Common Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. I now call to order the Wednesday, 05/06/2026 meeting of the Appleton Common Council. Please rise for the invocation, will be delivered by Alder Meltzer.

Thank you. My invocation tonight is chapter 13 of the Tao Te Ching, as translated by Stephen Mitchell. Success is as dangerous as failure. Hope is as hollow as fear. What does it mean that success is as dangerous as failure? Whether you go up the ladder or down it, your position is shaky. When you stand with your two feet on the ground, you will always keep your balance. What does it mean that hope is as hollow as fear? Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self. When we don't see the self as self, what do we have to fear?

See the world as yourself. Have faith in the way things are. Love the world as yourself. Then you can care for all things.

Thank you. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Roll call of Alders.

All are represented.

And we'll note Alder Hartzheim is appearing virtually. Roll call of officers and department heads.

All are represented.

Thank you. Need a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. And we'll note there are two sets of minutes in this item. We have a motion and a second to approve any discussion of the minutes. Hearing none, please cast your votes.

Oh, that's interesting. Standby. It looks like we're missing yeah, Okay, great. All right. Well, bear with us because what we're going to do is we'll handle most of our business on voice votes.

And then if we have dissension, we may have a roll call vote. And at any time, a member of the body can ask for division. So we have a motion and a second to approve item 20 six-five 32 Common Council Meeting Minutes. There being no discussion, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. All right, the ayes have it. Minutes are passed. All right, on to business presented by the mayor. A couple of things to take care of. If you'll all indulge me, I'd like to take care of an administrative item first.

This is 2092. This is library board and a plan commission appointment. I'll note that the materials that accompany the agenda are correct. So it was noticed. The item itself, however, missed the plan commission note. So my apologies for that. But we're looking for a motion on these appointments. We have a motion from Alder Fenton, seconded by Alder Croats. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right, the ayes have it. Thank you. All right, now we're back to twenty six-five sixty six Council President Gavel presentation.

So this is a tradition that I intended to start when I first took office. And I only did it, I think, once. And then Alderman Zeeland got elected. So for years, I've been waiting to give the gavel presentation again. But this is a commemorative gavel that's never been used.

So you're welcome to put it to use if you'd like on your own time or in your own committee. But just commemorating Alder Van Zeeland's service as council president. And I just want to note that Alder Van Zeeland, serving four consecutive times, is the longest serving consecutive council president in the city's history. So just really, really grateful for her work and her commitment and for her partnership. We started working together in this capacity during very complicated times for the city.

And I've appreciated her counsel and leadership. And we've benefited from her leadership. So I want to take a moment and recognize her for her outstanding service to this body and to our community. And so with that, I'll invite her up and give her the gavel. All right.

So next we have twenty six-four zero two, which is presentation of the Appleton Police Department's civilian medals of gallantry. So at this time, I'll invite Chief Olson up to make the presentation.

Thank you. Good evening, everybody. You're going to have to bear with me because I left my reading glasses sitting in my car. But I'm going to do my best here. I'd love to be able to invite Mason Nott and Tory Shane up in front here, please.

I'd love it if you could be standing side by side with me when I get to tell everybody the great thing that you guys did. I'm going have you stand right between us. Thank you. So on 07/26/2025, Mason and Tory were walking near the green ramp when they noticed a sandal on the sidewalk. A male individual positioned at the top of the ramp called down and asked them to return the sandal to him.

Mason and Tory proceeded to bring it up to the individual. Upon doing so, they quickly realized the individual appeared to be experiencing a mental health crisis. They remained with him for more than an hour and a half, speaking with him and offering support. When the individual began expressing thoughts of jumping from the ramp, Mason and Tory immediately called law enforcement while continuing to engage with him to ensure safety. When officers arrived, the individual refused to allow them to approach but continued speaking with Mason.

Since Tore had spent significant time conversing with him, she provided officers with critical background information to assist in their response. After some time, the individual stated, I can't do this, and lifted his leg over the edge of the ramp. Without hesitation, Mason intervened and began to pull him back as officers rushed forward to assist, ultimately bringing the individual back onto solid ground. Without Mason's swift action, officers would not have reached the individual in time to prevent him from going over the edge. Through their calm presence, compassion, and decisive actions, Mason and Tory unquestionably saved the life of this individual in crisis.

For their heroic actions on 07/26/2025, both Mason and Tory are being awarded the Civilian Medal of Gallantry. Thank you both for stepping up to intervene and to help someone clearly in crisis. We absolutely need more people like you in this world.

Thank you.

All right. That concludes business presented by the mayor. And so we come now to a time of public participation. At each meeting of the Common Council, the Common Council sets aside thirty minutes for members of the public to address the council on items that appear on the agenda. We ask that your comments are focused on, again, an item that appears on the agenda and that your time is you note that your time is limited to five minutes per person.

I will help keep track of time. We have two members of the public who signed up to speak ahead of time. And I'll check at the end to make sure we've given everybody who'd like to a chance to speak. The first is Nikki Opstein. And if you'd please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

My name is Nikki Ofstein. My address is 112 East Roosevelt Street. Alright. I want to thank you council members for this opportunity to speak once again. I would like to begin with a brief clarifying question to ensure the accuracy in our shared understanding.

In the city of Appleton correspondence sent to the Roosevelt residence, the current street width was identified as 29 feet with a proposed reduction of 26 feet prior to the April 20 street width. However, on the March 31 informational meeting notes, it indicated that our street was 30 feet with a proposed reduction of 27 feet. Given that the council later amended the proposal to add an additional foot, I just want to respectfully make sure that we request a confirmation on the correct existing and proposed measurements so that residents can rely on consistent and accurate information. Next, Council members, I also want to sincerely thank you for your willingness to reach a compromise with the Roosevelt neighborhood by approving the additional foot of width. While the outcome does not fully meet the preferences of the residents on the street, it reflects a meaningful effort by the council to balance competing priorities and that is very much appreciated.

In the same spirit of collaboration, I would like to emphasize the importance of prioritizing safety as the street design moves forward. Roosevelt is a multi generational neighborhood where safe and reliable access is critical, particularly in situations where response times matter. Seasonal conditions such as increased parking during pool use already is a result in significant congestion, often with vehicles parked bumper to bumper. This can restrict visibility, limit movement, and impede on the flow of traffic. There are existing concerns that even under current conditions, emergency vehicles and service access can be compromised.

For an example, there have been instances where emergency responders were unable to position vehicles without blocking through traffic, creating potential delays. Additionally, congestion can extend to nearby intersections, including Oneida Street, where cars wheel back up emergency in front of ongoing traffic, raising further safety risks related to the traffic backup and reduced roadway clearance. Given these considerations, we respectfully request that the Council evaluate additional safety measures in conjunction with the revised street width. Specifically prohibiting on street parking alongside Roosevelt Street would help maintain adequate clearance for emergency response, reduce congestion, and improve overall traffic flow. We recognize that there are concerns regarding parking demands for nearby amenities, especially the pool.

However, alternating parking is available on three sides of the pool, not just our street. Okay? Finally, I would like to note that all the residents have expressed a strong and shared concern regarding this project as reflected in our fully signed petition by 100% on our street. We respectfully ask that these perspectives be carefully considered as the decisions are finalized, with safety remaining the first most priority. Thank you again for your consideration and thank you for all that you do.

Thank you. Next is Adam Marshall. Welcome.

Good evening everybody. My name's Adam Marshall. I live at 115 East Roosevelt Street. So I'd just like to echo some of the concerns that Nikki's talking about with this road project. You know, we're incredibly excited that we're gonna be getting some updated, you know, infrastructure around our houses.

We just wanna make sure that we're also keeping what we have at the moment and trying to make that even better and more safe. So as it sits right now, with the current width of the street and parking on both sides, it can be a little tricky. Now we know that parking is gonna be looked at and addressed, we're incredibly concerned that if the street is narrowed as it was proposed and if that didn't change, even if it was just parking on one side of the street, we'd still have some issues getting trailers through, getting cars in and out of driveways and getting emergency vehicles to come down the road. Myself, I had an experience just a few months ago where I did have to call the fire department out to my house for multiple carbon monoxide alarms that were going off. I was incredibly happy that they're able to come out so quick and efficiently.

But even they noted when they got to my house that that was a little tricky getting in here. And we're this little one block road. So it can be a little tricky getting in there. We're worried about if that's narrowed even more, we're just gonna have problems with that. Other concerns to echo that Nikki was talking about would be during the summer, we love that we're right up next to Urban Park.

We love that there are so many events going on there, but our street does get packed out for all of that. If you head over to our block during the summer, especially if there's a swim meet going on that weekend, you'll see that that entire block is fully booked up the entire day from probably before I wake up in the morning until well past dark. So we want to make sure that we keep that area safe. We want to make sure that we have some additional safety measures as we're putting this in, like a stop sign at the end of the road. Right now there is none.

And we actually have a lot of people flying through there. They kind of take a little shortcut and say I can sneak down this one block road and they just burn through way too fast. So we'd love to have some additional safety measures looked at for when we're doing the construction as well. But please keep in mind that the width there, I know it's a cost saving measure. I know that those decisions are incredibly hard to make and a lot goes into it.

But we, as Nikki said, we had 100% of the people on our street sign a petition saying, wait, we're concerned about this. We just don't think it works for our road. That might work on others, but for ours, there's a deep concern for everybody there. We have at least half of the houses on this street that have children that are playing on the sidewalks, who are playing out in yards. You know, we also have elderly people on the road as well that are out and about. So we just want to make sure it's as safe as possible. We thank you all so much for your time and appreciate the consideration for this. Thank you.

Is there anyone else who'd like to speak on an item that appears on the agenda but you didn't have an opportunity to sign in? Okay, come on up. Your name and address for the record and the item you'd like to speak on.

Yeah, my name's Ken Peacock. My address 131 East Roosevelt Street. I wasn't planning to step up here but it seems like it seems like there's a couple things. One is there was work done on Morrison. I live right on the corner of Morrison And Roosevelt.

I'm directly across the street from the park. There was work done last year or the year before on Morrison. Roads were done. And there was subsequently work done on Roosevelt where new curves were put in and there were some additional new Broadway. My question is why was that done if there was only the plan to do the work on Roosevelt in future?

Particularly noting that the fact that there were new curbs put in, and if you're going to bring those curbs in, are you not just going to then pull those curbs that were put in last year or the year before, they're just going be torn up? I mean, just seems like a waste of money to me. Secondly, and that one I I can't figure out. I mean, when I heard that they were going to narrow the road, I'm like, why would you have done the work that was done just last year? It just seems silly to me.

Secondly, speaking about the safety, I'm on that corner every day walking my dog. The cars that fly down Roosevelt going towards Morrison and then they quickly make that left continue down Roosevelt going towards the school down there. Okay? There has to be a stop sign put in there. I'm telling you, fifty, sixty miles an hour, some of these cars are flying. And I I seriously had to jump up onto the curb. I was, you know, standing out in the street cutting my lawn, you know, turning my lawn mower. And these cars are flying down this road. It's a cut through. There's no question about it.

I just think I mean, I was actually gonna think about taking video of it and just trying to present to somebody to see it firsthand. Because I think you would then realize the need to slow that area down. The safety issue too as well with the parking. When this pool opens up, to walk in and around that area is I don't wanna say it's treacherous, it might be a little bit overstated. But it's it's it's a concern.

Because you got everybody fighting for a parking spot right in that area. And to narrow that road down more is only going to invite more problems with people that are in the area than the people trying to come into the area. So I would, you know, respectfully like to say, you know, please somebody consider it. There's more going on there than than maybe perhaps you realize. But I can tell you firsthand, living on that corner out there every single day, The cars are flying too fast.

There's not enough parking when the pool opens. I think every consideration should be given to try and remedy at least some of it, if not all of it. I appreciate your time. Thank you.

Thank you. And we'll note the questions that were asked during public comment and make note of that when the council takes the item up. So appreciate that. Is there anyone else who'd like to speak on an item that appears on the agenda? Hearing none, we will now close public participation.

We have no public hearings and no special resolutions. We'll establish the order of the day. Alder Fenton, quickest on the draw.

Thank you, Chair. I'd like to, at the request of staff, refer back twenty six-four ninety four, the Roosevelt reconstruction design.

Okay. There are no objections. Alder Hartzheim? Is this is this an objection to the refer back? Okay. So there are no objections to the refer back. So this item will be referred back to committee. So so what'll happen is this will this will go to the next meeting of the Municipal Services Committee. The committee will take up the discussion there. So that meeting is on Monday at 04:30.

So Monday 04:30, municipal services will take that item up. So look forward to seeing you folks there. All right. Moving along, Alder Hartzheim is next. Can't hear you yet.

It's Okay. I don't think it's on my end. No, everything looks good on this end. Volume's up. She can hear us.

Can you hear me, chair?

Yes. Everyone's celebrating. Everyone's celebrating for you. Yeah. Alright. Go ahead.

Thank you, chair. Item number two from safety and licensing, item number 26Dash0533, the late special events permit application.

Okay. All right. Alder Jones.

Thank you, Chair. From the Community Development Committee, item 260,519, request to approve the revised twenty twenty six-twenty twenty seven program year community development block grant allocations as specified in the attached documents.

All

right. Others. Alder Wolf.

From the same committee, twenty six -five seventeen of the Chase Bank variance.

Okay. Others. All right. So we'll get to work. And I think we'll just take them up in order here. So safety and licensing. This is 2033, Edison Family Fun Run Special Event Application. Alder Krot. Oh. Oh, I'm sorry.

We do need a motion. I'm used to the buttons, sir, on the fritz. Okay. We have a motion and a second. Approval. Go ahead, Alder Krow.

I do want to speak, but I think Alder Hartzheim was waving the speak thing before I punched in.

Oh, well, it's you, Alder Krow. Okay.

All right. One thing on this for me was at committee, it was contingent on departmental approval. And there was one department that had not approved. It's probably not critical to the event, but I would like to see all department approvals before I approve. The missing one is Valley Transit. We can either take that up tonight or we could hold it at council or pend it, do it contingent on approval.

General Manager McDonald is acknowledging A thumbs up. Valley Transit has approved. So there's no issue with Valley Transit. That's handled.

Okay. With the thumbs up.

With the thumbs up, you got it. That's all I had. That was it? All right. Alder Hartzheim.

Thank you, Chair. I'm not opposed to this approval, although I note that there are some issues with regular requirements or regular requests for administrative approval by counsel for late applications. That in itself is its own set of issues. But my concern is whether we as a council are approving this application or whether we're approving the acceptance of a late application. I'm uncomfortable as a counsel being able to even though the thumbs up came from General Manager McDonald tonight, I'm concerned about there being a need for still having staff review of these applications subsequent to the council saying, yes, we approve the acceptance of a late application.

So I would, I guess, like clarity as to whether we are approving the actual application or if we're approving the acceptance of a late application. And I would like that to be clear on the record so that it's clear for future purposes.

Okay. Why don't we explain it for everybody? All right. Clerk Molitor will explain the action that's before us.

So it's my understanding from our special event policy that we do an automatic denial if it's less than forty five days before the event. So the event has already been denied. The applicant is appealing that denial. So what we're doing is essentially approving

The acceptance of the application.

The acceptance of the application. And then like any other special event, departmental approval is what ultimately approves the event.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair. I'm not sure that what we see in the minutes and on this agenda affirm that, but that was my understanding as well, and I am I accept that and I'm clear with that. I'm hopeful that perhaps in the future, we can make it very clear with motions within the Safety and Licensing Committee that it is acceptance of application, not acceptance, not approval of the event itself.

Okay. Duly noted. And Chair Croat?

Yeah, I understand that completely. In this case, it was one day late, so just for everybody's knowledge. But we have been saying for a while that we are going to start drawing that line on you need to get your applications in before the deadline. We've done at least two now that were after that. So I think the message that we've been sending since the special event policy was revised over a year ago, I believe, was that at some point and I think this was last fall that we were saying, we're going to draw that line. If you're late, you may not get your permit. But in this case, was one day. So I'm fine with approving it.

Others? Alder Furcas.

Thank you, Mayor. I went back and watched the video, the conversation we had when we originally passed this policy to get some perspective on what we thought as a body at the time of what would be an appropriate window for review for this. And at that time, it sounded like the consensus was around two years. Now that being said, I mean, definitely within we're all within our own purview with when it comes to this recommendation for overriding the automatic denial to draw our own lines in the sand. But just for kind of frame of reference, bring up that when this policy was originally passed, we, as a body, had discussed somewhere around the two year mark being the real hard line.

But definitely, I think with this one being as close as it is, I think if we were further away from the deadline, I personally would have a harder time approving this. But being that it is excuse me is just one day I feel like we're with where we are in the process this is probably fine to approve. Thank you.

Further discussion? Okay Hearing none, we have a motion and a second to approve, which would allow for the acceptance of the application. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. With none opposed, that item has been approved. All right. On to community development.

I'm just going take these in the order they were separated. So this twenty six-five nineteen request to approve the revised twenty twenty six-twenty twenty seven plan program year community development block grant allocations as specified in the attached documents. We have a motion and second to approve, and we'll open the floor for discussion. Alder Jones.

I just want to make sure with the issues we're having today that you give the option for abstention.

Yes, Thank you. Yeah. I take it you'll be abstaining.

Yes.

All right. Duly noted. All right. Further discussion? All right. We have a motion and a second to approve. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? And Alder Jones, we will note your abstention.

Thank you.

All right. That item's been approved. All right. From Community Development, Site 20 Six-five 17 requests to approve an amendment to the development agreement with Oshkosh Investment LLC and Lofgren Property six LLC to extend the completion date and minimum assessed value date from 01/01/2026 to 01/01/2027, and the rest. We have a motion and a second to approve.

All right. We've gotten so dependent on our buttons, so we're making do. All right. I'll open the floor for discussion now. Any discussion? Hearing none, we have a motion and a second to approve. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. Alder Wolf will note your nay and no abstentions. That item passes. All right. That's it for separate votes. We need a motion on the balance of the agenda.

We have a motion and a second to approve. Any discussion on the balance? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying

aye. Aye.

Alright. Any opposed? Alright. With that, the balance of the agenda has been approved. We have no consolidated action items. We do have an item held. This is 26 Dash0433 resolution three r 26, expressing support for ranked choice voting in municipal elections. As a reminder, this came out of safety and licensing with a recommendation for denial. So a motion to approve would uphold the denial from committee. Looking for a motion. We have a motion to approve. Is there a second? Okay. The motion to approve has been withdrawn. We have a motion and a second to approve.

We'll open the floor for discussion. All right, discussion. Anybody? Okay. Alder Stanson Martin.

Thank you, chair. I wanted to talk in support of this resolution not just because I wrote it and not just because I support ranked choice sorting as a concept in of itself, but because I support the idea that municipalities like Appleton should have the ability to determine what kind of systems work best for their communities. At its core, this resolution is about local control. We often talk in this chamber about how local government is the level of government closest to the people. We say that because it's true.

The needs of Appleton are are not identical to the needs of Milwaukee or the needs of Madison. They're not identical to the rural Northern Wisconsin communities or the fast growing suburban municipalities. Yet under current state law, every community is forced into the same electoral framework regardless of which framework serves them best. This resolution does something simple. It states that local communities should have the ability to decide for themselves what works best for them.

It doesn't mean that Appleton must implement ranked choice voting tomorrow. It doesn't mandate anything. It doesn't redesign our systems of elections. It simply asks for the authority to have the conversation locally and to make local decisions locally. Now, I know one argument against this resolution is that Appleton doesn't need ranked choice voting, and maybe it doesn't. But how do we know what we may need five, ten, twenty years from now? In 2020, our mayoral race had a crowded field of candidates. We've seen competitive primaries and multi candidate races before, and we will again. Cities evolve. Political climates evolve.

Population growth changes dynamics. The question before us tonight is not whether every single election today demands reform. It's whether communities should have the right to adapt their systems as circumstances change. Governance is not supposed to be reactive only after a system needs change. Good governance is proactive.

It asks what tools may strengthen legitimacy, participation, or representation. And ranked choice voting does have potential benefits worth exploring. It reduces spoiler dynamics, encourages broader coalition building, more positive campaigning, ensuring that winners have broader support. But even if some members disagree with these benefits, I hope that we can agree that local communities should be trusted enough to have this debate among themselves. Another argument that I've heard, I've had listened to, is that some of our constituents may not have asked for this. But if we only acted

on

issues organized by constituent campaigns, then much of the meaningful progress local governments have ever made would never have happened. Our responsibility is not merely to react, it's to lead. Constituents elect us not just to answer emails and fill potholes, as important as those things are, but to think seriously about the long term health of our institutions. Most constituents are are busy out in Ableton. They're raising children, working jobs, trying to get through the week.

Now that doesn't mean that these issues don't matter. In fact, many of the most important decisions that have been made are ones whose importance only become clear only becomes clear years later. But when people look back at our service here, what will they say about us? Will they say we avoided difficult conversations because they were inconvenient to have? Will they say that we were willing to think critically and proactively about how democratic systems function?

Because that's what this conversation is about. It's not about part partisanship or political advantage. If And we truly believe in our democratic institutions, then we should trust communities with the ability to shape the systems through which they govern themselves. I've also heard concerns that we're already asking a lot from the state legislature. And to that, I would say that we are capable of addressing multiple issues at once. We do not suspend all other advocacy because one priority exists. We advocate for infrastructure while also advocating for housing. We advocate for public safety while advocating for environmental protections. That's how representative government works. This resolution does not prevent us from pursuing any other legislative priority.

It just adds another statement of principle, that Appleton should have the ability to determine what electoral systems best serve us here. And I also want to emphasize this clearly. Again, even if you're skeptical about ranked choice voting itself, I urge you to consider supporting the principle behind this resolution. We are elected representatives of a unique community with unique change, unique values unique needs, unique values, and unique challenges. And tonight, we have an opportunity to affirm that.

Years from now, when people ask what kind of counsel we were, I hope we can answer that we are a counsel willing to have difficult conversations, one willing to think long term, willing to trust its community, and a counsel willing to stand up for the principle that local democracy deserves local choice. Now this is advocacy matters because advocacy shapes future actions. Change starts with communities voicing what they value and what authority they believe they should have, and that's exactly what this resolution does. At a moment when action is constrained, advocacy becomes one of the most most important actions a governing body can take. Thank you.

Further discussion? Alder Meltzer and then Alder Fenton.

Thank you. I encourage my colleagues to support this resolution. I signed on to it because this is something that my constituents have brought to me in conversation over the years. Also, there is bipartisan legislation at the state that is not advancing. And part of our role as local representatives with advocacy resolutions like this is to uplift the voices of our community. So I am very honored to have been able to cosign on this resolution. And I encourage you all to vote in favor of it. Thank you.

Alder Fenton.

I'm going to yield at this time, your honor.

Okay. Further discussion? We've got Alder Schulz. Right. I saw Hayden and then Crowed.

This is bringing me back to the pandemic days, the Zoom meetings keeping Emanuel Q. Wow. That's nostalgic. Alder Schulz.

Yes. Just for the clarity of the vote, I would like to request a vote notwithstanding. And there's not much more I can add to the author's summary of this resolution. So I hope you will support it. But I would like a vote notwithstanding.

Okay. We 've got a request for a vote notwithstanding, and that will be the vote. I'll clarify that again before we vote. But it will be a notwithstanding vote. Next is Alder Hayden, and then we're getting to Croak.

Thank you, Chair. Everything Alder St. Sylvain said is 100% true. Ranked choice voting does clear up a lot of the issues that we see in politics today and would do quite a bit of good at the state level and the federal level. My one challenge with this is that I don't want to see the Common Council become a place where we have proxy battles over legislation going on within our state legislature.

I feel like we could go down and battle every hot topic issue that is coming before the state. And eventually, we're going to lose the focus on the issues that we're here for. And that's the issues that impact the city. While I support ranked choice voting, I have some minor issues with this. And I'll be voting against it just for that reason.

Alder Hartzheim, I see you. And Alder Smith after Alder Krot.

Thank you, mayor. Couple of things. I wasn't at the meeting when this was at Safety and Licensing, but I would have been an A at the committee meeting. I have some concerns with it, but I also appreciate the passion that Alder Stansel Martin has for this. Clearly, something that he believes in.

I don't recall and my memory could be inaccurate but I don't recall hearing from any constituent asking for this. So if you're getting constituents asking for this, I haven't received that. My question is, what does approving of this accomplish for Appleton? If you look at the therefore it be it resolved parts of this resolution, the first one is asking for Appleton to support implementation. Well, it's my understanding that we can't implement it.

We could support some state level measures, which is part of one of the other be it resolved clauses, urge the state Senate and Assembly to amend state laws, send a copy of the resolution to the governor, which we can do that for a lot of things. It may or may not matter. But the biggest one here, I think, is you can accomplish some of this without a resolution. You can reach out to your elected representatives and talk to them about amending state law, senators, assembly people. A former colleague that sat on this body is now involved with that.

Could reach out to her. But I don't really see what this accomplishes for Appleton in terms of real action. Thank you.

All right. Alder Hartzheim.

Thank you, Chair. I agree with Alder Prote in that I appreciate the passion of the author of the resolution, and also agree with him that this resolution is not necessary in order to perform some advocacy in regards to this particular topic. My concern has always been that I don't necessarily believe that the majority of Appleton either understands ranked choice voting, much less supports it. So I am unable to sign on and accept this resolution because I don't believe that one of the therefore be it resolved clauses is accurate. Those who support this can very easily advocate in groups, very easily advocate personally, as Alder Krotz representatives on the state level.

And like it or not, we are The United States Of America. So state government does have some sway over what municipalities are able to do. So that efficacy would have to be done through working with working personally with our state representatives. Our busy constituents, as was mentioned by the author, doesn't mean that they just because they're busy doesn't mean that they agree with the sentiment of this resolution. And as such, I cannot support it, and I would urge my colleagues not to support it as well. Thank you.

Next is Alder Smith. And then I'll get to you. Thank you, chair. Also,

I support the concept of ranked choice voting. I have had constituents approach me and talk about ranked choice voting. In the last year, I had a coffee with someone advocating for a slightly different first five, a slightly different voting scheme. So I know that there are people in Appleton and people in my district who support ranked choice voting. But I also think it's a very important principle to vote on things that address issues that we face here in Appleton.

If I felt like we had had a series of votes where this would have really simplified or made things better or streamlined things in an important way, I would love the idea of sending a note to sending off a letter and saying that we would like to see the state take action on this. But this does not seem to address a question that we actively face. In fact, it appears to me exactly the opposite, that what we have is a problem in participation. We have too many races that go without that are not contested. And I would be highly interested in finding a way to raise the participation and the percentage of contested races.

But I don't feel that ranked choice voting is something that addresses something that is an active problem for Appleton. We also I agree with Alder Hartzheim we don't know public opinion on this. And the most this letter would say is we have a split counsel. And on this issue, I don't see that as really pushing forward the work of our state lawmakers. Lawmakers.

And finally, one of the best things about being on city council and why to me it's a breath of fresh air is it's our ability to focus on local issues. And here I'm echoing what Alder Hayden was saying. This is our chance to talk about things that are local and to do our best not to let the polarization that's on the national level and even on the state level come into our discussions. And I feel like since this doesn't address a local issue that I'm going to have to vote against moving forward with the ranked choice voting. Thank you.

Next is Alder Stanson Martin followed by Alder Fenton. Alder Sansal Martin.

I yield to Alder Fenton.

All right, Alder Fenton.

Thank you, Chair. I had to get myself a little more cogent after the first go around. Have my colleagues know that I have no problem with advocacy resolutions if it's something that the city or a large portion of the city needs. I also have no problem with ranked choice voting. I think it's a good system.

I have personally participated in an election of an organization I belong to ran with ranked choice voting, and it worked very smoothly. Working in other cities. I have a procedural problem with this, I think. If we were to pass this, send this off to our friends in Madison, and legislation passed to allow ranked ranked choice voting, I feel like we would have to put it to a vote of our citizens in Appleton. Because yes, we've we've heard I actually heard some a couple people from my district who said they are absolutely not in favor of it.

So then I would feel like we'd have to put it to a vote. Well, the state legislature stopped us from doing that a couple of years ago. We can't hold referendums unless it's financial in nature. And while I admire the research, I admire what we're trying to do here, I just don't see how we can make it work under what we have. We'd have to have another resolution to say, please repeal the law that says that local governments can't hold referenda.

So I'm going to reluctantly vote against this. Thank you.

Alder Wolf. Thank you, chair.

A long, long time ago, back in the year of 2018, while canvassing for an election that I would inevitably lose by 23 votes, I talked to a young man who asked me about ranked choice voting and was very, very vocal about his support with that. And every year following that, he contacts me and asks about ranked choice voting and whether or not gonna have a conversation about it here. Now, unfortunately, we don't have the authority to institute that, so we can't really do that. Right? But at the same time, I think that it's important to that if a constituent is passionate enough to drive that to their elected officials, it's important to have a conversation regardless of the outcome.

And that's why I'm supporting this, resolution, because I told this person, his name is Matt Van Grenzmann. He's also been in here before, by the way, for a different thing that I would eventually try to get the Simon Agenda to talk about it. Yeah.

Thank you. Alder Stanson, Martin. At the

risk of sounding redundant, I'll just say one more thing. Part of our responsibility as elected officials, as

members

of this body, is not necessarily just to respond to problems once they come up, but to examine the long term systems that shape how our city functions and works and whether they can be improved. To me, good governance is proactive, not just reactive. If we wait until our institutions are under strain before we begin discussing reform, we have waited too long. Our role is to think ahead, to evaluate systems before they fail, and to leave behind institutions that are stronger and more responsive than the ones we inherited. Thank you.

Alder Van Zieland.

Thank you, Chair. When this came before us in committee, my issue with it was that we did have representatives. We do have representatives who represent our area in Madison who do believe that this is the way to go. And those are the folks that are becoming educated about ranked choice voting and learning about the options. That's where this really belongs.

And really, I wasn't going to say anything today except that things got really confusing. And then I had heard from a constituent who had heard read something from a sponsor of this resolution that said and I'll just quote it exactly another thing this resolution will do when voted for on fivesixtwenty twenty six is let people of the city know if their alder person supports ranked choice voting. We may not be able to pose the question on a ballot if you like ranked choice voting for Appleton, but at the very least, you can see if your representative does or not and I take issue with that that's not how this resolution was presented to the council and so I would encourage everyone to vote to deny it thank you

Further discussion? All right. Hearing none, I'm going to ask for a roll call vote. So at this time, I'll ask the clerk to call the roll. As a reminder, this is a vote notwithstanding. So what that means is an I vote would approve the resolution, a nay vote would deny it. Any questions on that? All right. At this time, the clerk will call the roll.

Alderperson Lambrecht. Alderperson Meltzer. Alderperson Furcas. Alderperson Smith. Alderperson Van Zeeland. Alderperson Benton? Alderperson Hayden? Alderperson Heffernan? Alderperson Schultz? Alderperson Jones? Alderperson Stancell Martin? Aye. Alderperson Wolf? Aye. Alderperson Hartzheim? Alderperson Croak? Alderperson Dougherty?

The the final vote was six to nine. The nays have it. The item has been denied. All right. We have no ordinances. License applications and communications referred to committees of jurisdiction. Thank you. Resolution submitted by all the persons referred to committees of jurisdiction. Have there been any resolutions submitted?

There have. Thank you for asking. The first is going to be Resolution 4R26. This is a resolution directing the revocation and secession of the use of automated license plate reader cameras within the city of Appleton. This was submitted by Alderson Wolf District twelve and there was a resolution summary. This resolution would remove access to ALPR cameras in the city of Appleton. The full text of that resolution will be available on the minutes.

Okay. Earlier today, I made an announcement which was shared via the media. Every member of counsel also received that announcement. And given the fact that this resolution, the primary focus of this resolution is pursuant to an action that is already underway,

I'm going

to refer this item to my office. And when we're prepared to bring forward action, of course, within the required sixty days or sooner, I refer this resolution along with recommendation to the Committee of Jurisdiction. So for now, this will be referred to my office. Okay. There's another resolution.

This resolution is Resolution 5R26, updating administrative fees for city performed weed cutting and abatement services. This was submitted by Aldersons Hayden, District 7, and Aldersons Lambert, District 1. And the resolution summary states, this resolution updates the administrative fee charged to property owners when the city performs weed cutting, neglected walk snow removal, and or nuisance abatement services due to the owner's failure to comply with code requirements. And the full text of this resolution will also be available in the minutes.

All right. This is going to be referred to the Community Development Committee as inspections as under the jurisdiction of the Community Development Department. All right. Any other resolutions? Okay.

We do have a bit of other business. This is 20 six-five twenty four, request to modify the council meeting schedule for the cancellation of the 07/01/2026, and 01/06/2027 Common Council meetings. This is in line with past practice for the body, but it does require action on the part of the council. Is there a motion? We have a motion. We have a motion and a second to approve. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? The ayes have it. Your schedule has been modified. All right. If there's no other business, I need a motion to adjourn. Oh, oh, oh, we've got hold on, folks.

Hold on. We've got other business. We've got other, other business. Alder Schulz was first.

So you're not even used to scanning the room before any

No, I'm not. I was trying to get out of here. Go ahead. Thank you, Chair.

I want to take a moment to recognize the good work of our health department and our inspections department on particular issue I had in my district under Doctor. Sieper's leadership and other staff who conducted some work to assess whether there was a health risk by one of the manufacturing facilities next to a, let's say, adjoining neighborhood that was receiving some over the course of a couple of years, I personally witnessed particulate accumulation, which could have led to health risks and other issues within that community. Over the course of a couple years, the health department inspections worked with that company to abate the issues that it was sharing with its unhappy neighbors. At the beginning of this year, when the weather started to turn, a complaint came in. And without my own due diligence to see what had changed, I had asked the health department to take another look.

And Doctor. Seapers responded by going far above and beyond and acquiring a spectrophotometer from city or from Madison, the Wisconsin Department of Health, analyzed the air quality and determined that the air quality in that area of Appleton was safe for those residents and that the work they had done over the last couple of years to coerce and convince that corporation to put up some safety measures and contain their manufacturing process. I'm just it's exceptional work, and it really shows what the city is capable of doing. When it listens to its constituents, understands that there may be an issue that they need to address, and when asked to do the work, stepped far above and beyond what even I expected from staff. So I just wanted to make sure that that recognition was out there.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Alder Krot. Thank you, Mayor. For those of you interested in or following the truancy ordinance that we passed, there will be an Eplenary School District update at our next Safety and Licensing Committee meeting, which will be next Wednesday at 05:30. All are invited to come and listen to the update. And then, believe it or not, we are actually coming up on the end of the trial period for that, which is, I believe, 06:30. So we are tentatively looking at a possible action item on the agenda for June 10 to address that end of trial. So

thank you. Thank you. Any other business? Really? All right, Alder Schulz. It's really fast. All right.

Tomorrow's a national day of reason. Look it up and honor

it if

or think about it tomorrow when you're going about your daily tasks.

National Day of Reason. Very good. All right. I'm not asking anymore. We need a motion to adjourn. We have a motion and a second to adjourn. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. All right. The ayes have it. We are adjourned. Thank you, everybody.