Committee Notes for the week of 7/11/22

Hello neighbors!

It's been a few weeks without any updates as some scheduling and a holiday week fell in line to give council and staff an extended break from meetings at the end of June and start of July. We're back at it this week with a slate of committee meetings, but first ... 

Neighborhood Meeting

I posted this on my social media channels last week, but wanted to remind you of a special neighborhood meeting I am hosting on Thursday, July 14th at 6 p.m. at Hoover Park. 

It's an opportunity for you to come and share with me what is on your mind, both in our district and in the city. A couple of representatives from the Appleton Police Department will also join me to answer your questions as well. 

I've heard a lot of feedback recently from neighbors around Hoover Park with concerns about speeding, reckless driving and drug activity in the park. I've also spoken to a number of residents about the proposed WE Energies Trail that would run through part of District 15 and this will be a topic we discuss as well. I hope many of you will join me and share what's on your mind! 

CEA Committee

Monday, 4 p.m. - The Central Equipment Agency (CEA) Committee meets for the first time in several months to take up a couple of police department requests and one for the Parks Department. The PD items include requests to retrofit the city's current mobile command center vehicle to be used by the forensic evidence team. A related item is a request to a joint purchase with Outagamie County for a new mobile command vehicle. 

In a nutshell, the current vehicle used by the forensic evidence team is outdated and no longer meets their needs. Rather than replacing that vehicle, which was originally purchased used, the proposal would repurpose the current mobile command vehicle for the forensic evidence team and a joint purchase with Outagamie County for a mobile command vehicle would be made. The city and county would both benefit from a new command vehicle with state of the art technology, that will help both departments better manage critical incidents where the mobile command vehicle would be deployed. 

APD memo explaining new vehicle purchases and upgrades. 

The other PD related request is to replace three high-use squad cars and eight unmarked vehicles, which are all up for replacement. Instead of replacing the unmarked vehicles with similar upgraded police packages, the proposal would purchase standard SUVs and use the savings to upgrade the three high-use vehicles to SUVs with the police package, instead of sedans. Additional savings from the downgraded unmarked SUVs would allow all the new vehicles purchased to be hybrids, generating additional savings through less fuel consumption. 

The last item on the agenda for the CEA committee is a request to replace a mower that was damaged by a hit-and-run driver. The driver eventually was located and that driver's insurance company agreed to pay for the damages to the mower, but this request is to replace the mower with a new one using those funds and a few thousand dollars more to cover the additional expense of replacement. 

Municipal Services Committee

Monday 4:30 p.m. - Two items are up for action at the Municipal Services Meeting Monday. One is to fund an updated structural analysis study of the city's parking ramps. The $40,000 contract will give the city a short and long-term plan for needed improvements to the ramps. 

I am particularly interested in this study and it's results as we have seen a dramatic drop in parking revenue the last few years, where the city has used ARPA dollars to cover revenue shortfalls. I have had conversations with our recently retired public works director about the parking ramps in the past. Our new public works director started last week and will need time to get acclimated to the department and the challenges it faces, but this will be one of those items on my list to discuss with her.

The other action item on the agenda at this meeting is to approve a memorandum of understanding between the city and the chamber of commerce for beautification work in the amenity peninsula at the Green Ramp that the city owns. There is no memo attached to this item so I won't know more about that until the meeting. 

We'll also hear an update on a resolution to allow residents to plant gardens and other plants and shrubs in terraces (the green space between the street and sidewalk). Currently the city does not allow these types of activities as the terrace area belongs to the city and contains underground utilities. Alderman Del Toro wrote a proposal to change that and it is being reviewed by the public works department for response with any possible changes they could support and any issues that changes could cause. 

Finance Committee 

Monday  5:30 p.m. -  The Finance Committee will get a report on the city's 2021 audit. The good news is that no issues in our finances were noted. Given some staffing turnover in the last year, as well as an influx of ARPA dollars from the federal government and the myriad of reporting requirements that go with it, a clean audit is good news. 

Also of interest, is a request to recommend approval of a $6 million contract to expand sludge storage at the Appleton Wastewater Treatment Facility. This will help the utility meet DNR requirements for temporary sludge storage. 

Lastly of note, is a request to reallocate $2.9 million in carryover funds from a raw water line project that came in under budget. The proposal would use the balance to fund additional water infrastructure projects that the city is behind on. If you read my blog often, you'll remember I tried to reallocate $6 million of as-of-yet unused ARPA money, to help fund watermain infrastructure projects. That proposal was rejected by my fellow council members, the majority of which want to use the money to fund social service organizations in the city. 

However, I will support this proposal as well as it will address a major area of need for the city. 

Utilities Committee 

Tuesday 4:30 p.m. - There are two contract approvals on the agenda for the committee as well as the monthly water main break report. That report shows two fewer watermain breaks for the month of June vs. June of 2021, but the total for the year is still a dozen breaks ahead of the same period in 2021.

City Plan Commission 

Wednesday 3:30 p.m. - The City Plan Commission is taking up a request to combine four parcels of land into one property for the expansion of an auto sales and display lot. The business, Midwestern Wheels, is located at 1608 E. Wisconsin Ave.

Safety & Licensing Committee

Wednesday 5:30 p.m. - Along with a list of liquor license requests, the S&L Committee will get a mid-year budget update from the Appleton Police Department. There isn't actually anything in the way of a budget update in the attachment, but it does note several updates on happenings in the department. Recruitment and retention continues to be a problem as it is for departments around the country. The PD is apparently seeing positive results from a pilot program for a dedicated traffic officer as the report notes it will be asking for a full-time traffic officer in the 2023 budget. 

Here are a couple of notes about crime statistics from the report for the first half of the year. 

Crime statistics for the first half of 2022.

 HR/IT Committee

Wednesday 6:30 p.m. - There are no action items for this committee, but there are informational updates on a police department hiring bonus program for police officers as well as community service officers. 

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. 

Also connect with me on social media on Facebook and Twitter.