Hi Neighbors!
Its' been a few months since I've had time to write a blog update about city business. My job kept me busy working 16-hour days most days from January to earlier this month, and while I was able to keep up with my council responsibilities, it didn't leave me time to spend writing updates. But the good news is, that work is now behind me and I am once again able to get back to my promise of keeping you informed of pressing issues.
Its' been a few months since I've had time to write a blog update about city business. My job kept me busy working 16-hour days most days from January to earlier this month, and while I was able to keep up with my council responsibilities, it didn't leave me time to spend writing updates. But the good news is, that work is now behind me and I am once again able to get back to my promise of keeping you informed of pressing issues.
New Council and New Opportunities
The timing is great because this week starts a new council year. We welcome a new council colleague in District 7. Patrick Hayden was elected in the only contested race this year for City Council. His name may be familiar to some Appleton residents as he ran for state assembly last year as a Democrat against Republican Representative Dave Murphy. The rest of the council members in the odd districts, including myself here in District 15, ran unopposed. I am grateful for the confidence and satisfaction that our neighbors have shown in the work I've done on council so far to represent our district, and to try to tackle the toughest issues facing the city - our lack of adequate funding and support for infrastructure and public safety.
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| Swearing in of new and returning council members is at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday in Houdini Plaza |
We begin this new council year with a swearing in ceremony on Tuesday for new and returning council members. That takes place in Houdini Plaza at 5:15 p.m. and is open to anyone who wants to stop by. We'll follow that short ceremony with an informal organizational meeting to discuss our rules for the new council year and we will formalize those rules at a meeting prior to the regularly scheduled council meeting on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
No Mow May
Other than typical city business for the week, the item that will generate the most discussion and possibly public comment is the resolution I brought forward to eliminate the option to allow grass to grow longer than eight inches during the month of May.
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| Mowed vs. un-mowed lawns |
That was a change to the ordinance the council passed last year using a study by two Lawrence University professors, one of whom is a colleague on the City Council, that said that more bees and more types of bees were found in grass grown longer than eight inches in May. The idea being that bees are looking for early food sources in spring and dandelions and clover in yards provide it.
However, as I shared at the Municipal Services Committee meeting last week, the authors agreed to retract their study after a taxonomist - an expert in bee identification - noted several major issues with their study. Those issues included reporting multiple bee species in the study that simply do not appear in Wisconsin in May, reporting 33 different types of bees found when the majority of those identified couldn't be identified by sight as reported, but required a microscope to identify, reporting types of plants that also do not occur in Wisconsin in May, and misspelling the names of five different bee species.
The editor of the journal in which the study was published noted the findings of the study are “unreliable and could impact the results” and the retraction guidelines for the journal note that a paper should be retracted if the findings are unreliable, or the result of fabrication or falsification.
Since this study was indeed the basis that our council and numerous other cities approved similar programs, and since the science behind the program is no longer valid, I brought this resolution forward to discuss undoing the ordinance while continuing to support the educational efforts of the importance of bees and other pollinators.
I also think it is worth noting that I shared in committee some facts about long grass that no one disputed.
The typical maximum height of dandelions is 6-8”
The typical maximum height of clover is 4-8”
The recommendation for cutting your grass to help dandelions grow is 4”
A USDA study shows the optimal mowing frequency for bee habitat is two weeks
To me this suggests what I say often happens with this council in my experience. Many vote with feelings and emotion, not facts and logic.
The few people who support the ordinance, have sent emails and have come to speak in favor of it at council. Both they and my council colleagues who support the ordinance staying in place, make emotional pleas to help the bees, but are unwilling to acknowledge the fact that the science actually disputes what they say.
The few people who support the ordinance, have sent emails and have come to speak in favor of it at council. Both they and my council colleagues who support the ordinance staying in place, make emotional pleas to help the bees, but are unwilling to acknowledge the fact that the science actually disputes what they say.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to help the bees. But the discussions at committee and those that have been shared with me from conversations on social media and various other places, have devolved into petty personal attacks. I've been called a liar for simply repeating what actual experts have said. It was suggested I be publicly reprimanded for bringing this resolution forward for intentionally leaving out information.
The onus in this discussion is not on me. I simply presented what experts have said, which is that the study has no scientific basis to support it and therefore we no longer need the ordinance. Those who support this resolution staying in place have the burden of proof and so far, that has been lacking. The authors of the retracted study say they will be submitting another to replace it. However, this is not evidence showing the validity of the ordinance and I will go a step further and say that this council took the authors at their word that their previous data was sound when it clearly was not, and we should not do so again.
The onus in this discussion is not on me. I simply presented what experts have said, which is that the study has no scientific basis to support it and therefore we no longer need the ordinance. Those who support this resolution staying in place have the burden of proof and so far, that has been lacking. The authors of the retracted study say they will be submitting another to replace it. However, this is not evidence showing the validity of the ordinance and I will go a step further and say that this council took the authors at their word that their previous data was sound when it clearly was not, and we should not do so again.
If you have thoughts about the issue, leave them in the comments below or reach out to all council members with one email at this link: https://www.appleton.org/government/common-council/contact-us
Spring Yard Waste Collection
Spring yard waste collection is also upon us here this week. Like some of you, I spent my weekend cleaning up my yard as the grass has already gone from yellow and brown to almost completely green in just a few days!
The schedule for the collection period and the rules are below.
The schedule for the collection period and the rules are below.
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| Schedule and rules for spring yard waste collection |
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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