Highlights for the Week of April 24, 2023

Greetings from your new District 19 Alder

Hello! My name is Kristen Slack, and it is an honor to serve District 19 residents as your newly elected Alder.  There's a lot to take in during the first few weeks of this job, so please bear with me as I learn my way around.  In addition to serving as your Alder, I have also been appointed to the following Committees:  Board of Public Works, Community Development Block Grant Committee, Vending Oversight Committee, and Housing Strategy Committee. Please consider serving  on a City committee yourself. You can review the list of committees and open positions here. 

My contact information is listed on the District 19 home page. Please note that all written, texted, and emailed communication with any City official, staff, committee, or department is subject to open records requests. 

I look forward to learning about your priorities, concerns, and ideas for Madison and District 19!

2023 Property Assessments

The 2023 property assessments are now available on the City website at cityofmadison.com/assessor. Assessment notices were mailed today to all property owners whether or not their assessment has changed from the previous year's value. Property values increased 14.4% overall from the 2022 assessments. Commercial property assessments have increased 16.8% and residential property assessments increased 12.9%. Information about the property assessment process in Madison is available in a Madison Assessor’s Office video available here .The open book period will begin Monday, April 24 and close Friday, April 28 at 4:30 p.m. This period of time is an opportunity to discuss property value and provide reason for changing value, if appropriate. Property owners must initiate contact with the appraiser for their property in one of two ways: email: openbook@cityofmadison.com; call: (608) 266-4531. Please note that changes in the assessed value of your property do not have a one-to-one relationship with your effective property tax rate. 

Meetings

• Common Council: The Common Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 in hybrid format at 6:30 PM. Agenda items include amending the 2023 operating budget and setting the 2023 rates for the sewer utility, stormwater utility and landfill remediation (citywide); amending portions of Section 9.23 of the Madison General Ordinances relating to regulation of mobile home parks; repealing and amending sections of the Madison General Ordinances to remove the penalty of possession of certain weapons; and more.

• • Meeting Details

  • Meeting Agenda
  • Register for public comment
  • Watch Online

Events

• MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Stormwater, Parks, Land Use and more at West Area Open House on May 10! The West Area Plan team will host an Open House on May 10 at Lussier Community Education Center from 6:30-8:00 p.m. 55 S. Gammon Road. City agencies will give short presentations on projects spanning land use planning, transportation, stormwater management, water quality protection, parks and open space and more. Residents will also have the chance to talk with staff to learn more including how these projects may affect them and how they can be involved. Visit the West Area Plan webpage to learn more, and to sign up for the email list to receive regular West Area Plan updates. Your input is critical to this process, so please find a way to get involved.
• Dane County Farmers' Market - Wednesday Market: 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.

• East Side Farmers' Market, Tuesday, April 25, 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.

• Habitat Homebuyer Program Information Meeting, Tuesday, April 25, 2023: Learn how you could own an affordable home thtough Habitat of Humanity of Dane County. Information on how to apply, program requirements and where and what we build.

• Dane County Farmers' Market - Wednesday Market: 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.

• Habitat Homebuyer Program Information Meeting, Tuesday, April 26, 2023: Learn how you could own an affordable home thtough Habitat of Humanity of Dane County. Information on how to apply, program requirements and where and what we build.

• Annual Spring Break-A-Way 3on3 Basketball Tournament Series | April 28: After March Madness, the real tournament begins with the Annual Spring Break-A-Way 3on3 Basketball Tournament Series. Northside teens compete in a double-elimination tournament while enjoying a free meal. With on-site registration, players simply have to show up with two friends, or we will find a team for drop-in players. The tournament series is held on Friday nights: April 28, May 19 & May 26 (5pm-8pm), and includes middle school and high school divisions. Please stay home if you feel sick.
  For sponsorship or volunteer opportunities, contact Zach at 608-245-3684 or zwatson@cityofmadison.com.

• HUD-Approved Homebuyer Education Class (2-Part Class)(April 22 and 29): This class is offered virtually and in person as a two part series. If you need help registering email cmonsivais@lacasadeesperanza.org.Your Path to Homeownership is provided by La Casa de Esperanza, a Non-Profit HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agency dedicated to assisting individuals and families to increase income, build savings and gain assets. Our focus on financial wellness is supported by the Center’s programs and services which include; home buyer education and counseling, free tax services, employment coaching, financial coaching and access to financial workshops. Our people-centered approach supports our belief that everyone deserves an opportunity to work on their financial wellness.

• Prescribed Burn Crew Member Volunteer Training, Saturday, April 29, 2023: Join Conservation Resource Supervisor, and DNR-certified Burn Boss, Paul Quinlan for a Burn Crew Member Volunteer Training. Meet Paul and team at Elver Park, behind the main shelter to learn basic fire management as an ecological tool in prairie or mixed hardwood forest, as well as safety during prescribed burns. You'll also learn the laws and rules Law and rules, proper burning conditions and basic fire methods.
• Inspired by Wright: A Hands-on FLW Tour, Saturday, April 29: Join us for this hands-on Frank Lloyd Wright Tour demonstrating how Wright saw geometric shapes as underlying forms of nature and applied them to almost all his work. As you tour the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, you’ll learn how this unique site influenced Wright’s choice of geometry, which is expressed in nearly every aspect of the building and grounds.
• Barks in Parks: Sculpture Unveiling, Sunday, April 30, 2023: Join the Madison Parks Foundation at Quann Dog Park on April 30 as they unveil the new custom pet tribute and memorial sculpture. This art sculpture memorial will offer the public a way to commemorate their pets while supporting Madison dog parks.
• Fire OPS 101, Wednesday, May 24th, 2023: Join us for Fire OPS 101 and experience a day in the life of a fire fighter! Fire OPS is a program that allows community leaders and elected officials to experience a day in the life of a firefighter. You will dress in turnout gear and will participate in realistic scenarios that we face on a day-to-day basis. The scenarios will include fire attack, search and rescue, vehicle extrication, and emergency medical services.

Announcements

· Food Scraps Recycling Drop-off Returns to Eastside Farmers’ Market Tuesday, April 25, 2023: The City of Madison in partnership with Sustain Dane and Neighborhood Food Solutions is happy to announce the return of food scraps recycling in 2023. Individuals may drop-off certain allowable food scraps to a designated drop-off booth for free at the Eastside Farmers’ Market beginning on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

· Upcoming events with Ash Armenta, Thurber Park Artist-in-Residence: Madison, WI – Artist-in-Residence Ash Armenta, The Madison Arts Commission, and The Bubbler at Madison Public Library are pleased to announce a series of fun, free, creative events at the Thurber Park residency space.

· Madison Public Library Welcomes New Artist-in-Residence at Pinney Library: The Bubbler at Madison Public Library is welcoming a new Artist-in-Residence at Pinney Library. 

· Madison Public Library Celebrates National Library Week: National Library Week takes place April 23-29, 2023. Madison Public Library will be celebrating in-person in our libraries, as well as online via social media. National Library Week was first celebrated in 1958 by the National Book Committee and has since evolved into an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities.
 
· Madison Metro Providing Free Summer Bus Passes for MMSD Middle and High School Students : For the third year in a row, the City of Madison is giving every Madison Metropolitan School Districts Middle and High School student a free Metro bus pass for the summer. This summer Metro has made 7,000 passes available…

Sound the Alarm. Save a Life! The American Red Cross is making homes fire resistant through the Red Cross Home Fire Preparedness Campaign. At no cost, you can have the Red Cross visit your home and demonstrate some simple changes that will help protect your family against fires including:

• Free smoke alarm installation if no working smoke alarms are present in your home
• Guidance in developing a Family Disaster Plan
• Valuable emergency preparedness tips and information

Visit the Red Cross webpage to learn more and to setup your free appointment.

Streets Division Updates

• Food scraps recycling returns to the Eastside Farmers’ Market on April 25! For more details about location, times, and the kind of food you can bring, go to www.cityofmadison.com/FoodScraps
• Yard waste collection is ongoing! Remember – you only get two pickups chances in the spring. One pickup in April and one in May. Don’t miss the dates when you should set out yard waste. Get the dates at www.cityofmadison.com/YardWaste. (And you can watch our video about how to set out the material correctly)
• Brush collection is also going on now. Get the dates when you can set out your brush at www.cityofmadison.com/BrushCollection.
• If you are working on your garden and would like some mulch, don’t forget that the City has mulch available at 121 E. Olin Avenue. Details about the wood mulch can be found at www.cityofmadison.com/Mulch.
• With Earth Day coming up soon, make sure you are recycling right. One easy thing you can do is be sure that you are not putting plastic bags in your recycling cart. They don’t belong there. Learn more about what belongs in your recycling cart on the Streets Division’s website, www.cityofmadison.com/Recycling.