Good day neighbors! It's a beautiful and sunny Palm Sunday!
Committee are back in action this week, though a number of them don't have any agenda items and won't meet. This is a bit of an odd week where new council members have been elected, but won't take office until the 19th. So we'll continue ahead this week with one final set of meetings with the "old" council members.
Spring Election
I wanted to start by saying thank you to voters for electing me to represent them on the Calumet County Board, representing District 5. I am excited to take on this new role and new challenge over the next two years. We also saw some turnover on the council after the elections last Tuesday. New council members joining the group are:
- District 4 Israel Del Toro
- District 8 Joss Thyssen
- District 10 Vaya Lauren Jones
- District 14 Chris Croatt (returning to council after stepping down in 2020)
There are also a few returning incumbents, one who ran unopposed. The final results are below.
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| Final Spring Election Results |
With that, on to this week's committee agenda items...
Central Equipment Agency
Monday 3:30 p.m. - The CEA is the city's clearing house for all city-owned vehicles and related equipment. The committee meets infrequently and has a couple noteworthy things for this meeting. As the city is looking to replace vehicles in its fleet, it is turning toward hybrid electric vehicles where applicable.
HEVs cost more upfront but can provide fuel savings, especially when gas prices are higher. I drive a used 2o15 hybrid Toyota Camry and while I didn't purchase it a few years ago just because it's a hybrid, I have been pleased at the fuel efficiency it has. One of the question's I'll have for staff relates to whether or not we'll keep these vehicles long enough to have to worry about battery replacement, which is a significant expense. Generally due to the use the city puts on vehicles, that probably won't be the case, but I'll update what I find out.
The Fire Department is also asking for authorization to advance the purchase of a replacement fire engine from early next year to now, to avoid a $55,000 price increase that takes effect in May. By prepaying for the vehicle, we can also save another $35,000 in discounts.
Municipal Services
Monday 4:30 p.m. - There isn't much on the agenda for this committee this week, but there are two road reconstruction projects that are joint projects with Outagamie County. I've highlighted those projects on the map below, but the question about these projects I will have is the necessity of bike lanes for these projects, given they also include sidewalks and multimodal trails.
I do support bike lanes, and I have not seen what the actual plan looks like, but if we are also building a trail alongside the new roads, I am not convinced we need the bike lanes as well. These are county trunk highways and as such have higher speeds than city streets and I would guess most cyclists might opt to use the trail vs. the bike lanes. But we'll see what our traffic engineer shares about the plan.
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| Map of road reconstruction projects on Municipal Services agenda |
Spring Yard Waste Collection
On a related note to the Municipal Services Committee, we're at that point now where nice days mean people are getting out for yard work and wondering about the spring yard waste collection. Notes on that are in the graphic below. Just remember all debris needs to be bagged and placed on the terrace. Nothing goes into the street in the spring.
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| Spring Yard Waste Collection Information |
Finance Committee
Monday 5:30 p.m. - There are just a few contract approvals at committee this week for work at the wastewater treatment plant and for sewer projects.
Utilities Committee
Tuesday 5:00 p.m. - The lone action item on the agenda is to approve a contract for stormwater consultant work in relation to the I-41 project and the Wisconsin DOT starting similar work along the corridor on the north side of the city.
City Plan Commission
Wednesday 3:30 p.m. - The City Plan Commission will take up a request for a special use permit for a new restaurant in the former Elks Lodge on W. College Ave. The remodeled facility is now called the Mill City Public House, operating as a restaurant and bar.
Safety & Licensing Committee
Wednesday 5:30 p.m. - The big item on the agenda for this committee is the request from the police department to revoke the alcohol license for Core's Lounge. The establishment at 1350 W. College Ave. has been the site of several noise complaint issues and has been cited for staying open past closing time. These incidents put the owners of the establishment over the demerit point threshold for license revocation.
Earlier this year Core's Lounge was the site of a major fight that led to a shooting in the early morning hours of Feb 14th. While that incident is not part of the case being presented for the license revocation, it is part of a pattern of incidents that have arisen over the last year at that location.
New Traffic Enforcement Plan
The police department also unveiled last week a new plan to address reckless, inattentive driving and vehicle noise concerns. This is a pilot project that has been in the works for some time.
Beginning June 1 through the end of the year, APD will employ a full-time Traffic Safety Officer as part of its Traffic Safety Unit pilot program to address concerns identified as top priorities from APD’s Community Survey on Public Safety completed most recently in 2020.
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| APD squad car |
The Traffic Safety Unit and officer position will directly address safety and nuisance concerns such as speeding, reckless driving, inattentive or distracted driving, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and aggressive cruising involving the use of disruptive vehicle equipment that pollutes natural air or sound environment.
In addition to dedicated patrol, APD’s traffic safety officer will field complaints and serve as a main point of contact for community members, working with them to strategize and address areas of concern, educate the community, and promote safe driving and pedestrian behavior.
Please let me know your feedback on this idea and any changes you may or may not notice with this. As I've said before, my two top priorities as your alderman are infrastructure and public safety, so I have been supportive of this plan since I first learned about it a few months ago.
College Avenue North Presentation
Monday from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. everyone is invited to the City Center to view a proposed plan for the College Ave. North neighborhood. Since October of last year, the city has been collecting information and feedback to create a plan for this area north of downtown. The goal of the plan is to help guide development in the area through public and private investment and improvements over the next 20 years.
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| College Avenue North Neighborhood Meeting Information |
Infrastructure Concerns
Over the past few weeks I've shared with you some of my concerns about infrastructure needs the city has and how the city is falling behind in those areas.
Two weeks ago I wrote about concerns about water main breaks and being behind schedule on water main replacement projects. Last week I wrote about the road reconstruction issues we are facing. and the financing of these projects.
This week I just wanted to share that I have crafted a resolution that I will be introducing at our next Common Council meeting on April 20th. It will begin to address these issues, but it will not be the final solution. Aside from hoping that my colleagues agree to address the very real equity issue I will discuss with the resolution, I hope it starts the new council year off getting the group focused on one of the core services the city provides and that we put our focus on these issues as we head into budget preparation in the months ahead.
Here are a few facts about our infrastructure system to keep in mind:
- We have 350 miles of streets in the city
- We have 328 miles of sanitary storm mains
- We have 304 miles of storm sewer mains
- We have 380 miles of water mains (including multiple lines in some areas)
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.
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