City Meetings and Updates Week of October 13

• City Meetings
  • Finance Committee 2026 Operating Budget Hearings 10/13 and 10/14
  • Special Policy Meeting of the Plan Commission 10/16
• Madison Water Utility Presents Rock ’N’ The Well Open House 10/18
• Tree Damage and Replacement at Honeysuckle Park
• Events & Announcements

City Meetings

Finance Committee Hearings on 2026 Operating Budget Monday and Tuesday

The Finance Committee meeting will take place on Monday, October 13, at 4:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include

• Item 4: a resolution authorizing a five-year contract with Diehl & Neumaier to recycle metals and appliances collected by the Streets Division
• Item 5: a resolution authorizing an eight-year contract with Pellitteri for the sorting, processing, and marketing of recyclables collected by the Streets Division (There’s a fun fact in the resolution: apparently the City of Madison Streets Division began a curbside recycling program in 1968, making it the first such program in the nation!)
• Items 8-12 are grant applications for funding to support a variety of projects if awarded, including a future bike/ped expansion over Stoughton Road benefiting District 3
• Item 16: A briefing on the 2026 Executive Operating Budget. This is the main event. The Mayor released her 2026 Executive Operating Budget proposal on October 7th, highlights can be found in this summary and the full proposal is available here. Highlights include a historic investment of $1.7 million for the operations of the permanent men’s homeless shelter, staffing of the new Reindahl Imagination Center park/library site on the east side, and a tenth ambulance for the city and an additional nine paramedics to help keep response times low. City agency leadership will present their portion of the budget according to this schedule:
  • Monday presentations: Assessor’s Office, City Attorney’s Office, Civil Rights, Clerk’s Office, Employee Assistance Program, Finance Department, Human Resources, Info Technology, Engineering (includes Landfill, Sewer, and Stormwater), Fleet, Parks (including golf), Streets, Water Utility, Fire Department, Police Department, Office of the Independent Monitor
  • Tuesday presentations: Municipal Court, Common Council’s Office, Mayor’s Office, Public Health, Monona Terrace, Library, Metro Transit, Parking Utility, Traffic Engineering, Transportation, Building Inspection, Community Development Authority, Community Development Division, Economic Development Division, Planning Division

Note: the Tuesday hearing is technically a continuation of the Monday hearing, so comments on the Operating Budget proposals can only be made on Monday during the public comment period.

Meeting info:

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agenda
• Register for Public Comment
• Watch Online
• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agenda
• Watch Online

Special Policy Meeting of the Plan Commission Thursday

The Plan Commission meeting will take place on Thursday, October 16, at 5:00 p.m. in-person in Room 215 of the Madison Municipal Building at 215 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Agenda items include:

• Item 2: A presentation with Madison Metro School District leadership about the District’s future growth strategy, an overview of school sites to be reconstructed under the recent facilities referendum, and potential future school sites – including the District-owned property near Door Creek Church east of Sprecher Road 

  

  Image credit: Walker Consulting

• Item 3: Updates on the Curb Management Framework
• Item 4: A discussion about Urban Design Commission Code updates
• Item 5: A discussion about Generalized Future Land Use categories found in the City’s Area Plans, the latest update in a conversation the Plan Commission and Planning staff have been having about two topics:
  • Differences between Low-Medium Residential density (1-3 story buildings) and Medium Residential density (2-5 stories); slide 3 of the staff presentation on this item suggests staff are proposing to split Medium Residential into MR 1 and MR 2, with MR 1 (2-4 stories) being the next-denser step above LMR, beginning with new Area Plans
  • Proactively mapping which General Commercial-designated areas are appropriate for housing, and which are not, following a difficult approval granted a few months ago in a General Commercial area along Verona Road on the Southwest Side

Meeting info:

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agenda
• Register for Public Comment
• Watch Online

Madison Water Utility Presents Rock ’N’ The Well Open House Next Saturday

Rocks! Water! Motion! Welcome to Madison Water Utility’s Rock ‘N’ The Well Open House 2025! Part of the 2025 Wisconsin Science Festival: 

Image credit: Madison Water Utility

• Take a self-guided tour of a working booster pump station for a deep well that supplies water to the City of Madison.
• Learn from City of Madison Water Utility staff where our water comes from, where it goes, and how together we’re working to protect and conserve the water that rocks our world!
• Enjoy a live performance from Cosmic Flights Liquid Light’s water-induced light show DJed and produced by Marcus Johan of WVMO’s The Good Kind from 1 to 3 PM.
• Educational demos from local rock star geologist, Caty Abitz

When: Saturday, Oct 28th from noon-4pm

Where: Madison Water Utility Well 24 101 N Livingston Street

Contact Jody Berndt at (608) 206-1718 or jberndt@madisonwater.org with any questions.

Visit Rock ‘N’ The Well Open House event page for more information.

Tree Damage and Replacement at Honeysuckle Park

From Madison Parks: “We needed to remove a large linden tree in Honeysuckle Park today that was split vertically throughout the entire trunk from the ground to the canopy, and was in severe risk of splitting in half and falling. We will also need to remove two honey locust trees within the next couple of weeks that are in close proximity to the playground.  One of those trees has sustained large amounts of wind damage over the years, is very broken apart, and has a lot of stress fractures on the main large limbs.  The second honey locust displays the same stress fractures running down the main limbs of the tree.  These stress fractures will eventually cause complete failure of the limbs and we’d prefer to minimize the risk to the playground structures, and anyone using the playground. Parks will plant new trees in the park during the next planting season on the East side, likely spring of 2026.”

Events & Announcements

• Road Closure for Tree Planting: Starting at 9am on October 15, City of Madison Forestry will begin grinding tree stumps and planting new trees at 2903 Packers Ave. This work is expected to take 3 hours. [posted October 10, 2025]
• SafeGrowth Initiative Brings New Public Art to Historic Downtown Corridor: West Gilman Street is being transformed by three distinctive public art projects, breathing new creative energy into the historic corridor. [posted October 10, 2025]
• October is Pedestrian Safety Month: As the days grow shorter and more kids walk to and from school, fall is a great time for everyone in Madison to get outside for some fresh air, exercise, and exploration. It’s also the perfect moment to focus on pedestrian safety. [posted October 9, 2025]
• Next Phase of Public Meetings for Southwest and Southeast Area Plans Scheduled: Residents, community organizations, businesses, and others are invited to join in the second phase of the planning for the Southwest and Southeast Area Plans with a series of public meetings in the coming weeks. [posted October 8, 2025]
• Jeffrey Clay Erlanger Civility in Public Discourse Award : The City of Madison invites you to submit nominations for its annual Jeffrey Clay Erlanger Civility in Public Discourse Award. [posted October 8, 2025]
• Common Council adopts latest changes to encourage more housing opportunities : City of Madison Alders unanimously approved the latest set of Housing Forward proposals designed to make it easier to build more housing of all types across Madison. [posted October 7, 2025]
• Mayor Releases 2026 Executive Operating Budget : The 2026 Executive Operating Budget proposal funds the services, programs, and staff needed for a well-run and thriving city. [posted October 7, 2025]
• Swearing-In Ceremony for Madison’s New Chief of Police John Patterson: The City of Madison and the Madison Police Department invite community members and the media to attend the official swearing-in ceremony for John Patterson as our new Chief of Police. Chief Patterson is a 27-year veteran of the MPD, having served in… [posted October 7, 2025]
• John Nolen Drive Reconstruction Begins Monday, October 13: Reconstruction of John Nolen Drive will begin on Monday, October 13. During construction, traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction between Lakeside Street and Broom Street. North Shore Drive and Broom Street will also be reduced to one… [posted October 6, 2025]
• Announcement from the Office of the Independent Monitor: Robin Copley has informed the Police Civilian Oversight Board that she is resigning her position as Independent Police Monitor. [posted October 6, 2025]
• Bird & Nature Adventures | Starkweather Creek Area, Saturday, October 18: Transitioning to Winter ~ Join Master Naturalist Sean Gere with Friends of Starkweather Creek for a free family friendly guided tour along Starkweather Creek.  Enjoy Fall outdoors and learn how plants, trees, birds, insects and other animals are enjoying the bounty of Summer and getting ready for Winter.
• Rock ‘N’ The Well Open House, Saturday, October 18: Rocks! Water! Motion! Welcome to Madison Water Utility’s Rock ‘N’ The Well Open House 2025! This event is FREE to all community members. Show up any time between Noon and 4 pm.

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.