Updates March 14, 2022

• March 23: Virtual meeting for far east side on the draft Metro Transit Network Redesign map

• Metro: Masks still required to ride

• Copper Ridge Dog Training seeking conditional use to open at 4230 Argosy Court

• Spring election sample ballots available

• Garlic Mustard pull event at Heritage Sanctuary Saturday, April 30, 9 am - noon

• Volunteers needed for Dog Park Cleanup Day and the Earth Day Challenge

• Imprinted in Madison: Artists Making Their Mark

• Enroll Today in the Award-Winning Master Recycler Course

• March 16: Public information meeting on the Town of Madison attachment

• City meetings and news

• COVID

March 23: Virtual meeting for far east side on the draft Metro Transit Network Redesign map

There is a virtual meeting on Wednesday, March 23 at 6 pm for the far east side to review the draft Metro Transit Network Redesign map and to provide feedback.

Learn more and register at https://www.cityofmadison.com/metro/routes-schedules/transit-network-redesign

This draft plan is designed toward the ridership goal. The plan focuses on fewer routes that are more direct and frequent, while providing coverage where it is needed most.

• New Individual Maps

• Interactive Map

Take the Network Redesign Draft Plan Survey

Over the next few months, staff will be analyzing feedback on Metro's Network Redesign Draft Plan and making adjustments. The survey will be available until the end of April.

Survey (English)

Survey (Spanish)

Paper copies of the survey are available in English, Spanish and Hmong. Call 608-266-4466 or email mymetrobus@cityofmadison.com to request a copy.

You can also provide feedback by emailing MetroRedesign@cityofmadison.com.

Metro: Masks still required to ride

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has extended their order until April 18, 2022. This order requires all passengers and employees to wear face masks while utilizing all forms of public transit, including Metro Transit buses and paratransit vehicles.

Copper Ridge Dog Training seeking conditional use to open at 4230 Argosy Court

I received notice that Copper Ridge Dog Training is submitting their application for a conditional use approval to open their business at 4230 Argosy Court. They expect to be submitting their application to the city on March 14, which would put them at the May 9 Plan Commission meeting.

This business offers daily dog training services and would not be offering any overnight care at this location. They are intending to have an outdoor fenced area to the east of the property, with a six foot wood privacy fence.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this proposal.

Spring election sample ballots available

The Spring Election is on Apr. 5, 2022. Several offices are up for election. Voters can view a sample ballot for their address at myvote.wi.gov .

Additionally, several polling locations have changed in our area. Postcards were sent out to voters in areas impacted by polling place changes. You can verify your polling location either at myvote.wi.gov or cityofmadison.com/WhereDoIVote.

Garlic Mustard pull event at Heritage Sanctuary Saturday, April 30, 9 am - noon

Submitted by Beth Godfrey

Garlic mustard is an aggressive invasive species threatening woodlands and native plants including the outstanding trillium display each spring in Madison's Heritage Sanctuary Conservation Park. Please consider assisting with a garlic mustard pull on Saturday April 30 from 9 am to noon. 

A staff person from Madison Parks will lead this off-trail project.  Volunteers should wear garden gloves and bring a dandelion weeder. Meet by the sanctuary sign at the south entrance (625 Meadowlark Drive) at 8:50 am. 

Please email Beth at elsbethrich@gmail.com if you plan to volunteer.

From Madison Parks: At peak trillium bloom in early to mid-May, the 9.3 acre Heritage Sanctuary is unequaled. Under an oak forest canopy lies a wildflower carpet more typical of a maple forest. Heritage Sanctuary is located on Madison's east side in the Heritage Heights neighborhood.

Volunteers needed for Dog Park Cleanup Day and the Earth Day Challenge

Do you love your dog park? Help spruce up and clean up your favorite off-leash dog park at Dog Park Cleanup Day on Saturday, April 2, 2022.

Volunteers are needed to assist with picking up trash and scooping up dog poop. Parks will supply the trash bags, gloves, scoopers, and buckets. 

Earth Day Challenge

Celebrate Earth Day with your neighbors and friends by volunteering to clean up your local park at the Earth Day Challenge. Volunteers are needed to assist with trash pickup, raking, weeding, removing sticks, and more on Saturday, April 23, 2022.

Imprinted in Madison: Artists Making Their Mark

On display at the Madison Municipal Building from February 25, 2022 – February 17, 2023

Imprinted in Madison: Artists Making Their Mark features prints by contemporary artists whose paths brought them to or through Madison. The exhibition showcases a wide variety of prints and printmaking processes from internationally exhibited artists and locally celebrated printmakers alike. 

Enroll Today in the Award-Winning Master Recycler Course

Want to become a better recycler? 

Sustain Dane, in partnership with the City of Madison, is once again offering an opportunity to become a Master Recycler .

The course will teach you about how to recycle the right way in your home, and also provide you with the tools so you can share your knowledge with your friends, neighbors, relatives, coworkers, fellow congregants, and others in your life so they will know how to recycle right, too.

Support for homeowners available

On Monday, March 7, Governor Tony Evers announced the launch of the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners (WHH) program-- a $92 million statewide program. Eligible homeowners (with and without a mortgage) who have experienced financial hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic can now receive financial assistance with overdue housing-related bills like mortgage payments, local property taxes, utilities, housing counseling and legal services. 

The application is live and open on a first-come, first-served basis at homeownerhelp.wi.gov. To get additional information and assistance, call 1-855-2-HOME-WI (4663-94). Application and call center are available in Spanish, Hmong, and Somali in addition to English.

Madison Public Library Introduces Poet-in-Residence

District 3 resident Angela Trudell Vasquez will serve as Madison Public Library's Poet-in-Residence from March through May 2022. 

During the residency, Vasquez will provide workshops catering to different age groups, including adults, teens, and youth and families. 

The final event for the Poet-in-Residence program will be a reception at Pinney Library in May celebrating the Bus Line Poetry winners. 

City

March 16: Public information meeting on the Town of Madison attachment

The next public information meeting about the Town of Madison Attachment is scheduled for March 16, 2022 at 6 pm via Zoom. The meeting will have simultaneous interpretation in Spanish and it will be streamed at the Madison Municipal Building room 153 (English) and MMB room 151 (Spanish) for those who do not have access to a digital device at home. 

Registration is required.

City meetings

Rent Abatement Policy

The Landlord and Tenant Issues Committee will be continuing discussion on rent abatement at its meeting on Thursday.

Meeting Details

Agenda

Register for Public Comment

Additional meetings scheduled for this week

City news

• Badger Road Drop-off Shutting Down March 25, 2022 The Streets Division's drop-off site located at 1501 W. Badger Rd will be closing on March 25, 2022 for a construction project.

• Women in Construction Week 2022: Kara Jafferis Bright red fire hydrants are hard to miss, just like Madison Water Utility Pump Operator Kara Jafferis..

• Women in Construction Week 2022: Cindy Hemenway Good weather can make all the difference when working in the field in the construction industry. Rain can make it muddy and messy. Snow can make it dangerous. Sharp wind can give you a chill down your back.

• Optimus Technologies and Renewable Energy Group Implement B100 Technology to Help City of Madison Reach Sustainability Goals The City of Madison, Wisconsin will soon be seeing emissions reductions after converting 17 of their fleet vehicles to operate on 100% biodiesel, thanks to their partnership

• City Engineer Robert Phillips to Retire After 33 Years of City Service The City of Madison Engineering Division City Engineer Robert "Rob" Phillips will retire at the end of April after over three decades of service to the City.

• Women in Construction Week 2022: Rebecca Qureishi Dreaded orange barrels, they're hard to miss when they pop up in your neighborhood.

• Make Your Voice Heard: Madison Police and Fire Commission Seeks Public Input on Fire Chief Hiring, Releases Finalist Interviews The Board of Police and Fire Commissioners (PFC) of the City of Madison, Wisconsin interviewed four finalists for the position of Fire Chief on March 8.

• City of Madison Common Council & Common Council Executive Committee Meetings of March 15, 2022, Cancelled The March 15, 2022, meetings of both the Common Council and Common Council Executive Committee have been cancelled due to a lack of quorum of Alders.

• Enroll Today in the Award-Winning Master Recycler Course Recyclables collected by the City of Madison Streets Division has too much trash in it. Approximately 13% of all the material collected from the green carts is actually trash that should not be there.

• Volunteers Needed: Earth Day Challenge For more than 20 years, Madison Parks has honored Earth Day by recruiting volunteers for the Earth Day Challenge. Celebrate Ear

• City and County Announce Location of Permanent Men's Shelter Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and County Executive Joe Parisi today announced the selection of a location on which to build a permanent shelter facility serving men experiencing homeless.

• Women in Construction Week 2022: Margaret Kraege A big yellow front loader picks up dirt at a City of Madison Parks Division playground--dust flies, the massive bucket lifts and drops a load in the back of another truck, then beeps as it backs up to park.

• Overdose Spike Alert Issued Due to Increase in Suspected Drug Overdose Activity Public Health Madison & Dane County is issuing a public health alert due to an increase, or spike.

• Lake Monona Waterfront Design Challenge: Request for Qualifications The City of Madison Parks Division is pleased to announce the launch of the Lake Monona Waterfront Design Challenge. The Design Challenge is a competition to create a visionary, inclusive and environmentally focused master

• Women in Construction Week 2022: Janet Schmidt The stormwater system--you can't see it, unless you know what it is: greenways, ponds, pipes underground and, yes, the lakes. The stormwater system is what supports and moves stormwater in and out of our area.

From the mayor

• Financial Assistance to Homeowners Impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic Now Available via Wisconsin Help for Homeowners Program On Monday, March 7, Governor Tony Evers announced the launch of the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners (WHH) program--a $92 million statewide program.

• Artists at Work The City of Madison is seeking proposals for 2022-2023 that will contribute to workforce development and diversification of the creative sector.

COVID information and resources

Stay connected with Public Health Madison & Dane County by subscribing to The Pulse, their quarterly newsletter.

• Public Health's COVID-19 homepage

• Data Notes for the Week of March 10, 2022

• If You're Worried About the Mask Order Ending, Read This 

• Dane County testing sites

• Data Dashboard