Appleton Common Council Meeting Summary – August 2, 2023
Appleton Common Council Meeting Summary – August 2, 2023
The Appleton Common Council met on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, beginning at 7:02 p.m. and adjourning at 8:02 p.m. in Council Chambers. Mayor Jake Woodford presided. Fifteen alderpersons were present, with Alderperson Jones appearing virtually, and all department heads were represented. The meeting included proclamations, recognition of advocacy groups, a property revaluation presentation, a failed resolution on Wisconsin Act 12, and creation of Appleton Conservancy Park.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of minutes: The July 19, 2023 Common Council minutes were approved 15-0 (Mayor Woodford abstained).
- Balance of the agenda / routine committee reports: The council approved the remaining committee action items as a block 15-0 (Mayor Woodford abstained). This block included:
- Safety & Licensing Committee items: Class A beer/liquor change of agent for Badger MotoMart; temporary premises amendments for Riverside Bar & Grill and Spats Food & Spirits (for Mile of Music, Aug. 3-6); taxicab license renewals for Dynasty Limousine Service, Social Station, and LIR Transportation/Fox Valley Cab; new Class B beer/Class C wine license for Dairyland Brew Pub; permanent premise amendment for All Tied Up Floral Cafe; mobile home park license for Fox Valley Estates; and change of agent for Wild River Cafe.
- City Plan Commission: Southpoint Commerce Park Plat No. 4 Preliminary Plat approved.
- Finance Committee: Contract award to Restoration Systems, Inc. for parking ramp repairs (base $689,825 plus $10,175 contingency, total not to exceed $700,000); HVAC replacement project for 2023 MSB CEA Shop awarded to Southport Engineered Systems ($664,550 plus $53,164 contingency, total not to exceed $717,714).
- Community & Economic Development: Variance to Southpoint Commerce Park deed restrictions for a 3,120 sq ft truck maintenance facility for Hayden Properties/F Street Development; six-month completion date extension for 318 College Ave LLC (Park Central) in TIF District 11.
- Utilities Committee: Amendment to Brown and Caldwell stormwater management plan review contract (+$20,000, total not to exceed $55,000); revised Reid Golf Course and Appleton Memorial Park stormwater utility agreements; contract award to Fiberglass Solutions, Inc. for hypochlorite tank relining ($24,262 plus $3,639 contingency, total not to exceed $27,901).
- Human Resources & IT: Website CMS contract awarded to Revize.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public signed up to speak. Mayor Woodford closed public participation after checking for unscheduled speakers.
Mayor’s Proclamations, Recognitions, and Revaluation Presentation
- Proclamations: August was declared Breastfeeding Month and Creative Economy Week.
- Recognition: The League of Women Voters and Appleton Concerned Taxpayers were recognized for advocacy on Assembly Shared Revenue Bill 245, which became Wisconsin Act 12. A representative of Appleton Concerned Taxpayers thanked the mayor and council, saying they lobbied the legislature on both sides of the aisle.
- Statement on park incident: Mayor Woodford addressed the Aug. 1 firearm incident at Herb Park, saying a suspect was identified and apprehended that evening, and that the city remains committed to public safety investments.
- Property revaluation overview: City Assessor Matthew Tooke presented an overview of the citywide revaluation occurring this fall. He explained that Wisconsin law requires assessments within 10% of market value at least once every five years; the city’s assessments had fallen to 78% of market value in 2022, so a revaluation is needed. The last revaluation was in 2019. The revaluation is revenue-neutral and redistributes the property tax burden. The average projected assessment increase is about 39%; homes with smaller increases may see tax decreases, while larger increases may see higher tax bills before budget changes. Notices will be mailed at the end of August. Resources include a tax calculator, property data portal, open book period, Board of Review on Oct. 4, and FAQs in English, Spanish, and Hmong. Assessor Tooke noted comparables for unique homes may come from outside the immediate neighborhood. Alderperson Fenton thanked the assessor for the detailed preparation.
Discussion Items
- Resolution #7-R-23 – Support for Wisconsin Act 12 (Item 23-0901): The council considered the resolution as amended in committee. After debate, a motion to call the question passed. The roll call vote failed 6-9 with Mayor Woodford abstaining. Ayes: Meltzer, Del Toro, Van Zeeland, Fenton, Alfheim, Croatt. Nays: Siebers, Firkus, Hayden, Thyssen, Schultz, Jones, Wolff, Hartzheim, Doran.
- Alderperson Hartzheim opposed, calling it an ‘actionless resolution’ and a ‘bipolar passive aggressive piece’.
- Alderperson Hayden opposed, citing concerns such as new limits on local advisory referendums, restricted spending of shared revenue, and restrictions on public health officer authority.
- Alderperson Fenton supported the amended version, explaining it expresses gratitude without endorsing every provision, and recognizes local advocates including the mayor and League of Wisconsin Municipalities.
- Alderperson Meltzer, the original sponsor, said the resolution came from a League suggestion and was meant to acknowledge successful lobbying efforts.
- Alderperson Alfheim supported it as a ‘thank you note’ for the first meaningful shared revenue action in 10 years.
- Alderperson Schultz opposed, saying the people who did the work are not named and that the thank-you feels hollow.
- Alderperson Van Zeeland supported, citing the importance of compromise and relationships.
- Alderperson Wolff opposed, calling the resolution unnecessary.
- St. Joseph’s Cemetery reimbursement (Item 23-0907): Alderperson Hartzheim requested the item be referred back to the Finance Committee because the reimbursement request showed $0 required and staff needed more time to research. The item was referred back without a vote.
- Riverside Cemetery Association reimbursement (Item 23-0853): Approved 15-0 (Mayor Woodford abstained). Alderperson Schultz thanked the city for supporting maintenance of 618 veteran graves.
Consolidated Action Items
- Appleton Conservancy Park (Resolution #8-R-23, Items 23-0903/23-0904/23-0905/23-0922): The council approved creation of Appleton Conservancy Park 15-0 (Mayor Woodford abstained). Mayor Woodford thanked Alderperson Van Zeeland and the council, noting the resolution had gone through three committees.
Other Council Business
- Mayor Woodford announced that Mile of Music (the 10th edition) was starting, encouraged use of parking ramps, and noted a demonstration of Meridian crowd-control barricades on Appleton Street with a community feedback survey.
- Alderperson Meltzer said the Utilities Committee would meet Tuesday; Alderperson Siebers said Parks and Recreation would not meet.
Key Outcomes
- July 19, 2023 council minutes approved 15-0.
- Balance of the agenda approved 15-0.
- Resolution #7-R-23 supporting Wisconsin Act 12 failed 6-9.
- St. Joseph’s Cemetery reimbursement referred back to Finance Committee.
- Riverside Cemetery Association reimbursement approved 15-0.
- Appleton Conservancy Park created via Resolution #8-R-23, approved 15-0.
- No public comments, public hearings, or special resolutions.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. I now call to order the Wednesday, August 2nd meeting of the Appleton Common Council. Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alder Meltzer. We gather together to listen and share, learn and educate, and to be granted wisdom and grace as we move Appleton forward in the best interest of our community. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call of officers, excuse me, roll call of Alders. All are represented, and Alderperson Jones is appearing virtually. Okay. Roll call of officers and department heads. And all are represented. All right. We have a motion and a second to approve. Any discussion of the minutes. Hearing none, please cast your votes. Motion passes fifteen to zero. The minutes have been approved. All right, we'll move on now to business presented by the mayor. And before we get started with the items that are on the agenda, I'd like to make a brief statement. On Monday, August 1st, an incident involving a firearm occurred at Herb Park. The park and neighborhood were active and busy as it was a beautiful summer day. Thank you, Parks, Recreation and Facilities Management Department staff. Finally, to the Earth Park neighborhood. We appreciate your patience and support of our parks and public safety staff as they did their work and for the outpouring of support and encouragement many have provided following the incident. I also join you in the frustration and unease this incident has raised. Violence and the endangerment of our community are unacceptable in Appleton, and we will work within our power to ensure accountability for the alleged shooter and all those involved. Thanks to the resources and highly skilled personnel, our community has invested in an APD. This process is well underway with a suspect identified and apprehended on the very same evening the shooting occurred. Incidents like this often leave us with many questions and concerns. How can something like this happen in our community? What can we do to prevent it from happening again? What do acts of violence like these say about the place we call home? If in the city of Appleton we ever become so accustomed to violence and disorder that incidents such as Mondays fail to raise these questions or to arouse in us the outrage and disappointment and concern that so many of us are feeling right now, we will have lost something essential that makes Appleton the safe and special community that it is today. The City of Appleton will continue in our efforts across all city departments to ensure welcoming and safe community for all people. This will include ongoing investments in public safety personnel and technology, parks and recreation programming, public health and housing programs, and partnerships with area schools and community organizations. We must reaffirm and maintain our commitment to preserving the safety and well-being of our community, and we intend to do just that. The Appleton Police Department will continue to be our point of contact and our primary means of public communication regarding Monday's incident at ERB Park. I encourage members of the community to follow updates from APD should more information be requested or made available. Thank you. Next, I'd like to make note of a couple of proclamations. Again, coming up. The text of that proclamation has been shared in the materials for the meeting. And also recognizing Creative Economy Week, which is uh fitting given that we have uh mile of music kicking off uh tonight and running through the weekend here. Uh so very exciting time uh for our local creative economy, and and we're proud to recognize the importance that uh the arts play in our community and the quality of life in our community. All right, next, uh I have some recognitions that I'd like to share. Uh the council will be talking about some recognitions maybe uh uh in in their action items, but I'd like to share uh some uh recognitions related to uh shared revenue bill 245, which became uh Act 12. There was a great deal of advocacy on the part of uh many folks in our community, uh local governments across the state, uh, collaborations across different units of government, uh, which is unusual to see uh cities, municipalities, towns, counties working together in advocacy on an issue. Uh, but there has been, I think, uh, some unsung advocacy that I'd like to recognize, and that is on the part of local organizations that that joined together in the in the advocacy efforts, recognizing the challenges that we face as local governments to fund the critical services that all of our residents rely on. Uh so uh with that, I'd like to uh first welcome up uh the representatives of the League of Women Voters from the City of Appleton for your recognition. So uh deeply appreciate the work of the league in learning about this issue and uh then helping members and members of the community understand the importance of reform to local government funding. So deeply appreciate the work of the league and thank you for your partnership on this legislation.
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