Updates April 4, 2022

• Prepare for Election Day tomorrow |

• Hawthorne-Truax Neighborhood Plan kickoff meetings  |

• MPD seeking community input on policing, will host focus groups as part of strategic plan  |

• Application expected in May: Rikkers' proposed multifamily development on the southwest corner of Sprecher Road and Milwaukee Street  |

• The Boneyard requesting the ability to have live music on Friday and Saturday nights at April 20 Alcohol License Review Committee meeting  |

• Updates from Streets  |

• Public involvement meetings for Beltline long-term planning study  |

• Parks  |

• City news |

• COVID information |

Prepare for Election Day tomorrow

The City of Madison Clerk's Office put together a top five list of things to know for tomorrow's Spring Election.

1. Many polling places have changed due to redistricting. To verify your polling location, visit cityofmadison.com/WhereDoIVote.

2. The address on the ID you use for voting does not matter. When checking your photo ID, election officials are verifying your identity. They are not checking the address on your ID. Just make sure you have an acceptable ID for voting in Wisconsin.

3. You can register to vote at the polls. If you are registering to vote for the first time or you are updating your voter registration, you will need to show the election officials proof of residence. Your proof of residence document may be shown on paper or in an electronic format, e.g. your online utility bill, bank statement, City of Madison assessment, or MyUW account.

4. Your absentee ballot must be returned by Election Day in order to be counted. Election officials at your polling place will insert your absentee ballot into the tabulator to be counted. If you haven't mailed your ballot back to the Clerk's Office yet, you can take your absentee ballot sealed inside your completed absentee envelope to your polling place on Tuesday. No one but you can return your absentee ballot. You can track the status of your absentee ballot under the Track My Ballot section on the MyVote Wisconsin website.

5. You can view a sample ballot for your address before heading to the polls. There are several state, county, municipal, and school board races on this ballot. Prepare yourself ahead of Election Day by checking out a sample ballot for your address on the MyVote Wisconsin website.

Hawthorne-Truax Neighborhood Plan Kickoff meetings 

The Hawthorne-Truax Neighborhood Plan process is getting underway and will chart a course of action for the neighborhood over the next 10 to 20 years.  The planning area generally follows East Washington Ave and Hwy 51, and is bound by Hwy 30, the airport and Pierstorff and Mendota Streets.  

The next virtual public meeting is scheduled for April 7 at 12 noon.  

Registration is required and can be done on the plan web page: cityofmadison.com/HawthorneTruax.  

MPD seeking community input on policing, will host focus groups as part of strategic plan

The Madison Police Department is in the process of setting a long-range strategic plan and is seeking community input throughout this process. 

There will be a virtual community focus group meeting for the East Police District tomorrow, April 5, from 6:30 - 8 pm. The meeting will cover broad themes on topics such as community trust, the role of police, community policing, crime and safety, and police staffing.

East District's community focus group meeting

April 5, 6:30 - 8 p.m.

Pre-registration is required

Translation services can be requested three days prior to the meetings by emailing MPDPIO@cityofmadison.com. 

Application expected in May: Rikkers' proposed multifamily development at the southwest corner of Sprecher Road and Milwaukee Street

The project plan includes approximately 141 market rate apartments over four floors. It also includes 166 parking stalls, of which 85 would be underground and 81 would be surface stalls. Per the City's requirements, it would create a new north-south road on the western edge of the property and would extend Driscoll drive to the east to intersect with the new road. 

They intend to submit this plan to the city on May 16, 2022. It would then be at Plan Commission on June 27, 2022 and at Common Council on July 12, 2022.

Review the video of the December 2021 neighborhood meeting that was held on the proposal.

The Boneyard is requesting the ability to have live music on Friday and Saturday nights at April 20 Alcohol License Review Committee meeting

The Boneyard, located at 1018 Walsh Road, has applied for an entertainment license in order to have live music on Friday and Saturday nights over the summer. This would be for outdoor music going no later than 10 pm.

This request will be reviewed and voted on at the Wednesday, April 20 Alcohol License Review Committee meeting. If you have feedback, please feel free to contact me at district3@cityofmadison.com.  

Updates from Streets

Streets Division Drop-off Sites Now on Expanded Summer Hours

Today, Monday, April 4, 2022 the Streets Division drop-off sites at 402 South Point Road and 4602 Sycamore Avenue will begin their expanded summer hours.

Ever been curious about what happens to your recycling after it's collected? 

Check out this video that shows how Pellitteri sorts the recyclables collected by the Streets Division.

Public involvement meetings for Beltline long-term planning study

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation Southwest Region has scheduled two public involvement meetings to discuss the Planning and Environment Linkages (PEL) corridor study underway for the Madison Beltline. The Madison Beltline PEL study is a long-term planning study, and no construction projects are identified at this time.  

The PEL is expected to be completed in 2023. Upon completion of the PEL study, solutions studied will be further evaluated under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.

The objectives of the PEL study are to:

• Improve safety for all travel modes

• Improve pedestrian and bicycle accommodations

• Enhance transit ridership and routing opportunities

• Improve connections across and adjacent to the Beltline for all travel modes

• Address Beltline infrastructure condition and deficiencies

• Address system mobility for all travel modes

• Limit adverse social, cultural, and environmental effects to the extent practicable

• Enhance efficient regional multimodal access to Madison metropolitan area economic centers

• Decrease Beltline traffic diversion impacts to neighborhood streets

• Complement other major transportation initiatives and studies in the Madison area

• Support infrastructure and other measures that encourage alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle travel

The meetings will be held on the following dates, times and locations:

Tuesday, April 12

5 - 6:30 pm

(Presentation at 5:30 pm)

James Madison Memorial High School Commons

201 S. Gammon Road, Madison

Wednesday, April 13

5 - 6:30 pm

(Presentation at 5:30 pm)

The Village on Park Community Room

2300 South Park Street, Madison

To learn more, please visit the project website at madisonbeltline.dot.wi.gov.

If you're unable to attend one of these meetings, the presentation and display materials will be available for review on the project website at www.wisconsindot.gov (search Madison Beltline Study) beginning Thursday, April 14. On this page, you can watch the presentation video, view the individual displays, take a short survey and provide feedback via the comment form.  

Parks

Thank you to all who helped at Dog Park Cleanup Day

Great to see Rolling Meadows resident Katy Mijal at Dog Park Cleanup Day on Saturday. Thank you to Katy and to Adam Hills-Meyer for helping out!

A big thanks to everyone else who came out for Dog Park Cleanup Day at Sycamore Park on Saturday! The weather is so unpredictable this time of year, and it was WONDERFUL to see so many folks lend a hand on a snowy morning!

Volunteers needed for the 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.

There is an especially great need for volunteers at McGinnis Park (9 Crystal Lane) and North Star Park (502 North Star Drive.)

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

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. 

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

City news

City meetings scheduled for this week

• The Common Council Announces Hiring of New Chief of Staff The Common Council is pleased to announce the hiring of Dr. Karen Kapusta-Pofahl as the Common Council Chief of Staff.

• Prepare for Election Day Tomorrow  The City of Madison Clerk's Office put together a top five list of things to know for tomorrow's Spring Election.

• Madison Parks Celebrates 50 Years of Conservation Parks At the start of Earth Month, as the winter and spring seasons clash, we begin our celebration of 50 years of conservation parks in Madison.

• Madison Mayor calls recent homicide 'disturbing,' discusses collaborative effort to control gun violence in city Last night's tragic shooting is disturbing to our whole community. My heart goes out to the family of the victim, and to all who witnessed the event, and I urge everyone to access mental health support.

• Mayor Rhodes-Conway Statement on Recent Homicide Last night's tragic shooting is disturbing to our whole community. My heart goes out to the family of the victim. I urge all who witnessed the event to access mental health support if needed.

• City of Madison Polling Place Listing Many polling places in the City of Madison have changed because of redistricting. The City of Madison Clerk's Office sent postcards to voters in areas impacted by polling place changes in early March.

• New Investment in Electric Buses Moves Madison Closer to Goal of 100% Electric BRT System Mayor Rhodes-Conway and nine City Alders introduced a resolution authorizing a contract with New Flyer industries for zero emissions Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles and approving th

• Street Closure--South Blair Street The contractor will begin major closures of South Blair Street on Monday, April 4.  Northbound lanes of South Blair Street will be completely closed at all times.

• City CARES Team for Mental Health Emergencies Now Answering Calls City-Wide 

• City of Madison Announces Youth Poet Laureate Opportunity
  The City of Madison, the Madison Arts Commission, and Madison Poet Laureate Angela Trudell Vasquez announce the establishment of a Youth Poet Laureate Program to recognize a youth under the age of twenty for their literary

From the mayor

• City of Madison Green Power Program Featured by US DOE 

• Celebrating Earth Day All Month in the City of Madison 

• Sharing Your Ballot Drop Box Stories as the Wisconsin Supreme Court Weighs the Future of Drop Boxes 

• City CARES Team for Mental Health Emergencies Now Answering Calls City-Wide 

• Make a Plan to Vote for the April 5 Spring Election

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 31, 2022 

• Data Dashboard