It's a busy committee week for the Appleton Common Council, with highlights including the following:
Municipal Services Committee, Monday, 4:30 pm
Last spring, during what seems like a very long ago and much simpler time, the Municipal Services Committee and Common Council held extended discussions on the possibility of a one-year trial for "No Mow May," a temporary waiver of the city's ordinances related to lawn length intended to allow voluntary participation in efforts to improve conditions for pollenators in our community during what is otherwise a difficult time of year for them to feed and find habitat.
After extensive debate on multiple occasions the city eventually implemented "No Mow May" for 2020 and this week the Municipal Services Committee will be asked to consider extending it to 2021.
Despite a lot of concerns voiced at the time, I'm not aware of any cases where allowing longer lawns last May created any major (or even minor) issues. For the most part, I think allowing this was harmless for both the city and our residents, in addition to the potential benefit created for pollenators and the environment as a whole.
Given 2020's success as precedent, I'm inclined to support allowing No Mow May to happen again in 2021.
Finance Committee, Monday, 5:30 pm
This week the Finance Committee will pick back up on a longstanding discussion regarding a possible brand study for the City of Appleton. Following his final council meeting last April Alderman Chris Croatt filed a resolution calling for the city to undertake a study that "should include logo redesign, development of a graphic standards
manual for the entire organization, further definition of mission, value proposition, key marketing
strategies, and a detailed recommendation of brand-strengthening activities that can be planned and
budgeted for."
At that time the Finance Committee referred the item to staff with the intent that it be considered as part of discussion on the 2021 budget. Last fall during budget discussions Mayor Woodford asked for more time to prepare for this discussion, and in January he sent a first draft of a Request for Proposals (RFP) on this topic to members of the Finance Committee. This week that RFP is on our agenda.
Research done by staff shows three important details:
- First, the city's current logo is now 27 years old, having been commissioned by then-Mayor Richard De Broux in conjunction with City Hall moving to its current location in the City Center in 1994.
- Across the city use of the logo is inconsistent, including varying color palettes and design elements, creating occasional confusion about the legitimacy of city documents.
- On average, a brand study including brand discovery, development and launch plan, tagline development, logo development and corporate identity and account planning is projected to cost around $73,000.
That $73,000 does not include what is likely to be the largest expenditure related to any branding shift: Finding and replacing all uses of the city's current branding. Among other places, the city's current logo and branding appear on our website, signage, vehicle wraps, apparel, letterhead and business cards.
While I recognize the desire to keep the city's image updated and appealing, tonight it's my intention to ask for this item to be held until, at a bare minimum, we have an estimate of the costs required to implement the recommendations of a study. Ideally, just as I said last year, I'd like an expenditure like this to be considered as part of our annual budget process so it can be viewed and prioritized among other needs and potential projects.
Library Board of Trustees, Tuesday, 1 pm
This week's Library Board agenda includes an informational item updating members on the recently-issued Request for Proposals related to the renovation or on-site reconstruction of the Appleton Public Library. The RFP was issued in December with a deadline of February 4 and received eleven responses. Those responses are currently being evaluated by a review committee comprised of city staff, representatives of the Library Board, Friends of the Appleton Public Library and a member of the Common Council (Alderman Bill Siebers, who is council's representative on the Library Board).
After their evaluation process a finalist is expected to be presented to the Finance Committee on March 8 and the first opportunity for the Library Board and Council to weigh in on their possible approval will be on March 16 and 17, respectively.
The RFP proposal is just to select an architect for the project, and any selected architect will be expected to prioritize and incorporate public input in the design process moving forward. This item is only being presented as information this week, and no formal action will be taken. The next votes on this project will not happen until, at the earliest, the aforementioned Finance Committee meeting on March 8.
City Plan Commission, Tuesday, 4 pm
On Tuesday the City Plan Commission will be asked to make a recommendation on a request to approve another property annexation on the city's northeast corner.
The property involved is between 16 and 17 acres near the intersection of French Road and Broadway Drive, and is immediately to the north of another property annexed into the city in 2020 for single-family development. The subject property is currently in the Town of Freedom, but water and sewer lines already exist to serve it along French Road.
The new annexation is proposed as an addition to the existing subdivision to the south. We don't have a proposed plat for development of this property yet (that process comes later), but the property to the south is composed of 14 single family lots on approximately 39.5 acres. If they opt for a similar lot size for this new addition, there's room for about six single family lots on this new parcel.
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.
