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Record of Proceedings

Appleton Common Council Organizational Meeting - April 17, 2024

Common Council — Wednesday, April 17, 2024
BodyAppleton, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council
DateWednesday, April 17, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 55:39

Transcript — VerbatimClick a line to jump · ⧉ to share it
5:21

All right.

5:26

Good evening.

5:28

I now call to order the Wednesday, April 17th, 2024, organizational meeting of the Apple and Common Council.

5:36

Please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

5:41

I pledge allegiance of the United States.

5:59

Roll call of Alders.

6:01

All are represented with the exception of Alderperson Doran, who is excused, and Alder Heffman is on her way.

6:07

All right.

6:07

Roll call of officers and department heads.

6:10

And all are represented.

6:11

Thank you.

6:14

All right, proposed council rule changes.

6:19

We'll just start taking these up in order.

6:22

Uh first of which is uh item twenty-four-zero four five six rule three order of business regarding the invocation.

6:31

Need a motion.

6:35

We have a motion.

6:37

Looking for a second.

6:41

We have a second.

6:42

All right.

6:43

Let's open the floor for discussion.

6:46

Alder Hartzheim.

6:49

Thank you, Chair.

6:50

I want to make it clear that I did not write the other two scripts that are shown here.

6:54

There was some conjecture yesterday that I wrote them.

6:57

I just found them, so it's not necessarily just one voice.

7:02

The rest of this I appreciate, but I would caution us, please, to try to remember that this isn't a grandstand place.

7:11

So if we can do that, if we can have a gentlemanly, gentlemanly and gentlewomanly agreement to make sure that we try to stick to the spirit of an invocation.

7:23

I'm fine with this.

7:24

Thank you.

7:28

Other discussion.

7:32

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

7:35

Please cast your votes.

7:56

Yes.

7:58

Screen too small.

8:00

Issues with the some issues with the tablets.

8:03

Yes.

8:05

No.

8:06

No, still too long.

8:12

All right.

8:14

I'm just going to ask the clerk to call off those who haven't gotten a vote in yet.

8:19

Clerk Lynch.

8:20

Alderperson Ferkiss.

8:24

Okay.

8:24

Alderperson Smith.

8:26

Yes.

8:27

Alderperson Fenton.

8:29

All right.

8:32

Okay, and Alderperson Hartzheim.

8:36

And Alderperson Croat.

8:46

Okay.

8:47

Motion passes thirteen to zero.

8:50

That has been approved.

8:55

All right, moving on to twenty-four-zero four five-seven.

9:00

Rule nineteen petitions, resolutions.

9:09

Any discussion.

9:18

Hearing none, please cast your votes.

9:36

Alder Smith.

9:37

Yes.

9:38

Smith votes aye.

9:45

That motion passes thirteen to zero.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████73%
Personnel Matters█████████14%
Homelessness██████9%
Affordable Housing██4%
Summary of Proceedings

Appleton Common Council Organizational Meeting - April 17, 2024

The Appleton Common Council held its 2024 organizational meeting on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Alderperson Doran was excused; Alderperson Heffman arrived after the first votes. The council acted on proposed rule changes, department and committee functions, the code of conduct, committee appointments, officer elections, and the 2024-2025 meeting schedule.

Council Rule Changes

  • Item 24-0456 (Rule 3, invocation): Approved 13-0. Alder Hartzheim clarified he did not write the other two invocation scripts shown and urged colleagues to keep invocations within the spirit of the practice rather than grandstanding.
  • Item 24-0457 (Rule 19, petitions and resolutions): Approved 13-0.
  • Item 24-0436 (Rule 32, continuity of government): Failed 2-12. Alder Hartzheim objected to secret voting in council business; Alder Meltzer also encouraged defeat.
  • Item 24-0458 (Rule 35, Pledge of Allegiance language limiting the pledge to council chambers): Approved 11-3. Alder Van Zieland said she could not in good conscience continue the pledge as practiced because of difficulty doing it respectfully with people entering and leaving; Alder Schultz said he did not think the pledge was necessary at every committee meeting and that it could challenge the respect it deserved. The chair clarified the vote was only on the location-language change.
  • Item 24-0426 (Rule 35 deletion): Failed on a tie vote. Alder Fenton supported deletion, saying the one-year trial had proven awkward and was not a way to show respect; Alder Hartzheim opposed deletion, saying the pledge focuses each meeting; Alder Meltzer said requiring the pledge repeatedly could cheapen the oath; Alder Wolfe said he preferred action on veteran issues over symbolic gestures.
  • Remaining council rules: Approved 14-0.

Department and Committee Functions

  • Item 24-0210 (Resolution 2-R24, consolidating Utilities Committee with Municipal Services): Failed. Alder Meltzer argued the consolidation lacked foresight, would not do justice to utility ratepayers, and raised transparency concerns; Alder Alfheim said staff had made clear it would not help them.
  • Item 24-0424 (Community and Economic Development department name change): Approved unanimously.
  • Item 24-0438 (Parks, Recreation and Facilities Management department name change): Approved 14-0.
  • Item 24-0428 (remaining department and committee functions): Approved 14-0, incorporating the two preceding name changes.
  • Item 24-0429 (Code of Conduct): Read aloud and affirmed 14-0. The code includes treating everyone with respect, being honest, listening with an open mind, and acting on behalf of constituents.

Committee Appointments and Elections

  • Appointment of committees and committee chairs: Approved; the mayor thanked members for their preferences.
  • Common Council President: Alder Ferkus declined a nomination. Alder Van Zieland was nominated, seconded, and re-elected without a ballot.
  • Common Council Vice President: Alder Ferkus and Alder Meltzer were nominated; after statements, a secret ballot elected Alder Meltzer.
  • City Plan Commission representative: Alder Hartzheim and Alder Fenton were nominated; after statements, a non-secret ballot re-elected Alder Fenton. Alder Fenton cited the housing task force and the need to watch housing growth in Appleton.

Other Council Business

  • Item 24-0448 (meeting schedule): Approved 14-0, canceling the Common Council meetings scheduled for July 3, 2024, and January 1, 2025.
  • The organizational meeting adjourned, with the regular Common Council meeting to follow at 7 p.m.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved rule changes for the invocation, petitions/resolutions, and Pledge location language; rejected secret continuity-of-government voting and rejected deleting Rule 35.
  • Rejected the Utilities/Municipal Services consolidation; approved department name changes and affirmed the Code of Conduct.
  • Re-elected Alder Van Zieland as Council President, elected Alder Meltzer as Council Vice President, and re-elected Alder Fenton to the City Plan Commission.
  • Approved cancellation of the July 3, 2024, and January 1, 2025, Common Council meetings.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Good evening. I now call to order the Wednesday, April 17th, 2024, organizational meeting of the Apple and Common Council. Please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance of the United States. Roll call of Alders. All are represented with the exception of Alderperson Doran, who is excused, and Alder Heffman is on her way. All right. Roll call of officers and department heads. And all are represented. Thank you. All right, proposed council rule changes. We'll just start taking these up in order. Uh first of which is uh item twenty-four-zero four five six rule three order of business regarding the invocation. Need a motion. We have a motion. Looking for a second. We have a second. All right. Let's open the floor for discussion. Alder Hartzheim. Thank you, Chair. I want to make it clear that I did not write the other two scripts that are shown here. There was some conjecture yesterday that I wrote them. I just found them, so it's not necessarily just one voice. The rest of this I appreciate, but I would caution us, please, to try to remember that this isn't a grandstand place. So if we can do that, if we can have a gentlemanly, gentlemanly and gentlewomanly agreement to make sure that we try to stick to the spirit of an invocation. I'm fine with this. Thank you. Other discussion. Hearing none, we have a motion and a second to approve. Please cast your votes. Yes. Screen too small. Issues with the some issues with the tablets. Yes. No. No, still too long. All right. I'm just going to ask the clerk to call off those who haven't gotten a vote in yet. Clerk Lynch. Alderperson Ferkiss. Okay. Alderperson Smith. Yes. Alderperson Fenton. All right. Okay, and Alderperson Hartzheim. And Alderperson Croat. Okay.

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