Common Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. I now call to order the Wednesday, August 19, 2026, meeting of the Appleton Common Council. Please rise for the invocation, which will be delivered by Alder Fenton.

ALDER FENTON Good evening. As part of the celebration of the two- Oh, that's scary.

Hold on. Hold on. All right. Let's try that. OK, go ahead.

Good evening again. As part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I've been volunteering on Saturday mornings at Constitution Square at the History Museum at the Castle, where the League of Women Voters is celebrating 250 years of democracy in the United States by calling attention to the preamble to the Constitution and to the rights and freedoms granted by the Constitution, and specifically the Bill of Rights. We'll be there for two more weeks if you haven't stopped by yet. In spite of Abigail Adams' admonition to her husband in March of 1776 to remember the ladies as the Continental Congress wrestled with independence and what form a new government might take, the right to vote was initially limited to white men who were property owners. Black men were theoretically granted the vote in 1865 by the 14th Amendment, though only the passage of the Voting Rights Act 100 years later allowed them to freely exercise that right. It took 144 years after the Declaration of Independence and 131 years after the Constitution took effect for women to achieve suffrage. The citizenship of indigenous Americans was not recognized until 1924, and it took a number of court cases after that for them to be allowed to vote. While it is easy to look at this history as a sign that our nation was founded on inequality and that the next 250 years have been a struggle against that foundation, we can also read the preamble as a roadmap, guiding us to that more perfect union. Article 5 even provides the basis for amending the Constitution to that end. In the month where we celebrate the Voting Rights Act on August 6 and the 19th Amendment yesterday, I had a chance to visit the Obama Presidential Center, where words from a speech President Obama gave commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches are carved into the building's exterior. It reads, you are America, unconstrained by habit and convention, unencumbered by what is, ready to seize what ought to be. For everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken. There is new ground to cover. There are more bridges to be crossed. America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word we. We the people. We shall overcome. Yes, we can. That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours. May we keep these words in mind as we work for the group of American people who have elected us to represent them.

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.

All right, roll call of Alders.

All are represented with the exceptions of Alderpersons Heffernan, Schultz, and Jones, who are excused. Alderperson Doherty is joining us virtually.

Roll call of officers and department heads.

All are represented.

We need a motion on the minutes of the previous meeting. We have a motion and a second to approve. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, please cast your votes. Alder Doherty, thank you, we got you. All right, that motion passes 12-0. The minutes have been approved. All right, on to business presented by the mayor. A number of proclamations to bring to your attention, recognizing Voting Rights Act Day, Breastfeeding Awareness Month, Women's Equality Day. And these proclamations will be presented on location. And we appreciate folks reaching out and requesting them. So looking forward to recognizing these important moments for our community. All right, next is the Flag Day Parade Awards. So Vicoria. We're just going to use the game show microphone here. Come on down.

All right. Usually, thank you for your support, Mr. Mayor and the Common Council and all of the department heads. Usually, we do this in July, but this was a very unusual year. About a year ago this day, members of my committee met with the mayor, Alder Hartzheim, and the chief of police. And we started talking about the Flag Day Parade route. And there were some concerns and issues that we had to work through. Over several months, we decided that we had to shorten the route for safety reasons. Our three biggest goals are to honor the flag, obviously. We need to make sure that we put on a good show, uphold the standards that have been set over the previous 74 years, and obviously make sure that everybody goes home safe. So it was kind of an anxious year going into this, something different. We're very familiar with College Avenue and the staging area, but when you have a parade at 2 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon in June, it's very different than a Tuesday night in November right before Thanksgiving. So we have some wrinkles that we need to iron out before next year, but it really was a great day for Appleton. The sun came out, the weather was there, and the people came out. I was a little worried when the flag that was hanging over College Avenue got all tangled up about 10 minutes right before the parade started, but peers got their trucks out, pulled the flag down, fixed the flag, and it was beautiful all day long. I do want to tell one quick story. The mayor said I have about 45 minutes, so it shouldn't take too long. Oh, 45? I'll cut out 90% of it then. Anyway, I was very nervous. It's always chaotic coming up to the beginning of a parade, and this year was no different. We also had this extra level of anxiety because of the route change, but it started off, the floats came out in order. That's thanks to the committee. They do a great job. Our volunteers work very hard leading up to the parade and then that day. So things were going really well, and I was feeling really good. We talked about the train being a nuisance, a potential safety hazard. It actually came through in the middle of the parade. It would have interrupted it had we been in the old route. But I was feeling really good about all the work that we put in, our decision, and I felt like it was a great day for Appleton. So I'm walking through at the end of the parade, and this older gentleman gives me one of these. Boo! And I couldn't help myself. I'm sorry. But I said, you didn't like the parade? No. He's the only guy, OK? There was a woman about my age, pretty young, and she said, boo, boo. And I said, well, you don't like it? No. And I'm sorry, but I said, then join the committee. And I walked off. Carl Kaufman will be up here in a second. He's like, what was that all about? And I say, I said something I shouldn't have. And the whole way down, I was kind of regretting it. I should have been better than that, should have held on. But it was an emotional day, and I let it get the best of me. After the parade. We went to Houdini Plaza, watched the UW band do a fifth quarter. I had some odds and ends to take care of downtown. My wife reminded me that our niece's graduation party was in Greenville. And I said, I'll go home, take a shower, be nice and pretty, and you'll be proud of me. Well, things took longer than possible. And I had this shirt. It was much dirtier and sweatier and grosser. I did not look good. I did not smell good. But I thought, I got to go. I got to get there. So I get there, and a lot of heads turned when I walked up. It's kind of an appealing, eye-catching shirt. And grabbed a plate full of food, and my niece was standing with my sister-in-law and a woman that looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite place her. So, come on over here. And I walked up, and it was the woman who had given me the thumbs down on the avenue.

And she said, you still want me to join the committee?

Okay, this is about three hours after the parade ended. And I apologized. She apologized. And then something really cool happened. We had a face-to-face conversation. And she told me that she wasn't happy about the change. She was disappointed that that was her father who had given me the first thumbs down. He lived on State Street for 50 years. She had grown up on State Street. And that was their party every year, the Flag Day Parade party. And I told her, this was a tough decision for our committee, for the city, for the police department, the Department of Public Works, everybody that's involved. The hardest part was knowing about these traditions that had to change in order for the route. She understood that. She said, there are probably reasons that I don't know, that I'll never understand. But she said, I trust that you made the right decision for the city. And then she told me, it's also my birthday. And then I felt a little bit bad about that. But sorry, I'm rambling now. I've got about 42 more minutes? OK. So I guess my point is that going into it, there's a lot of anxiety because there was a lot of invective spread around Facebook and other social media. And we kind of let that get to us. And it was a good reminder that, We need to talk to people. We need to get face-to-face. We need to have real conversations with people before we judge, before we make decisions, whether it's politics, parades, policies, whatever it might be. Those conversations need to happen. Quote after that story, I'm going to put her to work at the Christmas parade. So all worked out. So thanks for indulging me there. We do have four awards to give out tonight. Three of the recipients are here, but we're going to talk about the first one because it's the Mayor's Trophy, if you could hold that up here quickly. Overall appearance, this one goes to the First Brigade Band out of Watertown. They are a Civil War era band. They ride through in a carriage. You might have seen them. They're not here, but we can give them applause. So if you would just give a light round. The next award is the Patriot Award. This is in memory of our former parade committee participants and members. This one is for the most patriotic theme and very appropriate. It's going to Appleton American Legion post-38. Okay, the third award. This one is named after my grandfather, who was chair of the Flag Day Parade Committee. Passed it on to my father, then passed it on to me. My sister is a big part of the committee as well. This one goes to the Best Non-Commercial, and this one is going to Kavanaugh Carriages. I believe we have somebody from Kavanaugh right here.

Congratulations. Thanks, guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Congratulations. All right, let's get a picture.

Get in the middle there. I'll be there.

All right.

Awesome. Thank you, guys.

Very good. Thanks, guys.

Eric's just going to say a couple of words about our

I think it's important, I want to make sure, I'll let you guys take your seats, but the Cavanaugh family has been a part of the different parades in Appleton, the Christmas parade and many years, whether it be with one of their beautiful carriages or with the horse-drawn funeral coach and the Memorial Day and Flag Day parades. And a couple of years ago, they lost the patriarch of their family. Roger? He's a good man, sustained a lot of good traditions for your family, but also for the community. So we thank you for your continuance of being a part of things with us. They also, this poor family, suffered a fire at their farm this past year. So they've had a lot to deal with the last number of years, but they still showed up for our parades and showed up with their pooper scooper every time. Ah, there he is. I got a guest. So we thank you. We thank you for being a good partner and always representing us all very well. Thank you.

All of our award winners tonight are what we call legacy participants. They've been in the parades for a long time, and it's really great that they're being honored tonight. The final award, I'm going to call up Carl Kaufman. I'm going to explain the name of the award and a little bit of the history behind it, and then he'll call up the winner.

This is named after my dad, Ray Kaufman, who was a longtime city council member. He was, I think, 20 years on the city council. And also, he was a longtime member of the Black Day Committee He was the liaison between the city and the committee for a long time, and then we couldn't get rid of him. He kept hanging around. And he's the reason I'm a member of the committee. I don't like to talk about it too much, but I've been around for a while, and Cory can't get rid of me. So anyways, I'm taking up the rest of your 45 minutes. But this award this year is the Ray Kaufman Memorial Award, and it goes to the Manawa excuse me, the Midwestern Rodeo for Manawaks. Thank you.

One last thing before we depart. I am not only on the Parade Committee, but also a part of the Appleton American Legion Post 38 and the Scarlet Guard American Legion Color Guard. This year is the 25th anniversary of our remembrance of 9-11. Five years ago, we had a ceremony that the parade committee hosted in City Park. We had a procession beforehand. We're going to make sure that this year we recognize the 25th anniversary since that tragic day. And that's going to happen this year on Friday, September the 11th, at the Appleton American Legion at Don Hawkins Field. So I hope that all the council members will be able to make it. I'll share information with you through email, each of you, that you can share with your constituents. I would like to thank Mayor Hannah. Sorry. Mayor Woodford, as well as Chief Olson and Chief Hanson for taking time out of your Friday evening to be there to speak. It's going to be a very unifying event. We're going to be partnering not only with the city of Appleton to be there to be represented, but also the town of Grand Chute chairperson Beth English will be there, as well as representatives, not only the chief of the fire department and the police departments, but also the representatives helping with other elements within the ceremony. So we know it's a Friday evening, but it's an important Friday evening that we come together as a community. So we're glad that you'll be able to be there. Thank you. That'll be at 5 o'clock that night.

And before we let you go, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Parade Committee for their organization and leadership. They do a fantastic job for our community. And we're so, so grateful because this is volunteer work that you all do. And you do indeed put on a great show for our community. And we're very, very grateful. So let's hear it for the Parade Committee.

November 24th is the 55th annual Downtown Appleton Christmas Parade. And we'll start working on that next Tuesday. Thank you.

Well, that was almost as long as the Flag Day Parade. Almost. All right. Next, we have, let's say, a bittersweet. agenda item, which is our final time with our poet laureate. So we'll welcome you up.

This is what usually happens. The poet gets up and everybody leaves. So this is it. The last few times I've come to your Common Council meetings, I've appealed to you with metrics and humor to convince you that the Appleton Poet Laureate Program is worthy of your continued support. I've appealed to your passion for this city by sharing poems about my love affair with Appleton and what your residents want to see in this community. I've appealed to your imaginations what our city might look like if we didn't have the robust arts that we have. And I've appealed to your financial sensibilities, boiling down the ROI of this position to pennies per resident. Through all of that and all of my work as our poet laureate, first poet laureate, I hope I've convinced you that programs like this are worthy of keeping. A program like the Appleton Poet Laureate Program is so important to quirky folks like me who need an outlet like poetry. who sometimes struggle in a world that doesn't allow space for coloring outside the lines. So this time, my last time, no more convincing, I'm just here to say thank you. This has been the most amazing two years of my poetic career. Tops the time I won a National Book Award and the time Billy Collins mistook me for a waitress in a restaurant in Newark, New Jersey. It's quite an event, yes. In these last two years, I have grown so much as a poet and a person and especially as a resident because of you. I'm going to miss this role so much, but I'm really excited for the future of this position in the hands of our next Appleton Poet Laureate, and hopefully the next and the next after that. I have one more event I hope you'll consider attending. This Saturday, August 22nd, the library is hosting a kind of a farewell reading for me at Akoka Cafe, 2.30 p.m. I'll be joined by a former state poet laureate, Bruce Dethlefson, a really fantastic poet. So I hope you'll come and have a toast with me. I'm going to leave you with one last poem.

What the Poet Laureate Observed.

A tornado that took out a thousand trees and leveled whole neighborhoods is not how I expected my term to end. My heart before was a mad miracle, my quirk a rugged sideshow, my profile raised to Appleton like a champagne glass, a toast of similes and rhyme. While some didn't want me here, none wanted this disaster. So many homes flattened, so many cars flipped, the backyard chickens missing, and no power or clean water or rationale for the hop, skip that crushed some but not others. And here I am. and other unscathed. Grateful for a title for my 15 minutes of two people creating poems in a clubhouse, 40 favorite poems in a library of ribbon cuts and keynotes, poetry on sidewalks and poetry on posters, on windows, on the avenue, in the media, and a new hunger for poetry to chainsaw the chaos of protests and debates over truancy or flock safety cameras, or noise, so much noise, as downtown housing expands, and the airport expands, and the highway expands, while an expanse of 300 magicians in Houdini Plaza set a new world record for unshackling their chains, while too many now unshackle live wires from roots, glass from carpet, stomach from throats. There was before. The chamber named... the library named, a record-setting snowstorm, a Fox River we've never seen this high or this low, a pride flag ripped but raised again, a battle over the width of a sidewalk resolved, a blink that rolled my car and me without a scratch, a mile of murals and music, and our Appleton ranked again among most livable cities despite this mess. There's no poetry in it except to say no lives were lost and the power will return. Except to say poetry is what we need to release the lament from our tongues, to lug the mess from our hearts, to carry the awe in our hearts, to remind us to never let go. Thank you. Thank you all very much.

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you. We started this program as it really was an idea, and a borrowed idea at that, but without much shape to it. And through discussions with the council and with staff, with our colleagues in the library, it started to have some form, but It was your leadership that really showed us what the Poet Laureate can and should be for our community. And we are so grateful for your leadership for starting this program off so strongly and setting a great example for all who will follow you. So thank you very much for your leadership. All right. So that concludes business presented by the mayor. We come now to a time of public participation. At each meeting, the Common Council sets aside 30 minutes to allow members of the public to speak on items that appear on the agenda. Public participation is limited to a maximum of five minutes per person. And I will help you keep track of time. This evening, we have two members of the public who are signed up to speak. First is Cindy Carter.

My name is Cindy Carter. I live at 1102 North Superior Street. I am here to ask you to extend my permit to occupy the public role. I was at our neighborhood meeting on Monday night, and we discussed some of the city issues. Several of the neighbors mentioned talking to the city. Some of the phrases that were used is that they do not listen to us. It's like talking to a wall. This frustrates citizens and causes disgruntled residents, and we feel like we are not being represented. At the last municipal services meeting, you brought up these issues of safety with my terrace. Well, I have a stop sign on my corner that nobody stops for anymore. As a matter of fact, I've been out doing yard work and seeing cars actually blow that stop sign. Someone's going to get killed there one of these days. That's a safety issue. What are you doing about that? Our neighborhood group has been talking to the city for over a decade about speeding in the neighborhoods and speeding through school zones. That's a safety issue. Nothing's being done about that. E-bikes, right now, they are completely out of control. This has become a huge safety issue. What are you doing about them? The city doles out noise variance permits like candy and does not take into consideration neighbors who are affected by them. You do little about the illegal mufflers and cars with the booming music you can hear coming for a mile. These are all public nuisances, yet you call my quiet pollinator-friendly plants a nuisance. You seem to not be happy with my terrace because it is wild. I did not plant this terrace. It was planted by nature. And yes, it's wild because wild creatures eat wild food. The word unkept was also mentioned. Well, wild is unkept. This is the reason why more people reach out to the city and want to make their yards wild, so they can be unkept. I belong to the National Homegrown Parks, Wild Ones, Southwest Prairie Enthusiasts, the Audubon Society, Arbor Day Foundation, Sierra Club, and many other organizations who are pushing for legislation to allow natural and wild sections in our urban areas. I'm trying to do my part to save the habitat for birds, insects, and pollinators. In the last 30 years, 23% of all wild bees have declined worldwide. Native bee populations have fallen 50%. Monarch populations have declined an alarming 74%. Over 22% of North American pollinator species now face elevated extinction. Songbirds for the last 50 years have declined by 70%. Insects are declining roughly 2% per year due to habitat loss, farming, pesticides, and other environmental stresses. These losses are threatening global food production, and data shows that over 40% of our insects are threatened with extinction. At the last meeting, you said my terrace was non-native. That is not true. I have common milkweed in my terrace. That is a preferred habitat of monarch butterflies, and I've had several monarch butterflies in my yard this year. I have chicory. It is not native, but it is a pollinator-friendly plant. And I also have a lot of goldenrod, which is native to Wisconsin, prairie plant. And it's an excellent source of pollen, especially this time of year. And anyone who produces honey will tell you the best honey is made with large quantities of goldenrod pollen. And if you want to talk about non-native, we have acres and acres and acres of non-native yards. All of our grasses, Kentucky bluegrass, rye, fescues, which are all blends, are not native to Wisconsin. Most of them are European. They're not even native to our country. So you talk about non-native, there's acres and acres of it. We have hybridized flowers, which provide no nutrition for pollinators. It's like a human eating a slice of Wonder Bread or eating a salad with iceberg lettuce. There's no nutritional value in hybridized flowers. All of you in this room are non-native. Unless you have 100% Native American blood, you are non-native to this continent. We are extincting our pollinators, and we call ourselves the intelligent species? I beg to differ. I am doing my part to try to save our pollinators. I'm trying to do this legally and honorably. About 30 seconds. And I'm asking you to be honorable and allow my permit to occupy the role. Or am I just talking to the wall?

Next is Irene Strobing.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Irene Stroban. What's my address? W6400 Fire Lane 8. I live in the village of Harrison. I'm speaking as president of the Appleton Area Now chapter regarding the special event application for the Rally for Equality. Next Wednesday is Women's Equality Day. Thank you for the proclamation. And it's a perfect time for us to host a rally for equality to really celebrate the certification of the 19th Amendment, granting women's suffrage, as well as talk about what needs to be done for the Equal Rights Amendment in Congress. So we've known about this date for quite a while. We could have applied for the special event permit outside of the required 45 days. However, I was under the impression that the special event permit would not be needed. And therefore, the deadline lapsed. As soon as we learned that the application needed to be submitted, we scrambled and got it submitted to Clerk Molitor, as well as Parks and Rec. And so, yes, it was denied. We have to come back for the exemption. But we've learned from this experience. Now we know what constitutes a special event. So in the future, when we have this kind of lead time for an event, whether it's a protest or a rally or meeting the definition of a special event, we will submit the paperwork on time. So in this case, we are appreciative for the support from the Safety and Licensing Committee, from Clerk Polliter's office. And it's been a learning experience for us. We will do our best to make sure it never happens again. And we hope that the council will approve the application for the special event later in your agenda.

Thank you. All right. And I do want to make a note. We did have a member of the public who wished to address the council. I informed him that since the item does not appear on the agenda, he could not address the council. But George Barker wished to express his appreciation to City of Appleton workers in response to the tornado. And also to offer a suggestion for us, I will make sure that The text of his remarks is sent to the members of council, so you can read those. Just wanted to make a note of that. All right, with that, we will, if there's nobody else who'd like to speak on an item that appears on the agenda, we will close public participation and move along. We have no public hearings this evening, no special resolutions, so we'll establish the order of the day. All right. Alder Fenton.

Thank you, Chair. I'd like to separate out from safety and licensing item 26-1055, the special event permit application, and from municipal services item 26-1043, the Superior Street occupancy permit.

OK. Any others? All right, hearing none, we will get to work. We'll start with the item from Safety and Licensing. All right, this is 26-1055, Rally for Equality Special Event Application.

We have a motion and a second to approve.

We'll open the floor for discussion. Alder Hartzheim.

Thank you, Chair. I'm a rules person, and this does not feel good to me. However, I understand the situation, and I understand that the departments have already made approvals for this particular exception. I'm willing to vote in favor of this today, but I would like us as a council and your office as well and Clerk Molitor's office as well to We need to discuss, I think, this policy and try to firm it up a little bit better so that we won't have as many of these in the future.

Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. I share the sentiment of Alder Hartzheim in that, but I do encourage support of this. The only reason it's before us is because it was a late application. All departments have approved it. The vote out of safety and licensing from tonight was 3-0 with an abstention, so the committee supported it, and I would encourage everybody to vote for it. Thank you.

Any further discussion? Hearing none, we have a motion and a second to approve. Please cast your votes. Doherty votes aye. Thank you All right that motion passes 11 to 0 Alder Fenton will note your abstention and I'll also just note that on items like this will Will review the communications that are made to folks when they're making reservations for spaces there may be an opportunity there just for for additional information, education, to make sure that we're clear about when a permit is required and when it's not. So I also appreciate the concerns that are expressed about the 45-day window and the waiver that council made. All right. Next is from municipal services. Alder Hartzheim.

Thank you, Chair. This item, as you're going to announce it, came out of committee with a request to deny. So would the motion, if it's being made, be an approval of that request to deny?

Yes, it would be the motion. And we do have a motion. Let's see. We've got a motion and a second to approve. So that is of the denial coming out of committee. This, if there are no objections, will be a vote notwithstanding. So now, as you get into discussion, just keep in mind, an aye vote would approve the variance or the occupancy permit. A nay vote would deny it. Okay? Thank you. All right. We'll open the floor for discussion with that. Alder Meltzer.

ALDER MELTZER Thank you. I did watch the municipal services committee discussion of this. I also went out of my way to go and check out the terrace in question. It happens to be a terrace that I'm already familiar with, but I specifically wanted to make sure I had visited it recently in a timely way so that if there were any concerns about compliance, I could be reassured. And I saw that the situation with the visibility for the corners, all of that was in compliance. So I feel that the reason why we have our terrace ordinance is to encourage our residents to make the most of our terraces. I believe that as a city, We like to take an educational approach rather than a punitive approach. So I don't see any justification to deny this permit. I think that we're all, like the previous item that Irene Strobian spoke on, we go through processes in our engagement with the city that help us to learn. There's a growing curve. And I think that for more people to be able to have more pollinator habitat on their terraces is a benefit to all of us.

I would encourage us to vote in favor of this permit. Thank you.

Walter Wolf. Thank you, Chair. I would agree with Alderperson Meltzer on this issue. I do think at the corner, specifically as photographed in the packet that we've received, I do not think that that goes above the height that has been restricted. The main height on the terrace actually is closer to the tree. So unless we're planning on cutting down the tree as well, because if that's blocking Obstructing view and the turn which I don't think we're going to be doing so I do think the same compliance Perhaps needs to be cleaned up a bit But I think that it's perfectly acceptable Alder hard time Thank you chair This came to me any services because There were some complaints in the neighborhood in regards to the actual height of

and the containment of noxious weeds in this particular growth. That does not come lightly. The DPW and the inspections department don't just issue a warning to someone without having reason for issuing that warning. So a warning was issued, and then the permit was later applied for. I still have grave concerns about the safety of that corner And following of municipal code as far as heights and noxious weeds, so I would encourage us to Uphold what came out of the municipal services committee.

Thank you further discussion other Lambrecht

So I struggle with this, as I know the resident and very much so applaud the sentiment behind what it is that is trying to be accomplished. With that said, there are some very specific ordinances that are, with regards to heights, allowable for either grass or weeds, as well as plants and plantings that you can do, flowers, vegetable gardens, and things of that nature. So those things could theoretically still be accomplished within the city ordinance without the need of this special occupancy permit. It is just because it is out of compliance with the city ordinances, from my understanding, that we're having to look at this. And so I strongly, again, encourage and want us to be a pollinator-friendly city. I do know, though, that RESIDENTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAVE BEEN CONCERNED AND HAVE SHARED THAT CONCERN NOT ONLY WITH THE CITY BUT MYSELF AS WELL WHICH IS WHY I WILL BE VOTING IN OPPOSITION TO THIS REQUEST BUT I AGAIN AM HAPPY TO HELP SUPPORT THE COMPLIANCE WITH THE OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR WHICH IS TO BE A POLLINATOR FRIENDLY CITY AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE PLANTING WITHIN THE ORDINANCES THAT WE HAVE

Any further discussion? Alder Furcus.

Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to add a remark that at the committee meeting, we were shared updated photos that were more recently taken than the ones that are attached to the agenda item that show that the plants have gotten significantly taller since then. That's something that they can consider. The materials we were presented with have shown what the growth has looked like since those pictures were taken in July. So it is not at that height right now. It has gotten taller. Thank you.

Any further discussion? All right. Hearing none, we have a motion and a second to approve. Again, this is a vote notwithstanding. An aye vote would grant the permit. A nay vote would deny. Please cast your votes. Thank you, Alder Doherty. Gotcha. All right. The motion fails. The permit's been denied. Three yes, eight no. And Alder Fenton will note your abstention. All right. That's it for our order of the day. So we'll move on now. We need a motion on the balance of the agenda. We have a motion and a second to approve the balance of the agenda. Any discussion on the balance? Hearing none, please cast your votes. That motion passes 12 to 0. The balance of the agenda has been approved. We have no consolidated action items and no items held. Need a motion on the ordinances. We have a motion and a second to approve. Any discussion on the ordinances? Hearing none, please cast your votes. All right. That motion passes 12 to 0. Ordinances have been approved. License applications and communications referred to committees of jurisdiction. All right. Resolution submitted by all other persons referred to committees of jurisdiction. Have there been any resolutions submitted?

Yes, there have. Tonight we have Resolution 11R26, Hyperscale AI Data Center Moratorium. This was submitted by Alderpersons Ferkas, Fenton, and Hayden. And there was a summary provided. It reads, resolution seeking a moratorium on hyperscale data centers and to ensure clear zoning requirements for data center land usage. And the full text of the resolution will be included in the minutes.

OK. THAT WILL BE REFERRED TO THE PLAN COMMISSION. IS THERE ANY OTHER BUSINESS? ALDER LAMBRECHT.

THIS TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, IS GOING TO BE PORCH FEST HAPPENING IN THE HISTORIC CENTRAL NEIGHBORHOOD. IF YOU ARE AVAILABLE, 530 TO 830, THERE WILL BE A 10 to 12 bands that are going to be throughout the neighborhood on different porches, as well as some food trucks and some entertainment in the playground area of the Columbus Elementary School. So if you're available, please come out and join us for the Porch Fest celebration.

Any others? All right, hearing none, need a motion to adjourn. We have a motion and a second to adjourn. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Any opposed? All right. We are adjourned. Thank you.