Alder Patrick Heck
Contact Information
Home Address:
123 N. Blount St #303- Phone: (608) 286-2260
- district2@cityofmadison.com
- Contact Alder Patrick Heck
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Council Office
210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd
Room 417
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: (608) 266-4071
Fax: (608) 267-8669
WI Relay Service
Alder Heck’s Updates
Updates & Week of May 9 Meetings of Interest for District 2
District 2 Updates and Meetings of Interest
There are three sections to this week's update:
- District 2 Updates
- COVID-19 Resources & Information
- City Meetings of Interest to District 2
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Overdose Fatality Review Reveals Troubling Trends in Dane County
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Lilada Gee's "I AM JOY" distributed to local children - Madison Arts Commission coordinates effort to get free copies into the hands of more youth
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Storytelling Event Encourages Essential Workers to Share Their Experiences on the Mic - A Madison Public Library Takeover Event
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Madison Police Department helps keep community safe on busy a Saturday
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Applications Being Accepted to Fill Third Aldermanic District Vacancy
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Applications Being Accepted to Fill Twentieth Aldermanic District Vacancy
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From the Mayor:
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From the Streets Division - If you have questions about the Resource Recovery Special Charge, there is an FAQ page on the Streets Division website explaining it here.
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Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Zoning - The Planning Division, in collaboration with Zoning staff, is working to implement a 2018 Comprehensive Plan call for implementation of "TOD overlay zoning" along planned BRT and other high-frequency transit corridors to "create development intensity minimums, reduce parking requirements, and support transit use." For more information, and to sign up for May 11th and May 16th public meetings on this effort, please visit the project web page.
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Make Music Madison is a free, citywide, outdoor day of music held annually on the summer solstice. Registration to perform or host a performance closes on May 25th at 11:59pm. Learn more here.
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The City is now accepting applicants for the first Youth Poet Laureate. The City of Madison, the Madison Arts Commission, and Madison Poet Laureate Angela Trudell Vasquez announce the establishment of a Youth Poet Laureate Program to recognize a youth under the age of twenty for their literary achievements. With this initiative, Madison will become a member of the National Youth Poet Laureate program, which honors talented poets from ages of thirteen (13) through nineteen (19) and provides for competitive opportunities for young people to showcase their literary art on the regional and national stage. Learn more here, and find the Youth Poet Laureate application here.
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Save the Date: Fresh water is Earth's most precious resource. We all use it every day and can all have an impact on the ability to provide reliable supplies of clean water now and for future generations. On June 14 and June 21, participate in a two-session course to become a steward of our local waters. Water Steward is developed in partnership with Sustain Dane, the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, the Madison Area Municipal Storm Water Partnership, the Madison Water Utility, and the Dane County Land and Water Resources Department. Learn more and register here.
The Madison Night Market Returns!
Madison's Central Business Improvement District (BID) celebrates the return of the Madison Night Market for 2022! The first night market is Thursday, May 12, from 4-8pm. More than 50 businesses are participating in the market by staying open later and offering a wide variety of special events and sales. Visit www.madisonnightmarket.com to find out more about these participating retailers and their special offers. Another 90+ local vendors make for a great mix of shopping and entertainment.
The market is in the heart of the city, on State and Gilman Streets. Information, performances and more are located at Lisa Link Peace Park at 452 State St.
Meet the 2022 featured artist Esperanza Tyson at her booth located near the intersection of State & Gilman Street. She shares, "I'm a local freelance artist and amateur bird enthusiast. (I am a) big fan of up-cycling and combining sustainability with beauty... I think the Night Market brings out a little wildness, whimsy, and wonder, and I hope you feel it too."
In addition to a variety of buskers working throughout the market, the main stage at Lisa Link Peace Park features:
LINE 4:30 – 5:30pm: LINE is a multi-genre, collaborative music project by artist Maddie Batzli. Maddie works as a solo artist and with bandmates to create songs ranging between reflective contemporary folk, moody indie rock, and electric synth pop.
Cash Box Kings 6 – 8pm: Alligator Recording artists the Cash Box Kings are bona fide blues royalty. Co-led by real-deal Chicago blues vocalist and songwriter Oscar Wilson and songwriter, harmonica giant and singer Joe Nosek, the band plays masterfully raw and unvarnished houserocking blues.
More on 2022 Property Assessments
As you likely know, the city assessor has published the valuation of all assessable property in Madison and updated assessments were mailed to all property owners whose assessments changed. You can read more about the assessment process here and find the new assessed values here. The Wisconsin State Journal ran an extensive article explaining the assessments and Council President, Keith Furman, provided a comprehensive blog post on this topic. There is often confusion about the difference between an increase in assessed values and an increase in property tax and Alder Furman's post helps explain the difference. Anyone feeling that there is an error in their assessment can find information about the appeals process here.
Traffic Medians Proposal Explained
The Wisconsin State Journal also ran an article about paving over medians that has generated a lot of feedback. It's encouraging to hear how strongly many residents support greening our city. As you can imagine, the situation is a little more complicated than simply choosing between greenscape and concrete and our Engineering division has put together an FAQ document that explains some of that detail here.
While none of the medians proposed for conversion are eligible for adoption by community members, it is a good opportunity to share information about our adopt-a-median program. You can find more info on that program here.
Recap of May 2 Neighborhood Meeting on Redevelopment Proposal for E. Johnson & N. Butler
On May 2, I hosted a virtual neighborhood meeting to take a first look at a proposed redevelopment at the corner of E. Johnson and N. Butler Streets. Kaba Baal LLC presented his team's proposal to demolish four buildings (301 & 305 E. Johnson and 145 & 149 N. Butler) and then construct a new a 4-story residential building with 32 to 48 dwelling units with parking underneath.
You can watch a recording of the neighborhood meeting here.
As described in the meeting, the developer is seeking City of Madison Forward Housing Rental funds that, if awarded, and other financing secured, could require most or all residents to have 60% of Dane County Median Income or less with rental rates reduced appropriately. The building is likely to be proposed with a mixture of studios, 1-bedroom, and 2-bedroom units.
The developer will be seeking Demolition Permits and will need approvals from the Plan Commission, but formal applications have not yet been filed with the city. Any city funding proposed for the affordability component would have to be approved by the Community Development Block Grant Committee, the Finance Committee, and Common Council. According to city staff, applicants for the competitive Housing Forward Rental funds are being evaluated with committee and Common Council considerations expected in June.
The James Madison Park District of Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc., (CNI), will likely form a neighborhood steering committee sometime later this summer after the Forward Housing funding decisions have been made. In the meantime you are welcome to email me with your input and questions (district2@cityofmadison.com).
Metro Transit Network Redesign Public Engagement Opportunities
Metro is holding a final public meeting on Metro's draft Network Redesign on Thursday, May 19 at 6:00 pm. It will be held in person at Madison Municipal Building in Room 215 and it will also be streamed live. People watching from home will be able to submit questions through a button on Mediasite so that they can be answered live during the meeting. Complete meeting details are here.
A public hearing on the redesign is being set up in front of both the Transportation Planning and Policy Board and the Transportation Commission Thursday, May 31 at 6 pm. Complete details are here.
Survey Available on State Street Safety Climate
The City of Madison received a $500,000 grant to support efforts to reduce violent crime in the downtown area over the next two years. An advisory council has been meeting for the last 8 months to discuss the issues and the options. That council would like YOUR input on where you feel unsafe and what you would like to see done about it. Please complete this very short survey found here.
There are a total of five questions about your opinion on safety downtown. It should take you less than 10 minutes to complete it and if you like you can submit your email to enroll in a drawing for a giftcard. If you have any comments or questions, please reach out to Janae Goodrich or Abra Vigna at UW-Madison's Population Health Institute via avigna@wisc.edu or jgoodrich@wisc.edu.
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2. COVID-19 RESOURCES & INFORMATION
From Public Health Madison & Dane County:
- COVID-19 vaccine webpage
- Learn about the many testing sites in Dane County (in Spanish)
- COVID-19 Data Dashboard
- The latest Data Notes
Dane CORE - for rental and utility assistance. If you are a renter or landlord in need of financial assistance as a result of the pandemic, you can still access financial assistance.
Visit the City's Coronavirus Website for Madison's COVID updates, responses and resources.
Dane County Food Pantry Network from Community Action Coalition.
State of Wisconsin COVID-19 resources and information from state agencies, including the State Dept. Public Health
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3. CITY MEETINGS OF INTEREST TO DISTRICT 2
McCunes Edible Spoons LLC • dba Sookie's Veggie Burgers
502 State St • Agent: John McCune • Estimated Capacity (in/out): 50/0 Class B Beer • 10% alcohol, 90% food
Aldermanic District 2 (Alder Heck) • Police Sector 403
4/25/22 PLAN COMMISSION RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL TO ADOPT - PUBLIC HEARING
Excerpt From Staff Memo:
Additionally, this amendment modifies the NMX district, to allow brewpubs, catering, incidental alcohol sales, restaurant-taverns, and taverns as permitted uses. These uses are permitted uses within the TSS and CCT districts, so this change will better align the NMX district use list with these similar districts. Other alcohol related uses, including Nightclub, Restaurant-Nightclub, and Tasting Room remain conditional uses in this district like TSS and CCT.
Legislative History
4/14/22 Council Office RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL TO ADOPT
5/4/22 Council Office RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL TO CONFIRM
5/3/22 Council Office RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL TO ACCEPT - REPORT OF OFFICER
The Community Development Division's Accessory Dwelling Unit Financing capital program (Munis Project # 13943) was created in the 2022 Adopted Capital Budget, which appropriated $400,000 of general obligation borrowing in 2022. The following resolution requests approval of program parameters to administer the funds. No additional appropriation is required.
Note: The body of this resolution includes -
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Madison commits to the Five Principles of Responsible Outdoor Lighting, set forth by the International Dark-Sky Association and the Illuminating Engineering Society. Lighting should be:
1. Useful: All light should have a clear purpose2. Targeted: Light should be directed to only where needed
3. Low Light Levels: Light should be no brighter than necessary
4. Controlled: Light should be used only when useful
5. Color: Use warmer color lights where possible.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Madison will apply for designation as an International Dark Sky Community through the International Dark-Sky Association.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that, in order to further reduce light pollution, the Madison Common Council adopts changes to MGO 10.085 (3)(a)2 of the outdoor lighting code so that "all fixtures greater than 500 initial lumens (equivalent to 40 watts incandescent or 10 watt LED) shall be full cutoff, or shall be shielded or installed so that there is not a direct line of sight between the light source or its reflection and a point five (5) feet or higher above the ground at the property boundary. The light source shall not be of such intensity so as to cause discomfort or annoyance."
4/26/22 Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development Referred for Introduction
The proposed resolution authorizes the Planning Division's shift to a planning framework with 13 higher level area plans to be updated every 10 years. No additional City appropriation is required with the authorization of this framework. Any costs associated with public engagement or implementation of plans created through the framework will be included in future budget requests and subject to Council approval.
Sponsors: Grant Foster, Yannette Figueroa Cole And Patrick W. Heck
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