What you may not know: Week of November 13

With the city budget passed and the holidays upcoming, we're likely looking at a quiet final six weeks or so for the Appleton Common Council in 2017. I likely will not have updates for you next week, when most of our committee meetings are off for the Thanksgiving holiday or the week after, as the council does not meet on weeks of the fifth Wednesday of the month.

Before we get to that break, however, we do have some business to tend to this week:

Safety & Licensing Committee, Wednesday, 6:30 pm

Several years ago the council voted to ban alcohol on quadricycles or "pedal pubs" in the city. Earlier this year The Social Station started operating an alcohol-free quadricycle in the city and their first season has largely gone by without any concerns. After extended discussion with the Police Department and the proprietor of The Social Station, Alderman Joe Martin introduced a resolution that will likely lead to us revisiting our previous decisions on this topic.

Alderman Martin's resolution is very specific, calling for The Social Station patrons to be allowed to carry alcohol on board (no alcohol will be sold on the quadricycle) on a designated route. While I recognize and support what Alderman Martin is trying to do, I'm hoping to expand the scope of the resolution to create an end result that doesn't just apply to one business and one route.

I anticipate a lively discussion on this topic on Wednesday night but a likely end result is this resolution being referred to staff to discuss potential broader ordinance changes.

Parks and Recreation, Wednesday, approximately 6:45 pm

Once the Safety & Licensing Committee wraps up its meeting the Parks and Recreation Committee will take their place to discuss an item that could impact the future of Memorial Park.

It has recently come to our attention that two properties along Northland Avenue near the park are available for sale. Memorial Park's recently updated long-term plans noted that these parcels of land would be worthwhile additions to the park if possible, and recent developments have put us in a position to consider it. The asking price for the two properties is a combined $240,000, and the purchase would be made out of an existing park land fund.

Both of the meetings listed above are special meetings before our scheduled full council meeting on Wednesday night. If the committees elect to take action on either of these items at their meetings, their action will be taken up by the full council later in the night. 

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.