100 North Appleton Street  
Appleton, WI 54911-4799  
www.appletonwi.gov  
City of Appleton  
Meeting Minutes - Final  
Appleton Public Arts Committee  
Wednesday, March 4, 2026  
8:00 AM  
Council Chambers, 6th Floor  
Call meeting to order  
1.  
Chair Mische called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.  
Pledge of Allegiance  
2.  
3.  
Roll call of membership  
Present:  
5 - Mische, Bauer, Riesterer, Hoekstra and Laste  
2 - Vang and Fernandez  
Excused:  
Others present:  
Alderperson Alex Schultz, District #9  
Zudland Xavier Randolph, 719 N. Superior Street, #3  
Abby Novak, Appleton Downtown Inc.  
Meghan Petters, Appleton Downtown Inc.  
Jed Engel, 1745 N. Superior Street  
Tom Boldt, Volunteer with Society of American Magicians  
Approval of minutes from previous meeting  
26-0270  
APAC Minutes from 1-7-26  
4.  
Attachments:  
APAC Minutes from 1-7-26.pdf  
Mische moved, seconded by Laste, that the Minutes be approved. Roll Call.  
Motion carried by the following vote:  
5 - Mische, Bauer, Riesterer, Hoekstra and Laste  
2 - Vang and Fernandez  
Aye:  
Excused:  
Public Hearing/Appearances  
26-0271  
Public Participation  
5.  
There was no public participation.  
Action Items  
6.  
26-0272  
Select an option/theme for the 2026 selection process of new artwork  
to be placed in the Welcome Tower located in Houdini Plaza at 121 W.  
College Avenue (Tax Id #31-2-0065-00)  
Attachments:  
Houdini Welcome Tower Memo_For APAC 3-4-26.pdf  
Houdini Welcome Tower Photo Contest Rules 2026 Option 1.pdf  
Houdini Welcome Tower Proposal 2026 Option 2.pdf  
Art in Public Places Policy_2025 Revisions_FINAL ADOPTED  
9-17-25.pdf  
The Art in Public Places Policy was provided to the Committee members for review.  
Bauer moved, seconded by Riesterer, that Option 2 (Houdini Theme) be  
approved contingent upon Creative Downtown Appleton providing  
approximately 30 images (original and suggested crop/color, etc.) and  
documentation they are in the public domain to staff by March 20, Creative  
Downtown Appleton cover all necessary costs and gifts the panels to the  
Appleton Public Arts Committee, and the funds for a new contest be retained  
for next year. Roll Call. Motion carried by the following vote:  
5 - Mische, Bauer, Riesterer, Hoekstra and Laste  
2 - Vang and Fernandez  
Aye:  
Excused:  
26-0273  
Request to approve proposal from Appleton Downtown Inc. to replace  
the existing College Avenue banners (from Badger Avenue to Drew  
Street) with a new design, as described in the attached documents  
Attachments:  
StaffMemo_CollegeAvADI_BannerReplacement2026.pdf  
ExistingPhoto_CollegeAvADI_BannerReplacement2026.pdf  
ProposalDescription_CollegeAvADI_BannerReplacement2026.pdf  
DesignImages_CollegeAvADI_BannerReplacement2026.pdf  
The Committee requested a resubmittal from Appleton Downtown Inc. to make  
modifications to Banner #3 and submit a couple more theme options to staff by March  
20, suggested content including family and community oriented such as farm market  
or other downtown events.  
Mische moved, seconded by Riesterer, that the proposed banners replacement  
request be held until the April 1 Committee meeting. Roll Call. Motion carried  
by the following vote:  
5 - Mische, Bauer, Riesterer, Hoekstra and Laste  
2 - Vang and Fernandez  
Aye:  
Excused:  
Information Items  
7.  
Adjournment  
8.  
Mische moved, seconded by Bauer, that the meeting be adjourned at 9:04 a.m.  
Roll Call. Motion carried by the following vote:  
5 - Mische, Bauer, Riesterer, Hoekstra and Laste  
2 - Vang and Fernandez  
Aye:  
Excused: