Common Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. I now call to order the Wednesday, September 16, 2026 meeting of the Appleton Common Council. Please rise for the invocation, which will be a moment of silence.

Thank you.

Join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call of alders.

All are represented with the exception of Alderperson Heffernan. Alderperson Crote is joining us virtually.

Roll call of officers and department heads.

All are represented.

Thank you. We need a motion on the minutes of the previous meeting. We have a motion and a second to approve. Is there any discussion of the minutes? Hearing none, please cast your votes. That motion passes 14 to 0. Minutes have been approved.

All right, on to business presented by the mayor.

A number of proclamations to bring to your attention, and one that we're going to present here this evening. So I'll invite you up. Come on up. We'll do Constitution Week. Let's see if this is working. It is. Good. All right, very good. All right. Whereas September 17, 2026 marks the 239th anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution of the United States of America by the Constitutional Convention, and whereas it is fitting and proper to accord official recognition to this foundational document and its memorable anniversary, and to the patriotic celebrations which will commemorate the occasion, And whereas Public Law 915 guarantees the issuing of a proclamation each year by the President of the United States of America designating September 17 through 23 as Constitution Week, now therefore be it resolved that I, Jacob A. Woodford, Mayor of the City of Appleton, Wisconsin, do hereby proclaim September 17 to the 23rd, 2026 as Constitution Week and encourage our citizens to vigilantly protect the freedoms guaranteed to us by our Constitution, remembering that lost rights may never be regained.

All right. Thank you so much. Thanks for being here.

Take care.

All right. And a couple others. Think Train Week. Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Senior Center Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Recovery Month all being recognized here in the month of September. Moving on to 26-1189. This is a Board of Zoning Appeals appointment. Looking for a motion. We have a motion and a second to approve. Any discussion? Hearing none, please cast your votes All right that motion passes 14 to 0 thank you for confirming this appointment And we thank Maria for her willingness to join in volunteer service for the community I That is it for business presented by the mayor. We'll move along to public participation. We have no members of the public signed up to speak, but I will check. Is there anybody who would like to speak on an item that appears on the agenda? All right. Seeing none, we will close public participation, move along in our agenda. We have no public hearings and no special resolutions, so we will establish the order of the day. And to start us off is Alder Hartzheim.

Thank you, Chair. Item number two from Community Development, item 26-1154, the counter offered to purchase on the South Point lot.

Okay. Alder Schultz. Thank you, Chair. From Safety and Licensing, item number 26-1199, McFleshman Soul, full-service retail outlet.

OK. Alder Jones.

From Community Development, item number 261020, the Class Beer and Reserve Liquor Temporary Premise Amendment Application, Fox City's Performing Arts Center.

Was that? I think that's safety and licensing, right?

That's safety and licensing. That's what I said, right?

WE ALL HEARD IT. OKAY. I'LL MAKE SURE. PAC. GOT IT. ANY OTHERS? ALL RIGHT. HEARING NONE, WE WILL GET STARTED WITH THE ITEMS FROM SAFETY AND LICENSING. AND WE'LL TAKE THEM IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY WERE SEPARATED TONIGHT. 1199. OKAY. I HAVE A SLIGHTLY OUT OF DATE AGENDA. ALL RIGHT.

Thank you.

OK, thank you. All right, this is 26-1199, McFleshman's Full Service Retail Outlook Transfer Application for Loggerfest October 3, 2026. We have a motion and a second to approve. Is there any discussion? All right, hearing none, please cast your votes. All right, that motion passes 13-0. And Alder Schultz, we will note your abstention. All right, next, sticking with safety and licensing, 26-1020, class B beer and reserve class B liquor, temporary premise amendment application for Fox City's Performing Arts Center. And we have a motion and a second to approve. Any discussion? Hearing none, please cast your votes. OK, that motion passes 12 to 0, with Alders-Lambrecht and Jones abstaining. All right, on to community development. This is 26-1154, request to approve the counteroffer to purchase from F Street Appleton 6 LLC for lot two of CSM 4045, located at the southwest corner of East Vantage Drive and South Eisenhower Drive in South Point Commerce Park, plat number three, at a purchase price of $611,890. We have a motion and a second to approve. Open the floor for discussion. Alder Hartzheim.

Thank you, Chair. I plan to vote in favor of this and encourage my colleagues to do so as well. But I do have some concerns about a without having any approved resolution regarding AI data centers for the city. I have some reservations about the city forward approaching that with a purchaser. And I did speak at the Community Development Committee meeting as well in this regard. I just It makes me a little bit uncomfortable. I understand the reasons for it, and I understand it was amenable to the purchaser, but I think we may have put a cart before a horse in this particular regard, so that is a concern for me. Thank you.

OK. Any further discussion? Hearing none, we have a motion and a second to approve. Please cast your votes. That motion passes 14 to 0. The item has been approved. That's it for items needing a separate vote. We need a motion on the balance of the agenda. We have a motion and a second on the balance of the agenda. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, please cast your votes. Tune tight. What's going on here, folks? Is it working? OK. We were looking at you. You were looking at us. And there are no dots filling in here. All right. It might be. Alder Meltzer will investigate that thoroughly. But we do have a motion and a second to approve the balance of the agenda. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. THE BALANCE OF THE AGENDA HAS BEEN APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. WE CAN HANDLE IT THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE NO CONSOLIDATED ACTION ITEMS, NO ITEMS HELD AND NO ORDINANCES. LICENSE APPLICATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS REFERRED TO COMMITTEES OF JURISDICTION. THANK YOU. AND RESOLUTIONS SUBMITTED BY OLDER PERSONS REFERRED TO COMMITTEES OF JURISDICTION. HAVE THERE BEEN ANY RESOLUTIONS SUBMITTED?

We have three resolutions that were submitted for tonight's meeting, all of which have summaries. The first is Resolution 13R26, requesting state review of intentional disruptive motor vehicle noise and driver demerit point penalties. This was submitted by Alderperson Schultz and Alderperson Meltzer. The resolution summary states, this resolution asks the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to review state statutes and administrative rules governing intentional disruptive motor vehicle noise and consider changes that would distinguish ordinary equipment violations from deliberate operator behavior. It specifically requests evaluation of a separate traffic offense for intentionally creating excessive noise through engine revving, throttle manipulation, modified exhaust systems, popping or cracking, or similar conduct, along with appropriate demerit points or escalating penalties for repeat violations. The goal is to give communities a more effective statewide enforcement tool for behavior that can significantly disrupt downtowns, neighborhoods, and public spaces, even when it does not involve speeding, racing, reckless driving, or unnecessary acceleration.

And that's just the summary. That'll be referred to the Safety and Licensing Committee.

Okay, resolution 14R26, a resolution to increase penalties for unnecessary noise. This was submitted by Alderpersons Meltzer and Schultz. The resolution summary states, no operator shall accelerate a motor vehicle in such a manner as to create unnecessary noise, including but not limited to loud or excessive engine revving, tire squealing caused by friction with the roadway surface, or causing tires to throw stones or gravel while accelerating. First offense forfeiture will be set to $1,000, and second and subsequent offense forfeiture will be set to $2,500.

Okay, that will also be referred to the Safety and Licensing Committee.

And our final resolution tonight is Resolution 15R26, Resolution in support of transparency for taxpayers regarding state-mandated private school voucher funding. This was submitted by Alderpersons Meltzer and Fenton. The resolution summary states, a resolution to support including the amount levied by AASD that is attributable to the cost of private school vouchers on city tax bills.

All right. That will be referred to the Finance Committee.

All right. That's it for resolutions. That's everything.

All right. That should be plenty. All right. On to other council business. I just want to bring your attention to 26-1190, which is an update for everybody. The Board of Health approved Resolution 12R26 at their meeting on September 9th. Based on the way this particular ordinance works, the Board of Health has the final authority over that approval. But we wanted to bring it to the council's attention just so that you are all aware. And this is pertaining to the presence of dogs in taverns. So a good discussion was had at the Board of Health meeting. You're welcome to watch that again. But in any case, the Board of Health has taken action. Just want to make the council aware. OK, we did not avail ourselves of the closed session. So if there's no other business, we have a motion and a second to adjourn. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. All right, any opposed? We are adjourned. Thank you, everybody.