City Meetings and Updates Week of July 27
posted- City Meetings
- Finance Committee 7/27
- Plan Commission 7/27
- Transportation Commission 7/29
- Update on Officer-Involved Shooting of Corey Ruiz
- Rescheduled: Parks Alive at Galaxy Park 7/27
- You're Invited: North Star Fest is Saturday 8/1
- Heads Up: Door Creek Watershed Study Public Meeting Scheduled 8/25
- Events & Announcements
City Meetings
Note: This is not a complete list of meetings for this upcoming week. All meetings and their details can be found at the Meeting Schedule page.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee meeting will take place on Monday, July 27, at 4:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include:
- Item 13: a resolution approving a revised 2026 Resource Recovery Special Charge rate of $5.40 per month (up from $3.50 per month) beginning on September 1 through the remainder of 2026. The resolution's fiscal note states that the funding would cover a shortfall caused by the lower values of recyclable materials resulting in lost revenue, increased diesel fuel costs, and personnel costs.
- Item 18: the Mid-Year Appropriation Resolution, which the City adopts every year to amend the adopted 2026 City Budget. The objective is to transfer funds within and between agency budgets to move funds left over by underspending, or from the 2026 budget's contingent reserve, to areas that are projecting a shortfall.
Meeting info:
Plan Commission
The Plan Commission meeting will take place on Monday, July 27, at 5:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include development-related requests (none in District 3).
Transportation Commission
The Transportation Commission meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 29, at 5:00 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include a public hearing at 6:00 p.m. to review and discuss proposed new and updated Metro Transit service standards and processes for making service changes. Metro staff propose establishing a formal internal process for evaluating service changes and establishing service design guidelines. Their goal is to improve transparency in the process and preserve institutional knowledge. Here's the updated Service Standards document and here's a summary memo from Metro staff.
Update on MPD Officer-Involved Shooting of Corey Ruiz
On Wednesday afternoon, a Madison Police Department officer shot Corey Ruiz in the head at point-blank range, killing Mr. Ruiz. This happened during an attempted arrest on Williamson Street during which Mr. Ruiz had a knife that may have injured an officer, and after the deployment of a Taser was “unsuccessful" according to MPD Chief John Patterson. An abundance of video footage of the scene online shows the struggle close and from several points of view. I encourage caution to those who consider viewing the videos. I will never forget what I saw and heard when I watched the footage for myself.
Many members of the Madison community are scared, hurt, and/or outraged by this tragedy. Tensions are running high. Williamson Street near Baldwin Street, the corner where the shooting took place and the scene of protests, will remain closed until further notice.
Wisconsin state law requires that any officer-involved shooting be investigated by an independent third party to ensure that no police department investigates itself under these circumstances. The Wisconsin Department of Justice's (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation has taken over the investigation into this incident. According to July 23 press conference remarks by Chief John Patterson, the Madison Police Department requested that this incident be investigated as a homicide. After the DOJ completes its review, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne may determine whether to charge any officers with a crime.
For now, due to the State control of the investigation, DOJ will determine what information can be released until their investigation concludes. MPD Chief John Patterson pledges his department's full cooperation with that investigation and as much transparency as the DOJ investigation will allow.
I join those calling for a comprehensive, impartial investigation into this incident that led to Mr. Ruiz's death by an officer's gun. I want to know what the Department should be doing differently to prevent this tragedy from repeating.
Chief Patterson has released two statements about the investigation, one on July 24th and one on July 25th. For those who need mental health support, help is available via the 988 crisis line, and Public Health Madison Dane County has additional resources.
Rescheduled: Parks Alive at Galaxy Park Monday
This event was rescheduled from July 20th to July 27th due to last week's poor air quality.
Galaxy Park in the North Star neighborhood in District 3 will once again host three Parks Alive events this summer. This program is collaborative effort involving City agencies, community organizations, and mobile resource providers working together to activate parks located in and around Neighborhood Resource Team areas like East Milwaukee Street.
Parks Alive builds stronger neighborhoods and connects neighbors to their parks through fun, family-friendly activities, music and free food. Connect with your neighbors and engage with your community at a Parks Alive event near you!
This second Parks Alive at Galaxy Park is “sports and games" themed!
- Where: Galaxy Park, 132 Milky Way
- When: Monday, July 27th from 5pm-7pm
For more information: Parks Alive | Galaxy Park
You're Invited: North Star Fest is Saturday, August 1st
The 6th annual North Star Fest is on Saturday, August 1, 2026 from 11:00-8:00. This year's event features a great lineup of local music, amazing food carts. Lots of fun in store for the whole family!
Mark your calendars now and stay tuned for updates. All are welcome to attend this free community event in the North Star Neighborhood!
More info can be found on the event page.
Heads Up: Door Creek Watershed Study Public Meeting Scheduled August 25th
The Door Creek Watershed Study, which covers most of the North Star neighborhood in District 3, is nearing its completion. Flood models were developed to identify flood risk throughout the Door Creek watershed and are being utilized to develop stormwater infrastructure projects that will reduce flood risk to the public.
During the second public meeting, Stormwater Engineering staff shared flood risk maps showing there is some flooding throughout the watershed in the 1% chance storm scenario in a variety of locations that impact streets and homes including Mclean Dr, North Star Dr, Driscoll Dr and Galileo Dr. Since sharing the flood risk maps, the consultant has been designing conceptual solutions within the flood models to understand what solutions are needed to mitigate flooding. Most involve increasing the size of existing pipes or adding in stormwater storage with stormwater ponds. Some additional analysis of the undeveloped areas north of I-94 was completed to better plan for future development of the Reiland Grove subdivision which is just getting started.
The City will host a third virtual public meeting on August 25th, 2026 to share conceptual solutions designed to mitigate flash flooding in the Door Creek watershed. During the meeting, staff will review the existing flood risk, share the potential stormwater improvement ideas, and host a Q&A period for residents to ask questions.
A Zoom registration will be added to the project webpage in early August. To be notified via email when the link is posted, please subscribe to “Get Email Updates" on the webpage. I will share a reminder blog post later in August. The City will also send postcards to watershed residents notifying them of the scheduled meeting. Stay tuned!
Events & Announcements
- Milwaukee Street Reconstruction, Thursday, July 30: The City is planning to reconstruct Milwaukee Street (Starweather Creek to W Corporate Drive). A public information meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., July 30, 2026, via Zoom. Registration prior is required.
- Public Information Meeting - Warner Park, Thursday, July 30: As part of the Warner Park Southeast Recreation Area Development Plan, we identified the need to reconfigure the athletic fields located in the southeast corner of Warner Park.
- Williamson Street Closure Remains in Place Until Further Notice: To ensure community safety, the closure of Williamson Street and South Baldwin Street will remain in place due to the ongoing public gathering within the intersection. The closure will remain in effect until further notice. Please see the attached… [posted July 24, 2026]
- Street Closure for All City Swim Meet 2026: Starting at 8:00am on July 25, N Yellowstone Drive will be closed between Inner Drive and Shenandoah Way for the annual All City Swim Meet event. The event will go through the week with the street reopening by 5:00pm on August 2. [posted July 21, 2026]
- New Men's Shelter Scheduled to Open September 1: The new shelter not only brings improved physical space, but its opening will also fundamentally alter how the shelter functions. [posted July 21, 2026]
- Opening Date Set for Imagination Center at Reindahl Park: Save the date for the opening of the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park hosted by Madison Public Library, City of Madison Engineering, Madison Parks and Madison Public Library Foundation. [posted July 21, 2026]
- Secure Drop Boxes Are Now Open: Madison's secure ballot drop boxes are now open for the August 11, 2026, election. [posted July 21, 2026]
- Applications Being Accepted to Fill Alder District 1 Vacancy: District 1 residents are invited to apply to fill this vacancy for the remainder of the current alder term. [posted July 20, 2026]
- Learn to Kayak, Monday, July 27: Learn to Kayak with Madison Boats! Register online for this free class offered at Wingra Park. All ages are welcome and most appropriate for ages 10 and older. Anyone under 18 must have a guardian present and may need to be in the kayak with child.
- Lakeside Kids! Madison Capoeira – Grupo Capoeira Brazil, Tuesday, July 28: Join us for another exiting summer season of Lakeside Kids! – a free interactive series featuring science, culture, arts and entertainment. Designed for kids ages 4 and up. Lakeside Kids! provides hands-on fun and learning in an engaging and dynamic setting.
- Adapted Swim, Saturday, August 1: Open to all individuals with disabilities and their caregivers and families. Pre-registration is not required.
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.
