Monday, March 23, 2015

What you may not know: Week of March 23

The Appleton Common Council has our final committee week this week before the April 7 spring elections, and it'll be a busy one with several notable items appearing on agendas:

City Plan Commission, Monday, 4 pm

Our first meeting of the week will be of interest to many residents of the 13th district, as the City Plan Commission will be asked to consider a request to rezone 22 acres of currently vacant property near the corner of Lightning Drive and Evergreen Drive for proposed multifamily and commercial development.

The properties up for rezoning are currently approved for commercial or agricultural use, but have been vacant for some time. The proposal calls for the portion of the property near Evergreen to be zoned commercial for future use and the back portion of the space to be zoned "R3," which would allow multifamily development to occur there.

Over the course of the last week I've heard from several of this property's neighbors with questions and concerns about how this rezoning could impact the value and quality of life at their homes or offices. I was unable to attend, but I know the developers held an informational meeting on Thursday night to address some of those concerns.

I still have more to learn before I'm prepared to vote in favor of or in opposition to this particular rezoning, but from past experience I can say the decision on properties like this usually hinges around some variation of the following three questions:

  1. Is there reason to believe that proceeding with the rezoning will have a negative impact on the value, function or safety of the surrounding properties, and do we have any level of certainty that those concerns are real and substantial?
  2. For the opponents of a project: If the proposed rezoning is not an appropriate use of this space, then what should go there instead?
  3. For the prospective developer: What steps can you take or have you already taken to ensure your proposed development won't have a negative impact on its neighbors?
Regardless of the recommendation of the Plan Commission, this project will need to wait for a period of public notice to pass before coming before the full council in late April or early May.

Utilities, Tuesday, 4:30 pm

The Utilities Committee will meet as scheduled on Tuesday of this week and the primary news from their gathering will likely be an information item, as they're expected to discuss a discrepancy between the budgeted amount and a preliminary estimate for the cost of a proposed new water tower on the city's northeast side.

The tower would hold one million gallons of water and would replace the function of the current Oneida Street tower, which is nearing the end of its useful life. For 2015 we've budgeted $2.9 million to construct the facility, and a recent round of estimates suggest the cost will be closer to $3.4 million. 

No official action will be taken on this matter at this meeting, but at some point the committee and council will have to decide to either proceed with this project at a higher cost or pursue other options.

Finance, Wednesday, 4:30 pm

We're close to closing the books on the 2014 fiscal year, and the Finance Committee will take a step in that direction on Wednesday when we're asked to consider carryover requests for unspent funds in the budget.

Each year we approve the following year's budget in November and it includes a wide variety of projects we expect to complete in the year ahead, but for a variety of reasons sometimes we're unable to finish everything we planned to do. The remaining unspent funds are applied in the following way:
  1. Any unspent funds already committed to a contract for their budgeted use are spent as budgeted.
  2. Council has the opportunity to approve extending projects without an approved contract into another year.
  3. A large portion of the money left over after steps 1 and 2 is applied to debt service, which is a part of the reason the city is routinely able to pay off our debts early.
  4. Some of the money left over after steps 1 and 2 is available to be used on items flagged for "special consideration."
This year the most notable carryover request is almost certainly the money budgeted in 2014 for the land purchase for the exhibition center. In addition, this year we have slightly more than $500,000 requested under Step 4 above. The lion's share of that money is flagged for pay increases earned by employees under the city's pay-for-performance salary model, but there are some other projects here worth noting:
  • Over $48,000 for the IT department for a software license upgrade and email and council recording upgrades.
  • $30,000 for the purchase of additional body cameras for the Police Department.
  • $10,000 for upgrades to the Department of Public Works' conference room.
  • $5000 for an additional Aquos board for use at City Hall.
  • $5000 for additional training for new staff members in the City Attorney's office, where two of the four attorney positions have turned over in the last year.
In addition to all of those committee items and more, there are also two very significant community events on tap this week:

On Monday at 6:30 the League of Women Voters will host a forum on proposed developments downtown at the library. Panelists at the forum include representatives from the city, Appleton Downtown Incorporated and the YMCA who will come together to discuss the proposed new library, exhibition center and improvements to the YMCA. The event is scheduled to last 90 minutes and will be divided between comments from the panelists and a question-and-answer session.

Then on Wednesday the League will also host a candidate forum for the six contested aldermanic races in the upcoming spring election. I wasn't asked to participate in this event as I don't have a declared opponent for this spring, but I likely will attend to hear the 12 incumbents and candidates' thoughts on the issues facing the city. The forum begins at 6:30 pm and is expected to last until 8.

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.

Monday, March 16, 2015

What you may not know: Week of March 16

The Appleton Common Council will meet on Wednesday at 7 pm in our regularly scheduled session, and our agenda includes some items we've discussed before:

Industrial Park land sale

Last Monday the Community and Economic Development Committee voted unanimously to recommend approval of a request to sell two lots in the Northeast Industrial Park for $35,000 per acre, which is $5,000 per acre below our asking price for these properties. Council just approved the new asking price a few months ago, but we're now being asked to accept less in response to a need for on-site stormwater management in this area.

I remain concerned regarding any decision to sell below our asking price due to a precedent set by doing so. If we're going to do this, we should probably lower the asking price across the board in acknowledgement of the fact that we're willing to accept less.

Midway Road safety improvements

Last Tuesday the Municipal Services Committee voted 5-0 to recommend approval of four changes to the ordinance enforcement and infrastructure along Midway Road, as laid out in last week's update. Assuming those changes also pass council on Wednesday, the improvements will likely appear in the 2016 budget.

College Avenue sign request

At that same meeting the committee decided to hold a request to approve a street occupancy permit for a new sign outside Bazil's Pub which would have extended over eight feet into the right-of-way. It's my understanding that this request will be withdrawn and a new proposal will be brought forward.

Wednesday's meeting also includes a closed session to discuss real estate negotiations regarding the proposed future site of the Appleton Public Library. I can't discuss what has happened or will happen in closed sessions, but here's a quick update on where we are in that process:

  • The Library Board and the Council approved a budget calling for the city to proceed towards building a new library on the "bluff" site. The money budgeted for 2015 calls for the purchase and clearing of the properties and some architectural work.
  • As part of negotiations to purchase the properties, the city paid for appraisals of both entities. Both the church and the banquet hall also had the right to request their own appraisals at city expense. That window has since closed.
  • If we purchase the properties, the city is required to assist in relocating the existing owners. We had to submit a relocation plan for state approval, and as of last Wednesday we hadn't heard back on that.
If you have further questions about the library process or would like to learn more about other potentially upcoming downtown projects like the YMCA renovation or exhibition center, the League of Women Voters is hosting a forum you may want to attend on Monday, March 23.

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.

Monday, March 9, 2015

What you may not know: Week of March 9

It's a committee week for the Appleton Common Council, and here are some of the items I'll be keeping an eye on:

Community and Economic Development Committee, Monday, 5 pm

This committee has been in the spotlight for some time now as they and the council as a whole have worked their way through a decision regarding the proposed Fox Cities Exhibition Center. If you haven't been following the news, on Wednesday the council voted (10-4 with one abstention) to approve an offer to the county to purchase the proposed site with contingencies including the following:

  • An agreement between the city and the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel regarding management of the facility.
  • Agreement between all participating communities to raise their respective room taxes to finance the construction.
  • The Appleton Redevelopment Authority securing financing based on the room tax revenue.
Under the current agreement, all three of those items must be met by November 30 so the transaction can close.

Two of my colleagues and I had previously submitted a resolution calling for the city to disengage from that process, but with last week's vote to proceed we've decided to withdraw that item. Debating stopping the process just five days after council voted to proceed seems like a poor use of our time at this point.

With that item off the table, the lone action item at this meeting is a request to approve the sale of two lots in the Northeast Industrial Park, located at the corner of Capitol and Zuehlke Drives. Romenesko Developments, Inc. has offered the city $35,000 per acre for the two parcels, which is below our recently-approved asking price of $40,000. The reason for their lower offer is some increased expense in construction due to necessary stormwater mitigation. I'll be interested to see how the committee elects to handle this request.

Municipal Services Committee, Tuesday, 5:30 pm

The Municipal Services Committee will see a pair of items of interest this week, including a sign request in a very visible location on College Avenue downtown.

Two weeks ago the committee recommended approval (on a 3-2 vote) of a request to allow a new sign to be installed at Bazil's Pub, extending off the front of the building and overhanging the street right of way. The sign is a roughly 9-foot-tall beer bottle with "Bazil's Pub" written on the side, and the image has made some of my colleagues uneasy.

This item was referred back to committee at last week's council meeting, and I'll be interested to see if any committee members have changed their mind since voting on this matter the last time.

In addition, on Tuesday night this committee will also approve five changes to traffic and pedestrian patterns along Midway Road to address vision and safety issues along this busy thoroughfare. In brief, the immediate recommendations are:
  • Resuming enforcement of the city's existing vision corner ordinance in this area to allow pedestrians and motorists the maximum possible visibility with the current layout.
  • Installing raised pedestrian islands at Midway's intersections with Hemlock/Southfield and Kernan (estimated cost $150-200,000)
  • Prohibiting left turns and pedestrian crossings at Midway's intersections with Woodcrest Drive and Barker Lane.
  • Installing a crosswalk with warning lights at the intersection of Midway and Whip-Poor-Will Ln. This carries a price tag of around $30,000.
The memo we received on this project didn't specify a likely timeframe for these improvements, but I'm operating under the assumption that any approved recommendations would be included in the city's 2016 budget.

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.

Monday, March 2, 2015

What you may not know: Week of March 2

The Appleton Common Council will hold its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday at 7 and there's very little new business to discuss, so today's post will feature updates on the three items we discussed last week:

Expo center

Last Monday the Community and Economic Development Committee met for well over five hours to discuss in great detail many of the questions surrounding the proposed Fox Cities Exhibition Center. You can see a list of the questions and answers here. All told, the most notable decision made on Monday was a move by the committee to bring the land purchase agreement, which has been held since late January, back onto the council agenda for this Wednesday's meeting. In light of that decision, the resolution calling for a halt to the project has been put on hold by the committee.

Last Monday's extended meeting clarified a lot of the issues surrounding the expo center project, but unfortunately it did not alleviate my concerns about moving forward. I've written about my concerns multiple times and won't re-hash them at length here, but I still think the risks involved city ownership and the possibility that operating this facility could become a line item in the budget are being understated, and I remain concerned regarding the challenges of crafting a management agreement that won't need to be revisited and potentially weakened if or when the Radisson Paper Valley is eventually sold.

At this point I think we've probably had all the conversation we need to have on this topic. I'm glad we're finally going to get an opportunity to vote on whether or not we should proceed.

Ballard/Ashbury traffic control

Last week the Municipal Services Committee voted 5-0 to approve ordinance changes related to the installation of a new traffic signal at the intersection of Ballard Road and Ashbury Dr, the corner to the southwest of North High School. This item should pass council this Wednesday and everything continues to be on pace for the work to take place this summer.

Northland Avenue stormwater pond

Last Wednesday the Finance Committee voted unanimously to approve the purchase of a piece of property just outside the city in Grand Chute to use for a stormwater detention pond as part of our project to improve flooding issues near the northwest corner of the city. The assessed value of the property to be purchased is $202,000.

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.