The Common Council is meeting 10/04/2023 at 7PM. Although there are not very many action items on the agenda, the meeting still has the potential to be on the longer side.
The Mayor’s Business portion of the meeting is fairly full. Mayor Woodford will be presenting a slate of proclamations, the Fire Department Civilian Awards, and a Commendation of Service. He will also be giving a presentation on the 2024 Executive Budget and Service Plan.
Although most of the committee meetings last week were short and relatively uneventful. It is still possible that some items will be separated out for individual votes. Two particular items seem likely candidates….
1. Resolution 10-R-22 regarding an Alternate Lawe Street Truck Route. This resolution was discussed extensively at the Municipal Services Committee meeting on 09/25/2023. The resolution as written directed staff to explore removing the truck route designation from Lawe Street between College Avenue and Handcock Street and find an alternate route. Staff already explored this as part of the planning for the street reconstruction and recommended retaining the truck route designation.
Some committee members believed that removing the route and finding an alternate should be explored in more depth. They amended the resolution to include the directive, “staff will conduct a Lawe Street (from College Avenue to Hancock Street) corridor study that includes: an analysis of deterioration of terrace habitat and trees due to trucks, cost benefit analysis of construction, origin/destination study, traffic volume report, specific traffic speed reduction efforts, and an environmental impact assessment to include truck particulate matter emissions and a heavy metal analysis that are being deposited into the roadway. This study will be completed by March 2024.”
The amended version was approved by the committee by a vote of 3-2. Alderpersons Kristin Alfheim (District 11) and Chad Doran (District 15) voted against it, believing that it was not realistic to remove the truck route and that further exploration would not change the recommendation of staff.
2. The request to contract with Green Bicycle Co to provide consulting services to the newly formed Appleton Housing Task Force. This item was passed unanimously by the Community and Economic Development Committee, but there were some questions regarding paying for the contract which was $7,000 more than the initially budgeted $25,000. Additionally, because the Housing Task Force has just been created, I could see it being separated out as a way to highlight the task force’s work.
View full meeting details here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1114840&GUID=AEE88530-319B-4909-B769-B379610CE326
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