Sporting events and traffic impacts; Pigs in Madison; 9/11 remembrances; Capital Budget introduced; Madison Metro seeking input on service adjustments; Events & Announcements

Hello neighbors,

There are two major sporting events in our City this week: Ironman, and the national E-Scow championships. Please be mindful of street closures, and major traffic interruptions.

Pigs in Madison

Last night the Board of Health voted to recommend approval of allowing residential ownership of a single pig within City limits. The Common Council will take up the recommendation at the September 19 meeting.

Construction and Development Updates

• Unfortunately, University Avenue will not quite be done this year. In addition to adding the BRT stations, there will be additional surfacing work moving into 2024.
• Construction at the affordable housing complex on University Avenue (former Don the Car Care Man site) is scheduled to be completed in the next couple of months. The developer expects to be ready to welcome new residents in November.
• The framing for the development on Speedway Rd. (former Stop–n—Go/Kwik Trip site) should be completed within the week. Doors and windows will begin being installed next week, and roofing work will also begin shortly. Once the roof is in place, mechanicals will be installed. The developer is hoping to install drywall before it gets cold, and expects to be ready to welcome new residents in Spring, 2024.

9/11 Commemorations

• September 11th at 8:00am: Please join us at the Fire Fighters Local 311 Memorial on Monday, September 11th to commemorate the tragic events of 9/11. The ceremony will be led by our Honor Guard at Madison Fire Station 14, 3201 Dairy Dr.
• September 11th, 7am-1pm: 12th Annual 9/11 Never Forget Blood Drive!: The Madison Police Department, Madison Fire Department, and the American Red Cross, will once again be sponsoring the 9/11 Never Forget Community Blood Drive at the Garver Feed Mill, 3241 Garver Green. Register online.

Capital Budget Introduced

In case you missed it, Mayor Rhodes-Conway introduced the 2024 Capital Budget this week. The Capital Budget funds major projects, including construction, vehicles, and other infrastructure. If you’d like to understand more about what is in the Capital Budget, consider tuning into the agency presentations to the Finance Committee on September 11 and 12. The Operating Budget will be introduced early next month.

Madison Metro Proposed Service Adjustments

With the recent redesign of all Madison Metro routes, a few of the routes have struggled to stay on time and others still need adjustments to better connect to other routes. Metro is seeking feedback on potential adjustments in a number of ways:

• September 14, 5:30-6:30pm, Madison Municipal Building, Rm 215. Marketing and planning staff will be available for informal 1-1 conversations to answer questions about proposed changes and just to see how rides are going. All feedback collected at this session will be forwarded along to the Transportation Committee as official public hearing testimony.

• September 14, 7pm, Zoom. Please join marketing and planning staff for an online information gathering session.
• September 27, 6pm, Transportation Commission Public Hearing. Official public hearing feedback can be submitted ahead of time by calling (608) 266-4466, emailing mymetrobus@cityofmadison.com, or by filling out an online form at mymetrobus.com/feedback. All feedback submitted ahead of time will be considered in the same way as feedback provided at the hearing itself.

Madison Metro is also interested in hearing feedback on the accessibility of the new routes and stops. Please provide honest feedback!

Events

• September 8, 8-11pm: Mad Lit: Where Arts and Culture Shine – top of State Street. Mad Lit is a free, outdoor concert series featuring live music and highlighting local musicians, artists, and businesses owners of color.
• September 9, 9-11am: Cherokee Marsh South Volunteer Workday. Madison Parks is seeking volunteers in conservation to assist in seed collection in Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park, South Unit. Participants will learn native plant identification and proper seed collection methods. Seeds collected will be used to restore areas within Madison's conservation parks. Bring water and wear closed-toe shoes.
• September 9, 5pm: 2023 IronKids Wisconsin Fun Run. Taking place during Ironman Wisconsin weekend the IronKids Wisconsin Fun Run is for youth between the ages of 3-17 who will race around the Capitol Square - a little over 1/2 mile in celebration of happy and active lifestyles. Each child will take home their own finisher t-shirt, medal, backpack filled with swag, and the pride of calling themselves an IronKid.
• September 9, 12-6pm: Greek Fest + 2023 – Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 11 N. 7th St. Greek Fest+, Madison's oldest ethnic festival returns this year with delicious Greek food and pastries and traditional music that area residents have enjoyed for over 70 years. Church tours will be offered, come join and become "Greek for a day."
• September 9, 1-4pm: Firefighter Fun Day – Fire Station 9, 201 S. Midvale Blvd. Meet us without the emergency! Join your friendly neighborhood firefighter/EMTs and paramedics for Firefighter Fun Day! This event is free and fun for all ages! Come for fire station tours, fire truck tours, games, face painting, music by Dos Amigos DJs, and more. Connect with local firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, and police officers while enjoying hands-on activities. Free food and refreshments, sponsored by Metcalfe’s Market, Metro Market, and HyVee, will be served while supplies last.
• September 9, 2:30-4pm: Bird & Nature Adventures | Owen. Explore Owen Conservation Park on gentle trails through historic oak openings on a hillside with an Ice Age kettle and along restored prairies with beautiful vistas on this high point overlooking the west side of Madison. Co-sponsored by Madison Parks, Madison Audubon Society, and the Friends of Owen Conservation Park .

• September 10, 12-5pm: Madison Good Neighbor Gathering, Brittingham Park. The Madison Good Neighbor Gathering (“GNG”) is held every September in Brittingham Park to honor national Good Neighbor Day. Uniquely and specifically focused on community building and open to the public, the GNG is sponsored by seven neighborhood associations on Madison’s near westside that have been working together to build community and connections across demographic and geographic boundaries.
• September 12, 5-8pm, Madison Public Market Open House. This open house will feature 20+ local vendors, including exciting newer businesses and a few of Madison’s long-time favorites. The event will take place at the future home of the Madison Public Market and TruStage MarketReady Hall (200 N. First Street) in what was formerly the retro-style Fleet Services Building.
• September 13, 7pm: Chasten Buttigieg: I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU, part of the Wisconsin Book Festival. The young adult adaptation of the refreshingly candid best-selling memoir! Husband of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Chasten Buttigieg writes about growing up gay in his small Midwestern town.
• September 14, 6:30pm: Roots & Roofs: Pathway to Equity Housing Fair – Urban League of Greater Madison, 2222 S. Park St. Housing in Greater Madison is expensive and inequitable. The Roots & Roofs: Pathway to Equity Housing Fair is an opportunity to learn about affordable rentals, home buying, and housing discrimination.

Announcements

• Community Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness: Both the City and the County allocated funds for our community to hire a consultant to assist us in developing a new Community Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. Through an RFP process, HomeBase was selected to work with our community. HomeBase is seeking feedback from community members via a community-wide survey. Information gathered through this survey will inform our Community Plan.

• Neighborhood Indicators Project Follows Communities’ Wellness Over Time: Interested in seeing a clearer picture of housing, safety, health, education and the overall wellbeing of the City of Madison? New data is now available!
• Far Westside Flooding Project Earns Major Federal Funding: Major flooding prevention improvements will be coming to Madison’s far west side as early as summer 2024 to provide protection to an area devastated by the 2018 floods.

• Brush Collection Ending Soon for 2023: The Streets Division’s final curbside brush collection will soon get underway. In order to learn when you should set out brush to be collected for this final pickup opportunity, go to www.cityofmadison.com/BrushCollection. Brush can also be taken to a Streets Division drop-off site.
• Yard waste pickup dates are now available. Go to www.cityofmadison.com/YardWaste and enter your address into the form. Set your yard waste out for pickup per the set out guidelines on the Sundays provided on the website. Yard waste can also be taken to a Streets Division drop-off site.

Take care,

Regina Vidaver