Common Council

Highlights for the Week of May 2, 2022

Events

• Register now to attend the Silver Lining Awards on May 12, 2022. Creativity was pushed to new lengths throughout 2020/21. Madison Arts Commission (MAC), in partnership with Garver Events and presented by Friends of Madison Arts Commission (FoMAC), will honor individuals and organizations who shifted their practices to persevere through the pandemic. With more than 100 nominations received for 80 unique nominees, there are many wonderful stories to tell.
• Make Music Madison is a free, citywide, outdoor day of music held annually on the summer solstice. Initiated in Madison in 2013, our festival is part of the larger Make Music Day, an international summer solstice music celebration occurring in 1,000+ cities across the globe. The 2021 event featured 312 concerts at 112 venues with over 1,000 individual musicians. Registration to perform or host a performance opens this month. Learn more at here.

Announcements

• The Adopt-A-Median program is a program for Madison community members to take care of and maintain existing traffic calming circles and medians across the City. Learn more about the program here. Please note that none of the median planting beds being converted to turf or concrete are available for adoption. They are all in high traffic locations that are not allowed for volunteer work due to safety concerns. Most of the medians in question require closing a lane during off peak hours with full traffic control to allow maintenance.
• Madison Parks and the Friends of Goodman Waves are partnering again to offer recreational team swimming and diving through the Goodman Waves Swim and Dive Team this summer at the Goodman Pool, 325 W. Olin Avenue. Scholarships are available. Registration is available here.
• To help grow this popular community art project citywide, Friends of Madison Arts Commission developed a program to Support a Utility Box Installation in your neighborhood. In developing this program, the Madison Arts Commission intended this program to highlight, encourage and promote local artists by giving them exposure in the public realm. Artists are compensated $500 for a license of each image used in the program. This project's funds will be used to pay artists and cover the costs of installing the art on utility boxes. Contributions of any size are welcome, but a $2,500 contribution will fully cover the cost of a box wrap in your neighborhood and a box in a neighborhood where there aren't as many financial resources. Learn more here.
• Covid cases are on the rise! Please get your booster if you have not done it yet. The CDC looks at several metrics to determine these levels, including cases per 100,000 residents, new hospitalizations, and hospital bed capacity recorded over the past seven days. While several metrics are considered, Dane County's case activity is what tipped our county into the medium level. Our case activity has been increasing since late March, with a current 7-day average of 159 cases per day. For more information visit publichealthmdc.com/coronavirus
• Streets Division Updates
  • Spring yard waste collection is now over. Do not place yard waste at the curb for pick-up. Curbside yard waste pickup will resume in the fall.
  • You can take yard waste and other items to one of the Streets Division drop-off sites. Check the website for the hours and locations of the sites.
  • Brush collection is ongoing. Learn when you should set out brush at your home for pickup here.
  • If you have questions about the Resource Recovery Special Charge, there is an FAQ page on the Streets Division website explaining it.
  • The Streets Division is hiring! If you or someone you know has a Class B commercial driver's license and would like to drive our snowplows (and other heavy trucks) for a living, then apply today for the Street Machine Operator 1 position.

Save the Date

• Metro is holding a final public meeting on its network redesign on Thursday, May 19, at 6pm. The meeting will be held in person in Room 215 of the Madison Municipal Building (215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.), and it will also be streamed live. People watching from home will be able to submit questions through a button on Mediasite so that they can be answered live during the meeting. Complete meeting details are here.
• A public hearing on Metro's network redesign is being set up in front of the Transportation Policy and Planning Board the Transportation Commission Thursday, May 31, at 6 pm. Complete details are here. All information on the redesign is here.
• The Planning Division, in collaboration with Zoning staff, is working to implement a 2018 Comprehensive Plan call for implementation of "Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) overlay zoning" along planned BRT and other high-frequency transit corridors to "create development intensity minimums, reduce parking requirements, and support transit use." For more information, and to sign up for May 11 and May 16 public meetings on this effort, please visit the project web page.
• The City of Madison Crossing Guard program is recruiting for the 2022-23 school year.  As a Crossing Guard, you will help safeguard students on their way to and from school, morning and afternoon. Are you responsible, dependable, enjoy kids and the outdoors? Then it may be a perfect match! Crossing Guards work part-time, 10-15 hours per week. Starting pay is $18.09/hour (appx. $700+/month) plus regular raises and earned sick leave.  Work is Monday - Friday (NO NIGHTS, WEEKENDS, OR HOLIDAYS AND SUMMER/SCHOOL BREAKS OFF).  Flexibility is required for early release dates (including early release every Monday afternoon).  This is a great job for the retiree, grandparent, or stay-at-home parent. Beginning in late June/early July, a job description and application will be available at:  http://www.cityofmadison.com/HR/employment/JobOpenings.cfm  (search "hourly" positions for crossing guard link).  Please be sure to list on your application any experience you have directing/controlling children (including your own children or grandchildren).  Interviews will begin mid-August; employment begins approximately Wednesday, August 24, 2022.  For information, contact the City of Madison Crossing Guard Supervisors at 608-266-4703. Vacancies are located throughout the City of Madison, and offer the possibility to work just steps from your front door. Help serve your community by protecting its children!