BRT, PFAS, Pinney - D15 Update 2/2/20

Last Week

• Proposed Amazon Distribution Center - As I shared in a previous update, the Amazon Hub distribution center proposal was not approved by the Plan Commission. An appeal of the Plan Commission decision may be requested by the applicant and will be considered by the Common Council if received. I'll continue to provide updates on this issue moving forward.
• PFAS - Water Utility & Public Health staff gave an informative presentation and answered many questions at last week's public information meeting. You can see a copy of the presentation here and a link to additional information on the Water Utility's PFAS page here. You can also sign up for future updates while you're there. There will be another public information meeting on Saturday at East Madison Community Center that will focus on PFAS contamination in our surface water - particularly as it relates to Starkweather Creek. You can find more details below.
• Municipal Golf Task Force - On Wednesday, the Task Force held its 5th meeting where members started a discussion around potential recommendations. There seemed to be a general consensus from the group that we do not want to get out of the golf business altogether, but that we will also need to reduce the number of holes that are currently maintained. There was also a general sense that we should consider moving away from an Enterprise Fund model which requires golf to fully fund all of its expenses. You can find additional information at this website. The next meeting of the task force is scheduled for February 19th.

This Week

• On Monday, the Transportation Policy & Planning Board will review a staff report on routing options for Bus Rapid Transit. Routing decisions need to be made in advance of applying for federal funds that will be needed to fund implementation.
• At Tuesday's Common Council meeting there will be three District 15 related alcohol licenses on the agenda: Silk, Jade Monkey, & Garver, Feed Mill. I support the ALRC recommendations for each of these licenses which include denying the license to Silk and granting the license to Garver with the condition that they develop a parking management program to manage the parking issues that have been experienced during their more popular events. Items on Tuesday's agenda for introduction include: the Rethke Avenue reconstruction project, an ordinance change related to Dogs on City Property, and an ordinance establishing rules for how city departments use surveillance equipment and data. All of these items will be back on a future Common Council agenda after they're referred to committees for review and recommendations. A public information meeting on the Rethke Avenue project is scheduled for March 5th.
• Wednesday - Help the Friends of Pinney prepare for the big move by shopping their bag sale on Wednesday. $5 for everything you can fit in a bag!
• On Friday, enjoy the music of the Ancora String Quartet performed live from the tropical canopy of the Bolz Conservatory at Olbrich Gardens.
• On Saturday, Public Health will host an informational meeting on PFAS in Starkweather Creek and on Sunday, you can join a forum at East High School on F-35s, PFAS, Truax and You.

City of Madison News Releases

Madison Commons Media Digest

• Dane County Black Women's Wellness Center aims to tackle health issues, disparities, Adam Duxter, Channel3000, Feb. 1.
• Goodman South Madison Library to host a variety of Black History Month events, Madison365, Jan. 28.
• Glendale Elementary will be renamed for Virginia Henderson, Scott Girard, CT, Jan. 28.
• After the purge: Can the DNR get its science mojo back? Terry Devitt, Isthmus, Jan. 30.
• Alliant Energy uses artificial intelligence to hunt down phantom power, target waste, Chris Hubbuch, WSJ, Jan. 27.
• Nurses seeking union get a friendly reception, Erik Gunn, Wisconsin Examiner, Jan. 30.
• Ice Cream wars heat up on Atwood, Samara Kalk Derby, WSJ, Feb. 1.
• Organic food crisis threatens Wisconsin dairy farmers, Marc Eisen, Wisconsin Examiner, Jan. 31.
• Explainer: What's going on with the Madison Public Market? Abigail Becker, CT, Jan. 27.
• Nonprofit poised to move on 'beautiful' low-cost housing project near downtown, Dean Mosiman, WSJ, Jan. 31.
• Bill would raise retirement age from 55 to 59 1/2 for Wisconsin Retirement System participants, Riley Vetterkind, WSJ, Jan. 30.

District 15 Calendar

Click on 'details' in the events below for links to additional details and meeting agendas. You can find a full list of city meetings here.