Common Council

Updates June 21, 2021

This week's highlights

Neighborhood

In-person wellness series "Live Well @ Your Library" begins June 27 at Pinney Library

Madison Public Library, Be Well Madison and Wisconsin Mujer , are hosting a series of events centered on health and wellness titled Live Well @ Your Library. 

Live Well @ Your Library: Reflection
Sunday, June 27, 1-3 p.m. | Pinney Library Patio

The first event will be a multicultural, multigenerational and multisensory experience outdoors on the outdoor patio at Pinney Library. There will be a mixture of passive and experiential happenings offered throughout the event, including:

• Welcome table with giveaways from Be Well Madison and Madison Public Library's We Read Program

• A self-guided station from new Pinney Artist-in-Residence Maria Amalia Wood with writing prompts in Spanish and English. The paper will then be torn apart and collected to be part of future paper pulping and transformation workshops at Pinney later in the summer.

• Warped Walk activity, created by Bubbler Artist-in-Residence Hellen Ascoli, which includes a zine with prompts for mindful movement activities and connection to Mayan weaving culture. Available in Spanish and English, and the artist will be in attendance.

• A self guided station with a writing activity to add to a collective Wish and Reflection Board.

• A self-guided station for kids featuring the Bubbler's Mini Maker kits.

Register and learn more at madpl.org/livewell

Make Music Madison is today

Angela Puerta and Carlos Ramos at Lakeview Library. Photo by Ben Zastrow of Laura Zastrow Photography

Make Music Madison is live and in person today, Monday, June 21st, 2021. Coffee shops, restaurants, front porches, and businesses across Madison will fill with song for anyone to enjoy.

Make Music Madison is a free, citywide, outdoor day of music held annually on the summer solstice. Initiated in Madison in 2013, our festival is part of the larger Make Music Day, an international summer solstice music celebration occurring in 1,000+ cities across the globe.

Learn more at makemusicmadison.org

ArtCart and FitUGo are coming to a park near you!

See the ArtCart and Fit2Go schedules to find when they'll be in your neighborhood. 

Art Cart and Art Cart EXTRA! are free outdoor art programs that travel to parks and playgrounds across Dane County.

FIT2GO provides free drop-in recreation activities throughout Madison. In addition to a variety of games and physical activities, they provide environmental education opportunities to go on nature walks, observe and catch bugs. Make sure to mark these dates on your calendar for when they are at a park near you!

6321 Town Center Drive approved with conditions

This project was recommended for approval with conditions at the Monday, June 7 Plan Commission meeting and approved at the Common Council on Tuesday, June 15. See the city staff report for the list of conditions beginning on page 7.

The project calls for multi-family residences in the currently vacant lot directly across from Madison Fire Station #13, located on the south side of Town Center Dr, along Metro Terrace. They plan to construct the far west building first, which would have 24 units. Construction of the other two buildings would happen later and timing would be based on market conditions. These are market-rate units with a mix of studio, one and two bedrooms, and the buildings would be three stories. They were originally approved back in 2005, but never constructed.

Video of the neighborhood meeting for this proposal.

Meeting highlights for the week of June 21, 2021

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) Local Fiscal Recovery Funds

The Finance Committee will be discussing a resolution proposing allocation of ARPA funds at its meeting on Monday.

• Details

• Agenda

• Register for Public Comment

For additional information about additional meetings scheduled for this week, please consult the City Meeting Schedule

Community

Maxwell Street Days returns

Downtown Madison businesses are excited to share the return of Maxwell Street Days to State Street. This year's event, now in its 44th year, expands from three days to four, July 15 – July 18. 

Find further info here, including a list of the 60+ participating businesses.

Madison Public Library celebrates Pride

In recognition of LGBTQ+ Pride Month in June, Madison Public Library is celebrating with inclusive events, an all-new LGBTQ+ Wellness Guide, booklists and book displays in libraries.

Madison Senior Center begins to welcome back participants

The Madison Senior Center welcomes guests back to the building on July 13, 2021 at reduced capacity.

The center will offer services Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 am to 12:30 p.m. with limited capacity July 13-August 1, 2021. Effective August 2, 2021 pre-COVID operating hours will resume and the Madison Senior Center will be open Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. through September 3, 2021 with reduced capacity. Staff will be working a hybrid remote schedule and will remain available to answer your questions via e-mail or telephone during this time.

The Senior Nutrition Meal Site of Dane County will reopen on August 2, 2021 at Madison Senior Center. Please call NewBridge at 608-512-0000 ext. 4006 to register to attend, or to ask questions.

Take an MSCR pontoon drop-in ride

MSCR offers drop-in rides at Tenney, Olbrich and Warner Parks. All trips are first come-first served with no reservations. Learn more including where to meet the boat.

Olbrich Park on Mondays

1:30-2:30pm

2:45-3:45pm

Warner Park on Fridays

1:30pm-2:30pm

2:45pm-3:45pm

New Volterra™ electric pumper now in service on city's east side

Now in service as "Engine 8" on the east side, this zero-emissions electric fire truck is the first of its kind in service in North America. It's housed at the City's busiest fire station, located on Lien Road, which is also home to Tower-Ladder 8, Medic 8, and the Heavy Urban Rescue Team.

The engine features a 155-kilowatt-hour battery pack designed to sustain the rig on all fire and EMS calls without compromising power, speed, or pumping operations. Should the demand on the battery exceed its supply on sustained, hours-long fire scenes, a diesel engine is available to provide back-up support.

The rig was placed into service on May 21, 2021 and has already responded to over 200 calls. It's the 61st electric vehicle to enter the City of Madison's fleet, supporting an ambitious goal to reach 100% renewable energy and zero net carbon emissions by 2030.

Monona Terrace public tours resume

Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center resumed public tours on Thursday, June 17. Visitors to the facility can take an in person guided tour and learn about the history of Frank Lloyd Wright's "dream civic center" project for his hometown of Madison. 

COVID-19 updates

Testing and vaccination operations at Alliant Energy Center ending June 26

The closing of this community site does not mean the work is over. Public Health will continue to provide testing and vaccination services in their existing spaces including the South Madison and East Washington offices in addition to hosting mobile vaccination clinics throughout the county.  

Testing is by appointment only at South Madison Office (2230 S. Park Street):

• Tuesdays: 8am – 4pm

• Thursdays: 12pm – 8pm

• Saturdays: 8am – 4pm

Vaccination by appointment or drop-in:

• Monday: South Madison Office (2230 S. Park Street) – 8am – 4pm

• Friday: South Madison Office (2230 S. Park Street) – 8am – 4pm

• Thursday: East Washington Office (2705 East Washington Ave) – 8am – 4pm

• Wednesday: South Madison Office (2230 S. Park Street) – 12pm – 8pm

• Tuesday: East Washington Office (2705 East Washington Ave) – 12pm – 8pm

Mobile vaccination efforts are ongoing, with several first and second dose clinics happening every week throughout Dane County.

See this map  to find one near you or for more information, visit https://publichealthmdc.com/vax.

COVID Data Snapshot from Public Health's weekly Data Notes Blog Post:

• Cases were stable during this 14-day period.

• 68% of Dane County residents have received at least one dose of vaccine.

• We are seeing lower vaccination rates in areas of outlying municipalities in Dane County, and some pockets of Madison, Fitchburg, and Sun Prairie.

COVID resources

• How Can I Talk to Someone About Getting Vaccinated?

• Data Dashboard

• Financial Navigators hotline

• Renter Assistance 

• Close Contacts Now have Quarantine Options

• 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

• 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

City meetings schedule

City weekly meeting schedule

The Mayor's meeting schedule

The County weekly meeting schedule