Monday and Tuesday Round Up 3/30 & 3/31

By
Brenda Konkel
-
round up

City Council, Homeless, Elections, Parks Updates and more . . . several of these items deserve their own post if there were enough time in the day!

ALDER ROUND UP – 3/31

Good afternoon Alders,

Please see a round of updates from today.  I am sending this early due to CCEC and the Council meetings coming up.

From your Common Council Office:

City Channel will be broadcasting our very first CCEC and Common Council Meeting.  Despite the circumstances, this will be history in the making.

From the Governor:

Gov. Tony Evers today announced the State of Wisconsin Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) is opening two state-run voluntary isolation facilities in Madison and Milwaukee and is providing guidance to local communities throughout Wisconsin. The two sites are set to open April 1, 2020 are at Lowell Center in Madison and a Super 8 hotel in Milwaukee.

“As the state’s response to COVID-19 continues, we want to make sure those who need a safe place to stay have one available to them,” Gov. Evers said. “These voluntary self-isolation sites help respond to the pandemic in two ways. First, they will provide a valuable resource for those who have mild symptoms of COVID-19, leaving valuable hospital space available for others who need it, and they also provide a safe place for people to stay so they don’t spread COVID-19 to others.”

These facilities are for symptomatic individuals suspected to be infected with COVID-19 or who have a confirmed case of COVID-19. Individuals will not be permitted to register at the facility unless referred by a medical provider or public health official. Individuals register and stay at the isolation facility on a voluntary basis. The expected length of stay will be about 14 days, or 72 hours after symptoms dissipate. At any time, either the individual or the facility may terminate the individual’s presence at the site. Those staying at the facility will have wellness checks by phone every four hours during the day and if needed at night.

From Senator Tammy Baldwin:

Today, Senator Baldwin announced $37,286,321 in new federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) for Wisconsin communities to rapidly respond to COVID-19 and the economic and housing impacts caused by it. This funding was included in the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was signed into law last week.

The CARES Act included $5 billion total in CDBG funding. This initial round of funding is being allocated to states and local governments that received CDBG in Fiscal Year 2020. Additional CDBG allocations are forthcoming, including $1 billion to states to support a coordinated response across entitlement and non-entitlement communities, and $2 billion will be allocated to states and units of local government, cities and counties based on the prevalence and risk of COVID-19 and related economic and housing disruption.

“Local officials and the communities they serve need resources to respond to the public health, economic, and housing challenges we face. This federal support will help local communities quickly respond to this pandemic,” said Senator Baldwin. “I’ve seen firsthand how Community Development Block Grants help people throughout our state. Now more than ever, this funding is needed for local community development initiatives to support our workers, families and neighborhoods. We are all in this together, so we need to continue working together to get through this public health crisis and move our state forward.”

The following cities and counties in Wisconsin will receive this initial CDBG funding from theCARES Act:

      • City of Appleton:        $348,255
      • City of Beloit:             $384,288
      • City of Eau Claire:      $316,591
      • City of Fond Du Lac:  $335,496
      • City of Green Bay:      $595,446
      • City of Janesville:        $286,421
      • City of Kenosha:         $655,910
      • City of La Crosse:       $518,988
      • City of Madison:         $1,160,897
      • City of Milwaukee:     $9,574,616
      • City of Neenah:           $128,328
      • City of Oshkosh:         $494,757
      • City of Racine:            $1,108,649
      • City of Sheboygan:     $539,956
      • City of Superior:         $417,655
      • City of Wausau:          $371,608
      • City of Wauwatosa:    $594,265
      • City of West Allis:      $762,000
      • Dane County:              $730,767
      • Milwaukee County:    $992,237
      • Waukesha County:     $861,236

The State of Wisconsin will also receive $16,107,955 in CDBG funding to support local communities on the frontlines of this pandemic.

For more than 40 years, the CDBG program has invested billions of federal dollars in communities across the country and helped millions of Americans. The CDBG program fosters job development and provides assistance to neighborhood-based organizations, including community development corporations, in support of economic development, housing assistance, or neighborhood revitalization activities in Wisconsin that are vital to getting through this public health emergency. CDBG funding can be used for the expansion of community health facilities, child care centers, food banks and senior services.

From The EOC:

Complaints of businesses not in compliance of the Governor’s order should be sent to the general Public Health COVID-19 email (coronavirus@publichealthmdc.com).

Complaints of observed large gatherings of people should go to 911 dispatch.

From Public Health:

COVID-19 Information Update 3/31/20

Blog Post

We posted a new blog post today: Coronavirus is here and it’s spreading to support the need for physical distancing.

Weekly Data Summary

We are posting a weekly data summary of Dane County Covid-19 Data. Please see the summary for last week. We anticipate releasing a new summary each Friday. New data points may be added in the future.

      • One takeaway: Half of all people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Dane County live outside of Madison. Everyone is safer at home no matter where you live!

Data Dashboard

We have added a mobile friendly version of our data dashboard, in addition to the traditional dashboard to explore data.

Election Postponement Memo

Public Health Madison & Dane County submitted a memorandum titled: April 7th election and COVID-19: Urgent need to postpone and move to mail-in ballots only that was used by the City of Madison yesterday when they filed a brief in federal court asking the court to postpone the election.

3/31 COVID-19 News Roundup

Kwasi K. Obeng, Chief of Staff

Common Council Office

ALDER ROUND UP MARCH 30TH

Good evening Alders,

Please see a round of updates from today.

From your Common Council Office:

At 3:30pm today, we successfully completed a test run of tomorrow’s Common Council meeting.  15 Alders and City Staff were able to participate and share ideas on how to  improve the process.

 From The Mayor:

It remains critical that everyone who lives in Madison and Dane County is counted.  Over $675 billion in federal funds are distributed every year to communities across the country based on the census.  That means for every person not counted, we stand to lose over $2,000 locally per year for priorities like healthcare, affordable housing, childcare, transportation, education and more. As we practice social distancing, we still need to encourage those in our networks to complete their form now from the comfort and safety of their homes.

As such, I ask that in addition to making sure the census has been filled out for you and everyone in your household, you please join me in taking the three following actions:

      1. Insert the following language above your name in your email signature using the same format as I used in mine:

 >>> The 2020 Census is here! As we practice social distancing, take the opportunity to complete the census now from the comfort of your own home. You can fill it out online atmy2020census.gov, by phone, or by mail. <<<

For those who already have a census signature, please update it to the language above.

2. Text or call at least five friends, family members, and colleagues and encourage them to complete the census and ask them, in turn, to share the same message with at least five more people within their networks.  Especially reach out to people that might be less likely to participate.

3. Post the census message from the email signatures to social media and send it via email along with one or both of the “I Count” graphics that are included below.  The vertical version is better for Facebook and Instagram.  The horizontal version is better for Twitter.

From Streets:

Yard waste collection begins April 6: https://www.cityofmadison.com/news/spring-yard-waste-collection-starts-april-6

There is some COVID-19 adjacent information here. Residents should be prepared for slower than usual collections from us.

Every day, we’re evaluating how much staff we have available to us. Our priority is perform the critical curbside services like trash & recycling collection and some pothole repair. After those slots are filled, then we start assigning people to other services, so there may be times where we have few to zero personnel available for yard waste pickup – and it will vary day to day.

From The EOC:

Complaints of businesses not in compliance of the Governor’s order should be sent to the general Public Health COVID-19 email (coronavirus@publichealthmdc.com).

Complaints of observed large gatherings of people should go to 911 dispatch.

REGISTER TO VOTE AND REQUEST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT

You can still register to vote until March 30th at My Vote Wisconsin. Once you are registered, you can request an absentee ballot by mail online at My Vote Wisconsin or by sending an email to voting@cityofmadison.com. Please include your name, address at which you are registered to vote, email address to which the ballot should be sent, and a copy or picture of your voter ID (if not already on file in the Clerk’s Office). The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5:00 pm the Thursday before the election (April 2).

Absentee ballots must be received in the Clerk’s Office in time for delivery to the polls on Election Day (April 7th)

CURBSIDE VOTER REGISTRATION AND ABSENTEE VOTING

Curbside voter registration and absentee voting is now available through April 3rd to all residents. Curbside voting is open from 8:00AM-6:00PM outside of 210 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.

Due to COVID-19 precautions for the April 2020 Election, the City of Madison has reserved parking meters on the 200 block of Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard for any City of Madison voter to register and/or vote from the curb.  Just pull up to a parking meter in front of the City-County Building or Madison Municipal Building with a “No Parking – Police Order sign.”  If you have a cell phone, you can call the number posted on the sign at the meter to begin the curbside voting process.  Otherwise, wave at one of our election officials standing in front of the building, wearing a bright yellow vest.  Two officials will bring your ballot to your vehicle and will check your voter ID at your vehicle.  If you have your own pen to use, wave it at the officials as they approach your vehicle.  (Note, we are sanitizing clipboards and pens after each use.)

If you had the Clerk’s Office mail you an absentee ballot, and you need a witness, you may use the curbside voting process for that purpose. You can also read about other options for witnesses here: https://cityofmadison.com/clerk/news/voters-in-need-of-a-witness

SIGN UP TO BE A POLL WORKER

The City of Madison is in need of hundreds of poll workers for the April 7th election. To become a poll worker, sign up on the City of Madison Clerk’s website.

 From Public Health:

COVID-19 Information Update 3/30/20

Main Messages:

      • Today on social media, we reiterated that folks can go outside if they are alone or with household members and are staying six feet from others.
      • We continue to see evidence that the public health Safer at Home order is working.Our contact investigations show people who have tested positive for COVID-19 tend to have fewer high-risk contacts outside the home than earlier in March.

3/30 COVID-19 News Roundup

Kwasi K. Obeng, Chief of Staff

Common Council Office

ATTORNEY MEMO ON COUNCIL APPROVING EMERGENCY ORDERS/PROCLAMATION

Here’s the pdf: Emergency Proc and reso OCA Memo

TO: Madison Common Council
FROM: Michael P. May
City Attorney

RE: Mayoral Emergency Proclamation, Emergency Order and Resolutions

Agenda Item 18 (Legistar 60077) and others

Several items on the March 31 agenda relate to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency and the Mayoral issuance of an Emergency Proclamation. This memo is to explain those items.

1. Emergency Proclamation and Resolution.

The most significant item is the resolution declaring an emergency in Madison, Agenda Item 18 (Legistar 60077). Under Wisconsin state law and MGO sec. 3.19, the Council declares an emergency. The Mayor may also declare an emergency, and submit a resolution to the Council to confirm the emergency. This agenda item is the resolution to confirm the Mayor’s Emergency Proclamation of March 23, 2020.

The Council has the authority to pass the resolution as presented, which would affirm the Mayor’s Emergency Proclamation in all respects. The Council may also amend the resolution, which has the effect of amending the Emergency Proclamation on a prospective basis. If the Council defeats the resolution, the Mayor’s Emergency Proclamation has no further effect in the future. The Council’s actions are prospective only; they do not render the Proclamation amended or ineffective retroactively.

This resolution and the Emergency Proclamation it would affirm should be viewed as establishing the framework for future emergency actions by the Mayor and the Council during the COVID-19 crisis. I will refer to this as the “Primary Emergency Proclamation.” This resolution adopting the Primary Emergency Proclamation grants the Mayor broad power to suspend or modify City policies, resolutions and ordinances, provided all of such actions that relate to Council legislation is to be presented to the Council for confirmation. The resolution adopts the language of the Proclamation and allows the Mayor to:

. . . after consultation with the City Attorney, issue orders to suspend the operation of, amend, create, or adopt city policies or ordinances, and suspend enforcement actions, that are not in conflict with existing state or federal laws, in order to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on city workers,
residents of, and businesses within the City of Madison. This includes the power to extend deadlines, waive penalties, issue permits or licenses, contract or waive contractual terms, or such other actions as are appropriate to protect the health, safety and welfare of the City and its residents.

That broad power is tempered by the requirement that any changes to legislation – resolutions and ordinances – must be presented to the Council in the form of a resolution to confirm the Mayor’s actions. Those resolutions (a number are on the agenda and will be discussed below) are subject to adoption, amendment or defeat by the Council. The Proclamation and resolution provide:

To the extent any such actions by the Mayor affect a legislative enactment of the
Common Council, the actions shall be presented in a resolution to the Common
Council at the next regularly scheduled meeting when the resolution may be
considered. By the resolution, the Council will affirm, rescind, or amend any of
the orders issued by the Mayor.

The resolution does not require that administrative actions by the Mayor – for example, emergency modifications to APMS – be confirmed by the Council because this power resides with the executive, not the legislative, branch.

Thus, the Council is being asked in this resolution to approve a structural framework for the City to address pressing issues arising out of the COVID-19 crisis. The framework allows the Mayor to take immediate action, subject to approval by the Council.

2. Subsequent Emergency Order and Resolutions.

Acting under the authority of the Primary

Emergency Proclamation, the Mayor issued an order (the “Subsequent Emergency Order”) on March 26, granting a series of waivers and modifying deadlines in the ordinances. Pursuant to the Proclamation, resolutions to confirm those actions are being introduced for referral at this meeting. Those resolutions are at agenda items 88-106 and 108 (Legistar items 60085-87, 60090, 60107-09, 60111-17, 600120-24, and 600126). A summary of them and their intent can be found in the Mayor’s Subsequent Emergency Order, which is being emailed with this memo.

These resolutions are being referred to the Council meeting of April 21, and questions about them may be fielded prior to that time. These resolutions do, however reflect the types of matters that will be addressed by the Mayor during the emergency period. Most are items to give relief of some sort to Madison’s residents, non-profits and businesses, or to make it easier for staff to address the crisis. As with the Primary Emergency Proclamation, these subsequent resolutions may be approved, amended or defeated by the Council.

CC: Department and Division heads

DISCOLORED CITY WATER

From: Barrilleaux, Amy
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2020 4:08 PM
To: All Alders
Cc: Obeng, Kwasi; Grande, Joseph
Subject: Discolored Water

Hello alders,

I wanted to let you know that Madison Water Utility started its water main flushing program this week. During the warm weather months, we use high-velocity flushing through fire hydrants to scour mineral sediment from the city’s water mains. We typically perform this critical maintenance when people are unlikely to be home because it can cause tap water to become temporarily discolored. But this season, everyone is home. That means you may be contacted by people concerned about a brown or orange tint to their water.

Our website is updated weekly to show where crews will be flushing. People can also sign up to receive the same information through weekly flushing emails.

If you get calls or emails about discolored water, feel free to refer them to our Water Quality Department:

Phone: (608) 266-4654

Email: water@madisonwater.org

Best,

Amy

MESSAGE FROM GOLF MADISON PARKS STAFF

Greetings Golf Enthusiast,

It is very important to all of us at Golf Madison Parks that we continue to communicate with our user groups about current situations and standards surrounding all of us in the community.  The City of Madison Golf Program is currently navigating the current fluid situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in our nation and specifically here at home.  Starting on March 25th at 8:00am Governor Evers has placed Golf Courses on his list of closures as part of his “Safer at Home” order.  As a result of this order the City of Madison Golf Courses will continue to remain closed, with a current estimated opening date of April 24th as stated in Governor Evers order.
As part of the Safer at Home order Golf Courses will be allowed to maintain at minimal standards for the next month.  This means our staffing will be at absolute minimum to continue to maintain mowed areas of the facilities while keeping 6 feet of separation.  We will have our maintenance crews working individually and in staggered start times to avoid any and all potential contamination of the work place.  With minimum staffing and maintenance it will be imperative that staff is able to work free of outside distractions and interference, with that said we ask you remain off the courses to allow staff to keep conditions in best possible status for opening.  Any outside interference will severely hinder our abilities to move through processes quickly and efficiently.  We ask you please refrain from using Golf Course’s as dog parks, and utilize available dog friendly parks elsewhere in the City.
At this time all Golf Madison Parks staff agrees that we must do what is right and remain closed until further notice.  As community members we must think first of our staff and community in these times rather than the bottom line.  We hope to see you all very soon to enjoy another season with Golf Madison Parks!  Thank you all for your understanding and support as we continue to look towards opening date.
Sincerely,
Golf Madison Parks Staff

ELECTIONS UPDATE – MARCH 30

Good evening/morning,

Polling Places

We received our initial plan from our polling place team. I should have an official listing to you tomorrow, but it will involve reducing at the number of polling places from 92 to 66. We’ll have the same number of tabulators, so some polling places will have clearly divided areas to separate the different voting areas. When we update MyVote and the city’s polling place search database, I will let you know so you may spread the word to your constituents.

Poll Workers

Saturday was the first day in a couple weeks where we acquired more poll workers from the online application than cancellations we received. UW reached out to us today for language in a push they will make to students still in the area to serve as election officials.

Absentee Data

We have issued 71,792 absentees so far this election. In the November 2016 Presidential Election, we issued 66,834 absentee ballots. This election, 20,803 absentees have been returned thus far. 3,437 voters either cast their ballots in our office or at curbside for in-person absentee voting. Our email backlog is down to 3,404 emails; our new system and added help is going gangbusters. We also received about 1,000 new requests for absentee ballots in the mail today, so we have a new challenge to rise to. https://twitter.com/MadisonWIClerk/status/1244652057820368912

I’ll have more for you all tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Jim Verbick, Deputy Clerk

City of Madison City Clerk’s Office

ELECTIONS UPDATE 3/31

Absentee Ballot Data

We have now issued 76,931 absentee ballots. 21,414 ballots have been returned. 276 more curbside voters today, to bring our total to 3,713. Our backlog is down to around 2000. We’re setting a good pace to be entirely caught up in the next day or two.

Absentee ballot drops

Beginning tomorrow and lasting until noon on Election Day, voters can deposit their completed absentee ballot into the library book drops at either Sequoya, Central, or Pinney libraries. This cuts out the unreliability of the mail delivery of their ballot to our office. We will be picking these drops up daily.

Polling Places

The polling places are finalized and the notice was sent out to the paper for posting on Monday. I have attached. We have updated these listing, so if a voter searches their address on https://myvote.wi.gov, it will show the accurate polling place for Tuesday’s election.

That’s all I have for today. Big announcements in little packages with this one.

Sincerely,

Jim Verbick, Deputy Clerk

City of Madison City Clerk’s Office

HOMELESS SERVICES CONSORTIUM UPDATES

March 30th Updates
    1. Our amazing partner at the County has secured more hotel rooms for people who are vulnerable to COVID-19. Sarah Lim and I will be working to move in people on Tuesday.
    2. For people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, Friends of the State Street Family has set up a table with water and snacks at 222 W. Washington Ave. It will be there as long as it goes well and supplies are available. See attached for photo.
    3. The Men’s Shelter has a new intake phone number: (608) 243-0232. The HSC website is updated with the new Men’s Shelter location and transportation information. Additionally, updated policies and procedures for the men’s shelter are attached. Men’s Drop-In Shelter Policies & Procedures

March 31st Updates

1.       Attached, please find a food resource list that is accurate as of today.  Food Resources Sheet as of 03312020

2.       About 40ish people moved into a hotel for people who are vulnerable to COVID-19 and experiencing homelessness

3.       First night of men’s shelter are Warner Park went well!!!

Briarpatch update

Hello Community Partners …

The Briarpatch Youth Shelter is open with social distancing protocols in place.   Our focus will be on providing safe shelter to literally homeless 12-17 year old youth who have no other options for safe shelter or housing.

Our 24 hour help-line remains operational with that number being 608-251-1126.

Please let me know if you have nay questions.

Stay Safe!

Men’s Shelter Transportation

Just sending out a reminder that the location of the Men’s shelter will change tonight to Warner Park. Below is the information sent out last week and attached is information on transportation. There will be transportation from the Beacon at 4:45. If people have cars, they can drive and park there very easily. Additional, Kim has laid out really nice directions on how to take the bus from Grace to Warner Park. These directions will be available at Grace for people who go there.

This is a huge change for staff and guests of the men’s shelter. We know that not everything is going to flow smoothly tonight or probably most of this week. There will be confusion. There will be situations we haven’t thought of. It will be frustrating at times. However, everyone is working extremely hard and doing their best. Please allow for learning and give patience during this time. A HUGE thanks to Porchlight staff for working so hard to make this happen!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Take Care, Torrie

WP Bus Directions

The City and County are collaborating to protect residents that are without housing, most of whom are served through the shelter system. As of 3/25 we have placed about 225 people into local hotels, removing them from the shelter system and reducing their exposure to risk of transmission to the coronavirus. They include 37 families (140 people); the rest single men and women.

Efforts to secure safer settings have prioritized families with children, singles who are more vulnerable to the disease, and people who are symptomatic. Staff have identified approximately 60 more people for hotel placement and we are working on finding accommodations for them.

We have also made good progress but need to do still more to ensure that persons relocated to hotel venues have the necessary support services they need – everything from food to laundry to light case management/emotional support.

On another front, we are taking steps to expand shelter capacity at additional locations to provide room for greater physical separation and safer environments for shelter users.

The Warner Park Community Center is prepared to provide much needed space for overnight shelter for homeless men. The facility will reduce the risk of transmission by providing sufficient space to achieve social distancing-something not possible due to limited space within existing shelter facilities. The downtown shelters currently run by Porchlight at Grace Episcopal, St. John’s Lutheran and First United Methodist Churches will be closed and staff assigned to them will support the Warner Park operation, which will have increased capacity.

We are working on arrangements to ensure that shelter guests will have transportation services to and from the facility upon its daily opening and closing hours.

Street outreach staff are also working to assist persons unable or unwilling to use the shelter system. Those meeting the at- higher-risk criteria described above are being moved into hotels. We are also placing hand washing stations at 6 locations around town near the Salvation Army, the Beacon, Safe Haven, Peace Park, Central Library and the Top of State Street.

Currently, the biggest challenge is finding staffing resources sufficient to meet the wide range of needs at the hotels and the new shelter sites. We will face continuing challenges to provide adequate transportation, find and furnish shelter venues, and locate and maintain sufficient staffing resources. And as this situation progresses, we face the prospect of more people becoming housing insecure, and the need for assistance rising further. Therefore, we are beginning to think beyond our immediate needs and preparing for even greater challenges that could lie ahead in the medium and long term.

Attached is an announcement from Porchlight that address the anticipated opening date for Warner Park, intake hours and updates on the 90-day limitations. PLEASE NOTE: City of Madison is working with Porchlight to ensure there is direct metro transit from a downtown location to Warner Park daily. Once that information is confirmed we will notify Homeless Services Consortium.

PARKS VOLUNTEERS UPDATE

n compliance with the Emergency SAFER AT HOME Order by Governor Tony Evers PDF , and through guidance from Public Health Madison & Dane County, the City of Madison Parks Division has the following update for volunteering with Madison Parks, effective immediately.
The following volunteer efforts may be done solo or with members of your immediate household only.
·       Pick up trash
·       Pull garlic mustard
·       Dig (cut roots of) burdock
·       Cut buckthorn or honeysuckle (without chainsaw)
·       Conduct frog call surveys
·       Plant natives
·       Conduct vegetation surveys
·       Conduct photo monitoring
·       Monitor/maintain bluebird houses
·       Oil goose eggs
·       Monitor and haze geese
Group efforts are not permitted. In addition, all Madison Fire Department burn permits are suspended until further notice.
This is a difficult time for everyone. We very much appreciate your volunteer efforts and hope you will continue to do your important work under these guidelines. Please keep us informed of any work performed by emailing parksvolunteer@cityofmadison.com to let us know where and when. You can also snap a photo of your work and tag us on Facebook or Instagram using #madisonparks.  We will update all volunteers when there are any changes.
Thank you for your continued support and dedication to Madison Parks.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.