Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Appleton Common Council met in regular session on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers. Mayor Jake Woodford called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m.; it adjourned at 8:46 p.m. Twelve alderpersons and the Mayor were present; Alderpersons Jones, Heffernan, and Van Zeeland were excused. The agenda included the 2026 City Star Awards, public comment on automated license plate readers and noise penalties, several individual voting items, and a consent agenda of routine action items.
Mayor Woodford presented the peer-nominated 2026 City Star Awards:
Fourteen speakers addressed the ALPR resolution, and several also commented on the noise resolution. Overwhelmingly, speakers supported passage of Resolution #16-R-26 to limit ALPR camera use:
Alderperson Croatt requested separate council votes on the ALPR resolution and the noise resolution, moved to hold the Darrius T. Smith operator's license application until the applicant could appear, and requested referral of the COPS Technology and Equipment Grant back to the Finance Committee. Alderperson Wolff requested a separate vote on the Hawes/Summit traffic-control item.
Resolution #16-R-26 (Limiting ALPR Camera Use): The council debated and then approved the Safety and Licensing Committee's amended resolution. Alderperson Stancil-Martin, who brought the resolution forward, argued that public safety and civil liberties need not be opposing goals. Alderperson Fenton said her committee amendment applied only to city-owned cameras and that a companion procurement-resolution effort (9-R-26) was still needed. Several members, including Croatt, Hartzheim, Smith, Meltzer, Schultz, Hayden, and Wolff, expressed support. Alderperson Croatt said he had changed his vote from no to yes after legal confirmation, and the Mayor confirmed a future council could lift the limitation by introducing a new resolution. Alderperson Firkus voted against, arguing that a ban would disengage the city from shaping how such technology develops. The resolution passed 11-1.
Resolution #14-R-26 (Increasing Penalties for Unnecessary Noise): The committee had recommended first-offense forfeiture of up to $500 and second-offense up to $1,000. Alderperson Croatt moved to amend by striking up to and setting first-offense at $250 and second-offense at $500. Legal staff and Chief Olson explained that in practice the police department establishes a bond schedule and judges may lower forfeitures. Some alderpersons supported the lower amendment; Alderperson Smith opposed it, providing data showing Municipal Code Section 12-80(H) enforcement from April through August: April 2, May 5, June 1, July 1, and August 7. Alderperson Hartzheim cited research that fine increases above 100 percent are not associated with further reductions, and Alderperson Hayden noted that $500 would exceed fines for offenses such as selling tobacco to minors or battery. Alderperson Schultz then moved to refer the resolution back to the Safety and Licensing Committee; the voice vote carried, so no final vote was taken on the resolution or the pending amendment.
W Hawes Avenue / N Summit Street Traffic Control: The council approved changing the intersection's yield sign to a stop sign by a 10-1 roll-call vote, with Alderperson Wolff voting no.
The remaining committee action items were approved in a single balance of the agenda motion, 11-0. The approved items included:
Note: The meeting minutes contain an apparent inconsistency: Alderperson Firkus is listed as excused on the prior-minutes vote even though he appears in the roll call as present and the transcript lists only Jones, Heffernan, and Van Zeeland as excused.
Good evening. I now call to order the Wednesday, October 21st, 2026 meeting of the Appleton Common Council. Please rise for the invocation, which will be delivered by Alder Schultz. Is that district nine? Yes, it is. Oh, great. Hey, we're green. Okay. Everyone knows on one page. 9.5 Pica. There's an odd problem in public surface service, sorry. The long view rarely has as many people in the room as the short one. And yet taking the long view may be one of the most important responsibilities that we have. So here we are, winding down 2026. It's already been quite a year, and we're not quite finished yet. Even tonight we're taking up a challenging vote. And one that I know every member of this body spend some time thinking about. It's also hard for me to fathom that I've been nearing nearing the end of my fourth term representing this community. Where does the time go? And maybe that's the point. Our time in these seats is relatively short. The consequences of the decisions we make here can last much longer. This year alone we've wrestled with truancy court, flock cameras, street reconstruction, development, public safety, and a whole host of issues that have energized and mobilized our constituents. People have bent our ears, filled our inboxes, showed up at meetings, and made passionate arguments about how our decisions will affect them. That participation matters, and it should matter. But governing also requires us to weigh the very real short-term impacts of a decision against the longer term benefits we believe it may bring. And that can be difficult. Because the immediate cost is usually easier to see than the future benefit. The inconvenience is happening now. The disruption is happening now. The expense is happening now. And the person standing at the microphone is here now. The people we may benefit 10, 20, 50 years from now are not. Still, we have to remember that we are have inherited streets we did not build, mature trees we did not plant, neighborhoods shaped by people we may never know, and institutions created long before any of us arrived. Someone before us had to take the long view. And much of what we decide today will likewise be experienced by people we may never meet. And that requires humility.