Police, Polling and Radon

Madison Police Department Public Information Session

Join Dane County Supervisor Michelle Ritt, Madison Alders Rebecca Kemble and Larry Palm and members of the Madison Police Department for a discussion on recent gun violence. Police respond to far too many "shots fired" calls throughout the city but our north side has seen more than our share in recent weeks.

This information session will focus on recent gun violence in the North District. The session is intended to provide residents with current data regarding shots fired calls, the police response to these incidents and strategies for citizens.

The event takes place at the community room of our new Goodwill store in the Northside Towne Center next Friday, January 12 at 6:30 – 9:00pm.

Police Staffing additional officers

During the 2018 budget discussion, the Common Council appropriated money to fully fund a match for a US Department of Justice COPS grant for 15 additional police officers. The city did not receive the grant funding.

A resolution has been introduced to use the local funding to hire eight additional officers and purchase three marked squad cars.

I have already heard from many District 12 residents. I do welcome the emails and want to recognize that there are many divergent viewpoints. As your Alder, I can appreciate many of these conflicting interests.

I recognize that our city timelines can often be messy:

• City committees have not yet digested the recently completed OIR Policy and Procedure Review and it's 146 recommendations. Future discussions may include the appropriate number of officers.
• Madison Police Department's next Police Academy Class begins very shortly and the number of recruits needs to be determined by February 12 or hires wouldn't happen until 2019.

Your opinion is important to me as your representative. You can email me at lpalm@cityofmadison.com or if you would like to communicate with the full council you can email allalders@cityofmadison.com. You can also attend the Council meeting on Tuesday, January 16 at 6:30pm in the Council Chambers Rm 201 of the City County Building.

Sherman, Brentwood and Sheridan Triangle Neighborhood Polling Places

Over the past few years the Clerk's Office and myself have received numerous request to move the Ward 31 (Brentwood and Sheridan Triangle neighborhoods) and Warder 32 (Sherman neigbhrood) polling places. In addition, a few elections ago, surveys were conducted of voters to gather more feedback.

For Ward 31, currently at the St Paul Lutheran Church, complaints focused on voting at a religious institution. For Ward 32, current at the Packers Avenue Townhomes, cocnerns focused on access and parking. In response to these requests the Clerks' Office has done numerous reviews about options and were only able to identify one potential poling location.

Recently, Goodwill opened a new store in the Northside TownCenter. At my request, they included a community room fully available to host a second polling site.

While I understand that changing polling places is not something that should be done often, the Clerk's Office and I agree that moving these two polling places will allow for more convienent accesss. Two resolutions have been written and introduced to the Council for adoption at the Tuesday January 13 meeting. Polling locations have to be established to be used during the Spring election cycle.

I apologize if you have not been part of these discussion and fully recognize that changing poling places creates some challenges. The Clerk's Office will work to make these changes as smooth as possible. You are also more than welcome to email allalders@cityofmadison.com or come to the council meeting to register your opinion.

Ward 31 (Brentwood and Sheridan Triangle) moves from St Paul Lutheran to Lakeview Library, 2845 N Sherman Avenue.

Ward 32 (Sherman) from Packers Avenue Townhomes to Goodwill, Madison Northside, 2901 N Sherman Avenue.

Protect Your Health:  Test Your House for Radon

In recognition of National Radon Action Month, Public Health Madison and Dane County (PHMDC) urges all residents to test their homes for radon. You can't see, smell, or taste radon, but it could be present at a dangerous level in your home.  Radon is a naturally occurring, invisible, odorless, radioactive gas that develops in the soil.  It is the second leading cause of lung cancer and causes over 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the United States.    

Radon is normally dispersed in outdoor air, but can reach harmful levels when it enters buildings though cracks in foundations, particularly in the winter months when homes and other buildings are closed up and heated.  According to Clint Marshall, Public Health Radon Specialist, it is estimated that 1 in 5 homes in Dane County have high levels of radon.   Testing your home is the only way to find out if you have a radon problem.  

It is recommended that all homes get tested for radon.  "Testing for radon is simple and inexpensive," said Marshall.  "Test kits can be purchased at local hardware or home product stores, usually for under $25.   PHMDC also has test kits for sale at $10 per kit." 

Testing should be done in the lowest lived in level of your home.  After leaving the opened kit in the room for the recommended amount of monitoring time, all you need to do is to send it to the laboratory for analysis. The lab will send you results within two or three weeks.

If testing shows that you do have a radon problem, to protect yourself and your family, you will need to install a system that will prevent the radon from accumulating in your home. Such systems should be installed by a certified mitigation contractor. The cost of a radon mitigation system can vary, but typically runs around $1,200.

To purchase a test kit or to speak with the Public Health Radon Specialist, call the South Central Wisconsin Radon Information Center at (608) 243-0392. 

For more information regarding radon, including a list of qualified radon remediation contractors, visit the Wisconsin Radon Information Web site at: www.lowradon.org.