The Municipal Services Committee met 05/12/2025. In addition to voting to increase the contract with Alta Planning + Design to conduct a Complete Streets review of the proposed Thrivent Development and approving changes to create a safe walking path to Sandy Slope elementary school, the committee took up 5 additional action items, 4 of which they voted unanimously to recommend for approval and one which they voted to hold until the next committee meeting.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
PERMANENT OCCUPANCY PERMIT IN JOHNSTON STREET ALLEY PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY FOR VENTILATED AIR DISCHARGE FOR CHASE BANK BUILDING, 200 W. COLLEGE AVENUE – The Chase Bank Developer plans to place a brewery and restaurant on the first floor of the building. Related to this, there will be exhaust that needs to be vented out of the building. They would like to direct that exhaust out of the back of the building. Part of the alley already is a public right-of-way and the other part was recently dedicated to the public by the owner as part of the agreement with the city to provide a 1-year extension to the deadline of the project. As a result, the exhaust would be vented into the public right-of-way.
City Building Inspector Daniel Meissner told the committee that there would be very little duct work outside the building, mostly just vents and grills, so they would not be extending into the alleyway but they would be discharging into it.
ORDINANCE CHANGES RELATED TO PARKING AT 700 BLOCK OF W. EIGHTH STREET (FOLLOW-UP TO A 6-MONTH EVALUATION PERIOD) — City staff wanted to remove the 2-hour parking restriction on both sides of Eighth Street between Badger Avenue and Memorial Drive. Those restrictions had been put in place in 1967, but parking behaviors and nearby land use had changed since that time. The committee did not have any questions about the item.
ORDINANCE CHANGES RELATED TO PARKING ON DREW STREET (1500N) AND CIRCLE STREET (400E) (FOLLOW-UP TO A 5-MONTH EVALUATION PERIOD) – This area is right next to Kaleidoscope Elementary School. City staff wanted to restrict parking and prohibit stopping/standing/parking in various sections during school hours. Alderperson Chris Croatt (District 14) thanked staff for all of the hard work they had put into this item. Area residents had brought traffic and parking related concerns to Alderperson Croatt’s attention around 2 years ago and city staff put in a lot of effort to find workable solutions that did not create additional problems. Per Alderperson Croatt, “I haven’t received any recent calls or complaints or concerns about the areas, so I’m very comfortable with the proposed changes.”
PARKING CHANGES AT 500 BLOCK OF W. JOHNSTON STREET [FOLLOW-UP TO A 6-MONTH EVALUATION0 – At the request of a business owner, city staff wanted to convert part of an existing no parking zone into a 15-minute loading zone. Alderperson Alex Schultz (District 9) stated that he had a conflict of interest on the item and there were some additional discussions that he hadn’t had a chance to follow up on, so he requested that the item be held until the next committee meeting.
ORDINANCE CHANGES RELATED TO 100 BLOCK OF N ONEIDA STREET – PROPOSED CONVERSION TO 2-WAY TRAFFIC – City staff wanted to turn the 100 block of N Oneida Street, which is the little one-way, south-going section of street by City Center south of Washington Street and north of the curve where it turns into the City Center Street that people use to access the drive-up windows at City Hall, into a two-way street.
Mosaic Family Health had relocated to the City Center/Fox Commons area. As a result, drivers who are unfamiliar with the area and oftentimes elderly are driving into the area to access the clinic. They are able to find Mosaic fine, but when they leave, they go north on that 100 block section of Oneida. Particularly problematic is the fact that because it’s a one-way street, there is no stop sign at the Washington Street intersection. Per City Traffic Engineer Eric Lom, “We’ve worked with Mosaic to educate their patients on the way out the door, and just really have struggled to find any footing with that.”
As a result, city staff would like to turn that section of the street into a two-way street. The number of parking stalls on the street would not be changed, but they would be moved, and the existing loading zone on the east side of the street would be moved to the west side of the street which will allow vehicles to stop, unload their items, and then continue forward through City Center Street.
[I understand that the area might be a little confusing to people the first time they drive there, but it’s concerning to me that there’s been no improvement with driving choices even after clinic staff have tried to educate their patients. Maybe all of these drivers should be evaluated and tested to determine if they should still even be driving.]
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1306263&GUID=A8CDACC2-AB6B-423D-B31F-9D907ACA2FC0
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