Appleton Common Council Meeting - June 18, 2025: Park Renaming, License Approvals, and Closed Session
Appleton Common Council Meeting - June 18, 2025
The Appleton Common Council met on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers. The meeting included public participation, discussion and voting on a resolution to rename Appleton Memorial Park to Veterans Memorial Park, approval of several alcohol licenses and other permits, and a closed session regarding real estate negotiations. The meeting adjourned at 8:51 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the June 4, 2025 Common Council meeting minutes (passed 15-0, with Mayor abstaining).
- Numerous committee reports from Municipal Services, Safety and Licensing, City Plan Commission, Parks and Recreation, Finance, Community Development, and Utilities were approved en bloc. These included street occupancy permits, a parking ramp maintenance contract ($96,400), a pavement marking contract ($177,505.70), a mural in the Red Ramp, mobile home park and taxicab license renewals, alcohol license renewals and changes of agent, a rezoning of 72.3 acres from AG to R-2, a preliminary plat for Wilden Portfolio Park, a resolution to rename the park (later discussed separately), a Safe Drinking Water Loan application, a polymer system purchase ($89,500), a change order for the wastewater treatment plant ($111,247), a budget amendment for lead service replacement ($510,523), an ARPA grant administration contract amendment ($70,000), resolutions for corridor and bike/pedestrian plans, CDBG reports and allocations, and acceptance of the wastewater utility's eCMAR report (score 4.0 GPA). All items were approved on a single motion (14-0, with one alderperson excused and Mayor abstaining).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Four members of the public spoke in support of Resolution #4-R-25 to rename Appleton Memorial Park to Veterans Memorial Park.
- Jack Voight (823 E Sunset Ave), a U.S. Army Vietnam veteran and former alderperson, expressed full support, stating that the word "veteran" transcends all divisions and that the park should honor those who served.
- Wayne Martin (1230 W Marquette St), Commander of VFW Post 2778, a Purple Heart and Navy Achievement Medal recipient, stated that the VFW post supports the renaming 100%.
- Michael Weaver (516 E 14th St, Kaukauna), Commander of VFW Post in Kaukauna and chaplain of the Vietnam Veterans Chapter, voiced support and noted that many other communities have dedicated veterans parks.
- Tim Cody (2 W Systems Dr), President of the Fox Valley Veterans Council, argued that the current name "Memorial Park" does not clearly indicate its dedication to veterans, and the park is a suitable location for future memorials.
Discussion Items
- Resolution #4-R-25: Rename Appleton Memorial Park to Veterans Memorial Park
- The item was brought forward for a separate vote. Alderperson Croatt requested a separate vote due to unanswered questions from committee.
- Discussion was extensive. Several alderpersons (Smith, Hartzheim, Croatt, Schultz) expressed concerns about naming the entire park without a detailed plan for memorials, preferring either a dedicated section or a phased approach with a design plan. They noted that the current Veterans Park on South Memorial Drive is inadequate and that the existing veterans memorial within Appleton Memorial Park (the River Veterans Memorial) was designed as a quiet space, not a large memorial plaza.
- Alderperson Fenton and others supported the renaming, arguing that the park already has a master plan, that the veterans themselves requested it, and that the resolution includes a process for developing a plan to relocate select memorials.
- Alderperson Van Zeeland, a sponsor, apologized for not consulting with the district alderperson and provided cost estimates ($750-$1,600 for sign changes). Director Gaza stated that the sign vendor offered a discount and that funds would come from the parks maintenance budget.
- An amendment was proposed by Alderperson Hartzheim, seconded by Croatt, to instead name a portion of the park "Veterans Acres at Appleton Memorial Park." The amendment failed on a vote of 5-9, with 2 abstentions.
- After further debate, the main resolution was approved 13-1, with Alderperson Smith voting against, one alderperson excused, and the Mayor abstaining.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution #4-R-25 passed 13-1, renaming Appleton Memorial Park to Veterans Memorial Park. The resolution also directs staff to develop a plan to relocate select existing memorials in consultation with community organizations and committees.
- Alcohol licenses for American Food & Vending Corporation (two locations) were approved 14-0, including original and renewal applications for the Warch Campus Center and Banta Bowl.
- Consolidated Action Items for Wilden Portfolio Park (street design approvals and preliminary plat) were approved 14-0.
- Ordinance #70-25 was approved 14-0.
- The council entered closed session at 8:21 PM under Wis. Stat. §19.85(1)(e) to discuss real estate negotiations concerning a proposed future use of a portion of Appleton Memorial Park. The closed session was unrelated to the park renaming. No action was taken, and the council reconvened in open session at 8:50 PM, then adjourned at 8:51 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, and now call to order the Wednesday, June 18th, 2025 meeting of the Apple and Common Council. Please rise for the invocation, which will be delivered by Elder Wolf. Thank you. Tonight I would like to send our condolences to the families of the assembly rep, her husband, and their pets who were all shot and killed last week, as well as the other family who was also wounded, and the families of the people who are wounded during the protests of last week during political violence. Recently, I put out a video talking about how it's important for us to maintain a level of trying to not fall into the trap of looking at each other as the other. And I hope our community and other communities across the nation can try to work with one another to come together as a nation in these very divisive times. Thank you. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to America. One nation indivisible liberty and justice. And uh Alder Hayden, I'll just note we can see you. Hopefully, you can hear us. Something's going on here with the video feed for Zoom, but uh we we can see and hear you, so uh that seems to be working just fine. Uh with that, we'll have a roll call of Alders. All are represented, and Alder Person Hayden is joining us virtually. All right. Roll call of officers and department heads. All represented. All right, 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. Wolf votes aye. Alder Hayden, can you hear me? Doesn't look like it. Alder Hayden, how do you vote? Oh boy. Uh is there a chat function? There is so. Alder Hayden. How do you vote? Question mark, smiley face. This is the most awkward thing. All right. Okay. Well, we're gonna get through this meeting. All right. All right. Uh with that, the minutes past 15 to zero. Uh right, moving on. Uh, I have no business to present to you this evening, so we'll move on to public participation. We have four members of the public signed up to speak at each meeting of the common council. The council allocates a total of 30 minutes for members of the public to share their views on items which appear on the agenda. We ask that participants keep their comments to uh five minutes or less. We'll help you keep track of time, and we'll ask that when you uh when I call you up, you state your name and address uh and the item you'd like to speak on before you begin your comments, and with that, we'll begin. Jack Voigt is first. Good evening. Good evening, Alder Persons. Before you this evening is a very important resolution to rename Appleton Memorial Park to Veterans Memorial Park. Hello, I'm Jack Voigt, and I like to support this resolution for a number of reasons without any reservations.
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