City Meetings and Updates Week of March 23
posted- City Meetings
- Common Council
- Housing Policy Committee
- Poll Workers Needed for April 7th and Fall Elections
- Community Development Division “Telling Our Story" Update: Affordable Housing
- Madison CARES Teams Acquire Response Vehicles to Better Support People in Crisis
- Events & Announcements
City Meetings
Common Council
The Common Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 24, at 6:30 p.m. in hybrid format. Agenda items include:
- Item 1: An honoring resolution proclaiming the week of April 20 as Arbor Week.
Item 2: An honoring resolution declaring March 31, 2026 to be Transgender Day of Visibility in the City of Madison.
Image credit: City Engineering- Items 29 and 30, related: Resolutions approving plans and specifications for public improvements to take place as part of Phase 1 of the Reiland Grove subdivision in District 3, along with the planned stormwater improvements serving the area. The planned improvements include city streets, alleys, sidewalks, utilities, and a new mixed-use path. It looks like about 60 homes are included in phase 1, which is on the western end of the overall Reiland Grove subdivision.
- Item 41: A resolution adding funds to the contract for the Starkweather Creek Watershed Study (includes part of District 3). Staff shared that the level of detail going into this watershed model, combined with the fact that the Starweather watershed is the largest in the City, means that there's more work yet to be done than they realized when writing the current contract. I am eager to see the study's results, which will include recommended stormwater infrastructure improvement projects to help mitigate the risk of flooding in the watershed.
- Item 42: A resolution approving the initial concept design and related agreements for new public art coming to the Reindahl Imagination Center. Check out the concept design here.
- Item 48: A resolution authorizing the City to enter into a Cooperative Plan between Westport, Madison, Middleton, Deforest, and Waunakee.
- Items 65 and 69: For introduction only, a resolution changing the zoning of 822 Pully Drive in District 3 to SR-C2, to facilitate a lot division (by a separate resolution), allowing the property owner to build a new house in the Burke Heights neighborhood. Here are the applicant's letter of intent and a drawing showing the lot lines. These items are planned to be at the Plan Commission on April 27th and Council on May 5th. I'll post about them again prior to those meetings.
Meeting info:
Housing Policy Committee
The Housing Policy Committee meeting will take place on Thursday, March 26, at 4:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include an overview of the 2025 Housing Snapshot Report. Here's a helpful staff presentation with an overview of the report. I wrote in more detail about the Housing Snapshot Report and its findings in this February 15th blog post.
Poll Workers Needed for April 7th and Fall Elections
The City Clerk's Office put out a call for poll workers for the upcoming elections on April 7th, August 11th, and November 3rd. Here's their message:
“We're in need of poll workers for the April 7 election (as well as the August and November elections)! Well-staffed polling places ensure that lines are not an issue on Election Day and it's an excellent way to help support civic engagement.
Pay is $17/hr.
Any student 16 years and older can work at the polls.
Any UW students who let their professors know at least 2 weeks ahead of time are allowed off class per UW resolution 856 (https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-856).
Sign-ups are online at www.cityofmadison.com/eo. If folks have any questions they can email madisonvotes@cityofmadison.com."
I've worked at polling places several times in Madison (prior to my service on the Council) and have found it to be a tremendously rewarding experience.
Madison Community Development Division “Telling Our Story" Update: Affordable Housing
The Community Development Division (CDD) shared another update recently, telling a story about their services – this time, affordable housing. I first shared a CDD story in this blog post in January.
“Each year, the Community Development Division issues a competitive Request for Proposals to offer approximately $10 million in support to developers that aim to build affordable housing to serve Madison's most vulnerable populations. In 2025, a total of 425 future rental homes received City subsidies, 260 of which will offer permanent affordability to those with qualified incomes.
One of the preferences outlined in the Affordable Rental Housing Development: Tax Credit RFP is that applicants dedicate space on-site to host support services for residents. In scoring proposals through this RFP, the City awards points for having dedicated space for support services, for dedicating funding for support services or having full-time employees on site, and for having a strong Supportive Service Plan, among other factors."
The rest of the story is available here.
As a reminder, here is the map of the City that shows which project locations are eligible for City Affordable Housing funds. Note that the map is from the 2024 RFP; I just can't find a more recent map on the City website.
Madison CARES Teams Acquire Response Vehicles to Better Support People in Crisis
Madison Community Alternative Response Emergency Services (CARES) is now better equipped to provide comfortable transportation and mobile accommodations for people experiencing non-violent behavioral health emergencies. This is thanks to the recent delivery of specialized Ford Transit vans that were ordered in 2024.
Each CARES team will now respond in a "CARES van." These vans are designed to keep people out of the elements. They feature a table and seating to allow for personalized consultation. The vans also carry medication and a variety of supplies that support individualized care for people in need of CARES' assistance.
CARES is a specialized service provided by the City of Madison that is designed to be an additional available resource for non-violent behavioral health emergencies, addressing many calls that would have otherwise gone to the Madison Police Department. Each CARES team is comprised of a Madison Fire Department community paramedic and a Journey Mental Health crisis worker.
CARES responds to calls weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and weekends from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Learn more about CARES here.
Events & Announcements
- MPD Presentation: Demonstrations and assemblies, Tuesday, March 24: The Madison Police Department is hosting a presentation on a person's rights during assemblies and demonstrations. Part of these presentations will cover the ever-evolving Madison Method, which is our department's nationally recognized philosophy for policing large events, crowds and protests.Announcements and News Releases
- Madison Community Transportation Academy, register by March 24:If you have ever wondered WHY our transportation system works the way it does or thought, there must be a better way, we encourage you to sign up for the Madison Community Transportation Academy. This free 10-week course is offered by 1000 Friends of Wisconsin to help bridge the gap between community members and decision-makers in transportation planning and provides participants with skills and knowledge to advocate for safe and accessible transportation solutions that work for everyone.
- Register Now for the Spring Roll Challenge: The RoundTrip Spring Roll Challenge takes place every April in honor of Earth Month. This fun, free initiative encourages people who live and work in Dane County to swap solo drives for biking, riding the bus, walking, rolling, and carpooling more often—and celebrates those already choosing sustainable transportation year-round
- Madison Madness Returns for Downtown Area Plan: The City of Madison Planning Division is bringing "Madison Madness" back as part of its efforts to collect community priorities and feedback for the Downtown Area Plan. [posted March 19, 2026]
- Secure Drop Boxes Are Now Open: Madison's secure ballot drop boxes are now open for the April 7 election. [posted March 17, 2026]
- A New Version of LINKcat Will Go Live on April 17: LINKcat will be offline April 12-16 as new features are added and others are changed during a software migration. The new version of LINKcat will go live on Friday, April 17. [posted March 17, 2026]
- MPD to host free spring break book fair for families on Monday, March 23: Madison, Wis. — The Madison Police Department's Community Outreach and Resource Education (CORE) team is inviting families and community members to attend a free book fair during spring break. The event is open to people of all ages and is designed… [posted March 16, 2026]
- Bird & Nature Adventures | Edna Taylor, Saturday, March 28: Learn about Maple Syruping ~ Join Naturalist Stephanie Briand for a free, fun and family friendly hike to learn how sap rises in trees with cool nights and warmer days and the history and science of maple syruping.
- Late Night Open Gym, Saturday, March 28: Basketball event for anyone 16 years old and up. Late Night Open Gym is offered in partnership with Public Health Madison & Dane County Violence Prevention Unit and the Circle of Friends.
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.
