Meetings and Updates Week of June 17

• Attention: City Service Changes on Wednesday, June 19th for Juneteenth Holiday
  • Administrative Office Closures
  • Emergency Services Open, use Report A Problem for Non-Emergencies
  • No Trash/Recycling Collection or Drop-off
  • Metro Transit service on Holiday Schedule
• City Meetings: Common Council 6/18
• Abuse of Large Item Pick-Up Service and Proposed Policy Changes
• 2024 Make Music Madison is Friday: Event Details and District 3 Locations
• Events & Announcements

Attention: City Office Closures and Service Changes on Wednesday, June 19 for Juneteenth Holiday

• Administrative offices are closed on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, for Juneteenth.
• Emergency services will be open; please call 911. Use Report a Problem for non-emergencies.
• Metro Transit bus service will run on its Holiday Schedule, check your route here.
• No Streets Division Collections or Drop-off on Juneteenth, Wednesday, June 19, 2024: There will be no recycling, trash, brush, or large item collections performed by the City of Madison Streets Division on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in observance of the Juneteenth holiday. The Streets Division drop-off sites will also be closed. Residents who normally have their trash and recycling collected on Wednesdays by the Streets Division should instead place their scheduled cart(s) out for pickup by 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 20, 2024. Residents who have their trash and recycling collection scheduled for Thursdays should have their cart(s) out for emptying by 6:30 a.m. on June 20 as well.
• Wondering where you can join celebrations for the Juneteenth holiday? Here's a list of some events to check out.

City 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.

Common Council

The Common Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 18, in hybrid format at 6:30 p.m. Agenda items include:

• A resolution recognizing June 19th as Juneteenth and Freedom Day in Madison. June 19, 1865 was the day that the U.S. Army freed the last enslaved people in Texas, two and a half years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
• A resolution recognizing June as Homeownership Month in Madison.
• A presentation about Make Music Madison 2024 (more on this below).
• A staff presentation on the 2025 Operating Budget’s structural deficit. This presentation will include updated estimates of the cost to provide City services in 2025, as well as a clearer view of the size of the City’s 2025 structural deficit in the Operating Budget which pays for staff and services.
  • The Finance presentation isn’t posted in legistar yet, but I’m expecting it to look pretty similar to this presentation that they gave the Finance Committee on Monday June 10th.
  • The headline from that presentation was that the updated estimate of the 2025 Operating Budget deficit is now $22 million, representing salary and benefits for roughly 220 City employees. That’s down from the previously-estimated $27 million. Then each following year is projected to add between $6 million and $10 million of a new gap to the Operating Budget deficit at current City service levels and with current revenue tools (see slide 4 in the Finance Committee presentation).
  • As an aside, do you miss reading former D3 Alder Erik Paulson’s blog posts? If so you’re in luck because he’s put together four very informative posts on his own blog breaking down Madison’s Operating Budget situation and his thoughts about potential paths forward. I recommend checking them out if you’re interested or even if you just miss his writing. Here’s his blog page on Madison's Budget Challenge which has links to each of the four posts.
• A resolution approving the preliminary plat of the Starkweather Plat on property addressed as 3420-3614 Milwaukee Street (the old Voit Farm), and a separate item implementing the zoning changes for the project as recommended for approval by the Plan Commission in its June 10th meeting.
• A resolution creating Section 28.022-00669 of the Madison General Ordinances to change the zoning of properties located at 506-518 East Wilson Street and 134-150 South Blair Street, from PD (Planned Development) District to UMX (Urban Mixed-Use) District. This is the development proposed at the old Essen Haus location at Blair and Wilson. This developer split their site proposal into multiple different buildings in order to accommodate the various design and historic preservation requirements that are unique to this site. The residential portion of this project will also use the City’s new height bonus ordinance that allows more stories in exchange for offering income-restricted affordable housing units, approximately 39 units in this case.
• A resolution creating Section 28.022-00674 of the Madison General Ordinances to change the zoning of property located at 201-205 South Stoughton Road from IL (Industrial-Limited) District to THV (Tiny House Village) District. This is Occupy Madison’s proposal in District 3. As a recap of some relevant information, here is the applicant’s letter of intent with their site plans, here is the staff report analyzing the rezoning proposal, here is my March 24th blog post about the Rolling Meadows Neighborhood Association’s neighborhood meeting on the proposal, here is my June 1st detailed blog post describing the proposal and its tradeoffs, and here’s my June 8th blog post highlighting key parts of staff’s analysis of the zoning standards. This item has generated a lot of input from District 3 residents and others, from both supporters and opponents of the project. I really appreciate all of the District 3 residents who have reached out to me. The rezoning proposal was recommended for approval by the Plan Commission on June 10th. Here are the comments that I shared at the June 10th Plan Commission meeting before voting yes on the rezoning proposal:
  • “Because this item is a proposal within my district I wanted to share that it has raised strong feelings in both directions among district 3 residents. Some residents are concerned about how an Occupy Madison village will be as a neighbor. I really respect those concerns that folks have raised because I know this kind of change might be scary when you don’t know how it will affect the place where you and your family live.
  • I wanted to find out more about how an Occupy village might be as a neighbor. I reached out to multiple neighborhood leaders over in Emerson East, near the other two villages, who shared very positive feedback about their Occupy Madison neighbors. They describe Occupy Madison village residents as long-standing members of the neighborhood who throw a big plant sale every year.
  • Based on Occupy’s requirement that people put in many hours of sweat equity before being eligible to join, and that Occupy has a process in place to ensure a safe home environment by mediating conflicts and asking residents to leave if they can’t maintain a safe environment, I think they’ll be good neighbors.
  • And the leaders on the Rolling Meadows Neighborhood Association’s board seem to agree. Here’s a quote from their letter, which is also on the record in Legistar: “As a neighborhood association, we understand the importance of community development projects that aim to address homelessness and provide sustainable housing solutions for marginalized individuals. The Tiny Home Village proposed by Occupy Madison aligns with our values of compassion, inclusivity, and community support.”
  • Now back to my own words, I think that the concerns about the drawbacks of this location for housing are very legitimate. The City can address some of these by improving the area, and I’ve been working with the City’s Engineering and Traffic Engineering agencies on capital projects for sidewalks and street lighting if the village proposal moves forward. Staff have noted that this body has approved housing next to industrial zoning in other specific cases before, and while I’m still not 100% comfortable with that proximity, it will undoubtably be a better place to live than wherever these folks are now.
  • Finally, I wanted to touch on the point that areas within District 3 experience the impacts of unsheltered homelessness, which I do not think is not a safe way for people to live and which does have consequences for the surrounding neighborhoods. I certainly don’t think a tiny home village is a fit for everyone but I think adding more housing options that are attainable for this population is a good thing for my district.
  • In this case, I see it as my job to balance those location concerns against that benefit that comes from giving 22 more people an alternative to sleeping in the woods or in parked camper vehicles, an alternative where they can live safely and can get back on their feet.
  • Given all of this, I find that the standards for rezoning are met.”
• A resolution authorizing the purchase of renewable diesel to begin a pilot program for “renewable diesel” for an amount not to exceed $100,000 in 2024 (I’m a cosponsor). Renewable diesel is a relatively new product on the market and does not require the expensive equipment upgrades that are required for “biodiesel”, which is a different sustainable fuel product that the City has been planning to incorporate into City Fleet operations to meet the City’s carbon emissions reduction goals. Pending the outcome of the initial phase of the pilot, Fleet Service will initiate the second phase of the pilot and purchased renewable diesel in an amount not to exceed $1.5 million. Funding for the 2024 pilot ($100,000) is available in the 2024 Adopted Fleet Service Operating Budget. If the pilot is expanded, funding for the $1.5 million in renewable diesel will be available in future operating budgets, rather than using biodiesel, which would require those costly equipment upgrades.

Meeting and registration information:

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agenda
• Register for Public Comment
• Watch Online

Abuse of Large Item Pick-Up Service and Proposed Policy Changes

Several District 3 residents have emailed me over the last two weeks about the return of a certain large trash pile along North Thompson Drive. I very much share their frustration as we live three blocks from the area where the trash pile keeps returning. I submitted a Report A Problem complaint (which I encourage everyone to do when you see dumping issues) about this on Monday. On Friday I followed up with Streets and Building Inspection staff asking about the pick-up timeline and to see if there's been a citation yet.

My understanding is that most the dumping at this location, as with certain other locations around the City, begins as "legitimate" under current City policy in the sense that building management or residents deposit large items there for the City to pick up, which is currently available as a free service. However, management seems to rarely actually submit the request for pick-up to the City, so their trash sits and builds up until neighbors get sick of it and report them. While the trash sits out, others seem to get the message that they can dump there too despite the "no dumping" sign. And then the trash pile grows to several dozen feet long, as we can see right now.

I understand from Streets Division staff that most large residential buildings have their own private large item pick-up arrangements, many of which don’t require storing their items on the curb for pick-up. Staff have also shared that this site in District 3 and the few dozen others like it around town are an enormous strain on City Streets Division resources to respond and pick up this massive volume of garbage on a regular basis, for free. Streets Division staff report that they're very concerned about how much money we're spending on this (nonessential) service as other large buildings open around the City. I'm currently cosponsoring a proposal that would change the City's policy and ordinances for large item pick-up that makes residential buildings with greater than 8 dwelling units (who, by the way, do not pay the Resource Recovery Special Charge on their monthly Municipal Services bill like smaller residences do) ineligible for free large item pick-up by the City. The proposal also gives City Building Inspection more tools to enforce the City's rules for storing large items on the terrace for pick-up. If the proposal passes, starting in November after months of Streets Division communication about the changes, those large buildings will be responsible for arranging private large item pick-up and they can only store those items on the terrace for a maximum of 48 hours before pick-up. Building Inspection would then have extra enforcement tools to ensure compliance. If you have a subscription to the WI State Journal online, you can read their article about the proposal here.

The proposal to change eligibility for free large item pick-up and add enforcement tools now goes to a few City policy committees for advisory votes before coming back to Common Council for a final vote, which I expect will happen during one of the July Common Council meetings. Stay tuned.

2024 Make Music Madison is Friday: Event Details and District 3 Locations

On Friday, June 21st, there will be more than 600 free musical performances at nearly 200 sites across Madison in honor of Make Music Day. This year, 23 cities in Wisconsin, and over 2,000 cities worldwide, will celebrate the importance of music to our culture, community, and economy. As of this year, Wisconsin has the largest number of chapters in the U.S, surpassing Texas. Last year Make Music Madison hosted the largest event in North America and one of the largest in the world. We are looking forward to maintaining that momentum.

Launched in 1982 in France as the Fête de la Musique, Make Music Day is different from a typical music festival, as it is open to anyone who wants to take part. Every kind of musician — young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion — pours onto streets, parks, plazas, and porches to share their music with friends, neighbors, and strangers. All of it is free and open to the public.

In 2013 City of Madison leaders recognized the promise of this event and worked to make it a reality in Madison. Since then, our organization has continued to grow thanks to the support of the City and the Madison Arts Commission. Over 1,500 individual musicians are expected to participate this year in the 12th annual Make Music Madison, most of them Madison residents. Please help us continue to grow our Madison Chapter by sharing the links below, and by planning your day of music on June 21st.

There are three Make Music Madison locations here in District 3:

• The Backyard, 213 Cameo Lane in Rolling Meadows from 3-8pm Friday
• The Studio at Wisco Barbell Club, 535 Tasman St near Rolling Meadows from 6-9pm Friday
• Tina’s Place, 601 Merryturn Road in Heritage Heights from 3-8pm Friday

Links to Learn More:

1. 2024 Make Music Madison Press Release
2. Interactive Event Map
3. List of Participatory Events
4. Survey
5. Facebook

Events & Announcements

• Public Input Meeting - Burrows Park, Thursday, June 20: Madison Parks is proposing to reconstruct the parking lot, entrance drives and asphalt path in Burrows Park in 2024 and 2025. The community is invited to attend a virtual public information meeting to learn about the proposed project and provide feedback.
• Summer Reading at Madison Public Library Begins with the WE READ Program!: Pick up a new WE READ Card Deck, join a weekly art program with a Bubbler Artist-in-Residence, get your WE READ bag, and connect to books, literacy tips, prizes and more this summer at your local library. [posted June 12, 2024, by Madison Public Library]
• Monthly Parking Permit Holders Have a New Way to Pay: The City of Madison Parking Division will migrate their current permit holders, and all new applicants, to electronic billing invoices starting this summer.  This new system will reduce paper use, as well as provide the opportunity for permit… [posted June 11, 2024, by Parking]
• Madison Ranked #2 in Country in Pedestrian Safety : Madison was ranked the 2nd safest city for pedestrians out of the largest 101 metropolitan areas across America, according to Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition ’s Dangerous by Design 2024 report. [posted June 10, 2024, by the Mayor’s Office]
• Message From Mayor Rhodes-Conway on Recent Incidents of Gun Violence : “An otherwise beautiful weekend in Madison was marred by three unacceptable acts of gun violence in public spaces. [posted June 10, 2024, by the Mayor’s Office]Go By Metro! Pinney Library, Tuesday, June 17 (This event occurs on multiple dates): Get the latest scoop on BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) and basics for how to use the local bus service. Get one-on-one time with a Metro employee in English or Spanish!
• Lunch Time LIVE! 6/18: Primitive Culture, Tuesday, June 18: On Tuesdays - June through August - a FREE outdoor concert series will take place from noon-1pm on the King Street walkway of the Wisconsin State Capitol. Chairs will be available, and blankets and lawn chairs are welcome on the lawn nearby.
• Parks Alive | Worthington Park, Tuesday, June 18: Parks Alive builds stronger neighborhoods and connects neighbors to their parks through fun, family-friendly activities, music, and free food. Events are held in parks across the city and throughout the summer. Connect with your neighbors and engage with your community at a Parks Alive event near you! Worthington Park: June 18, July 2, July 16, July 30
• Homebuyer Education Workshop, Tuesday, June 18: Take the first step to owning a home and join us in this Home Buyer Education Workshop. This FREE Homebuyer Education workshop takes place in-person at Arbor Covenant Church (23509 McDivitt Rd., Madison, WI) on Saturday, June 08 from 8:30am-3:30pm! Lunch will be provided.
• Financial Wellness Workshop #5, Tuesday, June 18: Having debt can be debilitating. This session will help you tackle your debt head on with strategies and tools to develop a plan to pay off your debt.
• Capitol View Farmers' Market, Wednesday, June 19 (This event occurs on multiple dates): The Capitol View Farmers' Market is held weekly on Wednesdays (3:00-7:00pm) from late May through mid-October. Join us each week for great local vendors, live music, food carts, and special activities from week to week. Visit our website and follow us on social media for the most up-to date information and schedules! (Location: far Eastside of Madison, near
  the Great Dane Eastside, 5901 Sharpsburg Dr.)
• Parks Alive | Owl Creek Park, Thursday, June 20: Parks Alive builds stronger neighborhoods and connects neighbors to their parks through fun, family-friendly activities, music and free food. Events are held in parks across the city and throughout the summer. Connect with your neighbors and engage with your community at a Parks Alive event near you! Owl Creek: June 20, July 18, August 1, August 22
• Make Music Day, Friday, June 21: Join Make Music Madison on June 21st for a free, citywide music festival! Enjoy live performances at various locations around Madison as part of the international Make Music Day event. Don't miss out!
• Bird & Nature Adventures | Edna Taylor, Saturday, June 22: Summer Solstice Phenology ~ Join Naturalist Alex Singer to explore easy nature trails on this free family friendly walk.  Enjoy learning about the seasonal burst of new life you see around you in the trees, plants, insects, birds, and other wildlife.