Meetings and Updates Week of April 8th
posted- City Meetings:
- Plan Commission 4/8
- Community Development Authority 4/11
- Save the date: North Stoughton Road North Study Public Meeting Presenting Near-Final Recommendations 4/18
- Save the date: Garlic Mustard Pull at Heritage Sanctuary Conservation Park 5/11
- Madison Public Library Celebrates National Library Week 4/7-4/13
- Madison Parks and Public Health Madison Dane County Release 2023 Annual Reports, Summarize Services with Data
- Events and Announcements
City Meetings
Note: This is not a complete list of meetings for this upcoming week. All meetings and their details can be found at the Meeting Schedule page.
Plan Commission
The Plan Commission meeting will take place on Monday, April 8, in virtual format at 5:30 p.m. Agenda items include amending Madison General Ordinances to allow Accessory Dwelling Units for properties with up to eight dwelling units and removing owner-occupancy requirements for ADUs (see Zoning staff memo with an explanation of this change), as well as development-related requests in Districts 6, 9, 12, and 18.
Community Development Authority
The Community Development Authority Board meeting will take place on Thursday, April 11, in virtual format at 4:30p.m. Agenda items include receiving Redevelopment Partnership Request for Qualifications (RFQ) presentations for the Badger & Park redevelopment project on the south side. The project is planned to include a replaced City fire station serving that growing part of town, including neighborhoods which were added to the City of Madison from the former Town of Madison.
Save the date: US Hwy 51/Stoughton Road North Study – Public Involvement Meeting with WisDOT on April 18th
WisDOT invites you to the third public involvement meeting for the US 51 north study. The purpose of this public meeting is to present and gather resident feedback on their updated alternative intersection designs developed throughout the corridor (north of Hwy 30). In addition, the city of Madison will have a representative available to provide updates on the city’s Northeast area plan.
You can find the design alternatives for each intersection, and much more information, at the links available on WisDOT’s webpage for the Hwy 51 study project.
- When: Thursday, April 18 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
- Where: Madison College – Truax building, 1701 Wright Street, Conference room D1630
Questions or written feedback can be sent to: Jeff Berens, WisDOT Project Manager, (608) 245-2656, jeff.berens@dot.wi.gov.
Save the date: Garlic Mustard Pull at Heritage Sanctuary Conservation Park on Saturday, May 11th
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Garlic mustard is an aggressive invasive species threatening native plants including the outstanding spring trillium displays in east Madison's Heritage Sanctuary Conservation Park. A Madison Parks staff person will lead this off-trail project. Please bring a dandelion weeder, if possible, and wear garden gloves. Meet by the sanctuary sign at the south entrance (625 Meadowlark Drive) at 8:50 a.m. Email Beth at elsbethrich@gmail.com if you plan to volunteer.
From Madison Parks: At peak trillium bloom in early to mid-May, the 9.3 acre Heritage Sanctuary is unequaled. Under an oak forest canopy lies a wildflower carpet more typical of a maple forest.
More info at https://www.cityofmadison.com/parks/events/2024-05-11/conservation-volunteer-day-heritage-sanctuary.
Madison Public Library Celebrates National Library Week April 7-13
From April 7-13, 2024, Madison Public Library is celebrating National Library Week online and at all library locations with a variety of activities including a “share your story” postcard campaign, the debut of a Library Value Calculator, and the Our Town Everywhere Exhibition & Celebration. A selection of the daily celebrations include:
- Sunday: Share Your Story. Throughout the upcoming week, library users are invited to share why they love their library. It may be because of a fantastic event, a free service, a great book, or something else entirely! Library users are invited to post a story with the hashtags #nationallibraryweek and tag @MadisonPublicLibrary on Instagram or Facebook, or stop in and share a story in person through a postcard campaign. You can also check out our new Library Value Calculator and let us know via social media, email or postcard how much your library saves you each month!
- Monday: State of American Libraries Report Release. The State of America’s Libraries 2024 Report is an annual summary of library trends that outlines statistics and issues affecting all types of libraries during the previous calendar year.
- Tuesday: National Library Workers Day. National Library Workers Day is a day for library staff, library patrons, and library supporters to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.
- Wednesday: National Library Outreach Day. Madison and Dane County’s mobile library, the Dream Bus, visits a dozen locations around Madison on a weekly basis. First launched five years ago, the Dream Bus visits neighborhoods and locations around Madison and Sun Prairie that may face transportation barriers in getting to a library location (including Milky Way in North Grandview Commons!). The Dream Bus literally meets residents where they are at, and helps hundreds of patrons each year get library cards and check out library materials.
- Thursday: Take Action for Libraries Day. On this day, library users are encouraged to contact their local alders and/or their county or state representatives to express their support for Madison’s libraries! Madison’s Common Council encourages all City of Madison residents to get involved in the decision-making processes of their local government. By participating in Common Council meetings, you can have a say in policies, services, and developments that directly affect your lives – and libraries! All Council meetings are open to the public to attend in-person and streamed live on Madison City Channel. To learn more:
- Visit the Common Council Meeting Calendar.
- Visit the Common Council website.
- Email or call your alder. Find your alder here. For District 3 residents, that’s me! District3@cityofmadison.com.
- Contact the Common Council Office by filling out the online contact form.
- Friday: Connect at Your Library Day. Libraries connect us to books and resources, to stories and experiences, and to each other. With nearly 3 million in-person and online checkouts, 713,000 online checkouts, 1.28 million visits, 130,644 in-library computer uses, and 4,573 programs offered per year, libraries are busy places for connection.
Madison Parks and Public Health Release 2023 Annual Reports, Summarize Services with Data
I’m sharing this info because I went through these reports myself anyway upon their release, and I thought I might as well send out some of my notes to constituents who are interested.
Details from 2023 Madison Parks Annual Report
Parks services and Parks properties in 2023, by the numbers:
- 69 acres grazed by goats in 8 parks
- 153 acres burned through prescribed burns
- 426 acres of managed meadows
- 8.16 acres of park land acquired
- 3,983 scholarships for admissions to Goodman Pool
- 31 Sina Davis Movies in the Park, reaching 4,021 attendees
- 2,400 public surveys received, including 8,000 written comments
- 14 Learning Series events by Madison Parks Foundation (private entity)
- 2 new accessible playgrounds opened
- 152,884 rounds of golf at City of Madison golf courses, a 14% annual increase
- 24 new youth referees through the KNOW Ref Apprenticeship program, amounting to 1,055 hours of programming
- 344,000 visitors to Olbrich Gardens (1% annual increase despite Atwood Ave reconstruction)
- 21,158 volunteer hours at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (thank you volunteers!)
- 79 disc golf kits checked out from Madison Public Libraries
- 282 permitted park events
- 4 bike/ped accessible gates installed
- 12,809 visits by park ranger staff
- 680+ youth served through Quality Discounts Program pilot
- 14,447 volunteer hours for Madison Parks (thank you volunteers!)
- 1 new driving range donated at Hiestand Park disc golf course in memory of Tasha Cheny
- 26 Parks Alive Events
- 41,334 athletic reservation hours at Madison Parks facilities/fields
- 38,966 admissions to Goodman Pool, a 17% annual increase
- Impacts of poor air quality in 2023:
- 433 athletic reservation hours canceled due to poor air quality
- 7 full days Goodman Pool closed
- 9 Parks Alive events canceled
- Impacts of warming winters: 79% decrease in skateable days across potential ice skating locations
Details from 2023 Madison-Dane County Public Health Annual Report
By the numbers (quotes from the report): “In the average week, we:
- Gave 138 immunizations and hosted 11 mobile vaccination clinics
- Screened 35 people for STIs
- Disseminated 91 Narcan kits (2 doses each) to the community
- Responded to 138 animal service calls
- Hosted 232 syringe service visits
- Tested 52 well water quality samples
- Enrolled 17 women in Well Woman, a cancer screening and
- treatment program”
“In the average month, we:
- Monitored the treatment of 45 people diagnosed with tuberculosis
- Inspected 190 licensed establishments
- Fielded 23 media requests
- Followed-up on 429 communicable disease reports
- Permitted 29 private wells
- Sold 54 radon test kits
- Responded to 11 illegal dumping complaints
- Fielded 10 data requests from the community
- Conducted 35 tobacco retailer inspections to provide education and
- ensure retailers are not selling tobacco products to minors”
“This year [2023], we:
- Served 8,139 WIC clients
- Supported 260 families through perinatal home visiting programs
- Awarded $759,861 in violence prevention and intervention funding
- to community groups
- Responded to 86 environmental health complaints about air quality,
- household hygiene, and rodents.”
Events & Announcements
- Learn How to Ride Metro, Tuesday, April 9: Learn how to use Metro Transit’s fixed route city bus service. Topics include using Google Maps, the Transit app, and other digital options; paper schedules and phone service; and discounted fare options. Metro employees will answer your questions about bus travel and provide one-on-one assistance in English and Spanish.
- Learn to Fall Safely, Wednesday, April 10: SAFELY Learn to fall safely and to get back up without injury. Falls are a leading cause of death for older adults in Wisconsin. We will use thick “crash mats” for practicing. Classes are progressive. Attending all 4 classes recommended. Scholarships available.
- Strategies to Prevent Basement Flooding, Wednesday, April 10: Ever had water in your basement? Whether it’s a reoccurring issue or has only happened during extreme weather conditions, in most cases, it can be avoided. With some planning, a few rules and basic landscaping tools, most homeowners can address this problem on their own. Sponsored by MG&E. No registration is required, but sign up for an email or text reminder if you like.
- Homebuyer Education Workshop, Saturday, April 13: Take the first step to owning a home and join us in this Home Buyer Education Workshop. This FREE Homebuyer Education workshop takes place in-person at the Sunshine Place (18 Rickel Rd., Sun Prairie, WI) on Saturday, April 13 from 8:30am-3:30pm! Lunch will be provided.
