Absentee Voting, Candidate Forums, PFAS - D15 Update 3/19/23

In-Person Absentee Voting Begins Tuesday

In-person absentee voting for the 2023 Spring Election begins Tuesday and will be available for registered voters at a number of locations across the city through April 2.

Both Hawthorne & Pinney Libraries will offer convenient in-person absentee voting for D15 residents Mondays - Saturdays. You can find a full list of locations and additional information here.

Voters will need to present an ID to receive an absentee ballot. If you are not already registered to vote at your current address, you may register to vote, with proof of residence, at any absentee voting location through Friday, March 31.

The 2023 Spring Election ballot for District 15 residents is long and complicated and includes state, city, and school district offices as well as state, county, and city referendum questions.

I've included links in the captions below with more information on each contested race and referendum question from The League of Women Voters of Dane County and Ballotpedia.

District 15 Alder Candidate Forums

There will be two opportunities to hear from District 15 Alder candidates this week. On Monday, beginning at 6:30pm, the Lake Edge Neighborhood Association will hold a D15 Alder Candidate Forum virtually. A link to the virtual meeting can be found here.

On Thursday at 6:30pm, the SASY Neighborhood Association will host an in-person D15 alder candidate forum at the Goodman Community Center moderated by Jason Joyce of The Isthmus. More details can be found here.

Monona Bakery & Eatery Alcohol Application 

Monona Bakery & Eatery has submitted an application to serve beer and alcohol on premises. They will hold an information session at their location on Monday at 3pm.

Up to Eight Chickens

There was broad support (34 registered in support; 2 in opposition) at Plan Commission for the ordinance to raise the maximum number of chickens that can be kept from four to ten. The staff report recommended raising the maximum to six and Plan Commission's recommendation was to raise the maximum to eight.

Plan Commission's recommendation will be in front of the Common Council on Tuesday for final adoption (agenda item #4). You can find a link to the full agenda and to register to provide comment on any item on the agenda here.

This will be the final Common Council meeting for the current term. I will continue to serve as your alder until the new alder is sworn in on April 18th. 

PFAS

Last week, the US EPA proposed new standards for PFAS in drinking water. All Madison wells, except for eastside Well 15, meet these new proposed standards. Well 15 has been out of operation since 2019 after elevated levels of PFAS were first detected in 2017.

The Water Utility is designing and plans to install a treatment system at Well 15 to remove PFAS. Planning and final design will continue into 2023 with construction of a treatment system planned for 2024. You can find more information about PFAS in Well 15 and plans for treatment here.

Atwood Reconstruction

Atwood reconstruction is actively underway and will impact travel and access to Olbrich Park all summer. You can sign up for email updates at the project page here and follow the Facebook page here for updates.

In the News

• Referendum on Staggered Two-year Alder Terms on Spring 2023 Ballot

• Dane CORE 2.0 Rental Assistance Program Applications to Close May 31

• The We Read Youth Voices Writing Contest Returns April 3

• Madison Wells Meet Proposed Federal PFAS Standards

• 2023 Spring Election Sample Ballots Available

• Moving Forward Capital City Path Extension to Connect Glacial Drumlin State Trail

• City of Madison Complete Meeting Schedule

• City of Madison Calendar of Events

District 15 Public Works Projects

(You can find a map of current public works projects in District 15 here. You can find a map of future road projects here.)

• Atwood Avenue/Olbrich Path - construction began in February

• Davies St., Dempsey Rd. Reconstruction

• Hudson, Miller, Willard, Center, Sommers Reconstruction

• Starkweather Creek Watershed Flood Study

• East Isthmus & Yahara River Watershed Study

• Garver Office/Olbrich Cottage Repointing

Save the Date

• 4/4 - 2023 Spring Election

• 4/6 - BRT East Side Construction Updates

• 4/18 - First Common Council meeting of new term

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.