Meetings and Updates Week of Feb 10

• City Meetings:
  • Common Council 2/11
  • Board of Public Works 2/12
  • Special Meeting of the Plan Commission 2/13
• Heads Up: Vegetation Management and Tree Pruning in District 3 This Year
  • MG&E Tree Pruning in District 3
  • Brush Cutting in Valley Rd Greenway and Atlas Ave Retention Pond
  • Prescribed Burning in Milky Way Bioretention Ponds
• Events & Announcements

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, February 11, at 6:30 p.m. in hybrid format. Agenda items include:

• Item 2: Staff presentation on the History and Future of Madison transportation. I’m very excited to see this one.
• Item 6: A new liquor license for Wisco Cheese & Cheers, a new business opening at 4905 Commercial Ave (in District 3). I haven’t heard from any neighbors with concerns about this proposal. Related, item 14 is a change of licensed premises request for the same address.
• Item 25: Approving plans and authorizing the City to receive bids for bridge repairs, including repairs to the aging bridge over Stoughton Road between Portland Parkway (in District 3) and Dempsey Road.
• Item 31: Authorizing the City Attorney to join the City as amicus in any cases related to environmental sustainability, environmental justice, or climate change which promote or impact Madison's policy of being an environmentally sustainable and resilient community where all Madisonians can thrive now and in the future.
• Item 41: A resolution accepting the 2025 Progress Update to the Madison Comprehensive Plan. The 2025 Progress Update highlights projects from the 2023 and 2024 calendar years that advanced Plan recommendations and provides the implementation status for each of the Comprehensive Plan’s Actions. Check it out here! And here’s the link for a helpful presentation and summary that staff gave Plan Commission members at its last meeting.
• Item 45: A resolution authorizing the City to amend a contract with 3rd parties to add funding for the Safe Routes to School planning using money awarded by Wisconsin DOT (I’m a cosponsor).

Meeting info:

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

Board of Public Works

The Board of Public Works meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 12, at 4:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include adopting the Sauk Creek Corridor Plan.

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

Special Meeting of the Plan Commission

The Plan Commission’s quarterly special meeting will take place on Thursday, February 13, at 5:00p.m. in Madison Municipal Building room 215. The Plan Commission’s meeting will cover policy topics such as updates to the Plan Commission Policies and Procedures manual (and here’s a staff memo explaining the changes) and the results of the recent State Street Pedestrian Mall experiment. The agenda for this meeting is not yet posted, but will be soon at this Meeting Details webpage.

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

Heads Up: Vegetation Management and Tree Pruning in District 3 This Year

MG&E Tree Pruning in District 3

The Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE) will be performing line clearance tree pruning in parts of District 3 this year. As part of this process, MGE applies for a permit to prune City of Madison-owned trees within the public right-of-way of any street, alley, highway, or greenway. MGE Forestry works with the City Forester and the City of Madison Streets Division on a yearly plan to prevent over-pruning of City-owned trees. Affected residents in the shaded area of the included map will receive a notice that MGE's 2025 plan for pruning trees on the public rights-of-ways will be considered by the Habitat Stewardship Subcommittee on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at 4:30 p.m., via virtual meeting. 

Image credit: MG&E

How to read the map: 

• Salmon-colored areasare areas show where we will be pruning
• Thick black and grey lines = highest voltage (feeds entire neighborhood)
• Blue, Red, Green line = high voltage (feeds blocks of houses)

Additional information on MG&E tree pruning can be found on their website at https://www.mge.com/environment/trees-landscape/tree-pruning.htm. Questions and comments can be sent to Tim Meisenheimer, MG&E, at (608) 252-7226 or email at tmeisenheimer@mge.com.

Brush Cutting in Valley Rd Greenway and Atlas Ave Retention Pond

Staff with City Engineering plan to remove brush along the Valley Road Greenway (running roughly north-south in-between Valley Road and Merryturn Road) in Spring of 2025. Removal of small volunteer trees and shrubs will improve the flow of water through the stormwater channel, allow for a vegetated woodland ground layer that in turn will protect against sedimentation of downstream water sources and erosion, and allow for desirable tree species to mature into the canopy. Species targeted include invasive buckthorn, honeysuckle, and Siberian elm, and native tree saplings. Desirable native tree and shrub species in appropriate locations may be left to grow. Cut brush will be removed from the site. Questions about Valley Road Greenway brush removal should be sent to Maddie Dumas in City Engineering at (608) 266-9525 or mdumas2@cityofmadison.com.

In addition, City Engineering plan to remove brush and some trees from the Atlas Avenue Retention Pond in Spring 2025. They will remove multiple dead, diseased, or invasive trees and some brush near those marked trees. Questions about Atlas Avenue brush/dead tree removal should be sent to John Toso in City Engineering at (608) 266-4832 or jtoso@cityofmadison.com.

Prescribed Burning in Milky Way Bioretention Ponds

This spring, City Engineering and Madison Fire Department staff plan to conduct prescribed burns on areas of existing native vegetation in the Milky Way Bioretention Ponds at 439 Milky Way here in District 3. Prescribed burns are an important management tool for Wisconsin’s native plant communities. The timeline for these burns to occur will be between March 1 and May 15. These burns will be conducted by certified staff with a permit from the Madison Fire Department.  The burns will only take place under specific weather conditions in order to manage smoke and minimize impacts to neighbors. In addition, burn professionals will install appropriate road signage on the day of the burn. Questions can be directed to Maddie Dumas in City Engineering at (608) 266-9525 or mdumas2@cityofmadison.com.

Events & Announcements

• Public Input Meeting - Sandburg Park, Thursday, February 13: Madison Parks is replacing five existing playgrounds in 2025. On Dec. 5, a virtual playground workshop was held for all five playgrounds, including the playground in Sandburg Park, 2818 Independence Lane.
• Stop by on Winter Bike Day, Happening February 14 : Demonstrating that biking isn’t just a summer activity, even in snowy Wisconsin, the local bicycle advocacy group Madison Bikes is hosting a Winter Bike Day on Friday February 14. [posted February 7, 2025]
• Free Ice Skating Fun This Weekend!: Looking to get outdoors this weekend? Madison Parks has free ice-skating events planned and you're invited! Get your groove on at Groove & Glide on Friday night. Ice skate under the stars with fun music and games at… [posted February 6, 2025]
• Recycle Your Whole Pizza Box - Even the Greasy Parts
• If you have City of Madison recycling at your home, you can now put the entire cardboard pizza box in the green recycling cart. Even if there are grease stains. For years, the recycling guidance for Madison residents was to rip off cardboard lids of… [posted February 4, 2025]
• Madison Public Library Invites the Community to Celebrate 150 Years of Library Service: MADISON, WI -- Madison Public Library is celebrating 150 years of service in 2025 with programs, events, and activities designed to highlight the value of libraries as a cornerstone of the Madison community. [posted February 3, 2025]
• Changes Coming to Local Rent Assistance Program: City and County government officials are alerting residents that changes are in store later this year for the Eviction Diversion and Defense Partnership (EDDP). [posted February 3, 2025]
• Hospitalized Absentee Voting Begins Today, Tuesday, February 11: This is the first day hospitalized voters may appoint an agent(opens in a new window) to pick up their absentee ballot from the City Clerk's Office for the February 18 Spring Primary.
• Groove & Glide, Friday, February 14: Make the most of winter at a Groove and Glide event! Experience the fun and beauty of ice skating under the lights with fun music and games.  All ages and experience levels are welcome. Grab your friends, a date, or family, and have fun on the ice. 

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.