Short but sweet.
Lauren Cnare is in the chair, Mayor is out for his hip surgery.
Larry Palm, Joe Clausius and Mike Verveer also present. Satya Rhodes-Conway and Brian Solomon are absent.
Cnare says Ald Anita Weier has an item she wants to speak to and currently has another meeting to be at, so they need to move quickly.
No public comment, no disclosures or recusals.
FIREWORKS
Verveer moves to take items 9 & 11 out of order, no objections. Verveer moves adoption.
Weier says she is there to answer questions and has a short statement on item 11, if they care to listen to it.
Cnare tells her to go ahead.
Weier points out the Mr. Daley (Engineering) is also there to answer questions if they have any.
Weier reads her statement. She says many northside residents are worried about the long term environmental impacts of 19 years of blasting on the soil, water and sediment under the water in Warner Park Lagoon area. Residues of fireworks are known to contain heavy metals, and perchloric(?) compounds that can be toxic. The City’s Environmental Committee and Wild Warner has requested testing of the sediment under the lagoon , and soil in the park. She agreed and succeeded in putting $25,000 in the 2012 budget for testing. Wild Warner is trying to raise more funds to make the testing complete. So far, $2K has been pledged by the Yahara Fishing Club, and $2K more by the Golf Effect, the foundation started by Dennis Tiziani and Steve Stricker. And the Mallards may do a fundraising event. The amendment before you removes a requirement to obtain matching funds for the test. We’re not sure we can obtain the full $25,000 in time for the testing. The Board of Health also agreed unanimously to an amendment provision to switch management of the testing to the Engineering Department which staffs the Committee on the Environment. Madison Fireworks paid for limited testing of the water in 2010 but the testing was of service water only and took place a month after the event. She holds up a picture of fireworks debris sent by a northside resident that was taken 4 months after the fireworks. She says a man who lives near the island contacted her to say that he has had to go up on his roof on the day after to remove shell parts. He is interested to see the results of testing post 19 years of fireworks in the ground and the lagoon he said. She also wants to know what is there and whether it is harmful to ground water, people, fish in the lagoon, the children who play in the park and the 150 species of birds, animals and fish that use Warner Park.
Palm asks if the underlying cost to the city is $25,000.
Weier says yes, that doesn’t change.
Cnare says that it is impressive to whomever is raising the funds, it is darn close. She thinks it is great for people to bring whatever pot of money they have to help out.
Verveer says Rhodes-Conway hasn’t yet arrived, and she is a co-sponsor on item 9, the 1 year agreement with the fireworks fund, so I’m guessing she is supportive of that. Is she also supportive of item 11? And are you comfortable moving forward without her here?
Weier says she talked to Rhodes-Conway today and at some point she’ll want to know exactly what they are going to test for, but not right now because we are not at that stage yet.
Verveer says because they both share the northside he thought it was appropriate to ask about Rhodes-Conway.
Weier agrees. She thought she’d be here.
Clausius says the topic came up at the parks meeting, the parks commission is concerned as well, they saw the same picture and he would say the long term future of continuing the fireworks at Warner is not good given the damage that he feels it is doing to the ground water. Keep in mind many years ago the fireworks were at Wingra Park and the main reason they were moved was because they were frightening the zoo animals. So, there is a precedence, sometimes these venues have to be relocated. But definitely this is a step in the right direction. He supports it.
Passes unanimously.
BARELY OR NOT AT ALL DISCUSSED ITEMS 1 – 7
Verveer moves adoption on item 1 (Architect position), passes unimously on a voice vote, no discussion. No questions of staff.
Item 2 (transfers granwriter from Community Development to Finance Department)- ditto
Item 3 (reassignment of 2 engineering position) – ditto
Item 4 (Pawn shop software)- There is a substitute says Cnare. Verveer says he thinks they are amendments.
– Michael May, City Attorney says that substitutes happen when the sponsor changes it before it gets to the council floor, since Verveer is a sponsor he could do that. Otherwise there could be amendments on the Council floor.
– Verveer says it’s a substitute then, since he agrees.
– Deb Simon, Finance Department staff and staff to the committee says that they can never have an amended provision, it’s always a substitute if they do it there.
– May says it’s a substitute if the sponsor agrees, otherwise it is a recommendation and the council would have to adopt the amendments.
– Verveer says there are members of the police department there if there are questions and compliments them on their hard work, especially Captain Jim Wheeler. Says there is more to come in the coming months regarding scrap metal.
– Passes unanimously on a voice vote. Rhodes-Conway has arrived.
Item 5 (Public Health Department Grants) – passes unanimously without discussion.
Item 6 (Workers Comp Program) – ditto
Item 7 (Increases in noticing and entertainment licensing fees) – ditto
CANCELLING $23M IN AUTHORIZATIONS
Rhodes-Conway asks the Finance Director to explain.
David Schmeidicke says that this is the second year to cancel prior year authorizations that were not reauthorized. This was done administratively prior to 2011. This is a way to say that these projects are not authorized and are removed.
Rhodes-Conway says that some of the projects are moving forward.
Schmeidicke says then they were reauthorized in 2012. They are reauthorized in 2012 or not going forward.
Rhodes-Conway asks if it is in an out year in the CIP (Capital Imporvement Plan) would it not be in here.
Schmeidicke says that if it is beyond 2012 that it is still there. These are things from 2011.
Confusion, she doesn’t get it. Are we just erasing 2011 – she says these are not projects reauthorized.
Schmeidicke says they may be reauthorized for a different amount.
They seem to straighten it out.
Rhodes-Conway asks why they need to do that.
Schmeidicke says that they want to clear the numbers out of the system and its better to do it by a council resolution, what they hope to do in the 2013 budget is to include this list at the adoption of the budget, so we don’t have to revisit and have this confusion.
Rhodes-Conway says that she would like to do it at budget time, but she wants it to be clearer in the future. A notation about what is reauthorized would be helpful.
Clausius asks about Truax, he says he understands this is housekeeping. The project is still alive.
Schmeidicke says yes.
MORE ROUTINE ITEMS
Item 10 (Gaming and School Tax credits)
– Palm asks about details.
– Dave Gawanda, City Treasurer, says this is nearly identical to the one that the council has passed for the last 2 – 3 years, the only thing that has changed is the fiscal note because the interest is less. $3M trigger in the state statute, we actually receive more than that.
Item 12 – Selling house in James Madison Park to Dawn O’Kroley.
– Dawn O’Kroley available to answer questions.
– No questions, or discussion. Passes unanimously.
Item 13 – Selling 800 Block of E Washington to Rifkin Group
Referred because Economic Development Committee hasn’t acted. Passes unanimously.
Item 14 – Consultants for Sustainability Building on E Washington
– Rhodes-Conway abstains, would have preferred a different approach on this.
– Passes unanimously on a voice vote with the abstention
DOWNTOWN PLAN
– Verveer asks for an update on what is going on.
– Bill Fruhling says that of the 14 committees it was referred to, they have all taken action except Board of Estimates, Urban Design, Ped Bike Motor Vehicle Commission and Plan Commission. On Thursday the Plan Commission is going to start a series of at least 4 working sessions, they are the lead. We are close.
– Verveer asks if the special meetings are 2 hour blocks? How many work sessions will it take.
– Brad Murphy says they would like to say 2, if they get through it in 4 they will be doing good, there are lots of comments from the committees. They all start at 5:00 and he sent all the dates for the meetings. They are scheduled for 2 hours and may go longer. He suspects 2 or 3, and when they are done with that then they will devote their time to the downtown zoning district. And completing the new zoning map for the city.
– Verveer asks if they will be considered separately.
– Murphy says yes, then the plan and the districts.
– Verveer asks if there will be a memo or recommendations in terms of language after the input from the committees.
– Murphy says it will be like the comments on the zoning code text, they will organize the comments by chapter and commission. There are quite a few comments.
– Fruhling says that they will try to put it together so they can see which agreement the staff agree with. And then they can focus on the items with the most comments.
– Rhodes-Conway doesn’t have any issues with moving it forward, but when we see it as council, it would be helpful to see what has changed from the version we have now. She sent comments.
Item 16 – A substitute on domestic partnership benefits required for contractors.
– Palm asks to be added.
– Verveer thanks staff from the city attorney’s office, its been unanimous at Affirmative Action, Board of Public Works and Economic Development Committees
Adjourn.
