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May Updates, Meeting & Event Highlights

posted 

Greetings friends and neighbors,

mham

If you didn't know, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. It affects how we think, feel and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. With the assistance of SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), I will add key messages and themes related to mental health in any blog post I publish in May, to spread awareness. 
This weeks’ focus is spreading acceptance and support for the people we know and love who are experiencing mental health challenges. Talking about mental health helps promote acceptance and encourages people to seek help. Whether we share resources, encourage others to seek help or simply are there for someone when they need us, we instill hope and can help others to reach out when they need to most.SAMHSA has developed a conversation guide to support a friend or loved one by providing them with access to services for mental health or substance use. This guide helps start conversations respectfully and helps guide the friend or loved one to resources that could help.

Additional Resources for Conversations:

words matter

Meadowlands Apartments Resource Fair
May 20, 2023 | 12-3pm

Please help spread the word about the opportunity to participate in or attend an upcoming resource fair at The Meadowlands Apartments. If you belong to or know of an organization that provides activities, resources and/or services that could benefit children and families, or are a family in search of resources, this is the event for you. If you would like to attend the fair, please complete the following survey to assist with planning efforts. You can also contact the fair organizers at violenceprevention@publichealthmdc.com. Responses are requested by Friday May 12, 2023.

service fair

Eastside Alders Meet and Greet
May 26, 2023 | La Taguara | 5:30-7:30pm

Join Alders Field (D3), Martinez-Rutherford (D15), Madison (D17) and myself at La Taguara for an East Side Alder Meet & Greet. Special thanks to Alder Madison for the idea and getting us together! We hope to see you there! 

meet and greet

East Side Coffee with a Cop
May 30, 2026 | 11am-12pm

May’s Coffee with a Cop event will be held at the East District Station (809 S Thompson Dr.) in the front community room. Coffee will be provided for those who join. For this event and future Coffee with a Cop events, efforts to adjust when the event is held to allow for more flexibility across the community, will be continuing. Neighborhood Resource Officer Alexa Graham, who hosts the events, hopes that by adjusting the time of the event, is more individuals will be able to attend. The next event is scheduled to occur Tuesday, May 30th, 2023 from 11am-12pm. Please feel free to stop in at any time to participate. This month’s guest speakers will be presenting on the RAVE Emergency Alert System in Dane County. If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact Officer Graham at agraham@cityofmadison.com. If you prefer to join the event via Zoom, you can do so with the below link and meeting information.

Zoom Meeting Link
Meeting ID: 859 0066 1460
Passcode: 108110
 One tap mobile+13126266799,,85900661460# US (Chicago) 8778535257,,85900661460# US Toll-free

WisDOT Interstate Alternative Meeting
June 1, 2023 | 6-7:30pm 

WisDOT project staff are putting together design alternatives for 67 miles of Interstate highway lanes and interchanges, including several along the East Side of Madison. Visit the project webpage for information about the project and its phases. This in person public information meeting will provide an opportunity for the public to engage project staff, ask questions and provide feedback and occur at The Steamfitters Local 601 Building (6310 Town Center Drive). I plan to be in attendance and will share out information. 

map

 

Council Updates

It’s been a busy start to the new term. The meeting schedule for the Council was thrown off a bit due to the Spring Election, so we’ve had 3 Council meetings in a row now. All alders have received their committee appointments. I’ve been appointed to:

I was also elected to serve as the Council President which by ordinance requires me to chair the Common Council Executive Committee, also known as CCEC. The other guaranteed member of the CCEC is the Council Vice President; Alder Figueroa Cole (District 10) was elected to serve in this role. Together, we are considered “Council Leadership,” and will serve in these roles until April 2024. One of the first tasks of Council Leadership will be appointing 5 members of the Council to serve on the CCEC. CCEC is an advisory committee responsible for recommending rules and procedures to be followed by all standing committees of the Council and at Council meetings. The Committee also establishes rules and guidelines for use of the Council office facilities. All rules and procedures proposed by the CCEC require approval of the Council. This upcoming week we will be holding interviews with peers interested in being appointed. Information from the interviews will inform our appointment decisions. Our appointment selections will be introduced to the Council on May 16, 2023, with the goal of holding the first committee meeting on June 6, 2023, pending Council approval.

Constituent Engagement Opportunities

Please share the word with your neighbors that they can subscribe to my email list to get notified each time I publish a blog or update! The link to do so is https://www.cityofmadison.com/council/district16/blog/. The subscribe button is located on the left side of the webpage.
 

subscribe

In addition to my blog, I plan to host bi-monthly meet and greets starting mid-June and every other month following. Meet and greets will be an opportunity to meet in person and more casually about issues, concerns and things you’d like to see continued or tried in the city. 
In the meantime, email continues to be the most efficient way to get a hold of me – district16@cityofmadison.com
 

Have a wonderful weekend!
- Jael

Meeting & Event Highlights for the Week of May 8, 2023

Meetings

Finance Committee: The Finance Committee meeting will be held in virtual format on Monday, May 8, 2023 at 4:30 PM. Agenda item include amending the 2023 adopted Mayor’s Office Sustainability Improvements Project Capital Budget to accept a grant award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA); and more!
Meeting Details
Meeting Agenda
Register for public comment
Watch Online

Madison Arts Commission: The Madison Arts Commission will be held virtually on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 5:30 PM. Agenda items include naming of Madison’s next Youth Poet Laureate, and more!
Meeting Details
Meeting Agenda
Register for public comment
Watch Online

Events

East Side Farmers' Market, Tuesday, May 9, 2023: The Eastside Farmers' Market is Madison Wisconsin’s finest weekday farmers' market. Our goal is to bring the freshest Wisconsin grown food direct to the heart of the East side. Our vendor members are agricultural producers and food artisans who make value added products from Wisconsin's agricultural bounty.

Dane County Farmers' Market - Wednesday Market, Wednesday, May 10, 2023: The Wednesday Dane County Farmers’ Market is located on the 200 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, in between the Madison Municipal Building and the City County Building. While more intimate than the Saturday Market, you will still find many of your favorite Dane County Farmers’ Market members, as well as a full array of fruits and vegetables, eggs, cheeses, honey, maple syrup, bakery items, cut flowers, plants, and many specialty items.

Conservation Park Tour – Heritage Sanctuary, Wednesday, May 10, 2023: It's our annual wildflower walk! Heritage Sanctuary is known for its robust display of “spring ephemeral” wildflowers. Join conservation staff, enjoy the blooms and learn about how this habitat came to be. Conservation Park Tours are educational staff-guided walks held at various conservation parks on the 2nd Wednesday, May - October. Event starting times vary, depending on the sunset, and typically last about 90 minutes. Walks are held rain or shine, free to attend, easy-paced, and family-friendly. No registration is required. Most locations do NOT have restrooms. As always, dogs and pets are prohibited in all conservation parks.

Madison Night Market, Thursday, May 11, 2023: Madison Night Market is a celebration of Madison's unique and inspiring creative culture.

WPCRC Family Fun Night, Friday, May 12, 2023: Warner Park Community Recreation Center Family Fun Nights are in partnership with Madison School Community Recreation and offers local families a wide selection of fun activities. Sign your family up today!

Announcements

Joint Statement by Madison Mayor and Alders Related to Recent Racist Video: On Monday, a video of an UW-Madison student engaging in racist language targeting Black students on campus became public and went viral.

Don’t Miss Your Final Spring Yard Waste Collection: The Streets Division is wrapping up the spring yard waste collection. For certain neighborhoods, the final set out for spring yard waste collection is this coming up Sunday, May 7, 2023.

Make Music Madison Returns June 21: For the 11th year in a row, the City of Madison will become a stage with hundreds of free live performances throughout the City.

Seeking people to join Community Policing Advisory Boards to build trust, legitimacy: The Madison Police Department is recruiting individuals now through May 26, 2023 to serve on Community Policing Advisory Boards (CPABs) in each of Madison’s six police districts (cityofmadison.com/police/districts).

Mow Two Times this Low Mow May 2023: The City invites the community to support its pollinators and green spaces by mowing less and joining in its Low Mow May 2023 efforts.

REMINDER: Dane CORE 2.0 Rental Assistance Program Applications to Close May 31: Dane County and the City of Madison want to remind residents that the Dane Coronavirus Rental program (CORE 2.0), funded by the Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program 2023 due to low remaining funds.

Transit Network Redesign Updates

See all updates here: Metro’s redesign set to go into effect on Sunday, June 11

Things to Note!

Trip Planning

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District 16 - Alder Currie

Alder Jael Currie

Alder Jael Currie

District 16
Contact Alder Currie