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Near West & John Nolen Watershed Studies, Building Energy Savings Program Update, Plus This Week's Updates

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 

Spring is here...almost. March Madness is upon us. I see daffodils and other spring flowers starting to shoot up through the recently thawed ground. We survived winter, though just barely it would seem, given all the gyrations. Our passage into this season of renewal could not be more welcome, though if you’re like me you’re feeling a bit wobbly and unsure, reflecting on all that remains chilly and foreboding.  

Sunshine is good medicine, however, so my hope is we all warm up under its rays, finding strength in community and each other, rejuvenating ourselves for all that lies ahead.  

Here are this week’s updates: 

Near West Watershed Study and the John Nolen Drive Watershed Study 

A public information meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., March 18, via Zoom. Registration prior is required. This meeting will cover the Near West Watershed Study and the John Nolen Drive Watershed Study. 

Learn more on the project pages for the following:  

Madison Launches Second Year of the Building Energy Savings Program

The City of Madison has launched the second year of the Building Energy Savings Program (BESP). Adopted by the Common Council in 2023, BESP requires large commercial buildings to benchmark their energy use annually and complete building tune-ups every four years. The program is being phased in between 2024 and 2027, with commercial buildings over 100,000 square feet already participating.   

For more information click here. 

Boards, Commissions, and Committee 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, March 17, at 4:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include approving the issuance of a Request for Proposals for the redevelopment of Block 113, located at 1 South Butler Street. 
  • Plan Commission: The Plan Commission meeting will take place on Monday, March 17, at 5:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include development-related requests in Districts 2, 8, 12, 14, and 19. 
  • Transportation Commission: The Transportation Commission meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 19, at 5:00 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include the Department of Transportation Annual Operations Report. 

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

Announcements and News Releases 

  • OIM Community Listening Session with JUSTDANE: The Office of the Independent Monitor, in collaboration with JustDane, invites members of the public to a community listening session on Friday, March 21, at 5 pm. This hybrid session is open to the public, but registration is required.… [posted March 14, 2025] 
  • Announcement Regarding Clerk’s Office : City Attorney Michael Haas will assume the role of Acting City Clerk on an interim basis and will oversee office operations to make sure that everything runs smoothly. [posted March 12, 2025] 
  • Spring Election Media Kit Now Available: The Madison City Clerk's Office is releasing its media kit for the April 1 Spring Election. The media kit includes election statistics, key dates, and a brief overview of the election process. The goal of the Madison City Clerk's Office is that each… [posted March 10, 2025] 

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. 

Events 

  • Public Test of Election Equipment, Saturday, March 22: The City Clerk's Office will test every tabulator, ballot style, and office on the ballot to make sure the tabulators will accurately tally votes at the polls on Election Day. The public test begins at 9 a.m. and runs until complete. 

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

Lastly....

Voting is a disturbingly underappreciated franchise. In our recent presidential election, only 64% of eliglble voters cast their ballots. Wisconsin had a higher turnout at 76%, and the city of Madison an even higher turnout at 88%. Still, this historically tight presidential race was decided with nearly 90 million eligible voters nationwide opting out entirely. 

Supreme Court elections held in the spring don't get numbers as high as presidential races. In 2023, we saw nearly 40% of those eligible voting in that race won by Janet Protasiewicz. Hopefully, we'll see higher number this year. Yes, the commercials are too much and likely a big turnoff for some, but this is such an important race. I trust everyone reading this is planning to vote. It's a privilege we should not be taking for granted.

That's all for now.

Take care and stay safe,

Tag

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District 13 - Alder Evers

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Alder Tag Evers

District 13
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