Updates & Week of July 29 Meetings of Interest for District 2

District 2 Updates and Meetings of Interest

August Moving Days 2019

On August 14th and 15th leases for most downtown area apartments end. That means that thousands of residents will be moving out of their old apartments and into new ones. In 2018, Madison's student moving days put over 1 million pounds of material into the landfill. That's so much stuff. We can do better than that! Before you landfill it, donate it, or sell it, or best yet, move it with you.

See this website for resources to help reduce the amount of your stuff going to the landfill during these moving days. It is crucial to follow the rules and regulations so Streets Division crews can collect all that waste material as quickly and safely as possible.

Update on July 19 Power Outage & Explosion From the Mayor's Chief of Staff

The City of Madison, working with ATC, MGE, their consultants and the Department of Natural Resources, continues to make substantial progress following the fire that occurred on Friday, July 19, at the MGE facility in Madison. There are two lines of work here: an investigation of why the fire started, and containment/environmental remediation efforts. Both lines of work are led by the utilities. 

At this time, ATC continues their investigation into the cause of the fire. They do not believe it was related to the outdoor temperatures and have stated that they had previously identified a component in the substation that needed to be studied. ATC officials report they hope to determine the cause of the blaze before the end of the month. As you can imagine, the Mayor's Office is very interested in the cause of this event and ensuring that somethings similar does not happen in the future. We will continue talking to both ATC and MGE about these issues. 

Environmental efforts have included recovery of transformer oil and containment of firefighting water. A small soil excavation was done to remove visually contaminated soil. More efforts are underway to investigate the extent of contamination, halt it from spreading further, and determine appropriate treatment and disposal methods. 

Firefighting foam was necessary to fight this fire because of the oil contained in the transformers. Had the fire department opted to only use water for this blaze the results could have been catastrophic according to Chief Davis. It would have led to further damage, potentially to the entire substation, which could have resulted in a much longer power outage. There are different classes of firefighting foam. The City used a foam considered more environmentally friendly than other materials available. Additional information obtained indicates that the foam contained a newer form of PFAS substance referred to as PFHxA. Soil, water and groundwater have been sampled for 34 PFAS compounds to ensure that proper treatment and handling of materials. Very little Truax foam was used. 

All entities are working cooperatively to ensure that as much firefighting water as possible is recovered from the storm sewer and, if analytical testing indicates PFAS levels of concern, treated for removal of PFAS prior to disposal. At this time, high lake levels resulting in water backup, in combination with the use of booms both internal to the storm sewers and at the outfalls, have served to contain oil in the storm sewer, minimizing potential for release to the lake. Sampling of the transformer oil at the site has confirmed that PCBs were not detected in the oil. While some amount of the oil was burned during the fire, ATC and its consultants have drained remaining oil from the transformers and worked to recover oil from the ground surface and storm sewers. To date, there have been no indications of releases of transformer oil to surface waters according to City, State and contracted inspectors at the scene.

The response to this explosion and fire was a joint and collaborative effort and the ensuing clean-up is as well. Although ATC and the environmental consulting firm with which they have contracted is leading the clean-up, they are working closely with MGE, the City and the Department of Natural Resources.

Property Assessment In Madison: Understanding the Taxation Puzzle and Finding Your Voice

Michelle Drea (City Assessor) and Scott West (Assessment Operations Manager) are providing an informational and interactive presentation regarding property assessment and related issues. Anyone interested is welcome to attend.

Where: Covenant Presbyterian Church, 326 S. Segoe Road, Madison
When: Thursday, August 1, 2019 at 6:00 pm

Topics include:

• Assessor Office Duties

• Property Assessor 101

• Law Changes and Challenges

• Impact to Taxes: Shifts to the Tax Burden

Input Requested: Task Force on Government Structure

The Task Force on the Structure of City Government has prepared a resident survey to assist in its public engagement effort. Please visit the Task Force website, watch the video, and take the survey, which is in a link right below the video. 

WHY DID THE CITY CREATE A TASK FORCE ON GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE?

Do you know when the City is making key decisions that will impact your neighborhood? Or who is making those decisions? Do you have the time, resources, or know how to voice your opinion to City Government? The Task Force on Government Structure is asking these questions and others to find out if changes to city government structure could help make the City work more effectively for all of its residents, and, particularly, for residents of color and low income.

The Task Force wants your help to find out if this current city government structure works for all Madison residents --- or if changes could help make city government work better. 

1. Take a moment to fill out the Resident Survey.

2. Join TFOGS at an Open House on August 28, 2019 from 5:00-8:00pm at The Atrium, 2300 S. Park St. 

3. Finally, join the Task Force at an upcoming meeting - schedule here.

We Need Your Vision and Your Voice to Imagine a New Law Park

The City of Madison Parks Division is developing a preliminary report for Law Park that will serve as a reference and guide for future master plan development. The current project includes a robust community engagement effort and a technical analysis of the existing park. The City invites the community to participate in any of these workshops in order to share community needs, explore potential opportunities, and help determine what this downtown waterfront park can mean for the Greater Madison Community. Your input is key to this project's success! More information about the project and community workshop schedule here, including the survey.

Survey Available: Parks Department Seeks Input on Dogs in Parks

The Parks Department is now conducting a survey as they continue to engage the public concerning their policies on dogs in public parks. I encourage you to weigh in and participate in the public meetings where the options will be discussed. More info here.

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City Meetings of Interest to District 2

Below are some pertinent agenda items from various city committees that are meeting this week.

The city meeting agenda items are open for testimony from the public should you be interested in weighing in. I also appreciate hearing from you on any items on which you have a particular interest or concern so please send me an email or give me a call.

Also, committees and commissions have an opportunity at the beginning of each agenda for Public Comment on items not on the agenda. If you have something you want to share with a committee or commission, you can use the Public Comment time to do so.
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Landmarks Commission: Agenda

5:00pm, Monday, July 29, 2019
Rm 153 Madison Municipal Building

INFORMATIONAL

Agenda Item 2

210 S Pinckney St (Judge Doyle Square) - Alteration to Planned Development Zoning Adjacent to a Designated Madison Landmark; 4th Ald. Dist.

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EEOC Executive Committee: Agenda

5:00pm, Monday, July 29, 2019
Rm 523 City-County Building

Agenda Item 5

Discuss Meridian Group and how to address the housing issues at their locations

a. Jennifer Zilavy from the City Attorney's Office will be present to answer some questions.

b. Create list of questions for EOC meeting with CDA & Meridian Group

Agenda Item 8

Discuss adding language to EOC Agendas: "Consider: Who benefits? Who is burdened? Who does not have a voice at the table? How can policymakers mitigate unintended consequences?"

Agenda Item 9

Update on Landlord and Tenant Issues Committee's Best Practices guide

Agenda Item 10
Update on the EOC's Housing and Approaches to Housing Discrimination in Madison feedback from the City's Inter-Agency Housing Staff Team

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President's Work Group to Develop City-Wide Surveillance Equipment and Data Managment Policies: Agenda

12:00pm, Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Rm 153 Madison Municipal Building

DISCUSSION & POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS

Agenda Item 5

Discussion: Review of Draft Ordinance Language & Suggested Changes to APM

Note: Subset of Attachments:

3/22/19 DRAFT Ordinance_Surveillance.pdf
11/18 DRAFT APM Use of Surveillance Technology.pdf

10/2018 ACLU Act_Transparency Surveillance Technology.pdf

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Ad Hoc Landmarks Ordinance Review Committee Agenda

5:30pm, Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Rm 206 Madison Municipal Building

Agenda Item 1

Discussion of Consultant's Recommendations

- Standards for Maintenance - Standards for Repairs
- Standards for Alterations
- Standards for Additions

- Standards for New Structures

Agenda Item 2
Discussion of Next Steps and Schedule

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Board of Public Works: Agenda

4:30pm, Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Rm 206 Madison Municipal Building

ITEMS REFERRED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL

Agenda Item 4
Authorizing the City of Madison to accept ownership of (3) three art sculptures from the Friends of Sid Boyum, to be located in a portion of the public right-of-way of E. Wilson Street, as well as a portion of a City Engineering parcel located at 320 Division Street, in exchange for maintenance by the Marquette Neighborhood Association. (6th A.D.)

Attachments:

4551_EXHIBIT_A_&_B.pdf

Reso_File_ID_25488_(13_sculptures)_Sept_1999.pdf

Lead referral agency is the Madison Arts Commission with additional referrals of Plan Commission (7/8) and Finance Committee (7/22).

REPORT BY CITY ENGINEERING

RECOMMEND TO ADOPT

MISCELLANEOUS

Agenda Item 7

Interim Design Standards for Small Cell. (Citywide ADs)

Attachments:

Small Cell Design Guidelines.pdf

Small Cell Infrastructure.pdf

Question Cards.pdf

Registration Forms.pdf
Small Cell Comment packet.pdf

REPORT BY CITY ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

RECOMMEND THE CITY ENGINEER ADOPT

Note: The City has created a website for information on the deployment of Small Cell Infrastructure as the implementation of 5G technology approaches. There are a host of concerns about the technology and deployment, including impacts on street aesthetics, potential vegetation/tree removal, interference with weather and research instruments, and potential health impacts. The federal and state governments have so far not left much room for municipalities to regulate the new infrastructure, but there are opportunities as detailed on the website. Your participation is encouraged.

Agenda Item 8

Establishing Small Cell Permit Fee (Citywide)

REPORT BY CITY ENGINEERING

RECOMMEND APPROVAL

See note above.

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Urban Design Commission: Agenda

4:30pm, Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Rm 153 Madison Municipal Building

NEW BUSINESS

Agenda Item 11
Accepting the final report and recommendations from the Urban Forestry Task Force.

Agenda Item 14
216 S. Pinckney Street - New 9-Story Mixed-Use Development above the 5-Story Parking Structure Podium at Block 88-Judge Doyle Square. 4th Ald. Dist.

Owner: Lee Christensen, Gebhardt Development

Applicant: Isaac Wallace, Iconica
Informational Presentation

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Vending Oversight Committee: Agenda

5:00pm, Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Rm 302 Madison Municipal Building

NEW BUSINESS

Agenda Item 2

Creating Sections 9.13(1)(c) and 9.13(13) and amending Section 9.13(4) of the Madison General Ordinances to create a process for full-sized Food Trucks to participate in street vending, adding a subsection for definitions, and amending existing provisions to allow for Food Trucks.

Sponsors: Michael E. Verveer and Christian A. Albouras

Agenda Item 3
Discuss "extended delivery" in and around State St. Mall and Southeast Campus.

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Madison's Central Business Improvement District (BID) Board of Directors: Agenda

12:00pm, Thursday, August 1, 2019

122 W. Washington Ave. 1st Floor Conference Rm.

Agenda Item 7 (12:20pm)

Downtown Police Update – Kraig Kalka, MPD

Agenda Item 9 (12:40pm)
Potential Demolition Project Presentation – Vic Villacrez, Hovde Properties
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