2025 Rear View Mirror Reflections

District Niners,

 2025 Reflections and the Year in Review

Fifty-five weeks ago, the journey to re-set the table with a voice that would be responsive to district nine constituent issues and/or concerns began.

• I began this journey knowing that I had a majority of District 9 support, an excellent skill set, plus a great deal of acquired knowledge coming into this position. I continue to add to my "political" store of knowledge.
• As a political "newbie" and after being sworn in, taking stock of a new learning curve inclusive of the council process, the intricacies of the role and most importantly, how best to serve my constituents was front and center for me.  And yes, as alder there are and were priorities to be balanced over requests such as road crater repairs or clearing away unsightly abandoned construction junk to focus on major concerns and projects related to homelessness, housing, safety and the budget.
• Collaborating with colleagues continues to be a work in progress.
• Housing continues to be on the front burner; however, building "cottage courts" on some properties to increase housing without assessing and knowing how many existing properties meet the spatial requirements is an unknown.  The elephant in the room is: will the number of property owners who meet the spatial requirements support this plan and how many housing units will we gain? ** Given the opportunity, I would propose the concept of tiny home villages to increase affordable housing and creating wealth.
• There are three apartment dwellings that have been challenging from a law-and-order perspective.  Meeting with property managers from those units labeled as "troubled' has been both challenging and rewarding in implementing programs and in building trust and community for residents for adults and children alike.
• Many of the problems associated with the BRT have been self-inflicted along with spending exceeding over $ 5 million dollars to remedy and repair problems.  Was there a failure to utilize resources (e.g., UW-Madison Materials & Science Engineering) in our own backyard to answer questions about the efficacy of products (paint) that would be best for Wisconsin winter surfaces on BRT restricted lanes?  How many times must we spend money (that could be allocated for other projects) to get it right if we fail to ask experts, when we fail to plan as if winter does not exist in Madison or, the do-overs for BRT restricted lanes (e.g., Whitney Way at Regent St.) because of BRT weight?  We must start looking under the hood, assess and plan for unintended and/or unforeseen problems as a part of the planning process.
• Dairy Drive Encampment...what a disaster!  Both the city and administrators of Dairy Drive knew that the bewitching hour for closure was September 30, 2025.  Shame on the City of Madison, Dane County and Madison Street Medicine for not collaborating with other agencies to secure housing for the remaining residents of Dairy Drive before closure instead of wishing and hoping that the tide would turn.
• And finally, taxpayers will continue to bear the burden of digging deeper into their pockets until a systematic evidenced-based research approach is implemented for budgeting that addresses assessing, planning with projections, options, consequences and performance measurement outcomes across all departments.  Cities of comparable size across these United States use this process.  What is our fear!  We deserve better for our budgeting process.

• There are other issues not addressed here that you (as constituents) must keep on the front burner:

  **John Nolen Drive

  **2026 plans/disruptions in the 9th district

  **Traffic, traffic safety and more traffic

  **Environmental concerns and more
  
  Thank you District Niners for your questions and solutions for your issues and/or concerns.  Here's hoping that 2026 will be brighter for Madison in general and for the 9th district in particular.

  HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Be safe and be well and don't forget to activate your smile.

  Joann