I wanted to start off this week with an update on the city facility mask requirement. The CDC changed its guidance this week, lowering the thresholds at which it recommends communities require masks for indoor facilities. Because of that, Mayor Woodford rescinded the mask mandate for city facilities on Friday.
Appleton Redevelopment Authority Exhibition Center Advisory Committee
Tuesday 1 p.m. - This committee is meeting for the first time since Sept. 2020. The updates include information on the remodeling of the Hilton Paper Valley Hotel which is well underway on the inside. The attachment to the agenda notes exterior remodeling on the hotel is already complete.
Also on the agenda for this committee is an update on visitor spending for 2021. Room tax collections for the 4th quarter were up over eight percent, pointing to continued improvement in hotel stays. There were 29 meetings or conventions at the Exhibition Center that brought in just over $1 million in visitor spending, while the more than 200 sporting events in the Fox Cities brought in just short of $8 million.
Appleton Public Arts Committee
Wednesday 8:30 a.m. - The arts committee will meet to review a request from Appleton Downtown Inc. to use the College Ave. amenity strip for several events in 2022. The events include the Appleton Area School District student art walk in May, Street Music week in June, Chalk walk in July and Paint the Town in August.
Common Council
Wednesday 7 p.m. - The majority of the interesting items on the council agenda this week will come from the Municipal Services Committee. I wrote about those in last week's blog.
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| A comparison of a regularly manicured lawn and a lawn participating in No Mow May |
I requested this item held as I reached out to several entomologists who have studied and researched bees and bee habitat. Both conclude that bee specific flower gardens and other specially planted habitat have a far greater impact on bees' pollination efforts than long grass does. Coupled with the complaints about long grass the city routinely receives during the summer, both during No Mow May and after, I don't think I can support a permanent change to the ordinance.
A professor from Lawrence University also did a study about the effects of "No Mow May" here in Appleton over the last two years. However, while it does provide some insight, the data does not compare lawns participating in "No Mow May" and lawns that don't, rather it compares lawns participating with city-owned park lands which are managed far different. It's an apples and oranges comparison in my mind.
I would support allowing another year of the program if further study is conducted to try to accurately compare the effects of the program, but at this time I don't think making this change permanent is warranted.
Specific to this topic, I am very interested in feedback from residents in my district and elsewhere in the city on this topic. It is one that really evokes strong feelings on both sides of this issue, so the more feedback we get, the better decision we can make. I've already heard from several people that don't want to see this continue and one person who supports and participated in it. Though like some others who participate in the program, this resident noted it was more to avoid having to mow than it was to help the bees.
Specific to this topic, I am very interested in feedback from residents in my district and elsewhere in the city on this topic. It is one that really evokes strong feelings on both sides of this issue, so the more feedback we get, the better decision we can make. I've already heard from several people that don't want to see this continue and one person who supports and participated in it. Though like some others who participate in the program, this resident noted it was more to avoid having to mow than it was to help the bees.
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 and all meetings take place in the Common Council chambers on the 6th floor of City Hall, unless otherwise noted.
On No Mow May, yes, agreed, wildflowers and other plantings can be more beneficial. I personally would love to have less lawn and more diverse habitats instead, but other family members prefer the look and play space provided by turf grass. So for property owners who are "stuck" with the lawns they've got, in my view No Mow May is a great way to help pollinators early in the season without making drastic changes to the property's landscaping.
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