Meet your local elected representatives, Neighborhood meeting on Midvale Blvd, Events and announcements

• Meet and Greet with Alder, County Board Supervisor, and Mayor April 30
• 2023 Property Tax Assessments – open book period April 24-28
• Controlled burn on SW path April 24-25
• Midvale Blvd Safe Streets Neighborhood Meeting May 3
• West Area Open House May 10
• Local events
• Brush and yard waste collection
• Announcements

Meet and Greet With Your Local Representatives

Sunday, April 30, noon-1:30pm

Join County Board Supervisor Richelle Andrae (District 11), Madison Alder Regina Vidaver (District 5), and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway on April 30 from noon-1:30pm at the Rennebohm Park shelter. Representatives of the Madison Police Department have also been invited, and will attend if feasible.

Donuts, Bagels, and Coffee available!

This is an open community gathering without an agenda. Please come to socialize with your neighbors, ask questions, and provide feedback on issues important to you.

2023 Property Tax Assessments

The 2023 property assessments are now available on the City website. Assessment notices were mailed to all property owners whether or not their assessment has changed from the previous year's value. Property values increased 14.4% overall from the 2022 assessments. Commercial property has increased 16.8% and residential assessments increased 12.9%. Information about the property assessment process in Madison is available in a Madison Assessor’s Office video.The open book period will begin Monday, April 24 and close Friday, April 28 at 4:30pm. This period of time is an opportunity to discuss property value and provide reason for changing value, if appropriate. Property owners must initiate contact with the appraiser for their property in one of two ways: email: openbook@cityofmadison.com; call: (608) 266-4531.

Controlled Burn Along SW Shared Use Path April 24 and 25

Teams from the Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood Association and Westmorland will rake, burn and monitor Glenway Ravine (intersection of Glenway and SW Path, east of MG&E substation) and Odana/Path Prairie areas (intersection of Odana and SW Path) from 2-4pm on Monday and Tuesday. Weather conditions, such as dampness and strength and direction of winds, impact when and how we burn. Spectators and path users are urged to use caution during burns, since visibility can be limited, and please keep tabs on kids and pets.
REMEMBER: no loose dogs in nearby parks/paths during burns - they chase rabbits and and imperil cyclists.

Midvale Blvd Safe Streets Improvements – Neighborhood Meeting May 3, 6pm

Midvale Blvd from University Ave to Mineral Point Rd has been identified for review with the goal of improving overall traffic safety and improving walking and biking connections. To gather more information and discuss potential improvements, Traffic Engineering will hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday, May 3 at 6pm. Can’t attend but still want to provide feedback? Please fill out the online feedback form for this issue.

West Area Open House - May 10

The West Area Plan team will host an Open House on May 10, 6:30-8:00pm at Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Road. City agencies will give short presentations on projects spanning land use planning, transportation, stormwater management, water quality protection, parks and open space and more. Residents will also have the chance to talk with staff to learn more including how these projects may affect them and how they can be involved. Visit the West Area Plan webpage to learn more, and to sign up for the email list to receive regular West Area Plan updates.

Events

• Madison Public Library Celebrates National Library Week - April 23-29. Madison Public Library will be celebrating this annual event by highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities.
• Habitat Homeowner Informational Meetings:
  • April 25, 6-7:30pm, Oregon High School, 456 North Perry Parkway Oregon
  • April 26, 6-7:30pm, Comfort Inn and Suites – Airport, 4822 East Washington Avenue

Sign up and learn more about becoming a Habitat homeowner, as well as the requirements and qualifications needed. All individual attendees must register in advance.

• Food scraps recycling returns to the Eastside Farmer’s Market – April 25, 4-7pm, and Tuesdays thereafter.
• Annual Spring Break-A-Way 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament Series: After March Madness, the real tournament begins with the Annual Spring Break-A-Way 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament Series. Northside teens compete in a double-elimination tournament while enjoying a free meal. With on-site registration, players simply have to show up with two friends, or we will find a team for drop-in players. The tournament series is held on Friday nights: April 28, May 19 & May 26, from 5pm-8pm, at Warner Park Recreation Center, and includes middle school and high school divisions.
• Prescribed Burn Crew Member Volunteer Training, Saturday – April 29, 9am-10pm. Join Conservation Resource Supervisor, and DNR-certified Burn Boss, Paul Quinlan for a Burn Crew Member Volunteer Training. Meet Paul and team at Elver Park, behind the main shelter to learn basic fire management as an ecological tool in prairie or mixed hardwood forest, as well as safety during prescribed burns. You'll also learn the laws and rules Law and rules, proper burning conditions and basic fire methods.
• Inspired by Wright: A Hands-on Frank Lloyd Wright Tour – April 29, 10am-12pm. Join this hands-on Frank Lloyd Wright Tour demonstrating how Wright saw geometric shapes as underlying forms of nature and applied them to almost all his work. As you tour the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, you’ll learn how this unique site influenced Wright’s choice of geometry, which is expressed in nearly every aspect of the building and grounds.
• Barks in Parks: Sculpture Unveiling – April 30, 11am-1pm. Join the Madison Parks Foundation at Quann Dog Park as they unveil the new custom pet tribute and memorial sculpture. This art sculpture memorial will offer the public a way to commemorate their pets while supporting Madison dog parks.
• Madison Night Market returns – May 11, June 8, August 10, September 14, and October 19.
• Thurber Park Open House, with Ash Armenta, Artist in Residence – May 14 & 28, 9-11:30am.
• Fire OPS 101 – May 24, 7am-2pm. Join Fire OPS 101 and experience a day in the life of a fire fighter! Fire OPS is a program that allows community leaders and elected officials to experience a day in the life of a firefighter. You will dress in turnout gear and will participate in realistic scenarios that firefighters face on a day-to-day basis. The scenarios will include fire attack, search and rescue, vehicle extrication, and emergency medical services.

Streets Division Updates

• Yard waste collection is ongoing! Remember – you only get two pickups chances in the spring, one in April and one in May. Don’t miss the dates when you should set out yard waste. Watch this video about how to set out the material correctly.
• Brush collection is also going on now. Find out your brush collection dates!
• If you are working on your garden and would like some mulch, don’t forget that the City has mulch available at 121 E. Olin Avenue.
• With Earth Day coming up soon, make sure you are recycling right. One easy thing you can do is be sure that you are not putting plastic bags in your recycling cart - they don’t belong there!

Announcements

• Madison Public Library welcomes new Artist-in-Residence at Pinney Library.
• Madison Metro providing free summer bus passes for MMSD middle and high school students.
• Sound the Alarm. Save a Life! The American Red Cross is making homes fire resistant through the Red Cross Home Fire Preparedness Campaign. At no cost, you can have Red Cross visit your home and demonstrate some simple changes that will help protect your family against fires, including:
  • Free smoke alarm installation if no working smoke alarms are present in your home
  • Guidance in developing a Family Disaster Plan
  • Valuable emergency preparedness tips and information

Visit the Red Cross webpage to learn more and to setup your free appointment.