The Municipal Services Committee is meeting 08/09/2021 at 4:30PM.
They will once again be discussing and voting on item 21-0873 which would update Municipal Code Section 4-392 related to electrical work by a home owner after it was, for the second time, referred back to the committee. Council Rules call for the alderperson who referred the item back to appear at the committee meeting or the item may be reaffirmed without discussion back to the Council. Technically, this item was most recently referred back by Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13), but she referred it back after Alderperson Alex Schultz (District 9) voiced concerns regarding the wording of the proposed updated Municipal Code language. He actually tried to amend the item during the Council meeting but there were no electrical inspectors present to answer questions or provide feedback about the proposed amendment, which is why Alderperson Hartzheim referred it back to commit. So although Alderperson Harzheim is technically the one who referred it back, it seems that Alderperson Schultz would be the more appropriate alderperson to appear at the Municipal Services committee meeting to discuss this item.
The committee will also be voting on three street reconstruction proposals. The Summit Street reconstruction garnered a marked amount of public feedback during the public hearing at the previous committee meeting. Those residents are in a bit of a bind. Their street needs to have sewer and waterwork done because they still have clay pipes from the 1920s. They also have many mature trees that they don’t want to lose. Unfortunately, the only way to save the trees would be to either simply patch the street up after the necessary underground work was completed or narrow the street by 2 feet, but if the street is narrowed by 2 feet then they will lose parking on one side. So, basically no matter what happens the residents will be losing something. Adding to the confusion was the fact that the notices that were sent to the property owners were post-marked July 12 but not received until just a few days before the 07/26/2021 Municipal Services Committee meeting, so there was no opportunity for city staff to really answer homeowners’ questions and help them understand the different issues that were at play.
[In the interest of full disclosure, I do have a personal connection to some of the residents on this street, although I’m not sure how much bias it’s possible for a person to have in this situation. They’re either going to lose their trees or lose some of their parking or keep their trees and parking but have a horrible looking patched up street that doesn’t get reconstructed. Me taking sides isn’t going to change that.]
They will also be discussing and voting on Resolution #10-R-21 which was introduced by Alderperson Michael Smith (District 10) at the 08/04/2021 Common Council meeting. If passed, this resolution would rescind Sec. 15-32 of Appleton’s Municipal Code which bans scavenging and allow people to legally collect recycling and bulky overflow items left out of the terrace. Alderperson Brad Firkus (District 3) has stated on his aldermanic blog that he “would be open to approving this so long as it is understood that people are still responsible for what and how much stuff they place on their curbs and that if a person puts more than two items out and nobody picks the extra items up that they are still responsible for those items.”
They will be reviewing and voting on a number of permits including a “request from Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction Inc. for a street occupancy permit to create a construction zone during the demolition and construction of the YMCA Ramp”. So, people can look forward to demolition and construction in that area along with the associated traffic and sidewalk detours.
Finally, there are a handful of information items including the 2021 Department of Public Works Mid-Year Performance Report and the July BIRD E-Scooter Report.
July complaints regarding BIRD Scooter parking were the highest since the pilot program first started; however, complaints about people riding them on College Avenue stood at only 2 for the second month in a row.
View full meeting details here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=859288&GUID=33364E56-1C21-43B6-AA51-D8BDAAD69CB8&Options=info|&Search=
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