Common Council

District 3 Updates October 7, 2019

In this update:

1. Final Round of Brush Collection Begins Monday, October 14 |

2. Prescribed burn for Heritage Prairie Conservation Park |

3. City Budget |

4. What's being built in the northwest corner of Milwaukee Street and Sprecher? |

5. Meadowlands Multi-Family Residences Proposal Updates |

6. Ace Apartments at October 28 Plan Commission |

7. F-35s Public Comment Deadline Extended to November 1 | 

8. Kwik Trip Traffic Management Update |

9. Join the Rolling Meadows Neighborhood Association Board |

10. Help Plan Portland Park |

11. North Star Dog Park Update |

12. Last chance to complete the Madison Water Utility Poll |

13. Department of Public Health Urges Breast Cancer Screening for Women of Color |

14. City Meetings |

15. Event Calendar |

1. Final Round of Brush Collection Begins Monday, October 14
 

The Streets Division will begin the final guaranteed round of brush collection of the year on Monday, October 14, 2019.

Residents who wish to utilize the curbside brush collection service this year should have their brush to the curb prior to October 14.

Placing brush to the curb after October 14 risks it not being collected until regular brush collection operations begin again in the spring of 2020.

Brush Collection Guidelines

When placing brush out for collection, be sure to have the cut ends all facing the same direction and piles should be four feet away from obstructions like fire hydrants and street signs.

Brush piles should be kept separate from leaf/yard waste piles. Brush collection and yard waste collection are different operations. Piles of brush and yard waste mixed together will not be picked up.

Drop-off Sites

Madison residents and taxpayers can also bring one load of a brush a day to either Streets Division drop-off site. Brush loads brought to a drop-off site may not exceed 5' x 8', which means the brush load would fit into the bed of a standard pick-up truck or small trailer. Loads that are too large will be denied use of the drop-off site and directed to use the brush processing center.
 

The sites are located at 1501 W. Badger Rd. on the southwest side and 4602 Sycamore Ave on the east side. Contractors may not use these drop-off sites.

The Sycamore and Badger sites are open seven days a week from 8:30am to 4:30pm and until 8:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These hours of operation will remain in effect until December 8, 2019.

2. Prescribed burn for Heritage Prairie Conservation Park

In the coming weeks, the City of Madison, Parks Division and Engineering Division will be conducting prescribed burns in natural areas and native plantings in greenways, conservation parks, and certain portions of other City of Madison parks.  Prescribed burns are an important management tool for Wisconsin's native plant communities, which depend on fire to sustain them. While most prescribed burns are conducted in the spring, fall burns also provide the benefits of reducing leaf litter and controlling excess woody growth.

In our area, Heritage Prairie Conservation Park will have a prescribed burn.

Postcards have been mailed to residents who may see smoke or flames when the burn is conducted. As in the past, the Dane County Emergency Management automated phone call system will be used to notify neighbors before a burn begins on mornings when we will be burning.

These burns will be conducted by trained staff and volunteers, under a permit from the Madison Fire Department. The burns will only take place under specific weather conditions in order to manage smoke and minimize impacts to neighbors. In addition, appropriate road signage will be installed on the day of the burn.

See additional information about prescribed burns conducted by the Parks and Engineering departments.

3. City Budget

On Tuesday of last week, Mayor Rhodes-Conway introduced her 2020 Executive Operating Budget. Agencies will present details to the Finance Committee at public hearings on Monday and Thursday of this week. Amendments to the Executive Operating Budget will be considered at Finance Committee on October 21st and the full council will take up the budget beginning the week of November 11th.

I will share more detailed information about the budget following this week's presentations.

4. What's being built in the northwest corner of Milwaukee Street and Sprecher?

Approved in February, (10/10 update: more documents can be found here) work has begun on one of two five-story mixed use buildings. These buildings will include commercial space on the first floor and 198 apartments, with 98 in one building and 100 in the other building. The apartments will be priced at market rates, featuring efficiencies, 1,2 and 3 bedroom options, with basement parking.  

There will be 28 efficiencies, 131 one bedrooms, 38 two bedrooms, and one three bedroom. See the apartment layouts. Each building will have 14,000 square feet of commerical space for 28,000 square feet total.

180 underground parking spots and 178 surface parking spots are included. This amounts to an average of 1.6 parking stalls per unit, and 80 parking stalls for commercial use.

Construction for the first building is underway, and construction of the second building will begin based on market trends, with completion of both buildings anticipated to be September 2022.

5. Meadowlands Multi-Family Residences Proposal Updates and October 28 Plan Commission

A reminder that there is opportunity for public comment on the Meadowlands Multi-Family residences proposal at the October 28, 2019 Plan Commission meeting, which begins at 5:30 pm at the City County Building. 

Comments can also be emailed to the Plan Commission in advance to be shared with the commissioners by emailing me (district3@cityofmadison.com) or Colin Punt in City Planning (cpunt@cityofmadison.com). If you've already sent me your thoughts, these are sent to Plan Commission for consideration. 

A few updates on the project:

• Metro Transit reviewed it and would prioritize expanding service in this location given the size of this development. I'm awaiting more information. 

• The developers met with the Madison Police Department to discuss their security plan. 

• In addition to what's been previously shared, the project includes an accessible playground and community garden on the grounds, and the interior includes a 1,400 square foot dedicated room for services and resources, a game room for children, a business room and a community room.

• Since they are still working to address feedback from the Urban Design Commission, updated renderings of the buildings are being created.

6. Ace Apartments at October 28 Plan Commission

The Ace Apartments development will be at the October 16 Urban Design Commission Meeting and the October 28 Plan Commission Meeting. 

The Urban Design Commission looks only at design issues. If you have design feedback, you can either provide it via email in advance to Janine Glaeser (JGlaeser@cityofmadison.com) or attend the Urban Design Commission meeting to deliver your feedback. The meeting begins at 4:30 pm at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Room 153.

You can deliver feedback to the Plan Commission via email, and also in person during at the October 28 Plan Commission meeting, which begins at 5:30 pm in room 201 of the City County Building. If you've already emailed me about the project, this is considered public record and is included in the Plan Commissioners' review materials. If you haven't yet provided feedback, you can send it to me or to Tim Parks (tparks@cityofmadison.com) in City Planning. 

7. F-35s Public Comment Deadline Extended to November 1 

The Air Force has extended the public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the F-35 beddown at Truax Field. The comment deadline is now Nov. 1. Submit your comments specific to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. 

8. Kwik Trip Traffic Management Update

As mentioned previously, Kwik Trip's new location at the corner of Sprecher and Cottage Grove Roads was approved at the Monday, Sept. 16 Plan Commission Meeting.

Construction of the Kwik Trip is anticipated to begin in March 2020, with construction of Kilpatrick Lane east of Sprecher, and New Sprecher Road from Wyalusing to Cottage Grove Road beginning before that. 

There has been an addition to the plans for addressing the traffic concerns at this intersection. There will now also be a right turn lane northbound from Cottage Grove Road to the New Sprecher Road. Thus, the plans for addressing traffic so far include:

• On Sprecher Road: Adding a left turn lane southbound, turning left onto the new extension of Kilpatrick Lane 

• On Cottage Grove Road: Adding a left turn lane northbound into New Sprecher Road

• On Cottage Grove Road: A right turn lane from Cottage Grove Road to New Sprecher Road

9. Join the Rolling Meadows Neighborhood Association Board

Help improve your neighborhood, get to know your neighbors, plan fun events, and give back to your community.

There are open positions on the Rolling Meadows Neighborhood Association board, including Vice President and two at-large board positions. 

Want to learn more or express your interest in joining? Send an email to rolling.meadows.na@gmail.com

10. Help Plan Portland Park 

City staff have begun a master planning process to guide future programming and development for Portland Park, beginning with a public input meeting that was held on September 11.

Parks staff are seeking comments and ideas from the surrounding neighborhood regarding the future of the park, and will be holding at least one more public input meeting and have launched a community survey. Once the master plan has been developed, incorporating input from the neighborhood, the plan will go to the Board of Park Commissioners for approval.

Community Survey

As part of the master planning process, Parks is issuing a community survey to residents. Paper copies are being mailed to residents within approximately a 1/4 mile radius of the park and an online version is available. Please note that the survey will close on 10/9/19 at 12 pm.

Take a look at the results, as well as agenda and content from the September 11 meeting:

Public Input Meeting One

Portland Park Meeting 1 Agenda PDF 

Portland Park Meeting 1 Presentation PDF 

Portland Park Planning Exercise Results PDF 

View the Project Page

11. North Star Dog Park Update

The Parks department opened bids for the dog park construction on Thursday. 

Once the contract has been executed, Parks staff will be working with the Contractor to determine the schedule for construction.  The Contractor has until May 29, 2020 to complete this work.

12. Last chance to complete the Madison Water Utility Poll

Madison Water Utility wants to engage their customers to better understand which incentives would be most effective in increasing water use efficiency still further. MWU is working with the WaterNow Alliance, in partnership with the online polling platform POLCO , to maximize public engagement. Madison Water Utility is a 2019 recipient of a WaterNow Project Accelerator grant.

Complete the poll

13. Department of Public Health Urges Breast Cancer Screening for Women of Color

One in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer, the second most common cancer in women, at some point in their lives. While breast cancer can affect anyone and rates for white women have generally stabilized in the past few years, there is a disparity in breast cancer for African American women. 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Public Health Madison & Dane County (PHMDC) encourages women, particularly women of color, to take steps to be screened for breast cancer.

"While African American women have similar incidence rates to white women, they're about 40% more likely to die from breast cancer and are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer at a later stage of the disease when treatment options are limited, it is more costly, and the prognosis is poor. That's why it's so important for women of color to be screened regularly," says Kari Sievert, Program Coordinator for the PHMDC Wisconsin Well Woman Program.

The Wisconsin Well Woman Program (WWWP) provides free breast cancer screenings for women with limited income and little or no insurance. The Well Woman Program is a statewide program that offers free breast exams, mammograms, and other diagnostic tests for eligible women ages 45-65, and women ages 35-44 who have breast symptoms or concerns.

"Breast cancer screening is important because when breast cancer is found early, there are more treatment options and many women, once treated, remain cancer free," says Sievert. "We can enroll women in the Well Woman Program quickly and easily over the phone," continues Sievert.

Once enrolled in the program, women can get exams at more than 35 clinics in Dane and Rock Counties. Women can call (608) 242-6392 to enroll. Women who live outside Dane and Rock Counties should call 1-800-722-2295 to enroll or visit https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/wwwp.

The East Madison Community Center (EMCC) is hosting a Women's Breast Cancer Education event, specifically for African American women, on Saturday, October 5, from 11am to 1pm. The event will feature a speaker from the UW Health Disparities Initiative as well as two women sharing their breast cancer journeys. The event is co-sponsored by East Madison Community Center, PHMDC, Joining Forces for Families, UW-Cancer Health Disparities Initiative and the Wisconsin Well Woman Program. Up to 50 women may register by calling or texting (608) 516-8317.

14. City Meetings

City Weekly Meeting Schedule 

County Weekly Meeting Schedule

District Reports