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Record of Proceedings

Appleton Common Council Organizational Meeting - April 16, 2025

Common Council — Wednesday, April 16, 2025
BodyAppleton, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council
DateWednesday, April 16, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 43:05

Original source
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0:04

Good evening.

0:04

I now call to order the Wednesday, April 16, 2025, organizational meeting of the Appleton Common Council.

0:12

Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:15

I pledge allegiance to the Republic for which it stands.

0:33

Right.

0:36

Let's get to work.

0:44

Roll call of Alder Persons.

0:46

All are represented.

0:48

And roll call of officers and department heads.

0:50

All are represented.

0:51

All right.

0:53

We have uh no proposed council rule changes under item E.

0:58

So we'll move on to the remaining rules of council.

1:02

This is item 25-0365 rules of council.

1:08

We have a motion.

1:12

And we have a second to approve.

1:14

We'll open the floor for discussion.

1:26

All right.

1:27

And hearing none.

1:29

Uh we have a motion and a second to approve the rules of council.

1:32

Please cast your votes.

1:55

All right, that motion passes 15 to zero.

1:58

Was that your first vote?

2:00

New timers?

2:02

All right.

2:02

Well, congratulations.

2:05

Passes.

2:06

Everybody voted.

2:08

They all came in on the tablets.

2:09

Big stuff.

2:10

We're gonna celebrate achievements here.

2:12

All right.

2:13

Uh great.

2:13

So let's uh move along then to uh proposed changes.

2:17

Uh we had no proposed changes to department and committee functions.

2:20

So we'll move along to age 25-0366, department and committee functions.

2:32

We have a motion and a second to approve.

2:35

Any discussion.

2:39

Alder Hartzheim.

2:41

I apologize, I did not look.

2:43

Did was the community and economic development item changed?

2:47

Yeah, that was handled.

2:48

Thank you.

2:52

All right.

2:53

No other discussion.

2:54

We have a motion and a second to approve.

2:56

Please cast your votes.

3:07

All right.

3:09

Motion passes 15 to 0.

3:11

That item has been approved.

3:15

Moving along to the code of conduct 25-0367.

3:21

A motion and a second to approve.

3:24

Any discussion.

3:31

Please cast your votes.

3:40

That motion passes 15 to 0.

3:43

You have recommitted to the code of conduct.

3:46

All right.

3:47

What I'd like to do now before we get back into this discussion about uh the resolution that was submitted.

3:53

Is uh like to get the elections taken care of.

3:56

I understand there are there may be a number of folks uh interested or nominated for uh council leadership positions.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████████████34%
Election Policy█████████████████████████████████33%
Community Engagement████████████████████20%
Affordable Housing███████7%
Parks and Recreation██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Appleton Common Council Organizational Meeting - April 16, 2025\n\nThe Appleton Common Council held its annual organizational meeting on April 16, 2025, at 6:01 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting focused on adopting council rules, recommitting to the code of conduct, electing leadership, approving committee assignments, amending the attendance policy, and adjusting committee meeting times. Mayor Jake Woodford presided; 16 alderpersons were present. The meeting adjourned at 6:44 PM. Note: Minutes show Mayor Woodford abstained on several votes where the transcript reported 15-0; discrepancies are noted below.\n\n### Rules of Council (25-0365)\n- Approved with redline changes including new Rule #36 (Attendance Policy, see below). Vote per minutes: 15 aye, 1 abstention (Mayor Woodford). Transcript reported 15-0.\n\n### Department & Committee Functions (25-0366)\n- Approved as presented. Vote per minutes: 15 aye, 1 abstention (Mayor). Transcript reported 15-0.\n\n### Recommit to Code of Conduct (25-0367)\n- Approved. Vote per minutes: 15 aye, 1 abstention (Mayor). Transcript reported 15-0.\n\n### Election of Common Council President\n- Alderperson Katie Van Zeeland was nominated by Alderperson Jones and re-elected. Alderperson Meltzer was also nominated by Alderperson Hayden. Nominees spoke: Van Zeeland highlighted her accomplishments and focus on mentorship; Meltzer emphasized steady leadership and creative solutions. Vote: Van Zeeland elected.\n\n### Election of Common Council Vice President\n- Alderperson Nate Wolff was nominated by Alderperson Meltzer and elected. Alderperson Vaya Jones was nominated by Alderperson Van Zeeland. Nominees spoke: Jones cited collaborative and community-driven leadership; Wolff pointed to his work on affordable housing and sustainability. Vote: Wolff elected.\n\n### Election of Common Council Representative to City Plan Commission\n- Alderperson Denise Fenton was nominated by Alderperson Hayden and re-elected. Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim was nominated by Alderperson Croatt. Nominees spoke: Fenton emphasized continuing work on the comprehensive plan and housing policy; Hartzheim sought an opportunity to serve. Vote: Fenton elected.\n\n### Appointment of Committees & Committee Chairs (25-0433)\n- Approved the 2025 alderperson committee assignments. Vote per minutes: 15 aye, 1 abstention (Mayor). Transcript reported 15-0.\n\n### Resolution on Council Member Attendance (24-1229)\n- The original resolution would have required alderpersons absent from three unexcused meetings to forfeit committee assignments. Alderperson Van Zeeland moved to amend: replacing forfeiture with a requirement to attend a meeting with council leadership and the mayor to find a solution or facilitate a committee appointment swap. The amendment passed 14-1 (Alderperson Firkus nay; Mayor abstained). The amended resolution then passed 14-1 (Firkus nay; Mayor abstained). Speakers supporting the amendment included Alderpersons Smith (flexibility) and Hartzheim (avoided rigid consequences). Alderperson Croatt expressed reluctance but supported the amended version.\n\n### Other Business\n- Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Time (25-0368): Alderperson Schultz moved to change the start time from the proposed 6:15 PM to 6:00 PM. Deputy Director Flick indicated no issues. Amendment passed 13-2 (Alderpersons Firkus and Fenton nay; Mayor abstained). Final approval as amended passed 14-1 (Fenton nay; Mayor abstained).\n- Council Meeting Schedule (25-0364): Approved cancellation of the July 2, 2025 and January 7, 2026 Common Council meetings. Vote per minutes: 15 aye, 1 abstention (Mayor). Transcript reported 15-0.\n\n### Adjournment\n- Motion to adjourn at 6:44 PM carried per minutes: 15 aye, 1 abstention (Mayor). Transcript reported 15-0.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. I now call to order the Wednesday, April 16, 2025, organizational meeting of the Appleton Common Council. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the Republic for which it stands. Right. Let's get to work. Roll call of Alder Persons. All are represented. And roll call of officers and department heads. All are represented. All right. We have uh no proposed council rule changes under item E. So we'll move on to the remaining rules of council. This is item 25-0365 rules of council. We have a motion. And we have a second to approve. We'll open the floor for discussion. All right. And hearing none. Uh we have a motion and a second to approve the rules of council. Please cast your votes. All right, that motion passes 15 to zero. Was that your first vote? New timers? All right. Well, congratulations. Passes. Everybody voted. They all came in on the tablets. Big stuff. We're gonna celebrate achievements here. All right. Uh great. So let's uh move along then to uh proposed changes. Uh we had no proposed changes to department and committee functions. So we'll move along to age 25-0366, department and committee functions. We have a motion and a second to approve. Any discussion. Alder Hartzheim. I apologize, I did not look. Did was the community and economic development item changed? Yeah, that was handled. Thank you. All right. No other discussion. We have a motion and a second to approve. Please cast your votes. All right. Motion passes 15 to 0. That item has been approved.

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