Appleton Common Council Update for Week of March 16

As you might imagine, it's not exactly a routine week for the Appleton Common Council.

If you haven't seen it already, follow this link for a comprehensive statement from Mayor Hanna on the steps the city is taking to help slow the spread of the Coronavirus, including:

• Asking people to call City Hall or visit the city's website for information instead of visiting in person, when possible.
• Paying city invoices online, via mail or in the city's drop boxes instead of visiting in person.
• Encouraging residents to vote via absentee ballot for the upcoming spring elections (more information here). 

Since that message went out the Appleton Public Library has also announced they will be closed until further notice. 

The Appleton Common Council and its committees will still meet when necessary to conduct city business and those meetings are required to be open to the public, but in-person public participation in city meetings has been suspended until further notice. Residents can still watch meetings online and contact one or all council members at this link, but we're asking you to please exercise social distancing and avoid attending meetings in person.

With that said, the full council will meet on Wednesday to take up items including the following:

• Last week the Municipal Services Committee voted 3-1 to recommend the city rescind approval of the placement of "The Collective" sculpture near the west end of the College Avenue bridge. My thoughts on the matter were pretty thoroughly captured in this Post Crescent story.
• The committee also voted 3-1 to recommend denial of a resolution designating the month of May as "No Mow May" and temporarily suspending a city ordinance related to required lawn length to allow residents to support pollenator-friendly environments.
• Last week the Finance Committee voted unanimously to recommend the council approve a resolution stating our opposition to the State Department's efforts to deport Hmong and Lao US residents to the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The resolution is similar to many passed or in process in other cities and counties across the state, including Oshkosh and Outagamie County.

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.