Appleton Common Council Update for Week of March 15

 The Appleton Common Council will hold its regularly scheduled full council meeting on Wednesday and, while I anticipate some spirited discussion, most of the items of interest on the agenda were already covered in some depth in last week's update. Here's the latest:

• Last week the Finance Committee voted 5-0 to recommend approval of a contract for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill for design and engineering services for the Appleton Public Library project. This vote followed a pretty thorough discussion which can be seen at this link and covered the questions I've received about this topic. This week the same item will appear on the Library Board agenda on Tuesday and the council agenda on Wednesday night for final approval.
• Last week the Community and Economic Development Committee also voted 5-0 to recommend approval of a development agreement for a new project on what's commonly referred to as the "Park Central" property at 318 W College Ave. The agreement was passed unamended and still calls for the city to contribute the lesser of either $1,309,140 or 18% of the tax increment value, which will not be paid until after the project is constructed and generating tax revenue.

Finally, while it won't be appearing on this week's council agenda, a rezoning request for an addition to the Broadway Hills Estates subdivision passed unanimously at the City Plan Commission last week. This will come before council at a future meeting due to the longer timetable required for public notice of planned zoning changes.

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.