Common Council Update for the Week of October 26

It's city budget season and election season simultaneously for the Appleton Common Council, which has made for an extremely busy month. This week we have another round of committee meetings scheduled, and here are some of the highlights:

Finance Committee, Monday, 5:30 pm

This week's Finance items are not likely to be controversial but there are a pair I wanted to note: This week the committee will be asked to recommend accepting a pair of grants for our City Clerk's office to help mitigate the unbudgeted costs of the upcoming election.

The first grant comes from the Wisconsin Elections Commission and is for nearly $45,000 to cover some of the extra postage costs incurred by this year's massive shift to voting by mail. The city has always borne the cost of mailing ballots to those who request them but this year due to the ongoing pandemic (and justifiably so) we're seeing a massive uptick in demand for mailed ballots.

The second grant comes from the Center for Tech and Civic Life. It's for more than $18,000 to cover costs related to "provide safe and secure elections." The combination of a high profile election and the aforementioned significant uptick in voting by mail have created some needs for election safety and security measures. This grant will pay for two additional ballot processing units, supplies for mailed ballots and additional poll workers to assist with early voting.

I wanted to take a moment today to thank the Elections Commission and the Center for Tech and Civic Life for these grants to help cover expenses that we could not foresee when we approved the 2020 budget last November, and thank our Clerk's Office staff for finding these opportunities to cover some of the expenses we're facing this year without negatively impacting their priorities elsewhere.

City Plan Commission, Tuesday, 4 pm

We're continuing to experience additional demand for new housing on the city's north side, as shown by a pair of action items before the Plan Commission this week.

First, the commission will be asked to approve preliminary plats for a pair of additions to the Emerald Valley subdivision, located northwest of the corner of French Road and Highway JJ. This is related to the rezoning proposal I mentioned two weeks ago and will add 50 single family lots to that neighborhood, expanding the subdivision to a total of 180 lots.

Additionally, this week the commission will have an opportunity to approve the final plat for the Trail View Estates South subdivision. This project will add 25 new single-family lots west of Cherryvale Avenue and south of the Apple Creek corridor. Ten of the lots will face Cherryvale, with the rest connecting off of a pair of new streets off Cherryvale.

Finance Committee (again), Saturday, 8 am

Finally, the budget process continues this week with our annual "Budget Saturday," a full-day meeting of the Finance Committee to conduct a department-by-department review of the 2021 budget. This is my eighth Budget Saturday as an alderperson and my seventh as a member of the committee, but my first as chairman.

I completed my read-through of the budget on Friday and pre-submitted my list of 70 questions to give staff an opportunity to review and prepare answers for them in advance of Saturday's meeting. Per usual, the phrase "status quo" is used a lot to describe this budget in relation to prior years: There are no staffing changes proposed and levy limits imposed by the state largely preclude us from making wholesale changes in operations. 

This year Budget Saturday will look a little different: In past years most of council and many members of city staff have gathered in the council chambers all day. This year, to reduce the risk of virus spread, we're asking everyone to participate remotely with the exception of myself as committee chair, the mayor and the city attorney. The entire meeting will be broadcast online, as our meetings always are. As has been the case in the past, the committee will not take comment from the public during Budget Saturday, and we encourage people who wish to speak on budget-related topics to plan to participate in the budget public hearing on November 4 or budget adoption on November 11.

The ongoing pandemic makes it increasingly difficult for us to safely allow large groups to participate in our governmental meetings, making it all the more valuable to have the tools for residents to contact alderpersons online and view our meetings remotely. If you have thoughts on these or any other action items on our agendas this week I would encourage you to use those links to remain engaged and active in the safest way possible.

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.

Appleton Common Council Update for Week of October 19

 Following last week's busy committee week, the Appleton Common Council will meet on Wednesday with an opportunity to make final decisions on many of those items.

The biggest change from last week's update was an amendment altering the language of a resolution calling for a reduction in the city's fine structure for marijuana and drug paraphernalia citations. The resolution called for the fine for a first offense arrest for possession of marijuana and/or drug paraphernalia to be reduced to $5 (plus court costs).

Last week the Safety & Licensing Committee voted to recommend approval of a compromise proposed by the Appleton Police Department, which would instead lower the fines to $50 for a first offense and $100 for a second and all subsequent offenses. With court costs, the citations would carry a values of around $200 and $260, respectively. I supported this amendment to the resolution.

In the end I'm grateful to folks on both sides for a reasonable discussion on this topic that led to what I feel is a fair compromise. 

At the same meeting the committee held extended discussion regarding Trick-or-Treating in Appleton this year. In the end the committee voted 3-2 to deny a resolution calling for it to be canceled, but the full council will have the final say on the matter this week.

While I acknowledge that we cannot cancel Halloween and we have neither the ability nor interest in patrolling the streets to break up trick-or-treating, I supported an amendment calling for the practice to be "strongly discouraged" for two reasons:

1. I was hoping to send a clear message that the city recognizes that traditional trick-or-treating creates a safety risk during a pandemic and should be done with extreme caution, if at all.
2. I was and continue to be concerned that Appleton's decision to condone trick-or-treating will lead to families from communities where it was canceled to come to Appleton to participate, raising the risk of virus spread.

This week's council agenda also includes the following items we discussed in last week's update, all with recommendations to approve:

• The Finance Committee voted to approve staff recommendation to continue to hold a resolution calling for a City of Appleton Branding Study to allow for more time to further identify the goals of the process.
• The Finance Committee also voted to approve a request to use $147,000 in excess fund balance to help fund a comprehensive planning study for the neighborhood around the Appleton Public Library and to supplement the Appleton Redevelopment Authority's Business Enhancement Grant program.
• The Plan Commission voted to recommend approval of an annexation of about 3 1/2 acres in Grand Chute and Vandenbroek to provide for a future street northeast of the corner of Highway JJ and French Road.
• The Utilities Committee voted to recommend approval of the city's recent Wastewater rate study and subsequent rate increase, scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2021.

Last week's update also included a note on two north side rezonings: Those items were approved by the Plan Commission but will come to council at a later date. Rezonings require a different public notification process than many of our other actions, which puts a longer delay between Commission and council action.

The ongoing pandemic makes it increasingly difficult for us to safely allow large groups to participate in our governmental meetings, making it all the more valuable to have the tools for residents to contact alderpersons online and view our meetings remotely. If you have thoughts on these or any other action items on our agendas this week I would encourage you to use those links to remain engaged and active in the safest way possible.

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.

Appleton Common Council Update for the Week of October 12

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

Finance Committee, Monday, 5:30 pm

This week the Finance Committee will again be asked to approve a recommendation related to a resolution submitted this spring. The resolution calls for the city to take on a comprehensive brand study to consider updating the city logo and messaging.

When this resolution was submitted six months ago I asked for it to be referred to staff and brought back for consideration alongside the city's 2021 budget. The study itself is likely to require a significant expenditure and potential implementation (replacing every city logo on a vehicle, building, stationary, etc) could be even more expensive, so I felt it was appropriate for this item to come up for discussion at a time when we were best prepared to discuss how it would be paid for and its budgetary impact.

Of course, a lot has changed since the spring. Late last week the mayor issued a memo asking for the committee to give his office more time to "further research and prepare for a brand study, including gathering input from internal (employee) stakeholders, alderpersons, community partners, and members of the public to appropriately establish the scope and objectives of the project."

If this item is approved, council is expected to see a Request for Proposals no later than February 1, 2021 and at that time will have the opportunity to evaluate financing options to proceed.

This week the committee will also be asked to consider possible options for funds available in excess of our maximum general fund balance. The city has a policy related to the general fund calling for the end-of-year balance in the general fund not to exceed three months of operating expenditures.

The policy calls for any excess to be divided two ways, with 75% used to reduce long-term liabilities and 25% subject to the recommendation of the Finance Committee. With nearly $600,000 available, that means the city's Finance Director and financial advisor will have about $442,000 to use to either pay off existing borrowing or reduce next year's budgeted borrowing.

That leaves slightly more than $147,000 for the recommendation of the Finance Committee. Staff is requesting permission to allocate those funds as follows:

• $100,000 to help fund a comprehensive planning study for the neighborhood surrounding the Appleton Public Library to "provide recommendations for the most effective and orderly development of the properties north of E College Avenue." There are currently several vacant parcels in this neighborhood, including Washington Square (the former Conway Hotel), the former site of the Blue Parking Ramp and the former site of Author's Kitchen.
• $50,000 to supplement the Appleton Redevelopment Authority's Business Enhancement Grant program, which provides matching funds to commercial property owners and tenants to fund facade and exterior improvements to their establishments.

Anticipating a possible question: While we don't have an exact estimate for the price of the brand study listed above, I expect it to be in excess of the money available here and that's why these projects are recommended while the brand study remains on hold.

Fox Cities Transit Commission, Tuesday, 3 pm

Valley Transit has long been one of many stakeholders involved in a conversation regarding the possibility of providing commuter bus service along the I-41 corridor from Green Bay to Fond du Lac to help alleviate some of the congestion on that busy segment of highway. Continuing to expand that stretch is an extremely expensive project, so any efforts that could be made to reduce the need would provide an immediate financial benefit.

This week the Transit Commission has an information item listed on their agenda labeled "Potential Pilot I-41 Commuter Service." There are no more details attached to the agenda, but this could be step one in an exciting and newsworthy development.

City Plan Commission, Tuesday, 4 pm

This week the City Plan Commission will take up three items of specific interest to Appleton's north side and residents of the 13th district.

First, they have a pair of adjacent rezonings in the Emerald Valley neighborhood, north of Highway JJ and west of French Road. The rezonings call for a pair of parcels near the current north end of Providence Avenue to be rezoned from Agricultural to R-1B, single family as part of the continued development of that subdivision. Combined, the two actions cover more than 19 acres of property and around 50 new single-family lots.

Like many residents of the 13th district I am grateful for continued demand for homes in this neighborhood and continued expansion of the city's tax base. As always, however, I will note that continued development on the north side continues to stretch and challenge city services, including fire protection, and will presumably add to the enrollment numbers at Huntley Elementary. The city has already included preliminary spending in the 2021 budget for a projected move bringing Fire Station #4 further north to help address our portion of this issue.

Additionally, on Tuesday the Commission will be asked to approve the annexation of about three and a half acres currently in the towns of Grand Chute and Vandenbroek to provide the footprint for a future street northeast of the intersection of JJ and French Road. The road, currently mapped as Sequoia Drive, will connect an anticipated subdivision east of French Road (further in from French than current construction) to Broadway Drive to the north and provide a second point of access to the neighborhood.

Utilities Committee, Tuesday, 5 pm

The City of Appleton's 2021 budget includes something we haven't discussed in a long time: A wastewater rate increase. The city hasn't adjusted wastewater rates in any way since 2011 but will need to consider one for 2021 to cover increased expenses and the loss of revenue from a major industrial client.

Managing utility rates is a complicated and heavily regulated process and requires a "rate study" to determine the appropriate course of action. This week the Utilities Committee will hear from Trilogy Consulting, LLC, the consulting firm conducting our study, and will be asked to approve a 25% increase effective January 1, 2021 (about $15 quarterly for most residential customers). Even with the increase, the budget and rate study will note that our wastewater rates remain lower than our neighbors'.

Safety & Licensing, Wednesday, 5:30 pm

Finally, on Wednesday the Safety and Licensing Committee will be asked to consider a pair of resolutions likely to generate a significant amount of interest.

First, this week will be the second time the committee has discussed a resolution calling for the city to decrease the fine amounts for offenses related to marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The city's current ordinances call for a fine of $200 on the first offense, $250 for a second offense and $300 for third and subsequent offenses of possession of marijuana or drug paraphernalia. The resolution, submitted by Alderpersons Wolff and Prohaska, calls for the city's portion of the fine to be $5 for the first offense and $15 for subsequent offenses for marijuana and $5 and $10 for first and subsequent offenses for paraphernalia. In both cases, those fines do not include court costs.

While I do not have a strong opinion either way about marijuana, I do have a strong opinion about the nature of fines and the way way they serve as a steep penalty for those without financial resources but a minor inconvenience for those with plenty. In this particular situation the divide is even clearer: A defendant can have this charge dismissed by agreeing to attend an AODA assessment at a cost of $168-$459. Again, someone without financial resources is more likely to end up with this charge remaining on their record, while someone with more can write a check and walk away from it.

As such, in the interest of justice I support this resolution and plan to vote in favor of it on Wednesday and beyond.

Additionally, this week the committee is expected to take up a resolution submitted by Alderman Smith calling for the city to reverse its previously stated position and cancel trick-or-treating this Halloween. The city has previously issued guidelines for safely proceeding but has opted to allow it to continue.

I'm looking forward to hearing from our Police and Health Departments on the rationale for their existing decision and want to do that before I make a decision on this resolution. While my wife and I do not plan to hand out candy this year in an effort to maintain social distancing, I understand this is something a lot of folks are looking forward to and I have questions about our ability to prevent it from happening, even if we as a city do opt to cancel it.

In addition to all of the above, this week will be our first round of committee meetings since council received the 2021 City Budget. Many of my colleagues and I have started to review the 600+ page document in anticipation of Budget Saturday on October 31. The budgets for various departments will be on their respective committee agendas this week to allow directors to outline their respective portions and answer any preliminary questions.

The ongoing pandemic makes it increasingly difficult for us to safely allow large groups to participate in our governmental meetings, making it all the more valuable to have the tools for residents to contact alderpersons online and view our meetings remotely. If you have thoughts on these or any other action items on our agendas this week I would encourage you to use those links to remain engaged and active in the safest way possible.

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.

Appleton Common Council Update for Week of October 5

It's been a relatively quiet few months for the Appleton Common Council: While our regular meetings have continued our agendas have been relatively light and non-controversial. Beginning this week, however, business will begin to pick up as we take on our busiest month of the year, budget season.

This week members of council will receive our copies of Mayor Woodford's 2021 budget. From there we have roughly three weeks to review them before "Budget Saturday," the annual full-day meeting of the Finance Committee to discuss the budget section-by-section. That meeting is scheduled for October 31. 

From there we move to a public hearing on the budget at our council meeting on November 4, with final amendments and adoption of the budget scheduled for November 11, five weeks from Wednesday. It's going to be a busy few weeks.

The mayor will introduce the budget and give a brief overview at Wednesday's council meeting, which I've asked him to consider broadcasting via Facebook Live to help it reach a wide audience. From there, our budget process will look a little different from usual due to COVID-19: Things we've always done, like an all-day in-person Budget Saturday, are now significantly more challenging than they used to be. I'll have more details about how those processes will adapt to the times in future weeks.

In the meantime, this week council will hold a mid-year organizational meeting to clarify some of our council rules before embarking on this process, and we'll hold our regularly scheduled council meeting. The biggest topic of conversation this week is likely to be a request to approve a new boundary agreement between the City of Appleton and Town of Buchanan to bring 14 parcels of "town islands" into the city. The parcels in question are circled and in orange on this map:

Bringing these parcels into the city will improve the efficiency of services offered in this area and create clear boundaries between the city and our neighbors in this area. Since this proposal came forward council has been contacted by one property owner in opposition to this change.

The ongoing pandemic makes it increasingly difficult for us to safely allow large groups to participate in our governmental meetings, making it all the more valuable to have the tools for residents to contact alderpersons online and view our meetings remotely. If you have thoughts on these or any other action items on our agendas this week I would encourage you to use those links to remain engaged and active in the safest way possible.

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.