New Year, New Office Hours, New Neighborhood Grant Opportunity + Sidewalk Clearing Update + Tree Collection

Happy New Year friends, 

 

To start the New Year, I've scheduled new office hours and plan to schedule time connecting with neighborhood groups in the district. Please do reach out to me at district17@cityofmadison.com if you'd like me to meet with you and your neighbors and/or group.  Usually during these discussions, I'll give an update on district related projects and concerns as well as hear your feedback and concerns.  

New Year, New Office Hours!

Sidewalk Clearing Update

The snow that began falling during the morning of Thursday January 1, 2026 ended at 1:06PM.  Snow and ice should be cleared from public sidewalks by 12:00 PM (noon) on Friday, January 2, 2026.

If there’s any ice left on the sidewalk that you can’t remove, spread sand or another safe material to provide traction.  

Free sand for residents is available at several locations around Madison to keep sidewalks safe.

Visit our City Winter Sidewalks website for more information and learn more about snow removal best practices and frequent asking question (FAQs).

Thank you for helping to keep our sidewalks safe!

How are MMSD Schools Funded?

Learn how the MMSD budget works with this animated video. See where they get their funding and how they use those funds to support more than 25,000 students.

2026 Neighborhood Grants

The Planning Division will once again host its Neighborhood Grant Program in 2026, and expects the Common Council will award approximately $25,000 in grants. Grant guidelines and an application will be available on this webpage soon. The deadline for receipt of applications will be February 10, 4:30 p.m.

There will be an optional grant workshop:

January 14, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Virtual via Zoom – registration required

In-Person – Madison Municipal Building, 215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Conference Room 151

Neighborhood Grants provide funds to build organizational capacity, beautify public places, and create community gathering places. These grants help improve quality of life in neighborhoods, and across the city.

Please do reach out to me with any questions at district17@estiocityofmadison.com . I enjoyed having conversations with residents in the Sandburg area about this program and wrote a letter of support for their application to create what is the Sandburg Neighborhood Pollinator garden project located in Sandburg Park. 

How to Have Your Christmas Tree Collected

The Rules for Christmas Tree Collection

If you do not follow the below, your tree will not be collected from the curb:

• Remove the tree stand.
• Remove all tree decorations such as lights, tinsel, ornaments, tree toppers, and so on.
• Do not place your tree into a bag.
• Follow the tree placement instructions.
• Crews are only collecting trees. Boughs, wreaths, and other evergreen decorations belong in the trash.

Full update. 

Look up your trash and recycling collection schedule.