COVID Cases Rise, Protests Demand Justice - D15 Update 6/1/20

Last Week

• Local Protests: The brutal arrest and detention that killed George Floyd has reignited a call for racial and social justice and for urgent action to address the violence and oppression that has continued to plague communities of color in our country and in Madison. While there has been a lot of attention to the property damage to businesses in the downtown area, we must keep our focus on the urgent need to reform and eliminate the systems of power, oppression, and theft that have created the conditions for the protests. The policy platforms of the Movement for Black Lives is a good place to ground our work as we refocus our efforts locally.

• COVID-19 Infections Continue to Climb: In last week's update, I shared some concerns regarding the rapid reopening outlined in the Forward Dane initiative and corresponding public health order. On Monday, I joined 11 other local elected officials in a letter to Director of Public Health Janel Heinrich, Mayor Rhodes-Conway, and County Executive Parisi, sharing these concerns and asking for additional information. A response from Director Heinrich provided some additional details, but left many questions unanswered, including the criteria that we will use to determine when a retightening of restrictions may be needed. You can read our letter here and the response by Director Heinrich here. 

Just one week later, the rate of new COVID-19 cases in Dane County has doubled and is now higher than it's ever been with a 7-day average of 19/day (as compared to 8/day just one week ago and only 3/day in the beginning of May when things were under control). Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have also been continuing to increase in Dane County as a result of new infections.

On Tuesday of this week, Director Heinrich will attend the Common Council Executive Committee meeting for an update on our local public health response and I hope to get more information then.

In spite of the relaxed restrictions that were rolled out as part of the Forward Dane initiative, I continue to urge D15 residents to minimize the contacts you have outside of your household and, in particular, to limit the amount of time you spend inside of buildings other than your own home. 

• D15 Alcohol and Adult Entertainment License Renewals: Two D15 establishments had their alcohol & adult entertainment licenses separated for review last week at the Alcohol License Review Committee. The actions recommended by ALRC will be in front of the Common Council on Tuesday for final action.

  • Jo Beck's: Last year the operator of Jo Beck's was called to a special ALERT meeting to discuss a number of issues and complaints. Subsequent to that meeting, additional issues have surfaced including a patron that needed to be taken to detox, opening contrary to the Safer at Home order, and an incident of verbal abuse to an MPD officer by the operator. There was also an issue with information contained on the renewal application itself that failed to disclose an OWI conviction. Based on these issues, I did not support renewal of their alcohol license. Unfortunately, due an issue with timing, ALRC was forced to recommend renewal. I did ask for, and the ALRC recommended, additional conditions be placed on the license temporarily and that the license be reviewed in more detail at the June ALRC meeting, including the potential for revocation. Additional conditions include:

1. The owner shall appear at the June 2020 ALRC meeting.
2. Owner and staff shall not consume alcohol while on duty.
3. Shall meet with MPD on a monthly basis.
4. Staff shall patrol the exterior every 15 minutes, until all patrons have dispersed upon closing.

If anyone has feedback they'd like to share about this establishment and their license, please send to me via email.

• Visions: Visions nightclub had three licenses up for renewal including their alcohol, entertainment, and adult entertainment licenses. At a previous ALRC meeting, their request for a change of licensed premises to include private dance booths was denied. During the review of the renewal requests this year, it was determined that Visions failed to pay for and receive their adult entertainment license last year. As such, their adult entertainment license was void and was not recommended for renewal. Without an adult entertainment license, Visions cannot operate as an adult entertainment nightclub. In addition to not recommending renewal of the adult entertainment license, I also asked for an additional condition to be placed on their alcohol license that requires them to remove the private dance booths that were installed without permits or ALRC approval.

• Library Returns Now Accepted: The library has begun to accept returns during their curbside pickup hours. Due dates for materials checked out before the closure have been extended to August 1. You can read the details here. 

This Week

• COVID-19 Update from Public Health: Update from Madison-Dane County Public Health Director, Janel Heinrich on COVID-19, Phase 1 Reopening at the Common Council Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday. Details for how to watch the meeting and provide comment are listed on the linked agenda.

• Common Council Meeting: Information on how to watch the meeting and how to register to provide public comment and be found on the agenda here.

  • Alcohol & Adult Entertainment License Renewals: Final action on the ALRC recommendations listed above will be on the agenda. 

  • Honoring Resolutions & Resolutions of Support: Several honoring resolutions and resolutions of support are on the agenda.

    • Recognizing June 2020 as Pride Month.

    • Saluting the US Postal Service for its dedication to connecting people throughout the country and supporting efforts in the US House of Representatives to provide relief to the Postal Service as part of larger COVID-19 relief efforts.

    • Reaffirming the city of Madison's commitment to supporting pollinator health.

  • Allis/Spaanem/Shaffer Water Main Project: Approving plans and specifications and authorizing the Board of Public Works to advertise and receive bids for the Allis, Spaanem, and Shaffer Water Main project (15th AD).

  • 4502 Milwaukee (Karmenta) Lease: Authorizing the execution of a two-year Lease Agreement between the City of Madison and Watson Smith LLC for the City's lease of the property located at 4502 Milwaukee Street for temporary shelter purposes, with the option to purchase the property at the end of the two-year lease.

  • 'Streatery' Initiative: Temporarily suspending various sections of Madison General Ordinance sections 9.13, 10.055, Chapter 12 and Chapter 28 to allow staff to approve new or expanded restaurant sidewalk cafes and outdoor eating areas on a temporary basis, to facilitate compliance with applicable health orders including those regarding capacity and physical distancing.

• Other city meetings: Other public meetings this week that may be of interest to D15 residents include: Board of Public Works, Board of Health, Food Policy Council, and Library Board. You can find a full list of city meetings with links to agendas here.

Save the Date

• **Date Change** The virtual public information meeting that was originally planned for June 4th has been moved to Monday, June 8th. I will share more details about how to join the meeting later this week. 

From the developer: Prime Urban Properties is proposing to redevelop the properties at 3900 Monona Drive, 109 and 209 Cottage Grove Road (Exhaust Pros, Former Jade Monkey, and Lakeside Shopping Center) in a two phase mixed-use development. The first phase would be a four-story building with approximately 2,900 sq.ft. of commercial space and 80 apartment units and the second phase would be a four-story building with 110 apartment units.  There will be a total of 191 apartment units, 193 underground parking stalls, and 42 surface parking stalls.

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