route was a block north on Harrison Street or a block south on Maple Street.
• I don't see anyone riding a bicycle on this street now, so why do we need bike lanes? The bike lane plan isn't just an accommodation for current bicyclists, it's also an effort to make potential bicyclists feel more confident using our streets. Bicyclists may not feel safe using busy streets now, but by adding infrastructure the hope is that we can open the door for more people who may be interested to start taking opportunities to bike.
• What's the difference between a "bike lane" and a "bike route?" Bike lanes are an actual stripe on the pavement marking an established space for bicycles to use. A bike route is a street that has been identified as a street for bicyclists to use, but has not been striped. Bike routes are ideal for streets with lower traffic, but don't add much for safety on a higher-traffic street. In this case the Fremont bike lane will become an unstriped bike route east of Telulah Avenue, where traffic on Fremont becomes much less.

Fox River House

On Wednesday morning the city's Board of Health will meet in special session to consider a noise variance request for the Fox River House, a bar located near downtown on S. Walnut Street. At least one neighbor has complained about the volume of noise produced when FRH has live bands outside on their patio.

As a result of the complaints, Fox River House has requested a variance from the city's noise ordinance allowing them to have outdoor music on the following dates:

• Friday and Saturday nights from 7-11 pm from May 23-September 6.
• Wednesday nights from 7-10 pm during the same timeframe.
• Saturday, May 17, Thursday, August 7, Friday, September 26 and Saturday, September 27.

Since this issue came to light members of the council have received well over 100 emails from neighbors and customers in support of this noise variance. It's clear that FRH is offering a service that brings people to our downtown. Over the same period I've seen two emails from neighbors with concerns. I'm sure we'll hear more about this topic at Wednesday morning's meeting and again Wednesday night.

Compensation adjustments in the Utilities Department

Last week I wrote about an effort to respond to a salary issue in the utilities department which has led to the departure of several long time city employees. The matter appeared before both the Human Resources and Finance committees last week and both agreed to an adjustment that brings around 20 employees at the Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants back into a competitive pay scale. This comes at a cost, of course, but I think most involved are in agreement that the cost of losing these employees, their experience and expertise would be much greater.

You can see agendas for all of this week's meetings and the full schedule at the city's Legistar page.

Keeping you informed on issues that may impact you around the city is one of my primary goals as an alderman. Making the council's activity as accessible as possible to as many people as are interested is part of my goal to make it easier for more people to get involved with issues that matter to them.

What you may not know: Week of March 10

It's an active committee week for the Appleton Common Council. Here are some highlights:

Human Resources, Monday, 6 pm

The city recently wrapped up an extended review of salaries throughout city government, establishing pay grades and raise opportunities for hundreds of employees. The process was long and challenging, and unfortunately a pay freeze during the process created some short and long-term issues.

One of those issues came in the Utilities Department, where we're experiencing issues as several longtime employees have departed. The extremely complex nature of the water and wastewater treatment facilities mean it's very difficult to replace those employees and a lot of experience and expertise is lost with them.

At 6 tonight the HR committee will consider a one-time pay adjustment for some employees in this department that will hopefully stem the tide of departures. We're always cognizant of the cost of doing things like this, but I anticipate we'll decide that the cost of continuing to lose employees is greater.

Municipal Services, Tuesday, 5:30 pm

Frequent readers of this space will know that bike lanes have been one of the most often-debated topics we've faced in my year on the council. Another debate is coming as the Municipal Services Committee is expected to consider a plan this week to add lanes to Fremont Street (from St. Elizabeth Hospital to near East High School) and remove parking on portions of the street.

As a council we're not that far removed from the debate on Mason Street, and this one is similar in several ways. Fremont Street passes through a residential area, so removing or restricting on-street parking will cause some hardship for residents. We're also hearing a lot of the same questions we heard during that debate.

I anticipate we'll hear spirited debate again on the merits of creating bicycle infrastructure vs the value of on-street parking. Odds are this is merely the first chapter in an extended conversation.

Parks and Recreation, Wednesday, 6 pm

One of the more surprising developments of this year has been the sudden decision to close the Gardens of the Fox Cities at Memorial Park. While the facility is in a city park, operation of the grounds was done by an independent group that elected to cease operations.

That decision has left the city in a couple of difficult predicaments: First, there are some short-term adjustments that will need to be made to pay for ongoing maintenance of the facility. The grounds will still need some ongoing work to remain viable, and we're going to have to find some room in the budget to pay for that.

Beyond that, we have the bigger question of our long-term plan for the facility. Multiple groups have reached out to us about partnering to manage the Gardens going forward, so we should have plenty of opportunities to ensure this popular attraction continues to operate.

No decisions will be made on this matter on Wednesday, but we do have an information item on the agenda so we can all get on the same page regarding the situation and get informed about what happens next.

You can see agendas for all of this week's meetings and the full schedule at the city's Legistar page.

Keeping you informed on issues that may impact you around the city is one of my primary goals as an alderman. Making the council's activity as accessible as possible to as many people as are interested is part of my goal to make it easier for more people to get involved with issues that matter to them.

What you may not know: Week of March 3

I apologize for the somewhat brief nature of this update: I'm writing from Arizona, where I'm currently on vacation and will be until Tuesday evening. 

With that said, I'll be back for this week's meeting of the Appleton Common Council on Wednesday, and there's one issue in particular I'm keeping an eye on this week:

Appointing an alderperson for District 8

Many of you may have heard that Alderman Kole Oswald, who had previously announced he was not planning on seeking re-election, recently accepted a job in China and moved overseas, vacating his position on the council. As of this writing he would have had about a month and a half left on his term before his replacement was sworn in at our second meeting in April.

At our last council meeting we briefly discussed what we as a council can do regarding the remainder of his term. We have the ability to hold a special election, but in this case it's not feasible to do so. By the time we held a special election it'd already be Election Day. We also have the ability to appoint someone to fill the seat in the interim, and that's what we'll debate on Wednesday.

For what it's worth, only one candidate filed to run for this seat in the spring elections: Polly Dalton. As such, the obvious option is to appoint Ms. Dalton to fill the seat early. It's really up to her, though, if she'd like to start on the council immediately or would prefer to wait until after she's likely to be elected in April.

We also have the option of appointing someone else, but anyone else we appoint would hold the position for just six weeks before, since they have not filed as a candidate for the April elections, they're likely to have to give up the seat (barring a write-in campaign).

I'm always reluctant to give a seat on the council to someone who wasn't interested in the task of running for election. So, with that said, my preference would be to either appoint Ms. Dalton to the seat early or simply leave it vacant until after the spring elections. 

You can see agendas for all of this week's meetings and the full schedule at the city's Legistar page.

Keeping you informed on issues that may impact you around the city is one of my primary goals as an alderman. Making the council's activity as accessible as possible to as many people as are interested is part of my goal to make it easier for more people to get involved with issues that matter to them.