City Meetings and Updates Week of August 25
posted- City Meetings
- Finance Committee 8/25
- Plan Commission 8/25
- Free Cycolcross Practice Night at Kennedy Park 8/27
- Reminder: Honeysuckle Park Paint and Pack Event 8/26
- Reminder: MacArthur/Sycamore/Larson Streets Reconstruction Meeting 8/27
- Events & Announcements
City Meetings
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee meeting will take place on Monday, August 25, at 4:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include accepting the Economic Development Division’s 2025 Small Business Assistance Policy Paper as the foundation for structuring and conducting a Request for Proposals (RFP) process and an overview of the 2026 Operating Budget Requests and the Budget Process. That budget overview presentation will be important; staff will upload the slides as an attachment to this Legistar item when they’re finalized.
Plan Commission
The Plan Commission meeting will take place on Monday, August 25, at 5:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include:
- A proposal amending several City ordinances related to City terrace trees intended to improve the planning process for saving or removing them during private construction projects, with the goal of saving more mature trees. More information is available here. I’m working with some of the sponsors to clarify and specify some of the language in the proposed changes and I generally support the concepts in the proposal.
- Staff updates on the ongoing Southwest and Southeast Area Plans, which include two discussion items at staff’s request. Here’s their presentation and a helpful memo on both.
- In areas with completed Area Plans, staff propose no longer using a policy in the Comprehensive Plan that currently allows more density in certain areas that have “access to urban services, transit, parks, and amenities”.
- Staff propose to proactively review and determine which “commercial” and “employment” areas of the City can be considered appropriate for residential or mixed-use proposals.
- Development-related requests (none in District 3).
Meeting info:
Free Cyclocross Practice Night at Kennedy Park 8/27
What is Cyclocross?
Image credit:
Madison Parks
Cyclocross is a form of bicycle racing similar to cross-country running, but on a bicycle. Courses feature wooded trails, grass, pavement, steep hills, and obstacles. Practice trails are offered periodically at select locations throughout the year.
In partnership with CORP (Capital Off Road Pathfinders), Madison Parks offers practice cyclocross courses in select parks for one designated evening in the late summer and early fall. Here’s the Madison Parks event series webpage listing all of the cyclocross events this season.
You'll need a bike with knobby tires, such as a mountain-style bike, and a good-fitting helmet. No registration is required.
- Where: Kennedy Park, 5205 Retana Drive
- When: Wednesday, August 27, 2025 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Here’s the event page with more details the Kennedy Park practice night. Another of these events is coming to District 3 on October 22nd at the new Cyclecross trail in Sycamore Park!
Reminder: Hiestand Park Paint and Pack Event on Tuesday
As a reminder, City Planning is hosting a Paint and Pack event at Honeysuckle Park with area residents, particularly families, including a supplies giveaway and free food for participants! These are related to Southeast Area Plan resident engagement.
Kids will be invited to help paint colorful stencil animals on the parks’ basketball courts! Residents who join are encouraged to share their ideas for how to make our community better.
Logistics for the event this Tuesday:
- Where: Honeysuckle Park basketball court
- When: Tuesday, August 26th at 5:30pm (rain date: August 27th)
Image credit:
City Planning - SEAP Planning Team
Watch for more updates soon about a public meeting this fall and other next steps for the Southeast Area Plan!
Reminder: MacArthur Rd, Sycamore Ave Reconstruction Meeting Wednesday
MacArthur Road, Larson Court, Sycamore Avenue Reconstruction, Wednesday, August 27
The purpose of this major street reconstruction project, proposed for the 2026 construction season pending its inclusion in the 2026 Capital Budget, is to fully replace the pavement and underground utilities on MacArthur Rd, Larson Ct, and Sycamore Ave between MacArthur Rd and Mendota St. These streets were built long ago before the neighborhood was a part of the City of Madison and were not built to City standards. Today they mostly lack important features of safe urban streets like curbs, gutters, sidewalks, etc. and are prone to issues like potholes, cracks, and deep muddy shoulders from tire ruts. The pavement of each of these streets has degraded badly to the point that resurfacing would not be cost-effective and full reconstruction is merited. That also means this is a rare opportunity to redesign the street geometry within the right of way along with the underground utilities. I understand that the neighborhood has been waiting for this project for quite a long time.
Image credit:
City Engineering
A virtual public information meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m., on Aug. 27, 2025. Postcards have been sent to residents on these streets. Registration for the meeting is required, please use the registration link on the event webpage for the meeting. A benefit of virtual meetings is that they are recorded; this meeting’s recording will be linked to the Engineering webpage for this project following the meeting.
Topics to be covered include:
- Project boundaries: MacArthur Rd, MacArthur Ct, Sycamore Ave (west of Mendota St), Larson Ct
- Proposed street design and options, including results from a resident questionnaire
- Overview of the underground sewer/water utility work
- Information about the City terrace rain garden program (see images to the right)
- Information about efforts to minimize street tree impacts and replace necessary losses
- The still relatively new City assessment policy and associated charges
- How the construction project will affect neighborhood and driveway access at different phases of construction
- Timeline and next steps
- Q&A where staff from Engineering, Traffic Engineering, Sewer Utility, and Water Utility will answer residents’ questions
Events & Announcements
- Pflaum Road Resurfacing, Thursday, August 28: City Engineering plans to remove and replace the asphalt pavement and road base, replace sanitary sewer main and laterals, replace water main and laterals, replace storm sewer and private storm connections, replace curb and gutter, sidewalk and drive aprons as needed. A public information meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., Aug. 28, 2025, via Zoom. Registration is required.
- Madison Hires New City Clerk: Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway has appointed Lydia A. McComas to be the City of Madison’s next Clerk. [posted August 20, 2025]
- Madison’s Aaa Bond Rating Renewed: For the 52nd year in a row, Moody’s Investors Service has assigned the City of Madison the highest possible bond rating. [posted August 19, 2025]
- Goodman Pool Season Ends August 24: Get in your pool days before the season ends! The Goodman Pool will close for the 2025 season after Sunday, August 24, weather permitting. This planned closure is based on staffing availability, as most of our lifeguards are students returning to…[posted August 19, 2025]
- From Council to Community: Meet Your Eastside and Northside Alders: The City of Madison Common Council and Madison College are excited to invite residents to a meet-and-greet event to connect with their Eastside and Northside Alders. This is a great opportunity to engage with your Alders and learn about their… [posted August 19, 2025]
- Period Party at Madison Public Library Set to Expand to Multi-Session Series this September (link is external): Madison Public Library and Public Health Madison & Dane County are partnering to offer informational health events focused on menstruation at Goodman South Madison Library in September. [posted August 18, 2025]
- Learn & Ride, Tuesday, August 26 (Junction Road Park & Ride and Baldwin Station): Both events are drop-in formats and take place at two convenient locations, open to the public. Don't miss this chance to see firsthand how to ride the bus and get helpful tips on navigating transit options across the greater Madison area with Metro Transit. All events will be held inside or near the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stations.
- Drywall Installation and Repair by Project Home, Tuesday, August 26: Is your drywall work less than perfect? This comprehensive class takes the frustration out of drywall projects. We’ll cover everything from the basics to advanced techniques, including proper tool usage, selecting the right materials for any situation, and mastering the tricks of the trade for smooth finishes and invisible repairs.
- Mobile Vaccination Clinic - Hawthorne Elementary School, Saturday, August 30: All vaccines are free for eligible individuals. Children six months and older who lack insurance, are under 19, and are either Alaskan Native or American Indian, as well as those with BadgerCare or most other types of insurance, can receive vaccinations at no cost.
Please visit the City news webpage to find additional news and announcements and to subscribe to receive notification of news releases as they are posted. Additional upcoming events can also be found on the City events calendar.
