Body Cameras, Voit Farm, Starkweather Saturday - D15 Update 2/13/22

Body-worn Cameras in Madison 

The Madison Police Department hosted a presentation on Thursday in collaboration with Axon, a vendor of surveillance technology. Notification of the meeting was not published until end of day Monday so I was unable to share information about the meeting with such short notice. The Isthmus published a news story on Wednesday that highlighted Axon's role in the public meeting where the company captured the personal information from registrants, paid for the room rental and pizza, and provided the materials that were used in the presentation and discussion. 

I was disturbed to learn of the deep involvement of a for-profit corporation that stands to gain financially from the implementation of a body-worn camera program in Madison and will be working on an ordinance amendment that would more clearly prevent this sort of situation in the future.

Axon was featured in the film, All Light Everywhere, a recent documentary and Sundance 2021 winner exploring the question of surveillance technology and the industry behind the technology.

This recent event and another planned for February 24th are apparently being held in connection with a resolution that was introduced at the Common Council in January authorizing the Madison Police Department to implement a pilot program for body-worn cameras. The Public Safety Review Committee recommended that this resolution be 'Placed on File' at their January meeting (a recommendation to Place on File is a recommendation to not approve) and the Common Council is expected to take the item up on April 19th.

I'd like to thank those that have reached out to me with their thoughts and opinions on body-worn cameras and I will plan to share more details on the background of this issue, the specifics of the resolution in front of the council, as well as my thoughts on the resolution in a future post.

Voit Farm Update

Last week I joined members of Save the Farm! and Starkweather LLC, the development group with an accepted offer to purchase the Voit Farm site, for a productive discussion on ways to collaborate on the future development of the site. We will be working together to organize an initial public meeting, likely occurring sometime in April. Stay tuned for additional details as plans are solidified.

Jerome/Winnequah Stop Sign Meeting

There will be a special Lake Edge neighborhood meeting on Thursday at 6:30p to review the stop controls at Jerome and Winnequah. A member of our Traffic Engineering division will be in attendance to answer questions and to hear a proposal by neighbors to switch the stop sign configuration. You can join the zoom meeting with the link here.

Bird & Nature Adventures | Starkweather Creek Area

On Saturday, learn about maple syrup and other trees that have sap rising as we experience warmer days and cold nights, and about tree nutrient flow in general, on a fun and educational nature walk with Master Naturalist Alex Singer. The event will also feature a demonstration of maple syrup extraction tools. Details here.

Olbrich Botanical Gardens Annual Theme Open House & 13th annual Pour'n Yer Heart Out 

Also along the Starkweather Creek on Saturday, stop in at the public open house at Olbrich Botanical Gardens and stay for the 13th annual Pour'n Yer Heart Out event on the Great Lawn. Details for the open house are here and for Pour'n Yer Heart Out are here.

Late Winter Market

And while you're in the Starkweather area on Saturday, don't forget that the late winter farmer's market is being held at Garver on Saturdays between 8a-noon through April 9th.

MMSD Board of Education Candidate Forum

On Sunday, you can get insight into the future of MMSD by attending an online forum. As of 2/13/22 candidates speaking will be: Shepherd Janeway, Nichelle Nichols, Laura Simkin, Ali Muldrow, and David Blaska. Details here.

In the News

• Is COVID Endemic Yet?

• Lake Monona Waterfront - Design Challenge

• City of Madison Common Council Agenda: Upcoming New Format 

• Madison's Focus on Prioritizing Safety is Forward Thinking

• No Spring Primary in the City of Madison on February 15 

• First Library Takeover Event Scheduled for February 26, 2022 

• Madison Commons, Media Digest

• City of Madison Complete Meeting Schedule

• City of Madison Calendar of Events

District 15 Public Works Projects

(You can find a list of all engineering projects in District 15 here.)

• Davies St., Dempsey Rd., Maher Ave. - Design work is continuing following feedback received at the January public meeting.

• St. Paul Avenue, Ohio Avenue, Talmadge Street, Jackson Street, Lafollette Avenue Reconstruction - The project will be advertised for bids in early-February with construction expected to begin mid-April. Information on construction schedule will be mailed to adjacent residents and posted to this project page once known.

• Eastmorland Sidewalk Installation - Planned for construction in 2022

• Starkweather Drive/Garver Path - Much of the work has been completed. Some issues will be fixed in the spring and the final path sections in OB Sherry Park will be finished this summer.

• Starkweather Creek Watershed Flood Study - First public meeting held

• Atwood Avenue - Awaiting funding

District 15 Development Projects (dates are tentative and subject to change)

Zion Church Redevelopment Proposal (2165 Linden Avenue)

• 1/26 - Urban Design Commission (Informational presentation)

• 2/7 - Application Submittal

• 3/30 - Urban Design Commission

• 4/11 - Plan Commission

• 4/19 - Common Council

Save the Date

• February 21 - Lake Edge NA monthly meeting at 6:30 pm on Zoom. We will have a special guest speaker, Ann Waidelich, a local historian who will speak on the early history of our neighborhood. 

• April 23 - Earth Day Park Cleanup

• June 18 - Lake Edge/Eastmorland joint neighborhood garage sale Saturday with Eastmorland 

Subscribe to the District 15 blog via the sidebar above to receive email notification when new updates are published. If you have any questions or thoughts you can reach me at district15@cityofmadison.com.