Hello again neighbors!
It's been a quiet couple of weeks for the council, with a scheduled week off due to a fifth week in May, but the full council will reconvene this Wednesday with a handful of items on the agenda, including one that I have some concerns about that I would love your feedback on.
Most of the business this week won't be controversial, but there are two items I wanted to bring to your attention.
Library Project Bids
First, the mayor plans to update the council on the status of the library bid opening. Under the current timeline we were last updated on, bids were released for the project back in May. Those bids are, or were, due back this coming week. However, I am guessing the mayor's update means that plan has changed and we will have to wait until Wednesday to hear what that is, as disappointingly, we have received no communication from the mayor on any changes. |
| Rendering of the Appleton Public Library |
Fox Commons Project
The second item that I find concerning and would appreciate your feedback on, is a recommendation from the Community and Economic Development Committee regarding the Fox Commons project to renovate the downtown City Center mall.
The project is to essentially renovate the middle portion of the mall, to turn the space into a wellness focused area. The developers of the Fox Commons project say that "Upon completion, the redevelopment project will be named Fox Commons and will be anchored by health & wellness services, retail, office and food & beverage users."
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| An aerial view of the Fox Commons project - from the Fox Commons project website |
The development agreement recommended for approval by the Community and Economic Development committee includes language about housing as another component of the project, however, no details on the housing portion of the project have been provided yet.
There is also an anchor tenant supposedly connected to the project that is a non-taxable entity. While City staff have not confirmed who that tenant is, the website for the project at one time listed Mosaic Family Health as the tenant. That information was also reported by the Post-Crescent when the project was first unveiled and again in an article last month. However, the developers have taken Mosaic's name off the project website and removed it's name from the floor plan rendering.
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| A rendering of the face of the Fox Commons project on College Avenue - From the Fox Commons project website |
These two areas of unknowns are where my concerns lie. From a meeting with some city staff last week, it is unknown if those questions about who the tenants are and what exactly the housing component looks like, will be available by Wednesday. Frankly, I'm surprised by how little concern the committee had over these unknowns and how it was unanimously approved with this information missing.
The city is committing nearly $4.4 million to this project in TIF assistance. The taxable value of the project will be $17.3 million. Though the financial commitment from the city is substantial, after meeting with staff I am comfortable the financial questions I had have been answered and the city is adequately protected should changes occur.
However, as I also mentioned to staff, I have serious concerns about the information missing about the possible arrangement with Mosaic Family Health and the housing component of the project. I am not comfortable approving this development agreement without the public having a chance to weigh in with that additional information.
Staff has assured me that the missing information will not change the details of the development agreement or the financial details of it. But I also made it clear that I can't in good conscience vote on an agreement without all of the details available for me to review, let alone have time for the public to provide council with their own input. This is not the way we should be conducting city business. I do not believe there is any ill-intent on the part of the developers or staff. However I am disappointed in how this process has played out and I hope the missing information will become available for council and the community to review before we vote to approve this agreement.
Please share any thoughts you have and as more information becomes available, I will continue to share it with you.
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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