Committee notes for the Week of 6/21

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. I was fortunate to spend the day with my family. We spent a rainy afternoon watching my son cap off a soccer tournament weekend in Stevens Point, by scoring two goals in a win for his team in his last game of the season. That's a good day in my book! 

And while I didn't get to see him today, I got to talk with my dad who has been a steady influence in my life and continues to be a great sounding board on so many things. 

We'll have a very busy week of committee meetings this week, with some big proposals on the table as well, so let's jump into the details. 

Board of Building Inspection

Monday 3:30 p.m. - The committee will be reviewing an variance request for a residence on Weimar St. The owner of the home is remodeling the basement but has a staircase that doesn't meet current code.  

Municipal Services

Monday 4:30 p.m. - There are approvals for a number of street reconstruction projects, updates to the sidewalk maintenance policy, as well as updates to the municipal code regarding accessory buildings and electrical work performed by a homeowner. 

We'll also be asked to approve a temporary street occupancy permit for U.S. Venture for a small strip of land on Lawrence St. for the company to build a temporary parking lot. The land was recently dedicated to the city for Lawrence St. to be reconstructed. That is scheduled for 2023. The temporary permit will allow U.S. Venture to occupy 12 feet of that recently dedicated land until the end of 2022. 

The big item on the Municipal Services Committee agenda is a modified plan from the department of public works to make some service changes. This multi-part proposal came about as a way for the department to meet DNR regulations for phosphorus runoff and to absorb the loss of a contractor that did snow removal on sidewalks for the city. Because there were no other contractors interested in the work and to avoid having to hire additional staff, the department looked at how to absorb that work internally. What came from that was a proposal to change the way the department did fall leaf collection, yard waste collection, bulky  waste overflow collection and sidewalk snow removal. 

The updated plan reflects concerns heard by residents about a cost to bulky waste overflow collection. It's a service the city has long provided and at a much more generous rate than any other surrounding municipality. 

In the modified plan DPW will provide: 

• Free overflow collection April - September only. 
• Maximum of two items that can be collected during that period. 
• Crews will be busy collecting leaves and doing sidewalk snow removal October - March
• Four weeks of yard waste collection in April 
• Debris must be bagged and bundled as has been past practice for spring collection
• Fall leaf collection will feature three rounds of collection for each household
• Any debris besides leaves must be bagged or bundled and placed on the terrace
• Pumpkins must now go in the trash

The charts below also detail the current, originally proposed changes and the most recent modified plan. I would also note, this is also just an informational item at committees this week. Further feedback could impact this plan before it comes back to committee in July for a vote. DPW would budget for these changes, which include equipment purchases, for the 2022 budget and the approved changes would take effect starting in April 2022. 

Finance Committee

Monday 5:30 p.m. - The Finance Committee also has a busy agenda Monday. It starts with a report by the city's audit firm on the city's 2020 finances. Council members were presented with a copy of the executive summary and a full 150+ page report last week. I read the executive summary so far. There is one item that may be of concern related to some reporting changes that the city will be required to make in 2022. That change could require an additional software purchase, although in discussion with Finance Director Tony Saucerman, his hope is that staff can achieve the necessary results without the additional software. It may be something we will discuss heading into budget discussions this fall. 

The committee will also take up a proposal for a branding study. This was an idea initially proposed last year by Mayor Woodford. Full disclosure: This is also something I worked on pretty extensively when I was doing communications for the city. So I am supportive of this idea. 

The proposal calls for hiring a firm to conduct a branding study at a cost of between $50,000 - $100,000. This is consistent with the costs I found to be true when I was researching this for the city over the last few years. The study would include intensive research, public input and methodology to narrow down the brand to something representative of Appleton. This does not just mean a new logo, though that is part of the process that comes after the brand is identified. 

There are further costs to a branding project and that includes implementation. Everything from business cards, envelopes, and paper to vehicle wraps, signage and anywhere else the city logo appears. Those costs could be implemented in a bulk fashion all at once, or spread out over time to lessen the impact of the immediate cost. In previous research when I was on staff, we estimated the implementation cost to be $250,000-$400,000. 

There is a lot of data to support municipal branding. It's an economic development tool, talent attraction tool, can help unify the city's goals around a common purpose and in Appleton's case, can certainly help shed the 'drunkest city in the country' moniker. 

I'm supportive of this proposal and am looking forward to the discussion. 

The Finance Committee will also take up a proposal to ban political signs on city-owned, privately-leased property. This proposal was brought forward by the former alderman for District 13, after his election loss in April, but prior to his leaving office. It was referred to the city attorney's office for research and is now back before the committee.

I'm not sure this is an actual problem that needs solving. The contention is that a private company, allowing political signs on city-owned property that is leased to a private company, could somehow imply a city endorsement of that candidate or political issue. There are certainly some first-amendment concerns to consider in this case. This should be an interesting discussion as well. 

Parks & Recreation Committee

Monday 6:30 p.m. - The Parks & Recreation Committee will be asked to approve a permit for the Trout Museum to use Houdini Plaza for a special event on August 27th. The committee will also get a report on the May numbers for Reid Golf Course, with participation and revenue up across the board from May of 2020. The committee will also get an update on the city pools. 

Board of Zoning Appeals

Monday 7 p.m. - The Board of Zoning Appeals will take up a request by a resident to build a privacy fence at a home that borders Appleton West High School. This needs a special approval because six-foot high fence on what is technically a double frontage lot, meaning it has two front yards. City code doesn't allow for a fence in a front yard in excess of three-feet in height without a variance. 

Transit Commission

Tuesday 3 p.m. - The Transit Commission has a standard list of business issues to attend to and will also get an update on the finance audit for the city, which contains information on the financial status of Valley Transit. 

Utilities Committee

Tuesday 5 p.m. - The Utilities Committee will be asked to approve a contract for consulting services for a stormwater management plan related to the rebuilding of the YMCA parking ramp downtown. The plan will help address runoff on the surrounding streets. 

The committee will also have a discussion about the Department of Public Works proposed changes mentioned earlier. This is an informational item only at this committee meeting, like at the Municipal Services Committee and will come back as an action item in July. 

City Plan Commission 

Wednesday 3:30 p.m. - The City Plan Commission has a number of development-related projects on its agenda for this week. First is a project near the former VFW site and Richmond Terrace on Richmond St. The Commission will look at a land-use amendment and an associated zoning change on a multi-family home and parking lot at the corner of Richmond St. and Harris St. The plan calls for rezoning those properties to mixed use, from multi-family and commercial. 

Next up for the commission is a request to remove a layer of zoning on the site of the former Family Video store at the corner of Calumet St. and John St. Essentially, removing one layer of zoning on this site will open it up for further development options that can't currently be considered on that site. It will stay zoned as commercial property. 

The other rezoning request of interest on the agenda is to take a currently vacant piece of property on Coolidge Ct. off Telulah Ave., from commercial zoning to multi-family as noted in the city's comprehensive plan. The site has been slated for a multi-family development for years, but to this point it has not been constructed. A developer has come forward with a proposal for that site and this rezoning request will allow the type of development in that proposal to move forward. 

Get In Touch

I am always available to answer questions at district15@appleton.org or (920) 419-1360. 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.