Title: Fox Valley Council of Governments Records
Inclusive Dates: 1955-1972

Creator:

• Fox Valley Council of Governments

Call Number: Series 2369

Quantity: 4.4 cubic feet (11 archives boxes)

Repository:

Housed at the Archives & Area Research Center, Polk Library, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

UW-Oshkosh Polk Library / Oshkosh Area Research Ctr. (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Proceedings, correspondence, publications, and files of individual officers, committees, organizations, and workshops of the Fox Valley Council of Governments and its predecessor, the Fox Valley Regional Planning Commission, the planning agency for Wisconsin's Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago counties. The bulk of the records consist of proceedings and publications.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-ser02369

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East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. Records, 1960-1990 (Series 2370).

Planning in the Fox Valley has undergone four stages to date. The first attempts at planning were done at the private level. At the end of World War II, a joint Neenah-Menasha Chamber of Commerce committee of six, financed by private donations, was set up to discuss planning. After nine years the entire committee resigned in July, 1954 to emphasize the need for an official planning body for the entire region.

On May 3, 1956, nine of the fourteen municipalities from Calumet, Outagamie and Winnebago counties became charter members of the Fox Valley Regional Planning Commission, organized under Section 66.30 of the Wisconsin Statutes as the first regional planning commission in the State of Wisconsin. The commission, representing the second stage of planning in the Fox River Valley, was to be a deliberative body with an executive committee to manage business and act as a steering agency. A planning director and consultants could be hired and 40% of the costs were to come from private sources. The rest of the money would be assessed to the members proportionately by population. The commission provided a consultant service to the municipalities and attempted to develop a master plan for the area. In the first two years, little was accomplished because of internal conflict. In 1958, the structure of the executive committee was reorganized to include the executive heads of the municipalities instead of simply representatives of the municipalities in order to facilitate communication between the commission and the local governing bodies. However, development was still slow, apparently because the commission officials believed that it had no power under the general cooperation authorized by Section 66.30. In March, 1960 the Articles of Agreement were amended. Reference to funding from private sources was deleted and a method for allocating costs to commission members was provided; members were to be assessed a proportionate share based on their equalized valuations.

A series of eight reports and studies brought together information on which recommendations for zoning and planning could be based.

The culmination of the whole planning procedure was the publication in December 1962 of a final report entitled A Comprehensive Plan for Wisconsin's Fox Valley Region, 1960-1965. The apogee of the final report was the map which set forth the various land uses for the region, the general location of thoroughfares, parks, schools, libraries and police stations. (Note: See John E. Stoner, Intergovernmental Organization for Planning: A Case Study of the Lower Fox River Valley Area Wisconsin, 1969, p. 21.)

In January, 1963, a planning director, Eugene E. Franchett, was hired to implement the plan. For the next three years, the commission with a staff of three (director, assistant director, and secretary) carried on the advisory role outlined in the reports.

The Fox Valley Council of Governments, the third stage in regional planning in the Fox River Valley, had its roots first in the demand for a change in the commission from an advisory to an operating body, especially to be able to hold property and act as a multi-purpose service district, and second in the influence of Washington, D.C. Under the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965, up to two-thirds of the cost of certain activities conducted by councils of government would be provided by the federal government. The Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 provided that applications made after June 30, 1967 for federal loans and grants to carry out planning projects should be submitted for review to an area wide planning agency which was composed of or responsible to elected officials of local units of government within whose jurisdiction the agency was authorized to plan. Franchett realized that the planning commission, because its membership included the chief elected executive officials of the local units, was already close to this requirement, however, the majority of the commission were still non-elected citizen members. Franchett recommended a revision of the Articles of Agreement to form a council of governments in which the majority of the members were elected officials and the leadership would be shifted to them. The planning commission unanimously approved the revision in April, 1967 and referred it to its municipal members. On June 29, 1967 the Fox Valley Council of Governments was established as the successor to the Fox Valley Regional Planning Commission.

The transformation from a commission to a council did not significantly change the purpose, the nature of the work or even the organization. The Washington stimulus speeded up the work and intensified it, and because of the availability of larger sums of money, much more was done. (Stoner, op. cit., p. 38)

Both the regional planning commission and the council of governments were active in parks acquisition planning, school siting, adoption of regional building codes, zoning, and expressway implementation. By 1969, the staff had grown to sixteen.

Attempts to coordinate the Fox Valley Council of Governments and a competing organization, the Northeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, which encompassed the counties in the Wolf River drainage basin, failed. Although the functions of the two did not conflict, one being concerned with conservation and recreation and the other with urban development, friction continued between the two groups. In 1972, they were succeeded by a new and larger commission, the East Central Regional Planning Commission, the fourth stage to date in regional planning the Fox River Valley.

Records consist of proceedings, correspondence, publication and miscellaneous one folder files of individual officers, committees, organizations and workshops. The bulk of the records consists of proceedings and publications. The proceedings, arranged chronologically, are fairly complete and run from 1956 through 1969. The correspondence, separated into incoming and outgoing correspondence, concerns environmental affairs, highways, zoning, sewage management, soil conservation, grant applications, urban problems, legislation, and the role of the planning commission. Arranged chronologically, it includes scattered correspondence from 1955 and 1956 with a gap until 1964 and then running through 1971. Publications, arranged by publication number, date from 1969 through 1972 with scattered earlier reports and newsletters. The miscellaneous one folder files consist of correspondence of Nick Jansen, the Secretary-Treasurer, 1956-1961; files of Donald Hagman, chairman of the Education Committee, 1960-1962; audit reports, 1958-1962; files of the Citizens Organization of Regional Planning, 1958-1966, an organization designed to establish communication between the regional planning commission and Fox Valley civic leaders; files of the Workshop on Planning, 1965, whose purpose was to inform high school and junior high school teachers in the Fox Valley of regional planning; and a list of Planning Board members, 1958-1966.

Processing Information

Processed by N. Kaufer, April 1973

	Series: Proceedings
Box   1 Folder   1	1956 May-1958 March
Box   1 Folder   2	1958 April-1959 February
Box   1 Folder   3	1959 March-1959 June
Box   1 Folder   4	1959 July-1959 October
Box   1 Folder   5	1959 November-1960 April
Box   1 Folder   6	1960 June-1961 September
Box   2 Folder   1	1961 November-1962 December
Box   2 Folder   2	1963 January-1963 November
Box   2 Folder   3	1964 January-1964 July
Box   2 Folder   4	1964 September-1965 May
Box   2 Folder   5	1965 July-1966 March
Box   2 Folder   6	1966 April-1966 November
Box   3 Folder   1	1967 January-1967 September
Box   3 Folder   2	1967 November-1968 July
Box   3 Folder   3	1968 August-1969 July
Box   3 Folder   4	1969 August-1969 December
Box   3 Folder   4a	1978 January 8
	Series: Correspondence	⇧
	Incoming
Box   3 Folder   5	1955-1956
Box   3 Folder   6	1964
Box   3 Folder   7	1965 January-1966 November
Box   3 Folder   8	1967 January-1969 November
Box   3 Folder   9	1970 January-1971 May
	Outgoing
Box   4 Folder   1	1956
Box   4 Folder   2	1964 January-1965 December
Box   4 Folder   3	1966 January-1967 December
Box   4 Folder   4	1968 January-October
Box   4 Folder   5	1968 November-1969 April
Box   4 Folder   6	1969 May-September
Box   4 Folder   7	1969 October-1970 February
Box   5 Folder   1	1970 May-February
Box   5 Folder   2	1970 September-June
Box   5 Folder   3	1970 December-October
Box   5 Folder   4	1971 March-January
Box   5 Folder   5	1971 June-April
Box   5 Folder   6	1971 December-September
	Series: Miscellaneous Files	⇧
Box   6 Folder   1	Correspondence of Nick Jansen, Secretary-Treasurer 1956-1961
Box   6 Folder   2	Audit Reports, 1958-1962
Box   6 Folder   3	Education Committee, files of Donald Hagman, chairman 1960-1962
Box   6 Folder   4	Citizens Organization of Regional Planning, 1958-1966
Box   6 Folder   5	List of Planning Board Members, 1958-1966
Box   6 Folder   6	Workshop on Planning files, 1965
Box   10 Folder   1	Articles of Agreement, 1960
Box   10 Folder   2	Commerce and Industry committee, 1955-1960
Box   10 Folder   3	Constitution and by-laws committee, 1961-1967
Box   10 Folder   4	Education Committee, 1960-1968
Box   10 Folder   5	Executive Committee, 1959-1967
Box   10 Folder   6	Fox Valley Regional Planning Commission, 1956-1958
Box   10 Folder   7	Land use and Zoning Committee, 1962
Box   10 Folder   8	Open Space Agreement, 1964-1965
Box   10 Folder   9	Open Space Land Committee, 1965-1967
Box   10 Folder   10	Outagamie County Board of Adjustment, 1960-1968
Box   11 Folder   1	Parks Committee, 1963
Box   11 Folder   2	Policy Committee, 1963-1967
Box   11 Folder   3	Regional Thoroughfares Committee, 1957-1962
Box   11 Folder   4	Sherwood/High Cliff Project, 1963-1967
Box   11 Folder   5-6	Soil Conservation Service, 1961-1968
Box   11 Folder   7	Stroebe’s Island Committee, 1963-1966
Box   11 Folder   8	University of Fox Valley Region, 1964-1966
Box   11 Folder   9	University of Wisconsin, 1965-1967
Box   11 Folder   10	Urban Problems Committee, 1964-1965
Box   11 Folder   11	Water Advisory Board – Region III, undated
Box   11 Folder   12	Press Releases, 1965-1967
	Series: Publications	⇧
Box   7 Folder   1	Publications List, 1969
Box   7 Folder   2	Area-wide Comprehensive Health Planning, 1969 Note: Publication number: 47
Box   7 Folder   3	Fox Valley Region: Its Population, Economy, and Land Use 1969 Note: Publication number: 48
Box   7 Folder   4	Fox Valley Region: Environmental Characteristics, 1969 Note: Publication number: 49
Box   7 Folder   5	Wastewater Collection Treatment Study: Fox Valley Region, 1969 Note: Publication number: 50
Box   7 Folder   6	Regional Sewerage Plan of the Oshkosh Urban Area, 1971 Note: Publication number: 50A
Box   7 Folder   7	Water Supply and Treatment Study: Fox Valley Region, 1969 Note: Publication number: 51
Box   7 Folder   8	Storm Water Drainage Study: Fox Valley Region, 1969 Note: Publication number: 52
Box   7 Folder   9	Open Space Plan, 1969 Note: Publication number: 54A
Box   7 Folder   10	Capital Improvement Program, 1969 Note: Publication number: 54B
Box   7 Folder   11	Prospectus: Regional Housing Study, 1969 Note: Publication number: 55
Box   7 Folder   12	Mobile Home Park Ordinance, 1970 Note: Publication number: 61
Box   7 Folder   13	Fire and Rescue Analysis and Program Recommendations, 1970 Note: Publication number: 62
Box   7 Folder   14	Comprehensive Development Plan: City of Kaukauna, 1970 Note: Publication number: 63
Box   8 Folder   1	Summary of Report 53: Solid Waste, undated Note: Publication number: 64
Box   8 Folder   2	Solid Waste Disposal in Outagamie County, 1970 Note: Publication number: 65
Box   8 Folder   3	Supplementary Flood Plain Zoning Ordinance, 1970 Note: Publication number: 66
Box   8 Folder   4	Proposed Landfill Sites for Outagamie County, 1970 Note: Publication number: 69
Box   8 Folder   5	Park and Recreation Plan: Village of Kimberly, 1970 Note: Publication number: 72
Box   8 Folder   6	Housing Study Report: Household Income in the Fox Valley, 1970 Note: Publication number: 74
Box   8 Folder   7	Advance Population Statistics for the Cities, Villages, and Towns in Outagamie, Winnebago, and Calumet Counties 1971 Note: Publication number: 76
Box   8 Folder   8	City of Oshkosh: Water System Study, 1971 Note: Publication number: 77
Box   8 Folder   9	Fox River Demonstration Project, 1971 Note: Publication number: 79
Box   8 Folder   10	Summary of Fox River Demonstration Project, 1971 Note: Publication number: 80
Box   8 Folder   11	Town of Grand Chute: Park and Recreation Plan, 1971 Note: Publication number: 81
Box   8 Folder   12	Park and Recreation Plan: Village of Combined Locks, 1971 Note: Publication number: 82
Box   8 Folder   13	Annual Report: Growth, Planning, Action 1971 Note: Publication number: 83
Box   9 Folder   1	City of Menasha: Park and Recreation Plan, 1971 Note: Publication number: 84
Box   9 Folder   2	Overall Program Design, 1971 Note: Publication number: 85
Box   9 Folder   3	A Housing Study Report: Apartment Survey, 1971 Note: Publication number: 87
Box   9 Folder   4	City of Neenah: Park and Recreation Plan, 1971 Note: Publication number: 88
Box   9 Folder   5	Park and Recreation Plan: City of Kaukauna, 1972 Note: Publication number: 89
Box   9 Folder   6	Youth, Criminal Justice, and the Community 1972 Note: Publication number: 90
Box   9 Folder   7	Mass Transit Study: Study Design and Administration Report #1, 1971
Box   9 Folder   8	Mass Transit, 1972
Box   9 Folder   9	Mass Transit Study: Interim Report #2, 1972
Box   9 Folder   10	Survey Report on Solid Waste Disposal, undated
Box   9 Folder   11	10th Anniversary Report, 1956-1966
Box   9 Folder   12	Transportation Study, undated
Box   9 Folder   13	Review and Analysis - Activities of the Fox Valley Regional Planning Commission, 1966
Box   9 Folder   14	Fox Valley Regional Planning Commission Newsletter, 1960-1962