What you may not know: Week of January 23

It's a busy committee week for the Appleton Common Council, so let's get right to the highlights:

Parks and Recreation, Monday, 6 pm:

Through the winter the Parks & Recreation Committee has been receiving biweekly updates on the construction progress at Erb Park and Pool. This week they'll be asked to make a recommendation on a pair of updated pool policies that, among other things, establish new fees for usage of that facility.

The facility rental fees for Appleton pools have not been updated since 2013, and here is the redlined table showing the proposed modifications:

Pool admission fees for Appleton pools have not been updated since 2011. The proposal before the committee calls for daily fees to remain the same at Mead and West Pools ($3.50/day for adult open swim, $2.50 for youth and seniors) but calls for a $1 across the board increase for users at the new Erb Pool ($4/day for adults and $3 for youth and seniors).

Additionally, this revision calls for a $5 increase in the cost of pool punchcards and increases in price for annual swim passes.

Municipal Services, Tuesday, 6:30 pm

Two weeks ago I mentioned that the Municipal Services Committee was being asked to make a recommendation on a proposal calling for the end of free parking in city-owned ramps during snow emergencies, a change largely proposed in response to challenges allowing that practice with the city's new "pay on exit" parking ramp structure. That meeting was later cancelled due to weather, so the item now appears on their agenda again this week.

In addition, this week the committee will be asked to make a recommendation on city staff's requests to remove two sets of traffic signals along Franklin Street, at its intersections with Superior and Oneida streets. The city's recent downtown mobility study found these lights to be unnecessary, and if you've passed by them recently you may have noticed signs stating that they were being considered for removal, and that the lights had been set to flash to simulate a two-way stop.

After trying it this way for 90 days we have seen no accidents and received no complaints, so staff is recommending council proceed with an ordinance change to remove the fixtures.

You can see all of this week's meeting agendas 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. Good governance happens in the open, and I remain committed to raising awareness on the issues coming before us.