Updates 1/2-1/7

Happy New Year!!!

Hello and HNY everyone! I hope you all had a joyful holiday and feel prepared to take on 2024. Before getting into this week's updates, I wanted to share a couple articles I found interesting over the weekend.

What's Coming to Downtown Madison in 2024 - Channel 3000

10 Big Housing Projects that Will Change Madison in 2024 - WSJ

These articles include an exciting outlook of things that we can look forward to in 2024, including the State Street pedestrian mall, BRT, and more housing!

City meetings continue to be mostly virtual with details listed in City Meetings of Interest below. Common Council meetings are hybrid so the public can attend in person or via Zoom.Stay in touch with your neighbors through either Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc.  or Campus Area Neighborhood Assoc .***There are three sections to this week's update:

1. Downtown Updates
2. City of Madison Updates
3. Meetings and Events of Interest

Downtown Updates

529 University Ave (The Vintage) Neighborhood Meeting: Jan 4th 7p-8:30p, MMB Room 215 or Zoom

Please join us this Thursday for a neighborhood steering committee meeting on the proposed development where the Vintage is located. Note, the Dec. 11th demolition hearing was referred to Jan 8th, with the potential of being pushed out further. 

Crime Incident at Dubai on State Street

The Madison Police Department responded to the Dubai restaurant at 419 State St 12/26, regarding significant internal property damage. Alongside the damage, there was grafiti of Islampaphobic slurs at the site. At this point, no arrests have been made and they are treating this as a potential hate crime. This incident is both abhorrent and demonstrative of the hate that exists in Madison. We are in contact with the owners of the business and look towards ways we can support them in their time of need. 

City of Madison Updates

The one update I have for you is that Alder Kristi Slack of District 19 is resigning from Council effective Jan 10th. Please see the press release here.

Meetings and Events

·     Jeffrey Clay Erlanger Civility in Public Discourse Award Winner is Dr. Fabu Carter: Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway announced that Dr. Fabu Carter is the recipient of the 2023 Jeffrey Clay Erlanger Civility in Public Discourse Award. 

·     Mayor, Common Council, Madison Police Department Joint Statement on Recent Acts of Vandalism: Last night a business in our community was vandalized and sprayed with Islamophobic graffiti. This is the second incidence of hate-related vandalism in the past 48 hours and comes on top of a string of troubling Islamophobic and antisemitic…

·     Large Items Free with Work Orders for Resource Recovery Charge Ratepayers : Starting today, December 27, 2023 and continuing through all of 2024, Madison residents who pay the Resource Recovery Special Charge will not be charged for items that require a fee when they make their required large item work orders. Large item…

·     How to Have Your Christmas Tree Collected: The Streets Division provides two rounds of curbside collection for Christmas trees. Crews collect trees only.  Wreaths, boughs, and other evergreen decorations go into the trash. The first round will begin on January 2, 2024, following the New Year…

·     No Trash & Recycling Collection on Monday, January 1, 2024: No Streets Division collections on Monday, January 1. Drop-off sites & offices are also closed.

·     2024 Neighborhood Grant Program: Have you and your neighbors been thinking about making community improvements or strengthening your neighborhood group? The Planning Division will once again offer funding through the Neighborhood Grant Program for Leadership and Capacity Building and Community Enhancement projects. The application deadline is February 12, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. In late December, we will post updated grant materials on our webpage for 2024. In the interim, you can refer to last year’s  guidelines for assistance. Once you are ready to start an application, please contact the Planning Division at  Neighborhoods@cityofmadison.com, and share project ideas with your alderperson. We also invite you to attend an optional orientation meeting: Neighborhood Grant Program Orientation January 11, 2024

·     Virtual, 12:00 p.m. via Zoom. Please sign up to receive an email with information about participating in the meeting.

·     In-Person, 6:00 p.m., Madison Municipal Building, 215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Room 206. 

Streets Division Updates

·     Drop-off Site Hours: Drop-off sites are on winter hours. Check the hours before loading your car.  Drop-off site information is available at www.cityofmadison.com/DropOffSites.

·     Winter Information: The City of Madison has a hub for all things winter from how to use salt correctly to winter recreation opportunities to free sand locations to snowplowing update email signups.  All of that is available at www.cityofmadison.com/Winter