Hello and Happy Father’s Day, Neighbors. A huge thank you to all those fathers who have always helped to shape and guide their children… and to those men who have taken on that job for children who are otherwise without that kind of fatherly leadership. I’m forever grateful that my father was always there to help and support me and I miss him even more on this date. Hug your dads!!
Here we are back in a Full Council Meeting Week. The Library Board has added a couple of meetings to this week’s schedule as well. So, below please find a summary of what to expect in those meetings and what the full council will discuss and decide on Wednesday night.
On Tuesday, 06/17/2025, the Library Board will meet at the library (in the Cornerstone Conference Room) at 5pm. They will review and look to approve the May 2025 financials and some small budget amendments. In non-action items, they will review a building update and the library’s 2024 annual report. Later in the week on Friday, 06/20/2025, the board’s Personnel and Policy “subcommittee“ will meet (in the library’s Thrivent Conference Room) at 9:15am. There is currently no agenda posted online for this meeting so we really don’t know what will be discussed and/or decided at this meeting.
Wednesday, 06/18/2025
City of Appleton Common Council – 7pm
As usual, last week’s committee meeting decisions will come to the full council for votes. There were many non-contentious items discussed last week, but a few items are sure to be separated for more discussion this week. Here is what you can expect to hear more about on Wednesday night:
- From the Municipal Services Committee: The changes to street parking availability along Ashbury Drive near its intersections with Providence Avenue and Lightning Drive are likely to be approved. These changes are necessary for the completion of the four-way stops that will be implemented at these intersections and the added crossing guard on school days at the Ashbury/Lightning intersection. I’ve been told that this change will not take away any on-street parking for Lundgaard Park.Side note: I know that some of you are concerned about the safety of on-street parking around Lundgaard Park since its opening due to the arrival of many new families with children around the area. At this time, city traffic engineers have not seen an uptick in traffic incidences in this area and the plan has always been for the park to be a neighborhood park with no off-street parking lot. So, there is no plan at this time for any street parking restrictions around the park. We all just really need to be more cognizant and practice safer driving habits in this area when there are vehicles parked on both sides of these streets. Many of us are so accustomed to these streets being four lanes wide (with no cars parked on the streets). These used to be places in which we could perhaps exceed the posted speed limit. But that’s no longer the case and it is up to all of us drivers and all of us visiting the park to be extra careful and more aware of each other to keep everyone safe!
- From the Municipal Services Committee and the City Plan Commission: The preliminary plat for the first phase in the southern portion of the Thrivent property — now being referred to as Wilden Portfolio Park — was approved by the commission. The initial plans for the streets in that area was also approved by the Municipal Services Committee. So both items are up for full council approval. These are the very early stages of the plans for this development and the good news is that there are not too many glaring issues or concerns with these initial plans.
- From the City Plan Commission: At the commission meeting, there were some questions asked by neighbors to the newest District 13 annexation regarding the proposed R-2 (single- and two-family residential) zoning of the development. The proposed development is just north of Emerald Valley Estates and east of the Apple Ridge subdivision. Commissioners and council members can do very little to stop a private property owner from building what the developer believes will best suit the neighborhood and the housing market. So long as the R-2 zoning is in conformance with the city’s comprehensive plan and future land use map (which it is), there is no legal reason this zoning change request could be denied.
- From the Finance Committee: Unfortunately, it seems as though $70,000 of the ~$1.5M in interest earned from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds which was set up in a reserve fund will be approved to pay for more consulting for the city. The work that the consultant that was hired to help the city administer the spending of this “free money” from the federal government is apparently not yet complete so more money is needed and less of this reserve fund will be available to the city to pay down debt and otherwise support the core competencies of the city. While I am greatly disappointed with this… the city is now so far down the road on this that it must be done… so this additional expense will most likely be approved.
- And most likely to garner the longest discussion at this meeting, from the Parks and Recreation Committee: A resolution to change the name of Appleton Memorial Park to Veterans Memorial Park was approved by this committee by a 3-2 vote (not a unanimous vote). The committee did vote to amend the resolution to change the spelling of the proposed new park name from “Veteran’s” to “Veterans.” This is grammar concession is little consolation to me, though, as I still have concerns about this name change and what impact it will truly have on showing that this city honors our veterans. I believe that this resolution should be sent back to this committee for further discussion as a name change alone seems to just pay lip service to the cause.The reasoning behind the resolution is apparently that the current Veterans Park in Appleton is far too small and without proper parking and amenities to support gatherings of folks for memorial services for veterans (such as Memorial Day services and other civic events). I can respect this concern and see that there should be some changes made to correct this problem in the city’s park system.
Local veterans are also apparently interested in and concerned about the various monuments and statutes honoring veterans that are spread throughout the city. Changing the name of Appleton Memorial Park is apparently supposed to be the impetus behind moving many of these to Memorial Park to consolidate them and to allow for space for new memorials as they are commissioned or donated to the city.
If we want to truly be respectful of and honor veterans with a change to the parks system, I believe that the city can and should be more purposeful about the changes needed. I feel that a name change to an already well known park alone does not really do it. I want to be clear that none of my opposition (such as it is) should be misconstrued as a lack of honor for or support of veterans (local and those from everywhere else who have served for our country). I have deep, deep appreciation for them all. And I am a child of a veteran as my father served in the Army in the 1950s. I believe, though, that a change to the city’s parks system to work through the current concerns and issues requires more forethought and a clearer plan than simply a name change. Yes, I am concerned about the costs to the taxpayer to make park name changes. They may be nominal but they remain a concern as that is the job of an alderman — watching the city’s pocketbook. But for me, this decision goes deeper than that.
If the goal is to eventually consolidate many of the war memorials and monuments in the city to one location and to provide a defined area for honoring of our veterans, perhaps a portion of Appleton Memorial Park should be specifically dedicated to that and that alone. Perhaps there should be something like a dedicated area named (for instance) “Veterans Acres at Appleton Memorial Park” which would specifically call out the importance of honor for our veterans. There are so many other activities and sub-areas (like playgrounds, ball fields, gardens, and the Sheig Center) at Memorial Park that I think changing the entire name of the park to Veterans Memorial Park does not truly serve the purpose of honoring these important individuals.
Another of my concerns is that, should this name change occur, the park will no doubt continue to be called simply “Memorial Park” as most currently refer to it. The way that the park name is regularly abbreviated with the dropping of the word “Appleton” already does not bode well for a name change to honor veterans. The important portion — the Veterans word — will likely be left off when folks refer to the park. How then is this proposed change going to really make an impact?
It is a pretty complex topic which I feel has not had the proper long discussion with the involved stakeholders as yet so I hope that it will not just be quickly voted on this week. I am concerned that there is a lot of social pressure hanging on this vote as well — as if a “no” vote because I might disagree that this is the right direction in which to go to properly serve the greater good would be looked down upon as a vote against honoring veterans and our servicemen and women. I prefer that all of the people involved in this decision have taken the time needed to contemplate all of the potential consequences to this name change before any change is made.
Of course, I look to you for your opinion on this as well. Please share your thoughts with me. Do you agree that this decision requires more thought? What better alternatives can you think of to show that the City of Appleton honors and deeply respects our veterans?
- Interestingly, this little bit of verbiage is also included on the council’s meeting agenda:
Now what in the world could this possibly mean? I will, of course, let you know what I can when I am able to do so. But I can’t imagine the city selling off a portion of Memorial Park… ?
And with that, this blog post concludes. Well, almost…
Do you have strong feelings on any of the above items? Do you have questions or concerns on anything mentioned above or anything else city-government-related? If so, please reach out to me and let me know!
Again, I wish you all a Happy Father’s Day, a happy Sunday, and a wonderful week ahead. I look forward to having you stop by for a visit next week for the next alderman blog post!
