Welcome to a very busy Committee Meetings, Neighbors. It’s going to be a mad rush before the end of the calendar year and there are lots of items on lots of meetings agendas this week. Here is what you can expect:
Monday, 12/11/2023
Municipal Services Committee – 4:30pm This committee starts the week off with a bang — going over a city staff memo regarding a recent resolution requesting the allowing of overnight on-street parking with permits. The staff memo offering the many issues and considerations that need to be taken into account before allowing for overnight on-street parking with permits is twenty-two pages worth of valid and important information and maps on the city streets where there are currently parking restrictions. An example of one issue for consideration: while permitting overnight parking would offer a more direct communication line between the permit holder (the owner of the vehicle parked on the street) and the city, it could also create barriers (financial and otherwise) for some city residents. In order to implement this process, there would also be need for additional parking utility staff — which means a large percentage of the cost of the parking permits would be used just to offset the additional staffing (not counting the police and other permit enforcement staff needed). There would also be many up-front costs to consider such as signage and communications to residents. Let me know your thoughts on this proposed resolution and whether you think it is worth city staff and the council further pursuing it as an option.
Other items on this meeting agenda include:
- Potential approval of the 2024 Municipal Services/DPW fee schedule. This includes an increase in the cost of our garbage cart containers:
- Potential approval of a monitoring contract (for ~$75,000) and a landfill cap maintenance contract (for $44,000) for the closed Mackville landfill.
- The presentation and early discussion of a new resolution to facilitate a parking utility study to determine if the city should really be the owner-operators of the parking ramps and pedestrian walkways (over College Avenue and over Washington Street). This study, in my opinion, is much needed as the parking utility in the city is a perpetual money loser and privatization of the parking ramps (and perhaps metered parking) in the city’s downtown could be the best solution for both the users of parking ramps/meters and the city. This study would at least determine the upsides and downsides of a decision for the city to get out of the parking utility business and better serve the city, downtown businesses, etc., by focusing on the core competencies of a municipal government. This study would be a first step to at least determining whether that should be the direction to which the city should move. If the study determines that there are too many downsides to privatization, then there is at least an answer to the question and the city can then pursue ways in which to better manage the parking utility moving forward. I see no downsides to this as the money for the study would come from a parking utility “wayfinding/signage” budget line item (which I argued against and presented a budget amendment on in budget discussions) and, as mentioned, would at least give the city some direction in this regard. What are your thoughts?
Finance Committee – 5:30pm Two resolutions were held at the last regular meeting of this committee so they will be discussed at this meeting. They are regarding a budget timeline change (earlier involvement of the common council in budget development) and the use of some American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to support more license plate recognition cameras for the Appleton Police Department. The committee will also vote to approve the transfer of $244,000 of the city’s ARPA funds to the city’s parking utility for “lost revenue.” This $244,000 is in addition to the already-transferred $1.5M in ARPA funds to the parking utility! (And this is part of the reason I believe the city needs to look further into the potential privatization of the parking utility. ARPA funds will not continue to be available long into the future to continue to help sustain this utility.) There is also a request on the table for the creation of a Special Revenue Fund for Ellen Kort Peace Park. This is to allow for the segregation of donated funds for the maintenance of the new Sexual Abuse Survivor’s monument in the park and for other future donated funds especially for expenses directly related to this park.
Parks and Recreation Committee – 6:15pm On the agenda for these committee members are the recommendations from staff for fee schedule and policies updates for the rental of Jones Park and Houdini Plaza. Side note: While I understand the drive towards “gender neutral language” in city policies, many of the amendments proposed to solve this supposed problem render many of the statements in the policies grammatically incorrect. I know that’s a little thing… but it is annoying and disconcerting to me that a municipality will sacrifice proper grammar in these cases. Poor grammar in official communications conveys (for me, at least) a certain amount of ineptitude on the part of the entity issuing the communications.
Tuesday, 12/12/2023
Fox Cities Transit Commission – 2:50pm Commissioners will be asked to review and approve the Valley Transit October 2023 payments and the 2024 intermunicipal agreements between Valley Transit and Outagamie County, Calumet County, Winnebago County, Neenah (Dial-a-Ride), and Fox Crossing (Dial-a-Ride).
Utilities Committee – 4:30pm The only action items on this committee’s agenda are the approval of two contracts for two separate companies for stormwater consulting in 2024 (amounts totaling $100,000). Committee members will also review the 2024 chemical rates that were obtained by the chemical consortium (in which the city is a member) and the October 2023 water main breaks report (showing a total cost of ~$159,000 for just that month).
Wednesday, 12/13/2023
Board of Health – 7am These early riser board members will be awakened with talk of a request to increase the staff of the city’s Health Department by another employee — a Community Resource Navigator. The memo regarding this position gives a good argument for the creation of the position and the increasing need for it in the city. The potential funding of the position, however, concerns me a bit. The position is to be created and then supported in 2024 by Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds which are annually subject to US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding. I am concerned about the long-term expected viability of that funding source (to support this position into the future without impacting the City of Appleton budget) and what initiatives that would otherwise be supported by CDBG funding might experience a shortfall due to this position requiring those funds. Approval of this request will require both Board of Health and Human Resources and Information Technology Committee approval before moving to full council for approval so I expect to ask more about this request at the meeting of the latter committee (much later in the day!). What are your initial thoughts on the creation of this position? Let me know what you think.
Appleton Redevelopment Authority – 9am This meeting has been cancelled due to lack of agenda items.
City Plan Commission – 3:30pm After a public hearing regarding it, commissioners will discuss and vote on approval of a rezoning of three parcels on Wisconsin Avenue, Union Street, and Lawe Street from General Commercial to Neighborhood Mixed Use. The properties have been used for a used car sales business/trailer storage and the rezoning request is “being made to allow for potential multi-family residential redevelopment.” The staff memo supports the rezoning so I don’t see a reason this request will not be approved by either this commission or the full council later. Other items on the agenda include the potential approval of the certified survey map and city acquisition/dedication of the proposed outlots and proposed public trail land in the city’s Southpoint Commerce Park.
Human Resources and Information Technology Committee – 4:30pm This committee will be asked to recommend approval of an overhire (two employees doing the same job at once in order to train a new employee while the current employee prepares to leave that position) in the City Assessor’s office. This overhire is proposed as “budget neutral” with funds available from another vacant position so I see no reason not to approve it. The next item up for approval is the creation of a Community Resource Navigator in the city’s Health Department (as mentioned in the above notes for the Board of Health meeting). And the last of this committee’s action items for this meeting is the approval of a silica safety policy for the city (an OSHA requirement).
Safety and Licensing Committee – 5:30pm In addition to the potential approval of the addition and renewal of several liquor and other licenses, members of this committee will review and discuss some staff-proposed changes to the city’s municipal code regarding alcohol licensing, the city’s Alcohol License Policy, the addition of municipal code language for fireworks sales licensure. It is also that time of the year in which the city recommends an update to the maximum pricing allowed for towing services in the city. (Here are the recommendations that the committee will consider approving.)
Community and Economic Development Committee – 6:30pm To round out this week’s committee meetings, this committee will discuss and look to approve 1) a request to extend the terms of a repurchase clause in an agreement between the city and a property owner in Southpoint Commerce Park, 2) a request for a deadline extension in the development agreement between the city and Merge, LLC, (the developer) for the Blue Ramp site just north of City Hall, 3) the request for a five-foot easement on the Blue Ramp site to accommodate some windows on the second floor of the Fox Commons project (the former City Center Mall), 4) a request to use Community Development Block Grant funds to support the creation of the above-mentioned Community Resource Navigator position in the city’s health department, and 5) a request by the developers and building contractors of the Fox Commons project for the city to adopt a resolution to help these developers/contractors to secure grant funding for a public market in the main level of the Fox Commons. The latter comes with little or no administrative burden and no fiscal impact on the city. This is a lot for this committee to take on in one meeting; but I’m guessing that all will be easily approved. Do you have any thoughts or concerns about any of the above? If so, please share them with me.
So… the last few weeks of short blog posts have come back to haunt us with this week’s very long one. If you hung in there to read through it all…. thanks! And even if you didn’t, I still appreciate you checking in and skimming through. Please share with me any thoughts, concerns, or ideas you might have regarding any of the above topics or anything else city-government-related. I look forward to hearing from you.
Until next time… have a wonderful week!
