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.

Appleton Common Council Update for Week of March 8

 Before I start with this week's update, a quick note on the spring elections. This year Election Day is on April 6 and I'm seeking re-election for a fifth term on the Appleton Common Council. I have a contested race again this time, and you can hear from both my opponent and I on Tuesday night when the League of Women Voters hosts a candidate forum. 

You can visit the League's Facebook page for more information or visit LWVAppleton.org to register for the event and submit questions. The event will be streamed live and archived via Facebook Live. As always, I'm grateful to the League for this opportunity to speak to voters about my qualifications and the spring election's ramifications for the future of our community.

In addition to that, it's also a pretty busy committee week for the Appleton Common Council. The top headline will be a discussion 12 years in the making:

Finance Committee, Monday, 5:30 pm

As I noted in my last two updates, this week the Finance Committee will be asked to make a recommendation on a review committee selection for an architect for a new or renovated Appleton Public Library. 

Funding to start a new library process was included in the city's 2021 budget and is projected to continue over the next two years. A Request for Proposals (RFP) was sent out in December and drew eleven responses, which were in turn reviewed by an eleven-member committee comprised of city department directors and deputy directors and representatives from Friends of the Appleton Public Library, the Library Board, Common Council and the Mayor. That group voted unanimously to recommend Skidmore, Owings and Merrill receive the contract.

In a memo to the Finance Committee, Facilities Management Director Dean Gazza wrote, "Specifically, SOM demonstrated an understanding and approach to the project that illustrated their depth of experience, knowledge in library design and construction, listening skills and importance of garnering meaningful public input and building trust throughout the process. In addition, they have significant experience in building re-use, equity and inclusion, sustainability, technology, operational efficiency, and many important key factors necessary for a successful library."

The value of this contract is just over $2.7 million, with five percent in design contingency for a total not to exceed $2,857,459. This is more than the $2.4 million the city had budgeted for library work in 2021, but this expenditure includes construction administration services that aren't expected to be completed until the city enters its construction phase in 2022. As such, this project is not "over budget," but simply reflects a decision to incorporate some of next year's anticipated work into this contract. This is not unusual: Back in February the Common Council also voted to reconfigure a utilities project to move an item from a later phase into the current phase for the purpose of efficiency.

This item is also expected to appear on the Library Board's agenda next week, and assuming the Finance Committee makes a recommendation today it will also appear on next week's council agenda.

City Plan Commission, Tuesday, 4 pm

The process of adding a new addition to the Broadway Hills Estates subdivision continues this week as the Plan Commission will be asked to make a recommendation on rezoning a parcel of about 16 acres near the intersection of Broadway Drive and French Road. This parcel was annexed into the city last week.

The request on the table is for the parcel to be zoned "R1B," which is single family residential and matches the zoning of the subdivision it's attached to. I don't anticipate this being controversial. Assuming the item passes at the Plan Commission, it will come before the Common Council at a later date.

Community and Economic Development, Wednesday, 4:30 pm

This week the CED Committee will be asked to make a recommendation on a proposed development agreement for a major vacant property downtown. Developers are proposing a major project on the site at 318 W. College Avenue long referred to as "the Park Central property." Their proposal calls for the development of a "state-of-the-art, 75,000 square foot building with over 16,500 square feet of Class A commercial space," in addition to 39 apartments.

This property is included in Tax Increment Financing District #11, and the development agreement calls for a financial commitment from that TIF. The city's contribution would be the lesser of either $1,309,140 or 18% of the tax increment value, which is the amount of new tax revenue generated by this project. Incentives will not be paid until after the project is completed and will be paid out of the new tax revenues generated by this project, so the project will have no impact on the general fund or property taxes.

I've long been a proponent of "pay as you go" TIF projects, which allow the city to properly incentivize desirable development without taking on unnecessary risk or impacting our property taxes. This agreement is similar, for example, to our existing agreement with the organization redeveloping the Zuelke Building. I'm looking forward to seeing Park Central transformed from a long vacant space to a vibrant new addition to our downtown. If approved by the committee, this item will go to council next week.

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.

Appleton Common Council Update for the Week of March 1

The Appleton Common Council has our regularly scheduled full council meeting on Wednesday and the agenda is relatively brief, but includes a pair of items we discussed in last week's update:

"No Mow May"

Last week the Municipal Services Committee voted 5-0 to recommend approval of a request to extend 2020's "No Mow May" ordinance waiver into 2021. The request is 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. Participation is optional but, as noted in a peer-reviewed study on the results, 435 property owners registered to participate in 2020 (registration was optional).

The committee did make an amendment to the request: In 2020 participants were granted a seven-day "grace period" to get their lawns back into compliance with city ordinances following the end of May. This year the committee voted unanimously to remove that period, so everyone's lawns will be required to be brought back into compliance by June 1. 

I'm hopeful that shortening the grace period will help ease the concerns of some who have voiced objections to this program. As I noted last week, 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. I don't intend to participate in No Mow May (I receive enough uninvited feedback about my lawn as it is), but I do intend to support this proposal.

North side annexation

Last week the City Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the annexation of about 16.6 acres north of the intersection of French Road and Broadway Drive, which is expected to become a new addition to the subdivision in the same general area approved in 2020. This week council will have the opportunity to make a final decision on that annexation, and I expect it to be approved.

The next step in the process of developing this space will be getting approval for a zoning change from Temporary Agricultural to R1B, which is single family residential. That item is scheduled to come before the Plan Commission on March 9.

Finally, here are updates on two items discussed last week that will not appear on this week's council agenda:

• The Finance Committee voted unanimously to hold a resolution calling for the city to engage in a brand study until June. With the hold, the hope is to take this item up again when we have a better idea of the city's financial situation (this item was not included in the 2021 budget, so proceeding with it would require finding money in the budget elsewhere) and an estimate of the implementation costs.
• Last week the Library Board received an informational update on the process of selecting an architect for the proposed renovation or reconstruction of the Appleton Public Library. That item is still expected to appear before the Finance Committee on March 8.

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.

Appleton Common Council Update for the Week of February 22

 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.

Appleton Common Council Update for the Week of January 25

 The Appleton Common Council has a full slate of committee meetings on the schedule this week, our first since before the holidays. The agendas include a pair of items of interest I've highlighted:

Municipal Services Committee, Monday, 4:30 pm

Locally I've heard some concerns recently about the growth and expansion of Outagamie County's landfill on Holland Road. This facility has been in operation for quite some time and is in a beneficial location for efficient use of city resources: Having a landfill near the city limits saves a significant number of staffing hours, fuel and wear and tear on garbage trucks as we haul collected refuse.

The landfill is also filling up, however, and a new cell is expected to be opened on the site in the coming years. This new cell will be closer to the city limits than the existing one.

This week the Municipal Services Committee will be asked to approve a resolution designating City Attorney Chris Behrens as a representative to negotiate with the county on matters related to the landfill and its expansion. While this designation likely will not result in any immediate changes, it does position us to respond and ensure that our constituents' needs are taken into account in the expansion process.

City Plan Commission, Tuesday, 4 pm

The Fox Valley continues to struggle with increased occurrences of homelessness, an issue we've been working to address in a variety of ways throughout my eight years on council. A lack of available affordable housing is often cited as one of the underlying causes of homelessness, and this week the City Plan Commission will have their first opportunity to discuss a resolution aiming to help address that concern.

Last week Alderpersons Brad Firkus, Denise Fenton and Vered Meltzer co-introduced a resolution calling for the city to allow Accessory Dwelling Units on property zoned for single family. They've prepared a great FAQ on their proposal: I learned a fair amount reading it, and hopefully if you're interested you'll take a moment to do the same. 

I suspect our process with this resolution will be pretty deliberate: The City Plan Commission will see it for the first time this week, but it's entirely possible they'll hold it at the committee level or refer it to staff to get answers to questions they may have or allow for additional community feedback.

If they do decide to vote on this item on Tuesday, then the earliest it could appear on a common council agenda is our Wednesday, February 3 meeting. It's possible it would appear later than that: This change impacts our zoning ordinances, which may require more substantial public notice for legal purposes.

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.

Appleton Common Council Update for the Week of December 7

Today the Appleton Common Council starts what will likely be our last full committee week of the year: I anticipate we'll likely cancel or postpone most of our scheduled meetings the week of Christmas before resuming a normal schedule with our January 6 full council meeting.

While I do not expect any of the items below to be controversial, there are a few discussions of interest happening this week:

Parks & Recreation, Monday, 6:30 pm

Tonight the Parks and Recreation Committee will be asked to recommend approval of some amendments to the city's Trails Master Plan in neighborhoods north of Highway JJ and between Ballard and French Roads.

The additions to the plan include new trail infrastructure to be constructed as development continues in this area in the years ahead. At present there is no specific timeframe for trail construction, as much of the work depends on the pace of development and the build-out of related infrastructure. You can see a map of the existing plan and proposed additions on the second attachment at this link. 

Planning trails in advance of future development helps everyone involved avoid potential headaches later. Additionally, I'm pleased to see plans in this area include pedestrian and bicyling alternatives to using French Road, which is going to get increasingly busy as development continues in this area.

City Plan Commission, Tuesday, 4 pm

Speaking of continued development north of Highway JJ, this week the City Plan Commission will be asked to approve the final plats for two additions to the Emerald Valley subdivision northwest of the intersection of Highway JJ and French Road. This is the continuation of a process we've discussed previously: The commission approved rezoning and preliminary plats for these parcel at two separate meetings in October. Once complete, these new additions will add 50 single-family lots to that subdivision.

Community and Economic Development, Wednesday, 4:30 pm

Earlier this year the city received a special allocation of $348,255 in Community Development Block Grant funding as part of the federal "CARES Act" to respond to growing effects of the ongoing pandemic. This week the CED Committee will be asked to recommend approval of a change in the way those dollars are being reallocated.

The committee and council originally rewarded $78,386 from the total listed above to Habitat for Humanity but have since been informed that this was not an eligible use of CARES Act funding. As such, staff is proposing those dollars be reallocated to the city's Motel Voucher Program.

Homelessness has been a growing issue in our community for years but has reached a critical point during the pandemic as shelters have been forced to limit capacity for safety reasons. A shortage in shelter space is especially dangerous as it gets cold during the winter. Per a memo attached to this item, the Motel Voucher Program "is designed to ensure that individuals and families experiencing homelessness have a safe, temporary place to stay until a more permanent housing solution is identified," and "also includes a case management component, food, transportation, and connection to housing solutions."

These funds won't solve the underlying issues leading to growth of homelessness in our community, of course, but they will help us continue to keep people safe and warm through the winter months while we continue to work on long-term solutions.

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.

Appleton Common Council Update for the Week of 11/2

 Before I get to the council update, a quick plea: It's city budget season and an election week simultaneously this week, with both processes complicated by the ongoing pandemic and northeast Wisconsin's elevated risks. Please be patient if you need to contact city staff this week. Whether it's about the election, the budget or something else entirely, please be aware that our folks downtown and throughout the city have a lot of irons in the fire right now. We have an incredible team doing their best to keep everything moving in the right direction, but despite their long hours and dedication it's still going to be a challenge to keep up for a little while. Please take that into account if you try to contact us.

With that said, work on the 2021 budget continues this week with a public hearing on Wednesday night. This year the public hearing will look a little different from past years: We're strongly encouraging anyone who wants to speak on the budget to participate remotely as we only have room for 14 attendees (including media) to safely social distance within the council chambers. If you would like to speak remotely, please follow the directions on this page to sign up to participate.

The Finance Committee completed our all-day review session for the 2021 Budget on Saturday with most of council participating. As part of that discussion I proposed three amendments:

• The committee voted 3-1 to amend the budget to remove a proposed $100,000 interest-free general fund advance to the Reid Golf Course enterprise fund. This money would have helped finance the repaving of the golf course's parking lot and would be in addition to $140,000 the course still owes on a general fund advance from 2002.
• Additionally, the committee voted 3-1 to amend the budget to use that $100,000 in savings to reduce our 2021 borrowing for street reconstruction. While the impact is relatively small, this will preserve a little of our borrowing capacity and slightly lower the tax levy for debt service.
• Finally, an amendment failed calling for the city to expand the money available to our Community and Economic Development Department for the repurchase of undeveloped industrial park lots. The budget allocates $200,000 for this purpose but I asked for that to be expanded to $556,700 to allow for the potential repurchase of six properties that have been purchased but left vacant in violation of the covenants within the Northeast Business Park. The amendment failed on a 2-2 vote. 

I still think it is important for the city to pursue opportunities to reacquire these properties, many of which have been purchased but undeveloped in violation of covenants for a decade or more, to help encourage development in this area.

The public hearing will start at 6 pm and is the only budget-related item on this week's agenda. The council's next action on the budget will be on Wednesday, November 11 when we make final amendments and adopt the final budget.

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.