Updates January 11, 2021

1. New Public Health Order issued as COVID-19 cases remain high

2. Request your absentee ballot for the spring election 

3. Second round of Christmas tree pickups begins January 19

4. Madison community meal in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

5. Free COVID-19 testing to continue at Alliant Energy Center 

6. Last week's Common Council meeting highlights

7. Meeting highlights for the week of January 11, 2021

8. 2021 Community Food Access - competitive grants program

9. How to reduce your sidewalk salt use

10. GreenPower program application now available

11. Ice rink is open at Heritage Heights Park

12. Showcase your creativity with Madison Makes

13. New Podcast:" I want to ride my bicycle"

14. Madison Public Library receives $1,000 from UW-Madison, adds 50+ cookbooks to collection

15. Madison Public Library, Forward Madison and The Flock surprise local 12-year-old author Tikeh Tazeh

16. COVID-19 updates and resources

17. City meetings schedule

New Public Health Order issued as COVID-19 cases remain high 

Public Health Madison & Dane County has issued Emergency Order #12 . The order goes into effect January 13, at 12:01am and will be in effect for 28 days.

The order mirrors much of Order #11 and allows indoor gatherings of up to 10 people, with physical distancing and face coverings. Outdoor gatherings of up to 50 people are now allowed, with physical distancing.

Request your absentee ballot for the spring election 

You can file now request an absentee ballot for the April 6 election, or all 2021 elections. School board, judicial, Common Council seats are all on the ballot, as well as advisory referenda questions regarding the structure of the Common Council.

Second round of Christmas tree pickups begins January 19

The Streets Division provides two rounds of curbside collection for Christmas trees. The second and final round begins on January 19, 2021.

Trees must be placed on the terrace or the road edge by 6:30 am on January 19. Do not place wreaths, evergreen rope, garlands, and boughs out for tree collection. 

Madison community meal in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Overture Center for the Arts and Little John's Kitchens are organizing community meals on Monday January 18, 2021, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

There are several ways to participate:

• Community Support - Visit participating businesses January 11 - 17, 2021

• Donate a Meal - Add $5 per meal to your total at checkout

• We All Enjoy a Meal - Order a Madison Community Meal, pick it up between noon - 6pm on the 18th, and join the virtual celebrations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. safe at home.

• Sponsor or Order a Meal

Facebook event

Free COVID-19 testing to continue at Alliant Energy Center

The free COVID-19 community test site at the Alliant Energy Center (AEC) in Madison will continue until at least March 31, 2021.

Testing site details:

• Testing is done in the New Holland Pavilion at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. 

• The site is open until at least March 31, 2021.

• The test is free and available to those 5 years and older who may arrive by car, bike, or on foot. No appointment is necessary. Translation is available in Spanish and Hmong.

• No identification is needed and immigration status is not asked.

• Pre-registration is available in English, Spanish and Hmong, and is encouraged in order to get through the site as quickly as possible.

• Free transportation is available for those that need it by calling the Public Health Transportation Line at (608) 243-0420.

• The test is not an antibody test and does not indicate if someone has had COVID-19 in the past.

• Test results are provided via email or phone call within 3-7 business days.

Last week's Common Council meeting highlights

• The Council adopted new requirements to advance electric vehicle (EV) charging in Madison. 

• The Council accepted the report The Council approved moving forward with placing four referendum questions on the spring ballot about whether to decrease the size of the council from 20 to 10, whether to increase the term from 2 to 4 years, whether the Council should be full time, and whether the Council should be subject to term limits of 12 consecutive years.

Meeting highlights for the week of January 11, 2021

Proposed body-worn camera recommendations

The Body-Worn Camera Feasibility Review Committee will be continuing its discussion of, and possible action on, recommendations related to body-worn cameras at its meetings on Monday and Friday.

Monday

• Details

• Agenda

• Register for public comment

Friday

• Details

• Agenda

• Register for public comment

Discussion on advisory referendum on council size

The Task Force on Government Structure Final Report Recommendations Implementation Workgroup will be discussing the advisory referendum on Council size at its meeting on Wednesday.

• Details

• Agenda 

• Register for public comment

Violence prevention update

On Wednesday, at the Board of Public Health meeting, the Violence Prevention Unit will give an update on their work at Wednesday's Board of Health meeting. This is a standing agenda item for each Board of Health meeting. 

• Details

• Agenda

• Register for public comment

Discussion on Gun Violence and Tear Gas Usage

The Public Safety Review Committee will be discussing a report on gun violence, along with several other related items of interest, at its meeting on Wednesday.

•  Details

•  Meeting agenda

•  Register for public comment

2021 Community Food Access - competitive grants program

The City of Madison has created an exciting new Community Food Access-Competitive Grants Program. This replaces the SEED Grants for 2021. Any proposal that improves the local food system and makes food more accessible for City of Madison residents will be considered. 

Applications that focus on COVID-19 food security/access response will be prioritized during the review process.

Learn more and apply.

Learn how to reduce your sidewalk salt use this week

It only takes one teaspoon of salt to permanently pollute five gallons of water. When over-salting happens, salt impacts our environment and infrastructure. It travels into our lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands, putting our aquatic life at risk and endangers our freshwater resources.

City Engineering is asking the public to reduce salt use when removing ice and snow this winter and join Wisconsin Salt Wise for Wisconsin Salt Awareness Week, Jan. 11-15, 2021.

City Engineering and Wisconsin Salt Wise is sharing a number of resources this week on social media to help the community take steps toward reducing salt use.

New Podcast:" I want to ride my bicycle"

Engineering's latest podcast includes a conversation about winter bike path snow removal, why it's important Engineering keeps up with the demand for clear bike paths year round, and much more. Listen to this fun conversation with Engineering's Ryan Schmidt and District 15 Alder and Co-Founder Madison Bikes Grant Foster.

Listen/Share: link.chtbl.com/Eng 
 

Madison Public Library receives $1,000 from University of Wisconsin-Madison for East Asia in Wisconsin Library Program, adds 50+ cookbooks to collection

Madison Public Library has added more than 50 new cookbook titles to the collection thanks to a recent $1,000 grant from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for East Asian Studies' (CEAS) East Asia in Wisconsin Library Program . 

The list of new cookbooks focuses on food from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Tibet. The titles for the grant were selected to increase cultural perspective and raise awareness about the history, food systems, indigenous ingredients, unique cooking practices and ancestral and modern food traditions and recipes of East Asian culture in Madison. The cookbooks were purchased in November when Madison Public Library was notified of the grant award, and all of the cookbooks have now arrived at the library and will be available for checkout. 
 

Madison Public Library, Forward Madison and The Flock surprise local 12-year-old author Tikeh Tazeh

Madison Public Library recently added a new book to its shelves written by a local 12-year-old. The book, Hat Trick, is about a young man who moves to a new place and joins a soccer team. Its author, Tikeh Tazeh, is also a big soccer fan and, while soccer practices and games were on hold due to the pandemic, he decided to pursue his other passion of writing. The book quickly became a family affair, with Tikeh's older brother Kiehmi helping to edit it, and his mother, Yvonne, helping get the word out.

Ice rink is open at Heritage Heights Park

The ice rink is now open at Heritage Heights Park. Big thanks to the ice rink volunteer team lead Ashley Komula for taking a leadership role in getting the ice rink going, and big thanks to all of the ice rink volunteers for making this happen!

Showcase your creativity with Madison Makes

Have you taken on a new creative project during this pandemic, or reignited your passion for an existing hobby? Madison Makes is a new virtual event on March 6, which will showcase videos of Madison area people who love to create and want to share it with others.

Learn more and apply.

GreenPower program application now available

The City of Madison Engineering Division is looking for its next class of GreenPower Program trainees for 2021. The application is now available for anyone who would like to apply for the solar installation job training program.

GreenPower is a program where eager trainees learn how to install solar panels, even if they have little to no prior electrical experience. The program can help position a trainee for a potential career in the trades.

The program has been steadily growing since its inception in 2016, when it was started as a pilot project. Since its start, trainees have installed more than 17 complete systems at city facilities.

COVID-19 updates and resources

• Financial Navigators hotline

• Close Contacts Now have Quarantine Options

• COVID-19 vaccine not likely to be available to the public until Spring 2021 or later

• UW-Madison's rapid testing

• WI Dept. of Health Services Cases by Neighborhood (Census Tract)

• Madison COVID-related news and service updates, Español: COVID-19 and Hmoob: COVID-19

• COVID-19 recovery dashboard, a tool to track local indicators in order to better understand how our residents and community are doing throughout the pandemic.

• Public Health Madison and Dane County COVID data and orders

• Dealing with job loss

• Childcare, food, jobs, housing and low-cost internet access 

• Community-aggregated COVID resources

• From the City's Economic Development Division: Business & Non-profit Information Covid-19, including Streatery Program

City meetings schedule

City weekly meeting schedule

The Mayor's meeting schedule

The County weekly meeting schedule