Thanks to everyone who showed up to give us your opinions on James Madison Park. We heard testimony on whether the land under Lincoln School in James Madison Park should be moved (er, I mean sold!), should the three houses be sold, should the land under them be sold, should the houses be moved and a few other things.
We also received the official statements from the Tenney Lapham Neighborhood, Capital Neighborhoods and the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation. Here’s a summary of what the individuals who showed up to the standing room only hearing had to say:
1. Someone from outside the neighborhood came to ask that we don’t sell parkland by the lake. The parks are our heritage and once we give it away, we will never get it back. Move the houses or tear them down. Parks Commission has already said not to sell the land. Developers can develop elsewhere.
2. A neighborhood resident said to save the park space. Ok to move the houses in the park closer to each other. Collins House should remain a community use. Others should be community use too – suggested a Madison history museum or center for research and study for sustainable Maidson. Don’t sell the buildings without the land. Land under Lincoln school should be used for green space and lake access. The land behind Lincoln School (parkland) is not working out.
3. Madison Trust board member and downtown resident spoke in support of selling land under Lincoln School with restrictions – no adding on to the building, no building on the parking ramp,if the building is damaged City can buy it back. Houses should be preserved on site. This is a residential neighborhood not a drive by. These buildings are landmarks and in a historic district and the city did a bad job of maintaining the buildings. THis is an opportunity to demonstrate imaginative reuse of buildings.
4. Madison Trust board member and owner of two properties (one owner-occupied, one rental) across the street supports sale of land with restrictions. Would like to see three houses in private ownership because the City is not maintaining the properties. City should keep the land. Moving the houses would be a mistake because these houses have a familial relationship as well as a common architect. This is a National Register District and they are working to make it a local one. There is lots of investment going on in the neighborhood and the idea of a driveby overlook is foolish. There’s lots of investment going on in the neighborhood and we should get some investment in these historic houses.
5. TLNA President said the neighborhood has extensive and heartfelt discussions over the last two years. It was unanimous to keep the three houses in place. Split over whether to sell the land under school, however they voted and agreed that it was ok to sell the land under the school with restrictions. City should get a realistic appraisal of the value of that land and should be able to buy the land back if anything happens to the building. The houses need to be sold to someone more dedicated to restoring them, unlike the city. Parks should keep the land under the houses. If you want views and site lines, take down the “brutalist architecture” silos/stacks on the shelter. There is a nice garden and new cafe there. He said 2.3 of the proceeds should be used to improve James Madison Park.
4. Former owner of the Collins House Bed and Breakfast testified that the houses should not be moved. During the time they worked there they talked to family members of all the houses and keeping the houses is important to preserve that history. The houses are landmarks and Claude and Starcks – theres still the whole shoreland behind them to develop for the park. He said the City of Madison is a lousy landlord. Not because of the people, but the fact that there isn’t one Madison. The departments in the City of Madison don’t agree and alders from outside the district don’t understand the issues. If the houses are sold, the land under them should be sold to.
5. Spokesperson for ULI, that owns Lincoln School spoke to clarify that the proposal was to buy the land at the actual appraised value and $600,000 was just a minimum. Reiterated that this was a Madison Landmark and on the National Trust. He said that the City had a provision to buy back the land if anything happened to the school. The price would be the original price plus a CPI adjuster. He also clarified the property sold was limited to the land directly under the building plus the subterranean rights for the parking, the land above the parking is park land. They support the Madison Trust restrictions on selling the land – no new denisity, no docks, no additional land to be sold.
6. The person who bought all the Kozak properties said that we need to improve James Madison Park. If the money is needed he supports selling the land under the school. He thinks its ok to move the houses to Blount Street, but only if they stay in the neighborhood and stay together. If the houses are moved, they would be sold for a minimal price.
7. A neighborhood resident said the Collins house should remain a public purpose. The houses should not be moved. Doesn’t want the land sold under the school. This land was preserved for us, and we should preserve it for others.
8. A neighborhood resident said the houses needed to be in private ownership to maintain the buildings and they should stay on site, the city should keep the land. The houses have historic significance that we can never get back. This has value to the entire City of Madison, not just the neighborhood. The context of the buildings needs to be maintained. He was also in favor of keeping the land under Lincoln School and wanted to make sure there was no building on the land above the parking garage.
9. A downtown/Marquette resident urged us to look at the history of what has happened here. He said if we moved the houses we are forfeiting a part of their historic character. He noted that these houses have a relationship to the recently moved Conklin House which is also a Claude and Starck. He also noted that we need to maintain the connections that exist. Ok to alter the Kenton Peters shelter for a better view. Private ownership might be preferrable to maintain the houses but the city should keep the land. Giving up the land under Lincoln School is giving up something. While he had high regard for the work done to the building and the people who did it, didn’t seem in favor of selling the land. Also supports condos and development, but didn’t think this should be a place for new development.
10. A “far west sider” came to say that she is “in love with the views of the lake” and takes visitors to see the lakes. She said it would be a shame to sell the land. It’s not appropriate to sell land for an operating budget. She said it was ok to sell the houses and it would be “wonderful to keep them where they are” but it might be ok to move them as well.
11. A neighborhood resident supports keeping the houses where they are. He likened it to the park in Philadelphia where the houses we a central feature of the park and a part of the history. Opposed to selling any of the land, it is important to keep the land in case the structures go. He said we needed to honor the relationship of the builidngs and didn’t want them moved. If any were moved, it should be the smaller one on the end.
12. Former Mayor, Joe Sensenbrenner, who lives two blocks east of the park thinks that we should be very wary of selling the park land. He thought it was to the advantage to neighborhood and city as a whole is to improve the parkscape and to remember young kids use the park too. He is in favor of relocating the houses on teh same side of or across the street. He, himself lives in a Claude and Starck house. He ended by thanking the committee and everyone who showed up.
13. A person who lives in Lincoln school spoke to the fact that the people who live in the school will likely be relocated because they cannot afford the new condos. He reminded us that most people talked about historic value or scenic value – but this is about the people who use the parks. He doesn’t think that the things we are talking about will increase the use of the park. He also noted that the new condo owners aren’t going to like the people who use the park being in their backyard. He doesn’t think the improvements that can be made for the relatively small amount of money we would get from the sale of the land would end up disappointing us. Said ULI is a good landlord, the people in the building respect it and the park.
14. A neighborhood residents opposes selling any of the land. He thought the houses should be moved or knocked down. Thought the bed and breakfast could be moved to the end of Blount Street and then make Blount between Gorham and Johnson a culdesac. He noted that Lincoln School would be a good community center because his kids have to cross, Johnson, E Washington and Williamson St. to get to a Neighborhood Center and the activities they have there. He even suggested moving the boathouse. He said teh silos/stacks could be removed, perhaps the entire shelter. Noted he helps a bit with the gardens and picks up garbage in the parks.
15. A neighborhood resident opposes moving the houses. Ok with selling land under Lincoln school and the houses.
The meeting was just a bit over an hour. The new Parks Superintendent literally had to stand the entire meeting because there were not enough chairs. When Alder Verveer arrived, they had to scramble to find a chair from another room.
Our next meeting is July 9 at 5:00 room tbd. If you have comments you would like to share, please send them to drolfs@cityofmadison.com, swidstrand@cityofmadison.com or me. We’ll make sure they get to the committee. At our next meeting there is also another opportunity for public comment, but we’d like to get to discussion.
