What you may not know: Week of March 12

The Appleton Common Council has a full slate of committee meetings due up this week, and here are some of the highlights:

Municipal Services Committee, Monday, 4:30 pm

With the first year of the new pool at Erb Park behind us, we now have a better feel on demand for the facility and its resulting impact on the surrounding neighborhoods. As users flocked to the new pool last summer it created some issues for traffic along nearby streets as parked cars on both sides caused the roads to become very narrow. Parkway Boulevard, Roosevelt Street and Morrison Street near the west edge of Erb Park are only 27, 29 and 32 feet wide, respectively, so parking along those streets created specific challenges.

Last summer the city had to put up some temporary no parking zones to alleviate some of the issues, and on Monday the Municipal Services Committee will be asked to approve a six-month trial of some new restrictions. A map of the proposed restrictions can be seen at the attachment here. They include:

• Seasonal no parking zones on one side of Morrison Street north of Parkway Blvd and a small portion of Glendale Avenue near Morrison Street.
• Seasonal no parking zones on one side of Roosevelt Street between Oneida Street and Morrison Street, and along Morrison street south of Roosevelt St.

Assuming these changes pass they will be re-evaluated following the pool's open months and potentially considered for permanent adoption.

Finance Committee, Monday, 5:30 pm

Over the last few years the city has experienced some issues with neighboring municipalities incorporating from towns into villages. Cities are allowed to annex properties within towns, and Appleton had boundary agreements with both the Towns of Harrison and Menasha granting the city the ability to bring parcels within portions of those towns into the city when the right time to do so arrived.

When Harrison and the Town of Menasha incorporated into villages (in this case the Villages of Harrison and Fox Crossing) it complicated those agreements and both villages eventually annexed properties that had been listed as part of Appleton's future growth area in the previous agreements. The city has engaged in litigation in both cases.

This week the Finance Committee will be asked to approve an agreement with the Village of Fox Crossing to settle one of those cases. At this time I do not have details on what the committee will be asked to consider: There is no attachment to the item or explanation beyond what I've already said.

Speaking of annexation, on Monday the committee will also be asked to recommend waiving the City's future interest in annexation for another property in Grand Chute, located at 3236 E Northland Avenue (the vacant parcel at the intersection of French Road and Northland). At a previous meeting the committee was informed that the owners of the parcel have interest in coming into the city but accepting the property would also leave the city as a responsible party for potentially costly work that needs to be done on French Road and the intersection in that area. Additionally, our city utilities are not currently extended to that area and bringing them in under Highway 41 and/or 441 would create significant challenges.

Board of Health, Wednesday, 7 am

An often-recurring discussion about noise variances as they relate to live music near downtown will come before the Board of Health again on Wednesday morning.

At their last meeting in February the Board voted to recommend denial of a noise variance request for Fox River House for their outdoor summer concerts, citing concerns from neighbors about the volume levels and the frequency of events. Looking back through the city's Granicus archives shows that this item has received significant discussion, debate and occasionally amendments each year since our records moved to their current system in 2014.

At the heart of this debate is a single question: What is a reasonable expectation for property owners who live in a neighborhood at the edge of a thriving downtown? As part of this discussion each year we are reminded that Fox River House and its original music are a big part of the attraction of downtown for a large number of people but they also create challenges for nearby property owners.

At this meeting the board will also be asked to consider a resolution from Alderperson Ed Baranowski calling for a review of the noise variance policy for special events. 

Mixed-Use Development Open House, Thursday, 6-8 pm

The next step in the development of a plan for a new Appleton Public Library will take place this week as city and library staff and the development team will host an event for those interested in learning more about the recommended proposal.

The event will include displays of the proposed project, a 6:30 pm presentation from Mayor Hanna and the development team and a question and answer session. Following this event the process will likely continue at future meetings of the city's Finance Committee and the Library Board's Building Committee.

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.