Common Council notes for the week of 9/19/22

Hello Neighbors! 

This is a council week and there are just a couple of items to touch on, but it includes one that directly affects many of us who live on the SE side. 

Recap

First I want to quickly recap where we're at with a proposal by alderman Del Toro to allow gardens (both flower and vegetable) on the terraces. As a reminder, the terrace is the space between the sidewalk and road. It is city property, but residents are required to maintain it and the city already does allow for some use of the terrace. 

This first came to the municipal services committee that I serve on, back in August. At that time, some questions were raised, but it ultimately was approved 5-0. However, prior to that item coming to council for a vote the following week, we heard from many residents across the city concerned about the height of plantings being allowed, becoming a traffic and pedestrian safety concern. 

Despite objections from almost half the council, my refer back request to committee for further study was granted. At committee last week, so many issues were raised by council members, I referred the item to staff to recraft the resolution to address the list of concerns that were raised. 

Staff will bring back a new version to the municipal services committee in October. 

Common Council 

Wednesday 7 p.m. - One item of great interest to residents in district 15 is the proposed WE Energies trail. It runs along the double row of powerlines between Roeland Ave. and Sylvan Ave. in our district, but was slated to extend east into Harrison and eventually further. 

The highlighted area shows where the proposed trail would have gone in district 15

I heard feedback from dozens of residents on this item over the last few months and I even held a neighborhood meeting about it with the police department this summer. 

Following the results of some soil testing, the Parks and Recreation Department is now recommending cancelling the proposed trail due to poor soil conditions which have raised the cost of the trial from just over $1 million, to more than $3 million to complete. 

Some residents of district 15 came to the parks and recreation committee meeting to speak against the trail and also gathered signatures from many adjoining properties in our district and others where the trial was proposed to go through. 

I also spoke to the committee recommending they follow the staff recommendation to cancel the project because of the cost and neighborhood concerns. I suspect this will receive the approval of council to cancel the project as well. 

The other item of interest will be the Ellen Kort Peace Park/Trout Museum project. What is before us this week is simply a plan outlining the steps the City and the Trout will take as they explore feasibility of relocating in the park. The plan outlines several places in the upcoming steps where the city can withdraw its support for the project. 

However, without any real information on the feasibility, I plan to support this outline that will give greater clarity and opportunity for more public input as well. The Trout Museum is an important cultural piece of our city and I believe the museum deserves our support to at least do some more exploration given the safeguards the City has in place to protect its interests and to preserve the park, should we not want to move forward in the future.

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.