City Meetings and Updates Week of May 11

• City Meetings:
  • Finance Committee 5/11
  • Plan Commission 5/11
  • Board of Park Commissioners 5/13, Includes Southeast Area Plan
• Capitol View Farmer's Market Returns 5/27!
• You're Invited: East District MPD Community Conversation 5/27
• Events & Announcements

City Meetings

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee meeting will take place on Monday, May 11, at 4:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include:

• A resolution authorizing an application to U.S. Department of Transportation for another Safe Streets and Roads for All grant (I'm a cosponsor), which helps the City of Madison fund traffic calming and pedestrian safety improvements.
• A resolution authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement with Dane County related to their allocation of $1,148,000 in County funds for operations at the permanent men's shelter. This is one-time money from the County for 2026. The county has not yet made a standing financial commitment to shelter operations for future years.
• An overview of City agencies' 2027 Capital Budget requests (here are all requests in one document). Here's the Finance Department staff presentation about those.

Meeting info:

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agenda
• Register for Public Comment
• Watch Online

Plan Commission 

Image credit: Screenshot of City Parcel Map

The Plan Commission meeting will take place on Monday, May 11, at 5:30 p.m. in virtual format. The agenda includes two items related to a project in District 3: the Capitol View at Oak Park apartments at 5817 Halley Way in Grandview Commons (agenda items #5 and #6). This proposal is a 97-unit building that the applicant calls “age-restricted" and “marketed toward older adults". A previous version of this project was approved in 2022 and was delayed due to Covid-era economic disruptions. Here's the applicant's letter of intent. Here's the Planning staff memo which recommends approval. 

Meeting info:

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agendas
• Register for Public Comment
• Watch Online

Board of Parks Commissioners, Includes Southeast Area Plan

The Board of Park Commissioners meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 13, at 6:30 p.m. in the boardroom of the Parks Lakeside Offices at 330 E Lakeside St. Agenda items includes an informational presentation on Olbrich Botanical Gardens' Comprehensive Master Plan. Looks like supporting materials aren't posted yet, but will be attached to this Legistar item. Here's the Olbrich Comprehensive Plan project webpage for more information. 

Image credit: Madison Parks

The agenda also includes a discussion of the Southeast Area Plan (item #23 resolution). I wrote in more detail about the draft Southeast Area Plan in this blog post. The Common Council has asked the Board of Park Commissioners for their recommendation on the draft Plan, which focuses on the implementation of the Parks and Open Space Plan, Park Development Plans (the process for which is ongoing; see map to the right), and the Capital Improvements Plan. The draft Southeast Area Plan actions also address the need for a new Park Master Plan for Hiestand Park in District 3, potential recreational opportunities in Honeysuckle Park related to Community Action Strategy program, and the need to build partnerships with other public and private organizations to develop programs activating open spaces in parkland. (Note: City support for these partnerships may require new funding.) Here is the Planning staff memo for the Board of Park Commissioners and here is their staff presentation.

Meeting info:

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agendas

Capitol View Farmer's Market Returns May 27th!

The Far East Side's beloved Capitol View Farmers' Market returns for another season of awesome produce, local goods, and food trucks. We're lucky to have this fabulous event on our side of town. My thanks to the hardworking volunteers who make it happen!

• When: Wednesdays, 3:00-7:00pm, from May 27 - October 14, 2026
• Where: 5901 Sharpsburg Dr. (Madison's Far East Side just off Cottage Grove Road near the Great Dane)

New this year, Capitol View Farmer's Market was chosen as the 4th market site for Sustain Dane's food scrap program! Bring your food scraps for drop-off and composting! 

Image credit: Capitol View Farmer's Market

You're Invited: East District MPD Community Conversation Wednesday, May 27th

From East District MPD:

“Chief Patterson and the East District will be hosting a Town Hall style meeting on Wednesday, May 27th, at the Twisted Grounds Coffee Shop (6067 Gemini Drive).

Hours are 6:30PM-8PM

All are welcome."

Image credit: MPD

Events & Announcements

• Path Closure for Garver Feed Mill Parking Lot Resurfacing: The Garver Path will be detoured, between Starkweather Drive and the Capital City Trail, starting the morning of Monday, May 11th and reopening Thursday, May 14th. [posted May 8, 2026]
• Southwest and Southeast Area Plans Submitted for Final Review and Adoption: The Southwest and Southeast Area Plan project teams have submitted a Final Draft Plan for review and adoption. Both plans will be introduced to the Common Council during its Tuesday, May 5, 2026, meeting. [posted May 5, 2026]
• Your Final Spring Yardwaste Collection Begins Soon; Get Your Final Spring Set-out Date Online: Every neighborhood has just one more spring yard waste set out date. This will be the final spring yard waste collection by the Streets Division for 2026. Curbside collection will return in the fall. When you should put out your yard waste for… [posted May 5, 2026]
• Concerts on the Rooftop Returns to Monona Terrace: Monona Terrace invites the community to celebrate summer with the return of its popular Concerts on the Rooftop series. Guests can enjoy live music against the stunning backdrop of Lake Monona and downtown Madison. The rooftop and Lake Vista Café open at 5:30 p.m., with performances from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. [posted May 4, 2026]
• All Madison Public Library Locations Closed May 14 for Staff Day; Other May Hour Changes and Closures: There are multiple closures and hours changes taking place during the month of May at Madison Public Library. Please see below for details:… [posted May 4, 2026]
• Animal Cruelty Investigations and Response Workshop, Tuesday, May 12, 2026 (This event occurs on multiple dates): This free, two-day hands-on workshop is open to law enforcement, prosecutors, veterinarians and rescue and sheltering organizations. It aims to raise awareness about animal cruelty, forge key partnerships and empower participants to mitigate and prevent cruelty within their communities. Join us!
• Frank Lloyd Wright Trail Welcome Weekend, Friday, May 15- Sunday, May 17 (This event occurs on multiple dates): Monona Terrace is delighted to be part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail's Welcome Weekend, and we're offering additional tours as part of this special occasion.  Join us to learn more about Wright's controversial "dream civic center" and his indelible imprint upon the project.
• Bird & Nature Adventures | Starkweather Creek Area, Saturday, May 16: Bike the Creek ~ Join Tara Dary and Friends of Starkweather Creek for a guided bike tour along the greenways, parks and yards beside Starkweather Creek.  Bring your bike or rent a B-Cycle at a nearby station at Goodman, Blue Plate Diner or Garver Feed Mill.
• Learn to Play Ultimate, Saturday, May 16: Learn the basics of Ultimate - rules, scoring, movement, throwing, catching, strategies and more. This event is free to attend. Advanced registration is required. 
• Bird & Nature Adventures | Warner Park, Sunday, May 17: Nature Writing ~ Join Naturalist Lynn Persson for a free guided walk to enjoy the natural areas at Warner Park.  Bring pen and paper.  We will take time to stop along the way to contemplate things.  Write down a few notes of draw a simple picture about what you see, how you feel, and the beauty around you.

Please visit the City news webpage to find additional news and announcements and to subscribe to receive notification of news releases as they are posted. Additional upcoming events can also be found on the City events calendar.