Common Council

Updates July 19, 2021

In this update:

• American Rescue Plan Act information sessions
• Community
• Transportation
• City meetings highlights
• COVID-19

American Rescue Plan Act Allocation Information Sessions Scheduled for July 22 and July 27

The City has launched a new webpage, cityofmadison.com/arpa, to provide information about the planned allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds. 

The City will host two information sessions to share information about the annual budget process and address funding allocations outlined in the plan.

The information sessions will take place on Thursday, July 22nd from 4:30-6:30pm and Tuesday, July 27 from 4-5 pm. The sessions will be recorded and posted to the webpage.

• Attend the July 22nd meeting 

• Attend the July 27th meeting

• Submit your questions about the ARPA funding

About the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)

The City of Madison will receive $47.2 million of federal funding through the State and Local Recovery Funds component of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to recover from the negative public health and economic impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The City has adopted a plan to use ARPA funds to address critical community issues, support an equitable recovery, and continue to provide government services.

The City of Madison Finance Department invites residents to attend the ARPA information sessions and to follow along on the ARPA webpage that will be regularly updated with information about projects related to ARPA funding and opportunities to access those funds. Questions and comments can be directed to Finance Director David Schmiedicke (dschmiedicke@cityofmadison.com).

Community

Tuesday: Madison Public Library Foundation provides free genealogy workshop

Beginning genealogy: tapping library resources to trace your family roots
Tuesday, July 20, 12-1 pm
Register

Martin Alvarado, Community Engagement Librarian for Business and Technology at Central Library, will share how to use library resources, such as archives and newspaper databases, to learn about your family's history.

Laura Skilton Verhoff, SVP and Managing Senior Counsel at Associated Bank, will moderate the event. Laura is a member of the foundation's Donor Development Committee

If you're unable to attend but would like to watch a recording of the presentation later, you should register to attend, as that will place you on a list to have a link emailed to you of the recorded workshop.

Madison Night Market returns with a fun update

After a year of virtual events, the Madison Night Market is returning, and this year the event moves onto State Street. Vendors showcase handmade products, local art, artisan gifts, prepackaged foods and fresh produce. The event includes live music, special visiting food carts and pop-up restaurant experiences. The Market will run from 4pm – 9pm on August 19, September 16, October 22, and December 16.
 

Make Madison an Age-Friendly Community

In late 2019 Madison became part of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities. This was a great first step to making this city more livable for adults 65 and older.  However, due to the pandemic, work on this initiative was stalled.

Would you like to help make Madison an Age-Friendly Community? We need volunteers to join a steering committee of community groups, local stakeholders, and residents invested in making Madison a great place to live for all ages. If you are interested in participating, or know of any other people, organizations, or foundations that would like to participate, please email John Weichelt at: Jweichelt@cityofmadison.com.

PHOTOS FROM AARP CALIFORNIA, TEAM BETTER BLOCK, AARP MARYLAND, AARP MINNESOTA, AARP CALIFORNIA

(1) A park audit workshop in San Jose, California (2) A demonstration project in Old Orchard Beach, Maine (3) A tabletop model of a proposed park for older adults in Frederick, Maryland (4) A "Missing Middle" Housing tour in St. Paul, Minnesota (5) A planning workshop in West Hollywood, California

Transportation

Street closure--Felland Road

Felland Road is closed to through traffic between Lien Road and Burke Road for the construction of a roundabout at the Felland Road and Tranquility Trail intersection, located from 5067 Felland Road to just south of 5128 Felland Road.   The road will be closed for the duration of the construction, which is expected to be completed in mid-October.

Project details and updates

Public Meeting - New Metro Fare Technology and Policies

On Wednesday, July 21, at 6pm Metro staff will hold a virtual public meeting to introduce and discuss ideas for improving how fares are collected on Metro buses.
 

Metro is looking at replacing its current system of magnetic stripe card passes with smart tap cards, mobile phone payments, online account payments and fare purchase kiosks located at transfer points and bus rapid transit stations.

New technology and policies are intended to make it easier for passengers to purchase fares, speed up boarding times on buses and replace old equipment. To speed up boarding times even further, staff are also exploring the possibility of no longer accepting cash on the bus.
 

Virtual Meeting: Wednesday, July 21 at 6 pm

City meetings highlights

Preview of Metro Transit Redesign of Coverage and Ridership

The Transportation Commission and the Transportation Policy and Planning Board will be discussing a preview of proposed Metro Transit Redesign maps at their joint meeting on Monday.

• Meeting details
• Agenda
• Register for public comment

Housing Snapshot Report

The Housing Strategy Committee will be discussing the Housing Snapshot Report at its meeting on Thursday.

• Meeting details
• Agenda
• Register for public comment

City meetings schedule

City weekly meeting schedule
The Mayor's meeting schedule
The County weekly meeting schedule

COVID-19 updates

COVID Data Highlights

• Cases were stable during this 14-day period with an average of 10 cases per day.

• It's been more than seven weeks since we've had a death due to COVID.  

• The number of people hospitalized in Dane County hospitals with COVID is increasing, but the 14-day average of 20 people hospitalized is still among the lowest levels we've had since May 2020. 

• 69.4% of all Dane County residents have received at least one dose of vaccine and 66.7% have completed the vaccine series. 

• 80.2% of the eligible population (ages 12+) have received at least one dose of vaccine and 77.1% have completed the vaccine series.  

• 81% of our most recent sequenced cases have been the Delta variant of concern. It is likely that Delta is now the dominant strain of virus in Dane County. 

• Please note that Public Health has regular testing and vaccination hours at their South Madison Office and East Washington Office. Please see their website for details. 

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

• 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