Green Bay Common Council Meeting - August 19, 2025
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Green Bay Common Council Meeting - August 19, 2025
The Green Bay Common Council met on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at 6:00 PM (estimated) in Council Chambers. The meeting included recognitions, a public hearing, multiple ordinance votes, committee reports, and a massage establishment license discussion. The meeting adjourned after approximately 55 minutes.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes from the previous meeting were approved unanimously.
- Agenda was approved unanimously.
- Appointments were confirmed unanimously.
- Redevelopment Authority report approved.
- Improvement in Services Committee report approved as amended (items 1 and 6 pulled separately).
- Protection and Policy Committee report approved except item 5.
- Green Bay Police Department Operator Licenses report approved.
- Plan Commission report approved.
- Finance Committee report approved as amended (item 2 amended, two fee items referred back).
- Park Committee report approved.
- Personnel Committee report approved except item 4 (referred back to staff).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Tim Warner (3489 Finger Road) spoke in opposition to zoning changes at 3250 and 3542 Finger Road. He urged preserving the park property, noting the loss of green space, the proximity to a cemetery, and the presence of 38 large mature trees. He clarified that the park was previously part of Holy Martyrs School and Church and had been sold by the pastor against community wishes.
Discussion Items
- Recognitions:
- Mr. Weldon Tucker was recognized for rescuing a 6-year-old autistic child from traffic near Bond Street. He received a Certificate of Recognition for his heroic actions.
- The city received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize, presented by partners from Wellow, We All Rise, ComSA, and Casa Alba. Representatives (Natalie Bobsted, Robin, Said Hassan) highlighted collaborative work across sectors to improve health equity. The prize was formally handed over to the city.
- Public Hearing – Zoning Change (Finger Road): The public hearing was held for Ordinance 04-25 to amend the Smart Growth 2022 comprehensive plan for 3250 and 3542 Finger Road from schools, parks, and low-medium density housing to medium intensity office, retail, and housing. Director Neerwig clarified the parcels are owned by the Green Bay Area Public School District, not a city park. The applicant seeks to reuse the land.
- Ordinances – Second Reading:
- Item 1 (Finger Road rezoning) – adopted unanimously (11-0).
- Item 2 – adopted unanimously.
- Item 3 – adopted 10-0 with one abstention.
- Item 4 – adopted unanimously.
- Improvement in Services Committee – Item 1: Alder Johnson requested to record a no vote on the parking utility budget, citing broader concerns. Motion to approve passed with Alder Johnson's no vote.
- Improvement in Services Committee – Item 6: Alder Eck proposed an amendment to approve a one-year contract for hauling, disposal, and mobilization of contaminated soil to Peter's Concrete Company with an estimated spend of $85,000. Approved unanimously.
- Protection and Policy Committee – Item 5: Alder Johnson initially moved to refer a proposed new inspection fee (approx. $335,000 total for businesses) back to committee, but instead moved to hold the item until the next council meeting for additional discussion. Motion carried. Fire Chief Nott supported the delay for further communication.
- Finance Committee – Item 2: Alder Profit proposed an amendment to strike "neighborhood" from the nonprofit event fee ordinance language. Director Renierwig noted that the term is also in the underlying ordinance and would need amendment. The amendment was adopted. Alder Johnson then moved to refer two fee schedule items (10-741 and 18-656) back to finance committee. Referral passed.
- Personnel Committee – Item 4: Alder Profit moved to approve a staffing reclassification (transfer within budgeted positions) rather than refer to staff. Motion failed 6-5 (Alder Grant recorded nay). Motion to refer back to staff then passed 6-5.
- Massage Establishment License – Sunrise Spa: Discussion on Sunrise Spa at 503 South Military Avenue. Police Chief Davis summarized a background report showing past incidents (2010? Actually 2020 and 2023 complaints, telephone associated with erotic massage ads). The recommendation was to approve due to insufficient evidence to deny. Attorney Randall appeared virtually for the applicant, disputing the hot.com listing and noting compliance with license display requirements. Public comment heard. The license was approved.
- Resolutions: Items 1, 2, and 4 were taken up together and adopted unanimously (11-0). Item 3 was adopted as amended with referrals.
- Ordinances – First Reading: Items 1 and 2 were advanced to second reading. Item 3 was held until September 16, 2025.
Key Outcomes
- Vote tallies:
- Finger Road rezoning: 11-0 (unanimous).
- Contaminated soil contract: approved unanimously.
- Personnel item reclassification: motion to approve failed 6-5; motion to refer passed 6-5.
- Sunrise Spa license: approved (voice vote, no objection).
- Resolutions 1,2,4: 11-0.
- Referrals: Two fee schedule items (10-741, 18-656) referred back to finance committee. One personnel item referred back to staff.
- Held items: Fire inspection fee ordinance held until next council meeting. Ordinance first reading item 3 held until September 16.
- Next meeting: The next regular council meeting likely in September; specific date not stated except for item held to September 16.
Meeting Transcript
Alder Grant. If you could please sign in. Can I do it verbally? I actually don't have any internet where I am. Okay. Yep, you are noted as present. Thanks. Okay, sorry about that. All right, I'll call to order the meeting of our common council for Tuesday, August 19th. Clerk. All right, thank you very much, Clerk. Now please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and remain standing for the invitation offered by Alder Johnson. I pledge religiously to the fly of the United States of America. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Mayor. Uh please remain standing. She is the proud leader of the longest continually meeting Christian congregation in the state of Wisconsin. Bridget's ministry works to help people see that Jesus' teachings are more relevant today than ever, particularly around the areas of justice, inclusion, healing, and hope. She lives in the bay with her husband and daughter, who I had the pleasure of meeting beforehand, Scott and Josie. Welcome. Bridget received her Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1998 and completed further requirements for uh ordination through Chicago Theological Seminary in 2005 and 2003. She was named St. Orbert College Young Alumnae of the Year for her work of witness and mission. She was ordained by the UCC in 2007. She's a native of Milwaukee, served several churches in the Metro area. She cites a missionary experience in El Salvador. At the end of that country civil war is a watershed event in her call to ministry. After returning to the state, she served as a chaplain at a homeless shelter, which focused particularly on hospitality to those dying with AIDS. In 2022, she was featured in the Neville Public Museum's Hurstory exhibit, which lifted up the changing roles of women in Brown County. So one of the uh one of the oldest churches in Wisconsin founded in 1835, uh originally part of the Fort Howard uh settlement, uh, but also served as a stop during the Underground Railroad during the civil war, which I think uh is a really interesting point uh about our community's history and really captures I think uh the things that you do. I mean, I've been to your church probably more than any other in our city, yet I've never been there for a single mass, wedding, or funeral. And I think it's because of how much you open to the community and how much you open your doors to serve the people uh that live it in our in our city. So thank you for what you do. And with that, uh Reverend Bridget. Thanks for the invitation and for that introduction, Brian. Let us take a moment to quiet ourselves and remind ourselves that we're always in God's presence. Holy one, source of every language and culture and dream, who delights in community and who calls us to seek justice. We gather tonight in this chamber not only as officials and citizens, but as neighbors bound together by the promise of community. Remind us that true strength is not found in uniformity, but in beauty of our differences woven together. That the voice is long silenced to find courage here, that those who carry power remember its purpose to serve the common good, to lift the lowly, to protect the vulnerable, to pursue what is just. May this council's work be animated by wisdom greater than personal interest, by courage deeper than political calculation, by compassion stronger than fear. We gather tonight in the shadow of systems that too often favor the powerful and forget the poor. Do not let us be comfortable here. Disturb our complacency. Expose the easy answers. Remind us that every decision made in this room will either widen the gap of inequality or build the bridge toward beloved community. Give these leaders courage to speak hard truths, to listen to the voices long silenced, to resist the lure of expedience, and to choose what serves the least. Let this chamber be more than a place of procedure. Let it be a place where justice rolls down like waters, where diversity is celebrated, where compassion is not weakness but strength. Stir us so that decisions made in this room may ripple outward as blessings toward equality, toward peace, toward a city where every child, every elder, every newcomer, every neighbor knows they belong.
openpublica.com