I don’t usually do this, but Alder Marsha Rummel did a good job of talking about some of the many issues going on in her district, many of which are of concern to a broader audience, so I thought I’d share . . . she has a busy district with alot going on! And since the alders don’t have their own blogs, I thought I’d post. If others want to do the same thing, I’d them post as well. Tho, she set a high bar!
Union Corners. Many saw the SASY listserv on the late December meeting with Jim Green, the Ho-Chunk Nation rep who shared his vision for Union Corners. His ideas for tribal offices and a museum, housing, and neighborhood supporting business resonated with those of us present (though everyone questioned the gas station!) A reporter from the Capital Times picked up the story. After the news broke, Anne Thundercloud, PR person for the Ho-Chunk Nation called, she wanted it to be clear that the proposal is not official. At this point it represents one person’s vision. It may be that Jim Green is the Ho-Chunk’s equivalent to neighbor Joe Mingle- both are passionate about Union Corners and took initiative to jumpstart a conversation. In many ways they have given us a gift, and I thank them both.
I will be asking the Mayor’s office to help me set up discussions with Ho-Chunk legislators and their Vice President Dan Brown. I would like to seize the moment created by our respective visionaries and build a relationship between our governments and see what happens. Stay tuned!
Tree protection practices. After the disastrous loss of trees on Spaight St last June, many residents became concerned about our tree protection policies. This prompted City Engineering and Parks staff to convene a work group to look at improving practices to protect street trees, better communicate risks to residents and revise the tree specifications during street reconstruction. Staff is drafting specifications that will strengthen provisions in Section 107 of the Standard Spec book and locate all tree related specs to a single location. Contractors will be informed of our tree preservation specifications during preconstruction meetings and they will be required sign an acknowledgement that they understand our policies. Penalties will include a fine based on the diameter of the tree damaged due to negligence and the costs of removal, stumping, planting replacement trees, or pruning damaged limbs. Standards will be established for how close to a tree a contractor can grade or excavate, when to seek permission of the City Forester to cut roots, and a prohibition on parking equipment within 5’ of any tree to prevent soil compaction. Staff is also proposing to improve practices between Engineering and Parks to insure that a City Forester reviews affected city trees as part of the checklist that goes to Board of Public Works public hearings, in advice of bidding out projects. Another improvement will be an enhanced letter to property owners that outlines the level of risk on a per tree basis.
Some details still need to be resolved but I plan to codify the tree specs into an ordinance soon. Thanks to neighborhood activists who worked on this and to city staff who responded. Spaight St’s loss is the city’s gain…
Central Park. I introduced a resolution at the last council meeting authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to petition the State Commissioner of Railroads to add a new pedestrian crossing of the railroad track at Few Street in accordance with the soon to be adopted master plan for Central Park. The City of Madison is proposing to construct phase 1 of Central Park project which includes the area known as the Great Lawn and the gateway entrance crossing the railroad tracks. The crossing will be limited to non-motorized vehicles. Construction of Phase 1 is anticipated in 2011 with the use of federal funds and local funds. Design of the railroad crossing and Great Lawn is to take place in 2010.
The Office of the Commissioner of Railroads has scheduled hearings in late June to review the Few St crossing proposal. Wisconsin and Southern Railroad’s proposal to close Brearly and Livingston in the rail corridor will also be heard. As these hearings draw near, residents and local businesses should send comments to the Office of the Commissioner of Railroads.
Capitol Gateway Corridor planning. The city hired Jim Bower as a consultant to help implement adopted plans to create an employment center. The city also hired the Hiebing Group and Vandewalle & Associates to help with marketing strategies. They have held focus groups with neighborhood leaders from Marquette, Atwood, Tenney-Lapham and Emerson as well as with corridor businesses, developers and other interested parties. In the next month or so, a public meeting will be held to share the initial results of their work and seek input.
Willy St resurfacing delayed. It’s still not 100% official but Williamson St resurfacing will be delayed to 2011 once we get the official word from the DNR on the lead lateral replacement deadline extension. Both MNA and GWABA asked for the delay. The delay will allow city staff, neighbors and businesses more time to plan for the Willy St project. It’s no surprise that protecting street trees will be a major focus of our planning.
Additionally plans for reconstruction of Winnebago St. were withdrawn from the 2010 budget. This means that proposed work from 1st Street at Winnebago to Atwood which was part of the Winnebago plan will not be done in 2010. Marquette and Atwood neighbors and businesses will also have more time to see if alternate ideas for Winnebago might be feasible. I would like to establish an ad hoc work group to review ideas to enhance connectivity to the Atwood business district and increase pedestrian and bike safety that came out of discussions around Eastwood and two way Winnebago. Please contact me if you are interested.
Neighborhood Conservation district Planning staff would like to get the Neighborhood Conservation District Study for the East Wilson Street/Schley Pass/Dewey Court area underway. The success of the study will depend on whether there’s meaningful participation. Staff can compile information on the study area’s current physical characteristics, but it’s up to the participants to help determine which ones are unique and whether and how to preserve them and ultimately to advocate for establishing an NCD if that’s the preferred approach. Soon I will mail a notice to all residents, owners, and businesses in the study area and announce the first public meeting held as part of the study. Probably looks like February for a meeting at Luke House, TBD.
Hudson Beach In the 2010 budget, the Council allocated $40K to be matched by neighbors and stakeholders to propose improvements to Hudson Beach. Neighbors have established a Hudson Beach Working Group to create a plan for safe access to the water at the Hudson Beach/Cliff. You are invited to participate in developing plans for Hudson Beach and to help raise money to do it! If you are interested in more details and want to work on this project, please email me at district6@cityofmadison.com and I will put you in touch with the group.
Garver arts incubator Common Wealth Development convened a site advisory group that met several times to look at plans for parking, tree protection, bike connections to East Moreland, green building design, zero stormwater runoff strategies etc. Alder Palm and myself, leaders from two neighborhood associations, a Schenk-Atwood business member, Friends of Starkweather Creek rep, Madison Parks staff, and reps from Olbrich Gardens and OBS Board participated. The SASY council and SASY neighborhood members of the advisory group continue to urge CWD to lower the number of parking stalls and utilize the surrounding street infrastructure for overflow parking. A revised site plan will be introduced soon that will be introduced to the city for review.
Olbrich Botanical Society has signed off on the deed restriction that required Garver to be used for botanical gardens and the resolution will be discussed at Parks Commission on 1/13 and then go to Council for adoption. This allows Common Wealth to proceed with seeking land use approvals for the arts incubator.
On a separate but related note, I have met twice with Dr. Evermor about bringing his sculpture collection to the east side of Madison. At some point, his entire collection must leave its home at Delaney’s in Sauk City and Doc is interested in locating some (all?) of his work near Garver. He also mentioned ideas for two sculptures for Central Park. It is all very tentative at this point, probably more complicated than I can imagine but it’s exciting and I am committed to work on it!
Well 8 Al Larson, Principal Engineer from the Water Utility, contacted the Well 8 Citizen’s Advisory Panel before the holidays to share an update on what’s happening with the Well 8 project. The Water Utility has submitted the paperwork for a grant from the US EPA and expects to receive money in May 2010 that will be used to hire a consultant to look at the water demands on the east side and to figure out what to do with Wells 7, 8, 15 and the replacement for Well 3. This will take until 2011 to complete. The CAP will be contacted in May or June to continue to work on this project.
1246-1252 Williamson Scott Lewis received council approval to build a 3 story mixed use building. There will be approximately 2400 sq. ft. of commercial space on the first floor facing Williamson St. There will be 31 housing units consisting of a mix of one and two bedroom apartments and underground parking to serve the tenants. The two existing houses at 1246 Williamson and 308 S. Baldwin St. will be preserved with some restoration. The house at 310 S. Baldwin St. and the former gas station structure will be demolished.
Apex proposal @ Merry St. No updates at this time. MNA’s Preservation and Development committee and several Merry St residents have had several meetings with the developer.
430 and 434 South Thornton Avenue/1526 Jenifer Street/430 Cantwell Court Navin Jarugumilli’s proposal to renovate the three existing four unit buildings on Cantwell Ct, relocate a house to 1144 Jenifer St, and construct a new two unit building on Cantwell Ct was placed on file by the Plan Commission and the Council accepted the recommendation.
Edgewater. Many district residents contacted me about the Edgewater, most but not all were opposed to overturning the decision of the Landmarks Commission. I voted to uphold the LC vote for several reasons. Most important to me was protecting the spirit and intent of our landmark ordinances. District 6 is home to three local landmark districts and one national district, The requirements that new construction should be compatible is key to protecting the integrity of all historic districts. As for the appeal, I was not persuaded that Hammes Co. met the standard for hardship. But I was willing to refer and see if the proposal could be improved and that happened last week with the vote to reconsider.
The Edgewater captured the attention of almost everyone in the city and the council received an unprecedented number of emails (most without addresses…). There was a lot of support for rehabbing the iconic 1940s art moderne hotel and enhancing lake access and lake views. A lot of people said that the proposed 8 story tower was fine, others wanted it to fit the character of the historic district. Members of the Building Trades attended many hours of meetings and were urgent about the impact of the recession. Quite a few people in D6 and beyond questioned the $16M TIF request. Others wondered why we weren’t supporting Monona Terrace with a hotel as recommended in the first Hunden report.
I’ve spent dozens of hours on this proposal as a member of the Urban Design Commission and with the referral I hope to work on the architecture, the public plaza and grand staircase. We’ll see what happens after that! Please let me know what you think of this or any topic.
