Common Council

Week of Oct 24: In person voting starts, family Halloween events on State St, and more

In-person voting starts on Tuesday, Family Halloween events on State St, Save the Dates for Door Creek Watershed Study public meeting and the public hearing by Metro on bus route changes for 2023, plus other city meetings, events, and announcements.

• In-person absentee voting starts Tuesday
• Save the date: Door Creek Watershed Study Nov 7th (corrected link from postcard!)
• Save the date: Metro public hearing Nov 9th on bus route changes for 2023
• City Meetings - Common Council, Plan Commission, Sustainable Madison, and others
• Events: Family Halloween events on State St, Nurses 4 Black Wellbeing, City Budget Information session, Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence "101" information session with Public Health
• Annoucements: Polling Place locator, City is hiring Firefighters and EMTs, electric trash and recycling compactor names unveiled.

IN-PERSON ABSENTEE VOTING STARTS TUESDAY IN MADISON

In-person absentee voting will begin Tuesday, October 25, at several locations throughout the City of Madison. Click here to find out what you need to bring with you and where you can vote in-person absentee.

Door Creek Watershed Study - Save the Date November 7th

On Monday, November 7th, the City will host a public information session for the Door Creek Watershed study. Every household in the watershed should have gotten a postcard in the mail this past week about the meeting, and the watershed includes most folks on the east side of I90/39. Unfortunately the link in the post card was wrong - the correct link for the study is https://www.cityofmadison.com/engineering/projects/door-creek-watershed-study 

The watershed study will identify causes of existing flooding and then look at potential solutions to try to reduce flooding. The study will use computer models to assist with the evaluations. For more information please see the Flash Flooding Story Map

This is one of several studies that the City is conducting across the entire area. The program was launched in January 2019 and is part of a continued effort to address areas hardest hit by flooding in August 2018 and to create a more resilient stormwater system. 

Metro Transit Public Hearing Scheduled

On Wednesday, November 9, Metro Transit and the City of Madison Transportation Commission will hold a VIRTUAL public hearing at 6 PM to approve several items related to Metro's redesigned service in 2023 including:

• Title VI Report/Equity Analysis

• Bus Stop Placements: New Stops & Stops to Close

• Route Start/End Times

• Submit Feedback Ahead of Time:

• mymetrobus.com/feedback
• 608-266-4466
• mymetrobus@cityofmadison.com

Written comments can also be sent to: Metro Transit, Attn: Public Hearing Comments, 1245 E. Washington Ave., Suite 201, Madison WI 53703. All feedback submitted prior to the hearing will be considered by commission members in the same manner as verbal testimony. Complete Public Hearing information here.

Meetings

• The Common Council will meet in hybrid format at 6:30pm on Tuesday, October 25.
  • Meeting details 
  • Meeting agenda
  • Watch online
• Many other committees meet the week of October 24, including Sustainable Madison Committee, Plan Commission, Water Utility Board, Transportation Commission, and more. To see the full list of City meetings scheduled for the week, please consult the City meeting schedule.

Events

• Halloween on State Street: The City of Madison will once again be working to make State Street and downtown Madison a safe and enjoyable space for celebrating Halloween. Events that will be occurring, include:
  • Wednesday, October 26
    • Downtown Madison Family Halloween State Street and Capitol Square trick-or-treating for young children and their families from 3:00 – 6:00 PM sponsored by Madison's Central Business Improvement District.
    • Hayrides around the Capitol Square from 3:00 – 6:00 PM sponsored by Madison Parks.
    • Movies with Madison Parks showing Hocus Pocus from 6:00 – 8:00 PM near the top of State Street.
    • See Halloween Activities for more information.
  • Saturday, October 29
    • Wisconsin Union Directorate Film Committee's viewing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at 10:00 PM in Shannon Hall.
    • Claudio Simonetti's Goblin Performing Suspiria at the Orpheum Theater starting at 8:00 PM.
  • Other opportunities for spooky fun all around Dane County can be found here.

In the past few years, the City has moved away from a formal/sanctioned event for Halloween, also known as Freakfest, and again there will be no formal event this year. There is also no UW football game or homecoming planned for Halloween weekend this year. To facilitate physical safety, a glass ban has been instituted on State Street for Halloween weekend, and Streateries will be closed at 6:00 p.m.

Madison does not have formal Trick-or-Treat hours, but 5pm-7pm is generally common.

• Nurses 4 Black Wellbeing: Research participants are needed for an anonymous survey. The goal of the study is to learn more about the ways wellbeing, physical activity and life stress can affect blood pressure. Participants must racially identify as Black, cultural and ethnic diversity welcomed, age 18 or older, read/speak English, living in the greater Madison area. The research survey takes 20-30 minutes to complete. PPE will be provided. The research survey is one walking test (10-feet), one questionnaire on a laptop computer (with or without assistance), one blood pressure check, and one interview question about inner strength. Research participants receive one $25 Target gift card as a thank you for their time. This is a UW-Madison research survey. There is no connection with any community service. Questions? Concerns? Need additional information? Please contact Dr. Linda Oakley, black.wellbeing.study@nursing.wisc.edu,   608-263-5866.
  • Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2022
  • Hours: Walk-in hours from 3pm to 6pm   
  • Where: Badger Building, 818 W. Badger Road (2 blocks off S. Park Street)
     
• Virtual community sessions on the 2023 budget: The city's budget for 2023 will be debated and adopted by the Common Council in November. In addition to public comment opportunities at Finance Committee and Council meetings over the next six weeks, there will be two virtual community sessions on the budget. City Finance staff will provide background information on the city's capital and operating budget process, including highlights of the 2023 executive budget.  This is a great opportunity for residents to learn more about our city's budget.  Electronic copies of budget information can be found at https://www.cityofmadison.com/finance/budget/2023
  • The first virtual session was recorded on October 13.
  • The second virtual session will cover the same presentation and will take place on Monday, October 24. The meeting will start at 5:30 PM and end at 7:00 PM. 
    Join the October 24 virtual community session (joining with this link will allow you to participate in live Q&A) 
    Live stream the October 24 virtual community session (to just watch)
     
• Intervention speaker series: Public Health Madison & Dane County continues to work with community partners to implement their Roadmap to Reducing Violence. To support the Roadmap, they co-hosted their violence prevention and intervention speaker series. Recent topics included: 
  Internet crimes against children  
  Back to school safety 
  
  The next speaker series webinar will be:
  Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence "101"
  Thursday, October 27, 12pm - 1pm 
  Register now
   

Announcements

• City of Madison polling place listing: Several polling locations in the City of Madison have changed since the last election. The City Clerk's Office encourages voters to confirm their polling place before Election Day (November 8). You can look up your polling place address using the MyVote Wisconsin website or go to www.cityofmadison.com/WhereDoIVote. See a list of polling places here.
• Madison Fire now hiring firefighters/EMTs: For the first time since 2019, the Madison Fire Department is accepting applications for the position of fulltime firefighter/EMT. Becoming a firefighter/EMT is a unique opportunity to make a difference in a person's life – and a direct impact in our community – every single day. No previous fire or EMS experience is necessary to apply. Learn more about this opportunity here.
• Electric compactors names announced: The Streets Division would like to introduce you to their newly named compactors – Rosie the Rubbisher and Stone Cold Squeeze Often. To learn how the names were picked and see a breakdown of the voting, read the news release.
• Lake water quality improved this summer: Great news! A lot fewer beaches were closed for swimming this summer. Public Health Madison & Dane County (PHMDC) took a total of 430 water samples this summer from 23 beaches, looking for E. Coli bacteria and blue-green algae, which can make people sick. The total number of beach closures for swimming and recreation was 124, down significantly from last summer's total of 345. There are many factors that contribute to the water quality of our lakes. PHMDC's microbiologist helped explain the role of weather, pollutants, and clean water corridors in an interview on WORT-FM. Take a listen!