Meetings and Updates Week of December 2
posted- City Meetings:
- Finance Committee 12/2
- Plan Commission 12/2
- Southeast Area Plan Kickoff/Open House Meetings 12/4 and 12/5
- Playground Equipment Replacement Workshop for Kennedy and Portland Parks 12/5
- Events & Announcements
Reminder of Winter Parking Rules: Alternate side parking is in effect until March 15, 2025. Sign up for daily alternate side parking reminders by text.
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, December 2, at 4:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include removing the paid parking pilot program and the 2024 Year End Appropriation Resolution.
Plan Commission
The Plan Commission meeting will take place on Monday, December 2, at 5:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include implementing revisions to the Urban Design Commission ordinance and development-related requests (none in District 3).
If you would like more information about becoming a member of a City board, commission, or committee, please visit the page linked here.
Southeast Area Plan Kick-off/Open House Meetings Wednesday and Thursday
Area plans are a tool to guide changes that occur over time to the physical aspects of our community, such as land use, housing, transit, streets, bike paths, and other community facilities, all steered by City policies and resident feedback. The Southeast Area Plan will cover the Rolling Meadows, Hiestand Park, and Heritage Heights neighborhoods within District 3.
Join City Planning, Engineering, Transportation, Parks, and others at an open house on December 4, 2024, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at LaFollette High School Cafeteria and Commons, 702 Pflaum Road. There will be a brief presentation at the start, but feel free to drop in and stay for a few minutes or the entire time. Come learn about the Southeast Area Plan and share your ideas with City staff! I hope to see you there!
The Southeast Area Plan team is also hosting a virtual meeting on Thursday, December 5th at noon for residents to learn about the planning process and provide feedback online. Registration is required using this link.
Playground Equipment Replacement Workshop for Kennedy and Portland Parks Dec 5th
In the 1990’s there was a significant reinvestment in playgrounds to move away from wood structures, which were inaccessible, towards equipment that was safer and met ADA guidelines. During this time, the primary surfacing selected for installation was crumb rubber and/or pea gravel. By 2012, there was a significant need to reinvest in our playgrounds again as many were reaching the end of their useful life at similar times. This led to the Parks Division working collaboratively with Alders, the Mayor, and the Board of Park Commissioners to establish a programmatic approach to the replacement of over 120 of the playgrounds over the next decade beginning in 2013. The Council adopted RES-13-00034, Legistar 27854, in January 2013. This called on the Parks Division to develop a replacement program that prioritized playgrounds based on safety, age and condition in a fair and equitable manner. The program was to include a standard playground equipment package, prioritized yearly capital budget plan for the replacements and equitable guidelines that would allow for neighborhoods to contribute financially to the project.
Madison Parks will replace five existing playgrounds in 2025, including the playgrounds at Kennedy Park and Portland Park in District 3. There will be two public input meetings on this project. The first meeting, which will cover the process for all five parks, will be a virtual playground workshop on Thursday, December 5th at 6pm via Zoom (register using this link). Parks staff will present an overview of the playground replacement program and ask for residents’ input on design decisions. There will be a second meeting to go over preliminary project plans for residents’ review and input, schedule TBD. I’ll continue to share more information in future weekly posts. If you can’t make the Dec 5th meeting, but want to share your ideas in the meantime, here are the project webpages and staff contacts for both District 3 parks:
- Kennedy Park Playground Project Website (park located in the Heritage Heights neighborhood). Project contact: Kate Kane, kkane@cityofmadison.com.
- Portland Park Playground Project Website (park located in the Rolling Meadows neighborhood). Project contact: Adam Kaniewski, akaniewski@cityofmadison.com.
Events & Announcements
- Public Health Alerts Community to Rising Pertussis (Whooping Cough) Cases Ahead of Holidays: Public Health Madison & Dane County is urging everyone to be aware of the ongoing pertussis (whooping cough) outbreak ahead of upcoming holiday season. [posted November 26, 2024]
- Final Weekend of 2024 for Streets Division Drop-off Sites (11/30/24 & 12/1/24): The final weekend for the Streets Division drop-off sites in 2024 is Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1.Before you load up your car or truck with stuff, check the Streets Division drop-off website, Events
- In-Person Open House: Southeast Area Plan kickoff event, Wednesday, December 4: Join Planning, Engineering, Transportation, Parks, and others at an open house on December 4, 2024, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at LaFollette High School Cafeteria and Commons, 702 Pflaum Road. There will be a brief presentation at the start, but feel free to drop in and stay for a few minutes or the entire time to learn about the Southeast Area Plan and other upcoming projects in the Southeast Area.
- Virtual Open House: Southeast Area Plan, Thursday, December 5: If you are unable to join the in-person open house to kick off the Southwest Area Plan process, you can join Planning, Engineering, Transportation, Parks, and others in a virtual open house on December 5, 2024 from Noon to 1:00pm. There will be a brief presentation at the start, but feel free to drop in and stay for a few minutes or the entire time to learn about the Southeast Area Plan and other upcoming projects in the Southeast Area.
- Madison Arts Commission 50th Anniversary Celebration, Thursday, December 5: The Madison Arts Commission invites you to its 50th Anniversary celebration at the Madison Children’s Museum on December 5th at 4:00pm. This event will be family-friendly and include live performances by VO5 and others, as well as arts activities with artists.
- HolidayFest Arts & Crafts Fair, Saturday, December 7: Join us for the 25th annual HolidayFest Arts & Crafts Fair held the first Saturday in December each year. Over 80 vendors from the Midwest will be selling their handmade goods. Shop for a variety of jewelry, baskets, garden art, cards, pottery, woodwork, baby gifts, soaps, balms, lotions, knitwear, paintings, home décor and more! It's the perfect place to find a unique gift for that special someone!
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.
