Hey there, Neighbors. Thanks for joining me again for another Full Council Meeting Week alderman blog post. This week there are two other meetings on the agenda in addition to the regular meeting of the full common council. But there’s not much to cause a stir this week. (Surprise, surprise!)
Here is what you can expect:
Wednesday, 06/04/2025
Appleton Public Arts Committee – 8am On the agenda for this committee is a request for the approval of another parking ramp mural to be painted by students in a summer Lawrence University class. This is another one intended for the city’s red parking ramp.
The mural proposal seems just fine (not offensive in any way)… but it’s not really my cup of tea. What do you think?
Safety and Licensing Committee – Special Meeting – 6pm In this special meeting, the committee members will consider the staff/Appleton Police Department (APD) requested denial of a liquor license renewal for Tandem Wine and Beer on Edison Ave (“in the flats”). The request for denial is based upon one of the owners (a member of the LLC which owns and operates Tandem) having just served some jail time for a third Operating While Intoxicated/Operating with a Prohibited Alcohol Concentration conviction. The third offense qualifies this owner as a “habitual law offender” and makes it very difficult for me to see any way in which this licensure could or should be granted. The law allows the license applicant to try to show this committee and the council “evidence of sufficient rehabilitation” in order for the license to be granted. But I would have a tough time finding any evidence that might be given to be sufficient knowing that this applicant just served jail time for the crime. There has not been nearly enough time for any kind of true “rehabilitation.” What are your thoughts on this? Should this license be granted, knowing that the APD recommends denial? Can you think of anything that would convince you that this applicant is “rehabilitated”?
City of Appleton Common Council – 7pm The mayor will again kick off the full council meeting with some proclamations — eight of them, to be exact. He will also ask the council to approve a new appointee to the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission Metropolitan Planning Organization. (How’s that for a long and convoluted government agency name?)
The meeting then moves on to approvals (or perhaps denials) of the items taken up by committees this past week and earlier in the evening. Here are the highlights:
- From the Safety and Licensing Committee: A potential approval of the late application for a Special Event in the city: the Wisconsin United Football Club’s Summer Shootout. During the committee meeting, this late application was approved since the city staff are prepared to support the event (which has been going on annually for years but this year fell under the city’s new Special Events policy). While I’m in support of the event as well — since it brings economic benefit to the city and businesses here and is a wholesome family event — I am also interested to know why exactly the application was not submitted in a timely manner. If that had been done, there would be no reason for this vote to take place. So I’m hoping to hear from the applicants why they could not meet the prescribed deadline.
- Also from the Safety and Licensing Committee: The whole council will also get a crack at the proposed denial of the liquor license renewal of Tandem Wine and Beer (as noted above in the special meeting information for this committee). I presume that the recommendation from the committee earlier in the evening will be affirmed by the full council. But one can never count on that. Note: This item is also noted as a potential reason for a closed session of the council.
- From the City Plan Commission and the Fox Cities Transit Commission: Both commissions approved (so the council will look to affirm those approvals of) the final purchase of the land at 222 N Oneida Street, a property adjacent to the downtown transit center. This land is slated to become a part of the eventual home of the city’s new transit center to be built with mostly federal grant money.
And really… that’s about it. Not much of contention was discussed this past week in committees. And the one item most likely to garner attention is the potential liquor license denial to be taken up twice in one night this week.
I would be happy to hear from you should you have any questions or concerns on any of the above items or anything else city-government-related. Please let me know.
I hope that your first week of June is a great one. Let’s hope any rain will get will be light and any more wildfire smoke we see will be thin. “See” you again next week!
