Common Council

Meeting & Event Highlights for the Week of March 13, 2023

Get ready to spring forward! Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins on Sunday, March 12, at 2:00 am. Don't forget to set your clocks forward an hour.

Meetings

• Plan Commission: The Plan Commission will meet in virtual format on March 13, 2023, at 5:30 pm. Agenda items include adopting the Hawthorne-Truax Neighborhood Plan as a supplement to the City of Madison Comprehensive Plan; and amending subsections (a) and (b) of supplemental regulations related to the keeping of chickens within Section 28.151 of the Madison General Ordinances to increase the number of chickens allowed as an accessory use.
  • Meeting details
  • Meeting agenda
  • Register for public comment
  • Watch online

• Common Council Executive Committee: The Common Council Executive Committee meeting will meet in virtual format on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 5:30 pm. Agenda items include dissolving the Ad Hoc Task Force on the Structure of City Government (TFOGS) Final Report Implementation Work Group and transferring responsibilities to the Common Council Executive Committee; and authorizing the City of Madison to develop a comprehensive response to the crisis in home healthcare in Madison.
  • Meeting details
  • Meeting agenda
  • Register for public comment
  • Watch online

• Bus Rapid Transit Construction Information Meeting: Metro Transit will hold a public information meeting on Tuesday, March 14 at 6:00 pm to talk about construction related to its Bus Rapid Transit project. Attend this information meeting to learn more about road work, construction timelines, and effects on traffic. Much of the work will require traffic control and lane closures.

Save the Date!

• WPCRC Expansion Project PIM#2 - Monday, March 27, 2023, 6:00 pm: Madison Parks is holding a public meeting for the expansion of the Warner Park Community Recreation Center. The design team and City staff will review the proposed addition's configuration and exterior treatment and answer project questions. The meeting format is virtual, and attendees can register for the Zoom session on the project website. Please join us and register for the meeting here: WPCRC PIM#2 Registration 

• Northeast Area Plan Open House March 29th, 6-7pm: LOCATION: Madison College, Truax Main Building Rm D1630, 1701 Wright Street, Madison, WI 53704. More information coming soon!

Events

• Leopold-Arbor Hills NRT Community Meal!: The Leopold-Arbor Hills Neighborhood Resource Team will host a community meal at Aldo Leopold Elementary School, 2602 Post Road on Tuesday March 14, 5-7 p.m. First, enjoy a high energy WERQ out with dance music at 5:15 p.m. in the gym and resource fair in the cafeteria, followed by a meal with neighbors in the cafeteria at 6:00 p.m.

• Learn about Maple Syrup | Bird & Nature Adventures | Warner Park 03/19/2023: Learn about Maple Syrup with Alex Singer ~In this special Learning Series event participants will learn how to properly tap a maple tree with the correct equipment so they are able to tap their own tree. They will also get to taste some maple syrup that came from a pre-tapped maple tree. Attendees will go on a walk to see what maple trees look like and to determine the best time to tap them. This event also includes a walk through Warner Park. Advanced registration is requested and may be done online or by calling (608) 266-4711. All ages are welcome and participants do not need to bring anything. Meet at the colorful shelter at Warner Park.

Announcements

• Draft Hawthorne Truax Neighborhood Plan: The Community Development Block Grant Committee, Transportation Policy and Planning Board, Board of Park Commissioners, and Community Development Authority have approved the Draft Hawthorne-Truax Neighborhood Plan. The Plan Commission will review the plan on March 13, followed by the Common Council on March 21.  Thank you to everyone who participated in the planning process over the past year. A special thanks to the Community Partners Group, residents and other community members. We appreciate the time you spent with us, sharing what you love about this area, your ideas for community improvements, and your feedback on the draft plan.

• Call for Community Partners/Navigators for the Northeast and West Area Plans has been extended to March 20: Interested in helping neighborhood residents participate in the Northeast or West Area planning process?  The City of Madison is funding 4-5 Community Partner/Navigator positions that will conduct outreach to current residents, property owners, business owners, and other stakeholders, with a particular emphasis on low and moderate-income communities. Depending on which area you are most familiar with, you select an area plan and apply online or by regular mail! For questions, email us at Neighborhoods@cityofmadison.com
  • Northeast Area Plan Community Partner/Navigator guidelines and application
  • West Area Plan Community Partner/Navigator guidelines and application

• Arts Grants Apps Due March 15: The Madison Arts Commission's annual grant program provides funding to support the arts across our community. Applications and guidelines are on the City's webpage.
   
• Women in Construction 2023: Wilkie: It's a cloudy, damp day, teetering on frost over on the City's east side, at Goodman Pool parking lot medians.
   
• Street Closure--Atwood Avenue: Starting March 9, Atwood Avenue will be closed to southbound traffic between Oakridge Avenue and Cottage Grove Road for street reconstruction between Fair Oaks Avenue and Cottage Grove Road.  
   
• Women in Construction 2023: Emily Jorgensen: For any basic person, names like "Agastache scrophulariaefolia" or "Asclepias incarnata" may not come naturally when it comes to knowing what they mean.

• Public Health Announces Closure of COVID Testing Clinic: After three years of emergency operations, Public Health Madison & Dane County will close the doors to its community COVID testing clinic on April 14.
   
• Women in Construction 2023: Shannon Davis: With a push of a giant roll of paper plans across a large table, Building Inspection Division Plan Reviewer Shannon Davis gets ready to explain what she does to everyone else who comes to her window in the basement of the...
   
• City Enacts New Development Bonus for Affordable Housing Downtown: On Tuesday, the Common Council adopted legislation to encourage the development of more affordable housing downtown.
   
• Madison Unanimously Adopts New Building Energy Savings Program: On Tuesday, the Common Council adopted the Building Energy Savings Program to reduce carbon pollution from large commercial buildings.
   
• Women in Construction 2023: Gretchen Avilés Piñeiro: Walking down Monroe Street, any visitor would notice the vibrant businesses, murals and life.
   
• Upcoming Construction to Close Southbound Atwood: (MADISON, Wis.)--As reconstruction begins on the Atwood Avenue project, the southbound lanes from Oakridge Avenue/Sugar Avenue to Cottage Grove Road will be closed beginning Thursday, March 9, after the morning commute. 
   
• Agreement Finalized on Grocery Store in South Madison: South Madison residents could be shopping in a new, full service 24,000 square foot grocery store by the end of this year.
   
• Street Closure--S Paterson Street: Starting 7:00 a.m.
   
• City of Madison 2023 Utility Box Art Program Call For Entries: Thanks to positive public reaction to the Utility Box Art Program, the City of Madison is continuing the program this year, looking for more great works of art to display across the City in 2023.
   
• Street Closure--N Few Street: Starting Monday, March 6, N Few Street will be closed between Curtis Ct and E Washington Avenue for work related to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) at the N Few St & E Washington Ave intersection.
   
• Street Closure--N Dickinson Street: Starting Monday, March 6, N Dickinson Street will be closed at E Washington Avenue for work related to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). The closure is estimated to last one month. 
   
• Women in Construction Week 2023: Taylor Voeltz : Anyone familiar with the small town farm life, knows there's a few fundamentals that make for an easier day: working hard, enjoying the outdoors and getting your hands dirty to get the job done.
   
• Celebrate Women in Construction Week 2023 March 5-11, 2023!: The Engineering Division, in partnership with the Parks Division, Madison Water Utility and Traffic Engineering Division and Building Inspection Division, is proud to join the nationally-recognized Women in Construction Week.
   
• Street Closure--Sheboygan Avenue: Starting Monday, March 13, Sheboygan Avenue will be fully closed to traffic just east of Eau Claire Avenue for the construction of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station (see attached map).  
   
• City of Madison Prepares to Sue Kia and Hyundai for Failure to Prevent Car Thefts with Standard Anti-Theft Technology: This week, the Madison Common Council will vote to authorize a federal lawsuit against car manufacturers Kia and Hyundai for their failure to install industry standard anti-theft technology in millions of their vehicles.