Updated salt routes; Public information meetings; Events and Announcements

Hello neighbors,

While this coming week is predicted to be rather balmy for this time of year, the snow will come – and soon! I wanted you all to be aware of the updated salt routes for our district. The map below shows in solid red lines the salt routes that will be used. Dashed red lines indicate new additions, and yellow solid lines indicate removals. You’ll see that, in general, our district has remained relatively stable in the salt routes, so most won’t experience significant changes. 

Probably the biggest changes residents will notice is that with the continued addition of clean streets clean lakes signage in our district, snow will be able to be cleared from these streets on a regular basis, so we shouldn’t get the big ice and snow piles around where cars tend to park.  

Landmarks Commission

The Landmarks Commission will be taking up an item in our District on November 13 at 5pm. The Commission will hear a request to split one lot into two in the 2000 block of Chadbourne Ave.

Madison City Budget Deliberations

The Common Council will be reviewing additional changes to Madison’s 2024 Capital and Operating Budget proposals beginning Tuesday, November 14 at 5:30pm. Deliberations will continue into the next day or two as needed.

Public Information Meetings

• November 13, 6pm: West Area Arts Planning, Vel Phillips Memorial High School, 201 S. Gammon Rd., Wisconsin Room. This meeting will include a facilitated discussion with area artists, neighbors, and City staff.
• Listening Session: Heifetz Park, November 16: The City of Madison Parks Division is holding a listening session to gather comments and answer questions regarding the Heifetz Park development plan.  
• Listening Sessions Scheduled for City’s First Stormwater Utility Vegetation Management Plan: November 20, and 28. The City of Madison Engineering Division has a number of upcoming listening sessions scheduled to help inform and receive feedback from residents and the community regarding the new Stormwater Utility Vegetation Management Plan, a plan that will incorporate public input and technical expertise to inform vegetation goals and priorities.

Events

• November 12-18: Wisconsin’s Social Isolation and Loneliness Awareness Week. Three webinars (November 14, 15 and 17) will be held throughout the week to bring attention to the issue and share strategies to support people in Wisconsin.
• November 14, 7-8pm: Roz Chast – I Must Be Dreaming, Central Library. Roz Chast, inimitable New Yorker cartoonist and #1 New York Times bestselling author, cracks open the mysterious and fascinating world of dreams. Part of the Wisconsin Book Festival celebration.
• Yoga Core: Want to build your strength and increase body awareness? This class incorporates a wide variety of seated, standing, balancing, and mat-based yoga poses focusing on strength, stability, and mobility. All levels are welcome! Tuesdays & Fridays, October 6 through December 15, 2023.
• November 15, 11:30am: Public art dedication on Pinkney St. The City of Madison invites the public to join City and community leaders to dedicate two new sculptures, Greeting Arc I & Greeting Arc II, by artist Sunghee Min on the 200 block of South Pinckney Street.
• November 15, 6:30pm: Sunset Village Neighborhood Association quarterly meeting, Mid-town police station community room.
• November 16, 10am-2pm: The Hmong Institute Noj Tsiab (pre-New Year) Celebration, 4402 Femrite Drive. Cultural activities at the Noj Tsiab celebration will consist of a “hu plig” (soul calling) performed by a Hmong elder, musical performances and game competition.  Guests will be able to participate in the “tuav ncuav” activity (rice pounding to make Hmong mochi which involves turning sweet cooked into sticky rice mass (mochi) by using two large wooden hammers to pound on the cooked rice in a hollowed-out log). The sticky rice mass (mochi) is formed into pancakes, grilled, and dipped into molasses before eating. Elders will play the traditional game of “pov pob” ball tossing and have a fashion show to showcase the different Hmong clothes. Hmong clothes tell what region of Laos you are from and what dialect you speak. Elders will  play traditional Hmong musical instruments such as the “ncas” jaw harp, and sing “kwv txhiaj,” a traditional Hmong poetry song. Please register in advance.
• Meditation at Monona Terrace, Thursdays, through December 14 - 12:00pm: Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace, and balance that benefits both your emotional well-being and your overall health. Anyone can practice; it is simple, inexpensive and does not require any special equipment. Join virtually every Thursday, September 7 - December 14, for this free 45-minute program welcome to all levels. Advance registration for Zoom webinar is required.
• November 16, 5-7pm: Carpenters Union Open House, 5202 Monument Lane. Join this celebration of National Apprenticeship week. There will be food, games, tours of the Training Center, and information about our four Apprenticeship programs: Carpenter, Millwright, Floor Coverer, and Heavy Highway Pile Driver.
• November 16-17: WIAA state football championships at Camp Randall. Please be advised there will be increased traffic and parking demand during these dates.
• HUD-Approved Homebuyer Education, Saturday, November 18: Take the first step to owning a home, and join us in this Home Buyer Education Workshop. This FREE HUD-Approved homebuyer education workshop takes place in person and lunch is provided. 
• Inspired by Wright: Tour & Art Making Experience, Saturday, November 18: Tour the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center and discover how Wright saw geometric shapes in the world around him. You’ll learn how Monona Terrace’s unique landscape influenced his choice of geometry, expressed in nearly every aspect of the building. Then, use this newly gained knowledge and put together geometric forms to create your own Wright-inspired glass piece of art.
• Bird & Nature Adventures in the Starkweather Creek Area, Saturday, November 18: Join Naturalist Jeff Steele for a hands-on Native Plant Workshop. Learn about identifying native plants, collecting seed, seed germination over winter and spring planting. Take home your very own mini-greenhouse using a milk jug, a bit of soil, and some collected native wildflower seeds. Be ready to get your hands dirty!
• Mini Meditation Retreat, Sunday, November 19: Relax, recharge, and reconnect at this upcoming Mini Meditation Retreat with Dr. Sarah Moore and co-facilitator, Alex Doll. This in-person retreat held in the Community Terrace will be a unique blend of guided meditation, breathing exercises, mindful movement, and deep relaxation with Yoga Nidra.
• Bird & Nature Adventures at Warner Park, Sunday, November 19: Enjoy an informal family and kid-friendly nature walk around the scenic Warner Pond lagoon and across Castle Creek to discover the wetlands, woods, and prairie in the Wild Side of Warner Park and the birds and other creatures that call it home! 

Announcements

• The final issue of 2023 for Madison’s Vision Zero Quarterly Newsletter has arrived!:This issue looks at the work of Madison’s Vision Zero initiative and discusses the need to create safer environments for all roadway users, current projects in progress or nearly complete, ways the City is working together to create safer roads for all, and discusses the upcoming World Day of Remembrance occurring next weekend, November 19.
• HUD Selects City of Madison Community Development Authority’s Bjarnes Romnes Apartments as Study Area for the Annual Innovation in Affordable Housing Student Design and Planning Competition:The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) selected the City of Madison Community Development Authority (CDA) to be the partnering public housing agency for the 11th annual Innovation in Affordable Housing (IAH) Student Design and Planning Competition.
• Peak Hour Lane Closures--John Nolen Drive, starting Monday 11/13/23: Starting at 6:00 a.m. on November 13, John Nolen Drive will be reduced to one lane, in each direction, at all times for several projects within the Monona Terrace tunnel, including storm water piping replacement and fire alarm electrical work.
• UW-Madison is seeking a master plan amendment to allow for future development within the Engineering building complex bordered by Breese Terrace to the west, Campus Drive to the north, N. Randall Avenue to the east, and Badger Way to the south – with no intrusions on the Camp Randall Memorial Park, North Practice Field or Engineering Centers Building. The amendment process is being sought for both near and long term reasons:
  • As we continue to get further away from the approved 2015 Campus Master Plan the needs of specific Schools/College/Divisions have adjusted, as have several of the strategic priorities of the institution with the new Chancellor.  
  • The Engineering Academic/Research Building Replacement project (#21L3J) was approved as a 340,000+ GSF single phase project making the preservation of Henry Mall difficult. That project is proposing a height variance that would be accommodated by this process. Timing and sequencing of space and users along with research accommodation and College growth are the primary drivers for why this building is deviating from the two-building approach proposed in 2015. 
  • The amendment process will create a vision grounded in the known new constraints while redistributing and maintaining the open space to building footprint ratio as proposed in the 2015 Campus Master Plan.
  • The amendment process will allow campus to revisit density in the area within the context of College growth projections, faculty teaching needs, and study sense of place creation. 
  • The entire area of the College of Engineering will again be revisited in the 2025 Campus Master Plan update, allowing further refinement and adjustment.

The amendment process will follow the standard City review process, with application submission anticipated in early December, Plan Commission presentation in late January, and coming before the Common Council in February. Please direct any questions about this project to Aaron Williams.

Take care,

Regina Vidaver