OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Appleton Common Council Meeting – February 21, 2024

Common Council — Wednesday, February 21, 2024
BodyAppleton, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council
DateWednesday, February 21, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 16:37

Transcript — Verbatim
0:32

Good evening.

0:33

I now call to order the Wednesday, February 21st meeting of the Appleton Common Council.

0:39

Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alder Meltzer.

0:47

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.

1:00

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:07

And to the Republic for wishes.

1:28

Roll call of Alders.

1:30

All are represented with the exception of Alder Person Hartzheim, who is excused, and we are anticipating Alder Del Toral will be joining us later.

1:38

All right.

1:39

Roll call of officers and department heads.

1:41

All are represented.

1:43

Thank you.

1:43

Need a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

1:51

We have a motion and a second to approve.

1:53

Is there any discussion of the minutes?

1:59

Hearing none, please cast your votes.

2:20

Motion passes thirteen to zero, and the minutes have been approved.

2:25

I have no business to present to you this evening.

2:28

And we have no members of the public signed up to speak under public participation on items that appear on the agenda.

2:35

Did any anybody want to speak or did you an item on the agenda?

2:39

Okay.

2:39

With that, we'll close public participation and move along.

2:43

We have no public hearings and no special resolutions.

2:48

So we'll establish the order of the day.

2:59

Alder Meltzer.

3:02

Thank you.

3:03

I'd like a separate vote from Finance Committee twenty-four-one two six, the sludge piping and digestion.

3:14

Thank you.

3:16

Alder Doran.

3:18

Thank you.

3:19

A separate vote for uh from the municipal services committee item two three-one four zero five.

3:24

The resolution to close Whitman Yardway site.

3:35

Any others.

3:40

Alder Schultz.

3:43

From Finance Twenty Four-Zero One Two One Request Award the Twenty Twenty Four Peabody Park Trail Project.

4:00

Anyone else?

4:06

All right, hearing no further.

4:10

Let's get into the items from Finance Committee.

4:13

Let's take care of that sludge piping first.

4:16

All right.

4:29

With alternate bid to Roadie Brothers.

4:39

We have a motion and a second to approve.

4:42

Any discussion.

4:45

Alder Meltzer.

4:48

Thank you.

4:49

I just would like to encourage all of my colleagues to support this.

4:52

Thank you.

4:54

Any further discussion?

4:57

Hearing none, we have a motion and a second to approve.

5:00

Please cast your votes.

5:08

Motion passes 13 to zero.

5:10

The item has been approved.

5:12

All right.

5:12

Sticking with finance committee, we'll take up 24-0121.

5:18

Request to award the 2024 Peabody Park Trail Project to MCC Inc.

5:24

We have a motion and a second to approve.

5:30

Alder Schultz.

5:32

Thank you, Mayor.

5:34

I just separated this because I was hoping to get just a little bit more information from staff.

5:38

Whoever feels most confident in answering the question.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████46%
Municipal Services████████████████████████████29%
Finance and Budget████████████████16%
Real Estate Transactions█████5%
Parks and Recreation████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Appleton Common Council Meeting – February 21, 2024

The Appleton Common Council met on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers. Mayor Jake Woodford presided. 14 alderpersons were present, 1 excused (Hartzheim), and 1 absent (Del Toro). The council approved the previous meeting minutes, conducted separate votes on three agenda items, approved the remaining consent agenda, referred a resolution on committee consolidation to a future organizational meeting, and held a closed session regarding the U.S. Venture development project.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the Common Council Meeting Minutes of February 7, 2024 (24-0177).
  • Preliminary Resolution 1-P-24 for Concrete Pavement, Driveway Aprons and Sidewalk Construction (24-0149).
  • Preliminary Resolution 2-P-24 for Sanitary Laterals, Storm Laterals and Storm Main Construction (24-0150).
  • Award of 2024 Materials Testing and Contaminated Soils Contract to Westwood Infrastructure, Inc. for up to $100,000 (24-0151).
  • Proposed Modifications to the Special Event Policy (24-0145).
  • Class B Beer / Class C Wine license for Apple Valley Pancake House Inc. (24-0086).
  • Class B Beer / Class C Wine license for Ototo LLC d/b/a Ototo Ramen (24-0091).
  • 2024 Secondhand Article License renewals (24-0094).
  • Class A Beer/Liquor license change of agent for Walgreens #12693 (24-0107).
  • Class A Beer/Liquor license change of agent for Ultimate Mart LLC d/b/a Pick N Save #123 (24-0173).
  • Award of 2024 Green Meadows Park Playground Equipment Project to Lee Recreation for up to $85,000 (24-0099).
  • Award of Phase II design and construction management services for Lutz Park shoreline redevelopment to AECOM for a total contract not to exceed $93,400 (24-0162).
  • Approval of Aquatic Program Fees and Charges Policy (24-0163).
  • Approval of Recreation Program Fee Waiver Policy (24-0164).
  • Approval of Pool Rental, Reservation, and General Use Policy (24-0165).
  • Partial refund of 2023 personal property taxes: Madra’s Cafe ($2,104.43), Timothy J Vosters DDS ($745.88), Compass Two, LLC ($56.88) (24-0133, 24-0134, 24-0135).
  • Finance Committee reports for Preliminary Resolutions 1-P-24 and 2-P-24 (24-0155, 24-0156).
  • Award of Unit DE-24 Sidewalk & Concrete Street Excavation Repairs to Al Dix Concrete Inc. for up to $901,850 (24-0157).
  • Award of Unit X-24 Water Reconstruction to Kruczek Construction Inc. for a total not to exceed $1,599,000 (24-0158).
  • Award of Unit Y-24 Lead & Galvanized Water Service Line Replacement to VanRite Plumbing Inc. for up to $524,896.87 (24-0159).
  • Award of Unit U-24 Lead & Galvanized Water Service Line Replacement to MRJ Inc. dba Joski Sewer for up to $611,302 (24-0160).
  • Award of Unit A-24 Concrete Paving to Vinton Construction Company for a total not to exceed $3,897,407.27 (24-0161).
  • Rejection of bids for Fire Station #1 and #6 HVAC Upgrades Project (24-0169).
  • Award of 2024 Water Plant HVAC Upgrades Project to Rohde Brothers, Inc. for a total not to exceed $887,700 (24-0170).
  • Budget carryover appropriation for Water Utility Fund (24-0171).
  • Award of Unit Z-24 Water Reconstruction to Advance Construction Inc. for a total not to exceed $990,663 (24-0172).
  • Creation of Lead Forensic Evidence Specialist position (24-0128).
  • BOTS Grant Acceptance Recommendation (24-0115).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public signed up to speak, and no oral comments were made during the public participation period.

Discussion Items

  • 24-0126: AWWTP Sludge Piping and Digester Heat Exchanger Replacement – Alderperson Meltzer encouraged support. The council approved awarding the base bid with alternate bid to Rohde Brothers Inc. for $1,612,000 plus a 15% contingency of $241,800, for a total not to exceed $1,853,800. Vote: 13-0.
  • 24-0121: 2024 Peabody Park Trail Project – Alderperson Schultz separated the item and asked staff about the scope. Director Gaza confirmed the project redoes the existing trail (crushed aggregate) but does not include seawall work, which is a separate future project. The council approved awarding the contract to MCC, Inc. for $106,661.70 with a $20,000 contingency, total not to exceed $126,661.70. Vote: 13-0.
  • 23-1405: Resolution #12-R-23 – Closure of the Whitman Yard Waste Site – The Municipal Services Committee had recommended denial. Alderperson Schultz noted the staff recommendation to keep both sites open and asked about dual use of the Whitman site for storage; staff indicated they could discuss further. Alderperson Doran thanked staff for their work and noted the process yielded important operational improvements. The council voted on the resolution to close the site; the motion failed unanimously (13-0 against closure), meaning the Whitman Yard Waste Site will remain open.
  • Resolution Submitted by Alderperson Doran – Consolidate Utilities Committee with Municipal Services Committee – The resolution, which noted that since 2020 nearly 40% of 106 Utilities Committee meetings were canceled and average meeting length was 11 minutes, was presented. Per Council Rule 19 and past practice, the Mayor referred the resolution to the upcoming organizational meeting in April for further discussion.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved (13-0): Sludge Piping and Digester Heat Exchanger Replacement contract award.
  • Approved (13-0): Peabody Park Trail Project contract award.
  • Failed (13-0 against closure): Resolution to close the Whitman Yard Waste Site (site remains open).
  • Approved (13-0): All remaining consent agenda items as a block.
  • Referred: Resolution to consolidate Utilities Committee with Municipal Services Committee – referred to the April organizational meeting.
  • Closed Session: The council entered closed session at 7:15 PM under Wis. Stat. §19.85(1)(e) to discuss the U.S. Venture development project. They reconvened into open session at 8:05 PM with no action taken, then adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. I now call to order the Wednesday, February 21st 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. And to the Republic for wishes. Roll call of Alders. All are represented with the exception of Alder Person Hartzheim, who is excused, and we are anticipating Alder Del Toral will be joining us later. All right. Roll call of officers and department heads. All are represented. Thank you. Need a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. We have a motion and a second to approve. Is there any discussion of the minutes? Hearing none, please cast your votes. Motion passes thirteen to zero, and the minutes have been approved. I have no business to present to you this evening. And we have no members of the public signed up to speak under public participation on items that appear on the agenda. Did any anybody want to speak or did you an item on the agenda? Okay. With that, we'll close public participation and move along. We have no public hearings and no special resolutions. So we'll establish the order of the day. Alder Meltzer. Thank you. I'd like a separate vote from Finance Committee twenty-four-one two six, the sludge piping and digestion. Thank you. Alder Doran. Thank you. A separate vote for uh from the municipal services committee item two three-one four zero five. The resolution to close Whitman Yardway site. Any others. Alder Schultz. From Finance Twenty Four-Zero One Two One Request Award the Twenty Twenty Four Peabody Park Trail Project. Anyone else? All right, hearing no further. Let's get into the items from Finance Committee. Let's take care of that sludge piping first. All right. With alternate bid to Roadie Brothers. We have a motion and a second to approve. Any discussion. Alder Meltzer. Thank you. I just would like to encourage all of my colleagues to support this. Thank you. Any further discussion? Hearing none, we have a motion and a second to approve. Please cast your votes.

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