Appleton Common Council Meeting – December 3, 2025
Appleton Common Council Meeting – December 3, 2025
The Appleton Common Council met on December 3, 2025, at 7:01 PM in Council Chambers, with Mayor Jake Woodford presiding. The meeting was brief (adjourned at 7:09 PM) due to a light agenda following the Thanksgiving holiday. All 15 alderpersons were present except Alderperson Martyn Smith (excused). The council approved routine reappointments, adopted a revised golf course rates policy, and heard a retirement announcement from the Parks and Recreation Director.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Previous Minutes (25-1430): The minutes of the November 19, 2025 Common Council meeting were approved by voice vote (14-0, Mayor abstained).
- Mayor’s Reappointments: All three reappointment items were approved unanimously (14-0, Mayor abstained each):
- Advisory Panel on Sustainability Reappointments (25-1431)
- Parade Committee Reappointment (25-1432)
- Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee Reappointments (25-1433)
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public signed up to speak, and no public hearings were held.
Discussion Items
- Reid Golf Course Rates Policy (25-1393): The council approved the proposed revised 2026 Reid Golf Course Rates Policy as recommended by the Parks and Recreation Committee. The motion passed by voice vote (14-0, Mayor abstained). No discussion occurred.
- Retirement of Parks & Recreation Director Dean Gaza: Mayor Woodford announced that Director Gaza, after a distinguished career, will retire effective January 2, 2026. Deputy Director Tom Flick will serve as interim director. The council will honor Director Gaza at the next meeting (December 17).
- Upcoming Sustainability Report: An alderperson reminded the council that the Advisory Panel on Sustainability will present its report on December 17, 2025, at 6:00 PM, and encouraged attendance.
Key Outcomes
- Approved (14-0): Previous meeting minutes, all three reappointment packages, and the revised Reid Golf Course Rates Policy.
- Directed: The balance of the agenda was approved without separate votes (motion carried by voice vote, no opposition).
- System Issues: The council experienced electronic voting system issues and conducted all votes by voice; all recorded votes were unanimous except for the Mayor’s abstentions.
- Next Steps: The council will convene on December 17, 2025, for the final meeting of the year, including the sustainability panel presentation and a retirement celebration for Director Gaza.
Meeting Transcript
All right. Good evening. And I now call to order the Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025 meeting of the Appleton Common Council. Please rise for the invocation, which will be delivered by Alder Lambright. Today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. And for my invocation, I have a brief passage from the book, Disability Visibility by Alice Wong, a prominent activist for people with disabilities who recently passed. There's so much that APL-bodied people could learn from the wisdom that often comes with disability. But space needs to be made. Hands need to be reached out. People need to be lifted up. The story of disabled success has never been a story about one solitary person overcoming limitations, despite the fact that's the narrative we all so often read in the media. The narrative trajectory of a disabled person's life is necessarily webbed. We often only we are often only as strong as our friends and family make us, only as strong as our community, only as strong as the resources and privileges we have. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag United States of America. And consider. Okay. Roll call of officers and department heads. All are excused with the exception of police chief Olsen, Parks and Recreation Director Gaza, Finance Director Ollman, and Health Officer Siepers who are present. All right, thank you. I I did uh make it more or less optional for department heads this evening given uh the brevity of our agenda. So they're not all skipping out on us. All right. Um we need a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. We have a motion and a second to approve. Is there any discussion on the minutes? All right, hearing none, please cast your votes. This isn't looking good. Not it uh is it not working? Okay. Uh, we're gonna handle what we're gonna do is uh we'll we'll handle our items on a on a voice vote. We we're having a couple of system issues this evening. Uh so we'll handle these on a voice vote and we'll just record any any nays or abstentions. Those will be reflected in the minutes for the next meeting. Uh so uh we do have I I did see a motion and a second. Uh we'll just announce those so that we're clear. Alder Hard sign moved seconded by Alder Hayden to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right, the ayes have it. The minutes have been approved unanimously. All right, on to business presented by the mayor. First is 25-141. Advisory panel. All right, thank you. We have a motion and a second to approve. Is there any discussion on these reappointments? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye.
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