OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Appleton Common Council Meeting - August 6, 2025

Common Council — Wednesday, August 6, 2025
BodyAppleton, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council
DateWednesday, August 6, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 25:56

Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

Good evening.

0:04

I now call to order the Wednesday, August 6th, 2025 meeting of the Apple and Common Council.

0:09

Please rise for the invocation, which will be delivered by Alder Wolfe.

0:14

Thank you, Mayor.

0:16

So I want to talk about last month.

0:19

I know we're looking ahead.

0:35

And August is now the time to get back to work and to help the constituents of Appleton, as we all uh love to do.

0:46

So rather than giving a long invocation, uh let's get to work, have fun, and work for the people of Appleton.

0:54

Thank you.

0:55

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:58

I pledge allegiance to the play of the States of America and to the Republic.

1:05

One nation, one God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:18

Roll call of Alders.

1:21

All are represented with the exception of Alder Person Heffernan.

1:24

Right.

1:25

And we'll and I don't know that we heard from her, so we'll mark her absent.

1:31

All right.

1:32

Uh next roll call of officers and department heads.

1:37

All are represented.

1:38

All right, thank you.

1:42

Motion to approve.

1:44

We have a motion and a second.

1:48

All right.

1:50

Any discussion on the minutes.

1:54

Hearing none, please cast your votes.

2:05

Oh.

2:18

Alder Doherty, how do you vote?

2:22

Okay.

2:25

All right, that motion passes 14 to zero.

2:28

The minutes have been approved.

2:30

On the business presented by the mayor, uh, noting some proclamations.

2:33

Uh, breastfeeding awareness month in August, uh, recognizing women's equality day this month, and voting rights act day, uh, commemorating the anniversary of the voting rights act.

2:44

So those are the proclamations uh that we've got before you tonight.

2:48

I have no further business to present, so we'll move on to public participation.

2:53

And uh, we have one member of the public signed up to speak.

2:56

Uh, this is Oliver Zorno.

2:58

Welcome, Oliver.

3:03

Thank you so much.

3:03

My name is Oliver Zorno.

3:05

I'm with 218 East Lincoln Street.

3:07

Um, super grateful for the opportunity to address you.

3:09

Um, wanted to share that my comments tonight are my own and don't necessarily reflect the views of any organizations with which I may be associated.

3:17

Um, I'm a father of an Edison couple of Edison students and uh former neighbor in the historic central neighborhood and part of the Safe Routes to School Task Force of the Transition Committee related to the Columbus School Closure.

3:30

Um, and so just want to thank the council and the municipal services committee for their support of the change in the street occupancy permit related to our safe route to school to Edison.

3:40

Um, I wanted to share that this was been a robust process.

3:43

Um, the safe routes team not only worked with their internal capacities and those of the city and the school district, um, but dozens of neighbors in the historic central neighborhood got together and did walk audits identifying various routes that kids could safely get from the historic central neighborhood to Edison and want to validate and acknowledge the contributions of all of those neighbors.

4:02

Um, it led to four key recommendations for this first phase of improving walkability in that area.

4:11

Those include the extension of the um light bulb routes, um, but those include also a crosswalk at Atlantic Street with additional pedestrian signage and signage and um crosswalks at the railroad tracks.

4:28

Um it includes adding a crossing guard at Drew and North Street, as well as the uh recommendation that the city consider additional stops at that intersection.

4:37

And um, and those are the I'll say first round recommendations that came from safe routes, thinking those would be the things that the city and the district could partner together on to move quickly on.

4:48

Um, but I don't want at all to give the impression that that solves all of the walkability challenges that these students might face in traversing the neighborhood.

5:00

And I am aware that the city is currently exploring a grant application to do a more comprehensive study and applaud the city for doing that to make sure that all of our kids throughout the entire city can walk safely to school.

5:08

So thank you so much for your support.

5:13

Are there any other members of the public who'd like to speak on an item that appears on the agenda but did not have the chance to sign up?

5:22

Seeing none, we'll close public participation.

5:24

We move on to public hearings.

5:26

This is 25 0735 public hearing for comprehensive plan future land use map amendment number 225, Artwig Annexation, and additional property generally located west of the county highway 00 U.S.

5:40

Highway 441.

5:41

Interchange from business industrial future land use to commercial future land use.

5:46

This is a public hearing.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Finance and Budget█████████████████████23%
Transportation Safety█████████████14%
Community Engagement████████████13%
Summary of Proceedings

Appleton Common Council Meeting - August 6, 2025

The Appleton Common Council met on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers. Mayor Jake Woodford presided. Fifteen alderpersons were present (Alderperson Patti Heffernan absent). The meeting included proclamations, a public hearing, separate votes on development and financial items, and approval of a substantial consent agenda.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Oliver Zornow, 218 E. Lincoln Street, spoke in support of the revision of permanent street occupancy permit #17-018-P, a Safe Routes to School project for Edison Elementary. He described a robust community process including walk audits by dozens of neighbors, which led to four key recommendations: extending light bulb routes, a crosswalk at Atlantic Street with signage, a crossing guard at Drew and North Street, and additional stops at that intersection. He applauded the city's exploration of a grant for a more comprehensive study.

Discussion Items

  • Comprehensive Plan Amendment, Rezoning, and Certified Survey Map (Hartwig Annexation Area): The Council approved three related items for land west of the CTH OO/USH 441 interchange: Future Land Use Map Amendment #2-25 (Business/Industrial to Commercial), Rezoning #6-25 (M-1 and AG to C-2), and Certified Survey Map #9-25 (creating 3 lots and 1 outlot). All passed 14-0.
  • Fox Cities Transit Cooperative Agreement: Authorization to execute a cooperative agreement between Valley Transit, WisDOT, and ECWRPC was approved 14-0.
  • Trout Museum of Art Alcohol License: A Class "B" Beer and Reserve "Class B" Liquor License for the Trout Museum of Art (325 E College Ave) was approved 14-0, contingent on inspections department approval.
  • Finance Committee Bond Resolutions: Four resolutions authorizing the issuance of debt were approved 14-0 each: General Obligation Promissory Notes (up to $10,865,000), Water System Revenue Refunding Bonds (up to $8,975,000), Sewerage System Revenue Bonds (up to $4,725,000), and Storm Water System Revenue Refunding Bonds (up to $8,800,000). Brad Viegut from Baird explained the resolutions allow flexible pricing outside regular council meetings to respond to market conditions.
  • Street Occupancy Permit Revision (Safe Routes to Edison): The revision of permanent street occupancy permit #17-018-P was approved 14-0. Alderperson Meltzer expressed gratitude for community engagement.
  • Community Development Text Amendment (Chapter 4 Buildings, Sec. 4-392 Exemptions): An amendment to correct grammatical errors, proposed by Alderperson Hartzheim, sparked debate. Alderperson Fenton argued the amendment removed gender‑inclusive language (use of "they/their") and was unnecessary. The amendment passed 8-6. The amended text was then approved 11-3.
  • Balance of the Agenda: All remaining committee report action items were approved 14-0 in a single vote. These included:
    • Municipal Services: Glenmore Park Plat street design parameters, Mission Ridge North Plat street design parameters, I-41 STH47/Meade Street State Municipal Finance and Maintenance Agreements, ordinance changes for Baldeagle Drive and Providence Avenue paving projects, vacation of a portion of N. Oneida Street right-of-way and unnamed historic alley, and intermunicipal agreement with Town of Grand Chute for Richmond and Ridgeview signal.
    • Safety and Licensing: Temporary premises amendment for Fox Cities Performing Arts Center (Annual Partner Cookout on Aug 20, 2025, 4:00-10:00 PM) and McFleshman's alcohol sales at Downtown Appleton Farm Market on multiple dates.
    • City Plan Commission: Special Use Permit #4-25 for an auto/RV/truck/cycle/boat sales lot at 3275 E. Winslow Ave (requires 2/3 vote; noted as approved), Floodplain Zoning amendments related to LOMR Case #24-05-0370P, Rezoning #7-25 and preliminary plat for Glenmore Park, and preliminary plat for Mission Ridge North.
    • Parks and Recreation: Ordinance changes to Chapter 13 (Special Use Areas, Prohibited Items, Alcoholic Beverages).
    • Finance Committee: Award of construction services to RJM Construction in the amount of $828,500 with a 10% contingency of $82,850 for a project total not to exceed $911,350.
    • Community Development: Text amendments to Chapters 4 and 12 regarding citation authority.
  • Consolidated Action Items – Street Vacation: The initial resolution and associated actions for vacating a portion of N. Oneida Street and an unnamed historic alley (north of Washington, south of Franklin) were approved 14-0. Mayor Woodford noted the alley was found not to be historically significant, only a relic in planning documents.
  • Ordinances #93-25 to #101-25: Approved 14-0.

Key Outcomes

  • All items on the agenda were approved. Several separate votes were taken as noted.
  • The Council approved a total of up to $33,365,000 in new debt and refunding bonds across four resolutions.
  • A controversial amendment to a text amendment regarding gender‑inclusive language was passed 8-6, with the final amended text passing 11-3.
  • The meeting adjourned at 7:26 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. I now call to order the Wednesday, August 6th, 2025 meeting of the Apple and Common Council. Please rise for the invocation, which will be delivered by Alder Wolfe. Thank you, Mayor. So I want to talk about last month. I know we're looking ahead. And August is now the time to get back to work and to help the constituents of Appleton, as we all uh love to do. So rather than giving a long invocation, uh let's get to work, have fun, and work for the people of Appleton. Thank you. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the play of the States of America and to the Republic. One nation, one God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Roll call of Alders. All are represented with the exception of Alder Person Heffernan. Right. And we'll and I don't know that we heard from her, so we'll mark her absent. All right. Uh next roll call of officers and department heads. All are represented. All right, thank you. Motion to approve. We have a motion and a second. All right. Any discussion on the minutes. Hearing none, please cast your votes. Oh. Alder Doherty, how do you vote? Okay. All right, that motion passes 14 to zero. The minutes have been approved. On the business presented by the mayor, uh, noting some proclamations. Uh, breastfeeding awareness month in August, uh, recognizing women's equality day this month, and voting rights act day, uh, commemorating the anniversary of the voting rights act. So those are the proclamations uh that we've got before you tonight. I have no further business to present, so we'll move on to public participation. And uh, we have one member of the public signed up to speak. Uh, this is Oliver Zorno. Welcome, Oliver. Thank you so much. My name is Oliver Zorno. I'm with 218 East Lincoln Street. Um, super grateful for the opportunity to address you. Um, wanted to share that my comments tonight are my own and don't necessarily reflect the views of any organizations with which I may be associated. Um, I'm a father of an Edison couple of Edison students and uh former neighbor in the historic central neighborhood and part of the Safe Routes to School Task Force of the Transition Committee related to the Columbus School Closure. Um, and so just want to thank the council and the municipal services committee for their support of the change in the street occupancy permit related to our safe route to school to Edison. Um, I wanted to share that this was been a robust process. Um, the safe routes team not only worked with their internal capacities and those of the city and the school district, um, but dozens of neighbors in the historic central neighborhood got together and did walk audits identifying various routes that kids could safely get from the historic central neighborhood to Edison and want to validate and acknowledge the contributions of all of those neighbors. Um, it led to four key recommendations for this first phase of improving walkability in that area. Those include the extension of the um light bulb routes, um, but those include also a crosswalk at Atlantic Street with additional pedestrian signage and signage and um crosswalks at the railroad tracks. Um it includes adding a crossing guard at Drew and North Street, as well as the uh recommendation that the city consider additional stops at that intersection. And um, and those are the I'll say first round recommendations that came from safe routes, thinking those would be the things that the city and the district could partner together on to move quickly on.

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