City Council Meeting

Chris Swade

The Appleton Common Council held a meeting last Wednesday, October 17, 2001 at 7:00 P.M. in City Hall. The meeting begin with an invocation by Alderperson Clemons in which he encouraged his fellow Alderpersons to follow three basic principles in their service of the city: to “get informed, get involved, and get over it.” The “it” refers to moving on after debate and voting has ended on an issue, as another issue will quickly emerge to require to full attention of the Council. These remarks came just two weeks after a very animated debate in which tempers flared over the issuance of a penalty to an Appleton bar.The meeting proceeded smoothly with little need for debate until the report of the Municipal Services Committee. Several council members expressed concern that additional funds were allocated to Omni Associates Inc. for additional design services, not to exceed $9,874, before the approval of the committee and/or the Common Council. Omni is the firm that is currently investigating options for the moving of the service road to Ormsby Hall, which runs parallel to Drew St., and perpendicular to College Ave. The inquires about other possible locations for this road are being made in response to complaints made over the inconvenience of the five arm intersection which this road essentially creates at the intersection of College Ave. and Drew St. One possible option that was mentioned for the future location of the service road was at the bottom of the hill that Brokow and Colman Halls sit on, roughly one and a half blocks south of College Ave., intersecting at Drew St. No final decisions have been made, however, as the plan is still in its very early stages.

In other business, the Common Council decided by a vote of 18-0 to deny a license for a pot-bellied pig to be kept as a pet in a home. The main reasons for the council’s decision was the lack of a requirement of rabies vaccinations for these animals, and on the recommendation of the Board of Health. Alderperson Spang also stated that the Council had set precedent for the denial by denying a similar request a number of years ago, and that the couple applying for the license had not presented any new information to change the minds of the Council.

The meeting closed at 7:53 P.M., making it, at under an hour long, one of the shortest Common Council Meetings of late.