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Meeting and Event Highlights for the Week of December 23, 2024

posted 

THANK YOU

Thank you to all of the community members and neighbors for showing up, engaging and sharing your point of view on the Madison Ice Arena/Hartmeyer Ice Arena Loan Forgiveness & Land Sale.

This has been an intensive issue to measure and decide.

So many people have heartfelt stories.  Equally so, I appreciate the feedback, hard pressed questions and legitimate concerns you raise.  What’s the solution?  Not sure yet but the Finance Committee and Common Council will soon have to decide.

I’d be amiss if I didn’t thank those of you who have spent an incredible amount of time talking to, engaging with, and giving me your insight, opinions; even when you felt conflicted or upset.

I appreciate those of you who have earnestly answered questions (even the ones I could tell you didn’t necessarily like) and been willing to have frank conversations about what’s happened, what is, what’s not and what is possible.  

Thanks to EDD Matt for taking on the 150 plus questions that need to be worked through in order to help the community understand this multilayered; multiple decades issue.  

And I want to recognize that throughout this engagement, I didn’t hear anyone say ice sports and activities are not important and what the kids experience through these programs is irrelevant. No one thinks this and I am glad the spin didn’t stick.  

With this in mind, over break, I’ll continue to work on making sense of the hours upon hours and hours input given.  We should look for a solution to this 100-year problem and it’s recognized that we may not have the capacity to do so given the scene, situation and timeline.

That said, I hope over these holidays -- Hannukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa that we all hit the pause button, step back and seize grace while taking a moment to appreciate each day that we have breath in our bodies.

I am a worker bee so it’s going to be hard but I’m going to try to take my own advice.

Then hopefully, during this tumultuous time, we’ll stay steady with those who are hurting deeply right now, steady with those who have lost, steady with those who feel exhausted, unheard, afraid, lonely, unsettled or a number of other emotions that not only give us life but often drive us to get through whatever obstacles we face.

So here goes…

SHARING IS CARING

Madison stands with the families of Abundant Life community Resources for the Madison Community:. This page is dedicated to connecting victims and the broader community to resources and accurate information about the tragic events that happened on December 16.

STAY TUNED

Stay tuned for upcoming community meetings for new developments in D12.

Here's the latest early-stage developments and explorations that may be going to DAT (the City's Design Assistance Team)  for early-stage  meetings. These included projects that have had their Alder “first glance”  meeting with me and/or are in process of working with use to set up a community  and/or hitting the docket soon:

--A 5-story property being explored at the corner of Fair Oaks and East Washington across from the Rise Development Project which is currently in construction. [Proposed project; early Stages: conceptual: Requested a 30-day shortened notice (to meet a WHEDA application deadline in March); In-person Community Meeting is in the works for Mid-January] *

--A 200+  property being explored at Commercial and Packers [Stage: Proposed; Early stages; Alder first look discussion;  Community meeting advised, Developer working with Common Council Office to get scheduled for late January]*

--A 500+ unit property being explored at Pennsylvania and 1st [Stage: Proposed; Early stages; conceptual; DAT Informational only; Alder first look discussion; Community Meeting advised by Alder; Developer working with Common Council Office to get scheduled]*

--A supportive 16-unit housing complex at Ruskin and Roth is taking on new life*

MISSED THIS?

Some of you may have missed these or will remember:

--Dryden Drive and Packers:   27 Smart Senior Housing at the corner of Dryden Drive and Packers.  

--Carpenter/East Washington Avenue: 90 unit at the corner of Carpenter and East Washington Avenue/Ridgeway and Carpenter

--Madison Ice Arena/Hartmeyer Ice Arena proposed $1.6 million loan forgiveness and $1 land sale/transfer [In-process of evaluation and notification and getting community input—your input is requested}.

Resolution introduced to Common Council 11/26/24 with a final vote return date of 12/10/24.  At the request of the Alder, the Common Council voted to move referral and return date further out.  

On 12/12/24, an in-person community meeting was held (50-60 participants in-person; many concerns raised, and supportive stories heard.  A lot of questions were asked, and a lot of input was given).

Issue reviewed by the Economic Development Committee (EDD) on 12/18/24.  Open House held at the Hartmeyer Ice Arena in conjunction with the EDD Meeting. 

After a presentation (and a series of Q & As from the EDD Board Members and Alders), the EDD voted 5-0 to recommend adding restrictions to the current proposal.  Next up:

  • Finance Committee on 1/6/25 @4:30 on Zoom
  • Common Council (new final vote & return date) 1/14/25 @6:30 In-person and on Zoom).

A video of the 2-hour plus meeting is now available on the City of Madison Website.  Go to: City home page >> City Hall >>Committees>>Watch Meetings Online>>Watch Past Meetings>>Additional Meetings>>Economic Development Committee 12/18/2024 (5:12 PM)

Interested in weighing-in?  See blog post on 12/4/24 for detailed information on how to participate and give your input.

UPDATES AND NOTICES

City Offices are closed on December 24 and 25: Administrative offices are closed on December 24 and 25, 2024 for Christmas.

Emergency services will be open over the holidays; please call 911. Use Report a Problem for non-emergencies.

Winter Weather Alerts: Subscribe to get winter weather alerts in real time. Sign up to receive alerts by text or email.

BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS

There are currently no boards, commissions, or committee meetings scheduled for this upcoming week.   Future meetings and their details can be found at the Meeting Schedule page.

If you would like more information about becoming a member of a City board, commission, or committee, please visit the page linked here.

COMMON COUNCIL: The next Common Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. in hybrid format.

Important to remember:  Common Council operates under a Consent Agenda which means that all items on our agenda are passed as presented except for:

1) Items which have registrants wishing to speak.

2) Items which Alder(s) have separated out for discussion/debate purposes

If you register for public comments and wish to speak, (See link above:  Register for Public Comment) your item will be pulled from the Consent Agenda and will have 3 minutes to give your input.

More helpful information:  To reach all of Common Council with your comments, questions, or concerns, email us at:  allalders@cityofmadison.com  If you know it, be sure to include the agenda file number (aka Legistar number).    You can find the agenda item number and Legistar file number on the meeting agenda when it is published. The Common Council Agenda is published a few days before the meeting.

EVENTS

 

Additional upcoming events can also be found on the City events calendar.

CITY ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS RELEASES

 

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.

Small Pleasures

Driving down Monroe Street on a way to meeting and seeing a variety of oversized Hallmark like scenes and Santas just as it started to be A Snowy Day…

How do you contact me, other Alders or departments?

You can contact  me by email at district12@cityofmadison.com, but I prefer that you text me, or call me at (608) 345-8747, especially if the email you want me to read or review is urgent.

At the bottom of this post is a comprehensive list of how to reach other departments.  If you want me to see your submission just cc me on the email. District12@cityofmadison.com

You can also reach out through the City website at www.cityofmadison.com/council.

If you would like to contact all alders, you can email us at allalders@cityofmadison.com.

If you have something that you want to send to the Mayor's office, their email is mayor@cityofmadison.com

Finally, if you want to get your issue handled directly, or if you know the department that would likely handle your issue, feel free to email them directly, and cc: me in on the email, so that you can get direct help and I can stay abreast of your situation.

If you don't know who your issue, comment or question or concern should be routed to you can send an email to council@cityofmadision.com This will go to the Common Council Office and they will get it routed to the right place.  The Common Council staff is very knowledgeable and helpful.

Here is a directory of all of the major city departments: https://www.cityofmadison.com/departments. If you want me to see your submission just cc me on the email. District12@cityofmadison.com

If your issue is urgent or you are having trouble catching up with me, feel free to call the City Common Council office at (608) 266-4061 or send an email to council@cityofmadison.com and let them know you are trying to reach me.

We receive hundreds of emails, especially if an issue is contentious or controversial, and unfortunately our department has a limited staff

ABW,

Alder Amani

Amani Latimer Burris, Alder, District 12

(608) 345-8747 (cell -- text preferred)

District12@cityofmadison.com 

 

City Agencies

Use the directory below to access information for each agency (Department/Division) in the City, including mission statement, agency contacts, and links to each agency webpage.

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District 12 - Alder Latimer Burris

Alder Amani Latimer Burris

Alder Amani Latimer Burris

District 12
Contact Alder Latimer Burris