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• Reduce size of entry, requiring less glass; will not affect delivery of police services.
  
• Cut top portion of new parking deck in half, reducing number of stalls by about 25.
  
• Remove wood bumpers on parking deck, as “they aren’t necessary and aren’t in other parking structures in the city.” [Ok, a little thing – but why were they going to be paid for in the first place? Grrrr.]
  
• Remove gates from parking deck.
  
• Use cyclone fence to separate vehicle evidence rather than more costly folding gate
  
• Remove outdoor planter walls.
  
• Replace darker, contrasting stone on exterior walls with precast at substantial cost savings.
• Paint wall panels in a standard color.
  
• Raise up padding on walls in DAAT (“defense and arrest tactics”) room; can still provide safety desired.
  
• Change light fixtures to standard ones and still get quality lighting needed. (What?)
  
• Change to standard, rather than motorized projection screens in conference rooms.
  
• Reduce outside signage.
  
• Remove a portion of planned exterior cameras, but still stub electric in for them.
  
• Reduce number of lockers, still leaving room for growth.
  
• Replace a glass wall with a solid wall.

Also on the list was “$78,509 for a tree.” Well, that’s how the Post-Crescent put it. A FoxPolitics reader – and questioner – said, “Isn’t that a lot of money for a tree?”

Well, the Post-Crescent was pretty far off base. The $78,000 is a fee for cutting down the city trees in the terrace. Gazza said the contractor noted that a city ordinance requires payment when trees are removed – the $78K was a calculation for five trees, the fee determined by the diameter of the tree. Gazza hadn’t seen the ordinance and I couldn’t find it in a search – but surely don’t know enough to question the contractor’s numbers. At any rate, the $78,509 was seen as a cost that could be removed from the bid.

Need to haves? Want to haves? What are you getting for your tax dollar? This stuff goes on every single day - a constant battle. The long and short of it? - be sure you elect sharp, conscientious questioners to represent all of us in City Hall. And when you find conscientious, fiscally conservative staff members - keep 'em.

No Dave, the list was put together after bids were received, after the city knew the bid was over budget. The list would not have been put together had the bid come in on budget. And I think I mentioned in the piece that the "list" is still being refined. JE

dave allen (Wed Mar 19 07:14:19 2008)

I like this topic.

And what we are seeing here and there in the things included excluded or changed is elements of the surveillance state that simply aren't needed here or I might add desired either.

As the question was put recently in a committee meeting on the police merger proposal, we're asking how? But we aren't asking why?

Appleton already has more cops than anybody or anywhere else: the highest per capita police squad in the state if not the nation.

Oversight by citizens as well as tax payers requires that we look at how we want to live where we want to live.

Lon Ponschock (Wed Mar 19 10:41:18 2008)

"And what we are seeing here and there in the things included excluded or changed is elements of the surveillance state that simply aren't needed here or I might add desired either."

Such as?

Brian (Wed Mar 19 18:48:20 2008)

"Appleton already has more cops than anybody or anywhere else: the highest per capita police squad in the state if not the nation."

I believe that honor belong to Milwaukee. In the nation I believe it belongs to NYC.

Brian (Wed Mar 19 18:54:43 2008)

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