Common Council Executive Committee Appointments, new Deputy Mayor, Weaponizing Truax, Crazy Legs Traffic Impacts and more.
Weaponizing Truax
From the great folks at MEJO (Midwest Environmental Justice Organization) Comments due May 7th if you have strong opinions. Here’s a snippet, read more here:
According to an April 2019 Draft Environmental Assessment (EA), Truax Air National Guard is planning major demolition, construction, and renovation projects from 2020-2027 at its highly contaminated base adjacent to the low income Truax neighborhood and Starkweather Creek.
The project will include 27 “infrastructure improvement projects” in order “to meet the demands of the continuously evolving mission of the 115 Fighter Wing.” These “improvements” include two new 10,500 square feet indoor small arms ranges, two “munitions storage area” igloos, one 1000 square foot small arms storage building, and five 1000 square feet “concrete segregated storage munitions buildings” to “provide adequate space needed to fulfill mission requirements.”
A range of other new facilities will also be constructed, including fuel storage tanks and aircraft “arm/dearm” pads with adjacent metal-sided “earthen berms” to “provide protection from aircraft artillery.” Some decrepit buildings on the base—including some that stored munitions, and that contain asbestos, PCBs, and other hazardous substances– will be demolished to make space for new facilities.
Construction will result in up to 1,094,330 square feet (25.1 acres) of new construction footprint and up to 50,600 square feet (1.2 acres) of new impervious surfaces. The total cost of construction, demolition, and renovation is estimated to be between 40 and 60 million dollars.
1st New Deputy Mayor
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway is pleased to announce a new Deputy Mayor.
Leslie Orrantia will be joining the Mayor’s team and will oversee aspects of economic development, public health, and transportation, while building regional relationships for the long-term growth and sustainability of our larger region.
She joins the office with more than a decade of experience in community relations and business administration within Dane County. Since 2016, Orrantia has served as Director of Community Relations on behalf of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor. She was the primary point-of-contact with county, city, and community entities and facilitated meaningful collaborations between campus and community, spanning research, practice, and policy. Previously, she was Assistant Director for the Wisconsin Collaborative Education Research Network within UW’s School of Education. Prior to her work at the university, she served as a caseworker in Madison for nearly five years. Orrantia has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
“I am building a team of people that are well-connected across communities and help facilitate the big-picture change we need to ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive in Madison. I am happy to welcome Leslie Orrantia to my administration. She has a deep-rooted commitment to this community’s success, longstanding and trusted relationships across communities, and a reputation for listening first to inform how she facilitates desired change,” said Mayor Rhodes-Conway.
CCEC Appointments
CCEC = Common Council Executive Committee – and this announcement is from Shiva Bidar and Barbara McKinney, the new Council President and Vice President.
Dear colleagues,
We are heartened by the level of interest shown to serve on CCEC and are so appreciative for such engaged colleagues.
We are appointing the following alders to CCEC:
Alder Carter
Alder Evers
Alder Foster
Alder Kemble
Alder Martin
In addition, There are also 3 designated seats on CCEC:
Council President- Alder Bidar
Council Vice President- Alder Harrington-McKinney
Past Council president- Alder Baldeh (alternate)
The first CCEC meeting will be held on May 14, 2019 at 4:30pm.
We would like to encourage all of you to come and participate in the CCEC meetings as it will be a great forum for discussion of council priorities and important topics. We will plan to go into committee of the whole whenever needed.
Thank you all for your patience over the past week.
Shiva and Barbara
Get on Board
Every $1 we invest in public transportation generates $4 in economic returns. That’s why on April 25 people across the country are joining APTA‘s Get on Board Day to celebrate the economic benefits of public transportation — and calling on Washington to invest in public transportation infrastructure. Getonboardday.org/investment/
Crazylegs
Several downtown streets will be impacted by the Crazylegs Run/Walk on Saturday morning, April 27.
Please see the following route map for impacted streets:
https://www.cityofmadison.com/trafficEngineering/documents/Crazylegs-Traffic-Routes-2019.pdf PDF
Traffic will not be allowed on or across the routes when participants are in the immediate area. Depending on the location along the route, expect travel impacts between 9:40 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Several Metro Transit bus routes will be detoured:
http://www.cityofmadison.com/metro/detours/crazylegs-classic-detours
Direct any questions to the contact listed. Contacts – Tom Mohr, City Traffic Engineering(608) 267-8725 tmohr@cityofmadison.com
Century Celebration and Canoe Race at Tenney Park
From Marta Staple
Do you remember last August, when it rained and rained, and the neighborhood flooded and Tenney Park was so saturated that all park events–including the Century Celebration–were cancelled? I do. It was a huge bummer.
Well, I have good news:
September’s Century Celebration has been re-scheduled, and will happen on the island at Tenney Park on Sunday, May 19 from 1-5 pm.
The celebration is an outdoor event (will be in the Tenney Park shelter in the event of rain) to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the completion of the park, the 100 year birthday of many of the homes in the neighborhood, and the history of the neighborhood. We have LOTS planned, including kids activities, a canoe race, historical story telling, live music, a canoe race, cake and ice cream, and the unveiling of a new permanent art installation in the park. There will be neighborhood tshirts available for purchase as long as they last, and good times with your friends will be free and will last all day long.
If you’re still reading this, you might be interested in helping out! There are lots of volunteer opportunities–it takes a lot of people to make good things happen. If you’d like to explore volunteering opportunities (like set up, clean up, ice cream server, cake cutter, parking guide, kids arts and craft helper, etc) please email Crystel Anders, our volunteer coordinator at crystel.anders@gmail.com .
Stay tuned for more details, or check out the event on facebook –click for link!
AND
Sharpen your paddles and wax your canoes for the inaugural Tenney Lap Boat race at the Tenney Park Century Celebration, May 19, 2019
Race begins at 2:30 from the Tenney Park Pavilion
Enjoy a new perspective on the park with aquatic loop around the island
FAQ
What kind of watercraft do I use?
– Please supply your own watercraft and lifejackets
– All lagoon-worthy watercraft allowed, sailor’s choice.
Do I need a life jacket?
– Yes
How do I register?
– You don’t! No registration necessary
I really want to do this without a boat, is that okay?
– Fine.
What is the world record?
– 9m 57s (*with lily pad interference)
Why isn’t this the Tenney Lapham Ten Lap?
– Good question! Organizer’s choice
Costumes?
– If you like but the Fools’ Flotilla is 3 weeks later
Will there be prizes?
– Maybe! But probably not.
Drug Take Back Day
On April 27, we will be collecting any unused prescription painkillers as part of Wisconsin’s next Drug Take Back Day. Madison Police Department will have two lobby locations open on Saturday from 8a-4p:
East District: 809 S. Thompson Dr
West District: 1710 McKenna Blvd
As a reminder these are also our permanent drug mailbox locations available Monday-Friday 8a-4p.
Learn more here #TakeBackWI http://doseofrealitywi.gov/drug-takeback/
