This week we mark the Memorial Day Holiday Monday. May we all remember the reason for the day and take time to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. One of my pastimes is reading and in particular, war history. On Memorial Day, I'll set aside some time to finish up a book called "Alone at Dawn" a story about an Air Force special operations combat controller who died in Afghanistan in 2002 and was awarded the Medal of Honor years later.
There are a number of other ways you can honor our fallen service members, including visiting a cemetery or participating in events by local veterans groups around the area. Here in Appleton, you can also participate by watching the Appleton Memorial Day Parade online remembrance ceremony. Details of how to catch it are on the city's website. The event starts at 10 a.m.
Appleton Public Arts Committee
Tuesday 7:45 a.m. - The Appleton Public Arts Committee will start the week early on Tuesday morning. The meeting will feature a discussion of the short and long term goals of the public arts committee. The only action item on the agenda is to elect a vice-chair for the committee.
Common Council
Wednesday 7 p.m. - The Common Council will take up for approval, a number of items from last week's committee meetings. I wrote a recap of those agenda items in last week's blog. Of note will be approvals for rezoning and street vacation for land on the bluff site for the U.S. Venture project. We'll also vote on approving the sale of 30+ acres of land in the South Point Commerce Park for a light manufacturing facility. A 6-month extension of a planning option with Merge LLC should also be approved. The development group is putting together a project on the former Blue Ramp and Conway Hotel sites behind the City Center.
The item that will likely garner the most discussion is a resolution supporting the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program. The program funds land purchases through the DNR as well as funding local land conservation projects. Appleton has reaped the benefits of this program, most recently with a matching grant of over $700,000 to complete the Lawe St. trestle trail. The city is requesting another $1.4 million in funds from the grant program to complete the David and Rita Nelson river crossing, another trail connecting the future Ellen Kort Peace Park along the Fox River on Water St., to Edison Ave. near Pullman's in the flats.
The portion of the resolution that I and several other council members have spoken out against is the following clause: "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Appleton supports the reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program for ten years and consideration of the proposal in Governor Evers budget request of $70 million per year".
As a non-partisan body, I think it would be wise for us to steer clear of bringing any hint of partisanship into our work. We can easily make a statement of support to the state legislature to continue funding the program, but we can also easily do it without a reference to the governor's budget request.
I will be bringing forward an amendment to the resolution to remove that language and replace it with something that puts more of the focus on Appleton. I hope my colleagues will agree it is a good compromise and relates a positive message to the legislature to continue this worthwhile program.
Lastly, the meeting will actually start with proclamations, including one for retiring Health Officer Kurt Eggebrecht. The Health Department's leader put off retirement last year to help the city through the pandemic. His final day with the City will be June 4th.
Board of Review
Thursday - 9:00 a.m., the Board of Review closes out the week Thursday morning. On the agenda is the review of three property assessments. Get In Touch
As always, agendas can be found on the agenda and meetings page of the city website. Meetings can be viewed live on the website or watched at a later date. Meetings are also open for anyone to attend in person. I am always available to answer questions at district15@appleton.org or (920) 419-1360.
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