Month: July 2023

Stay Cool and Be Safe in the Heat

Public Health Madison Dane County offers tips on how to stay cool and hydrated in the heat. Visit their webpage to learn what you, your friends and family can do to be safe while continuing to enjoy the summer.

Streets Division Updates

• 121 Olin Avenue Closed: The Streets Division facility at 121 Olin Avenue will be closed to the public on Friday, July 28 and Saturday July 29, 2023. You will not be able to pick up mulch, use the drop-off site, or deliver brush during these days.

Student Move Out: The annual August moving days are getting underway soon. All of the details about the Streets Division operations, and how you can help make it a fast and safe move out, can be found at www.cityofmadison.com/MovingDays.

 

West Area Plan at Rennebohm Park!

The West Area Plan will host a public meeting at Rennebohm Park August 2 for review and feedback on first draft recommendations focused on land use and bicycle/pedestrian connections:

• August 2, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Rennebohm Park Shelter, 115 N. Eau Claire Ave. This is an open house style meeting and a food Carts in Parks event, with Taquitos Marimar and Little Sister Cookies – swing by for great food, stay for the West Area Plan! Food carts are weather dependent; West Area Plan discussion is rain or shine in the shelter.

The West Area Plan team has completed an underlying plan review, which has been posted to the project web page.

Also, the Parks Division is continuing with parks development planning in the West Area, with several additional parks-foused feedback opportunities:

• A parks-focused survey closes August 4th.
• A parks-focused virtual public meeting is scheduled for 2-3:30 p.m. on August 8th (see the project website for signup information).

Parks Alive is continuing building strong neighborhoods!

Events are held in parks across the city and throughout the summer. Checkout all of the Parks Alive events and other summer activities listed on the Parks calendar.

Allied Park Monday, July 31 & August 7 Movie: Shang-Chi 5:00pm to 8:00pm	Aldo Leopold Park Tuesday, August 1 Movie: Wakanda Forever 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Hammersley Park Wednesday, August 2 Movie: Soul 5:00pm to 8:00pm	Owl Creek Park Thursday, August 3 Movie: Space Jam a New Legacy 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Worthington Park Tuesday, August 8 5:00pm to 8:00pm	Warner Park Wednesday, August 9 Movie- Encanto 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Meadowood Park Wednesday, August 9 5:00pm to 8:00pm	Penn Park Thursday August 10 – Movie Ant Man and the Wasp 5:00pm to 8:00pm

Dane Dances Every Friday in August!

Dane Dances is enthusiastically kicking off its 24th season, “A Season of Togetherness,” on Friday, August 4 from 5:30 to 9:30 pm. New this year they’ll engage the audience with DJ Francis Medrano and free dance lessons starting at 5:30 pm each week. This year Dane Dances is celebrating the contributions of all those who are making our community great. Opening night is “Show Your Colors Night,” and you’re encouraged to dress to represent your company, club, church, country, Greek organization, non-profit, school, and/or profession. Dane Dances is celebrating what we bring to the community and we want everyone to feel welcome at our events!  No tickets are needed or required. 

Virtual Neighborhood Meeting re: 4109 Maple Grove Drive – July 26, 2023, 7:00 pm

Ideation Builders proposes to develop the property at 4109 Maple Grove Drive, which is the vacant northeast corner of Nesbitt Road and Maple Grove Drive. The proposal is to construct a two- to three-story multi-family building consisting of 18-24 units with underground parking, as allowed under the current Suburban Residential (SR-V2) zoning.A virtual neighborhood meeting to hear more about this proposal is scheduled for Wednesday, July 26, at 7:00pm. You can join the meeting using your computer, smartphone, or tablet, or you can listen in via telephone. You will receive login information after registering at www.cityofmadison.com/MeetingJuly26MapleGrove .
 

Virtual Public Input Meeting re: Country Grove Park Shelter – July 27, 2023, 6:00 pm

The City of Madison Parks Division has identified a need for a park shelter building in this area of the city and has identified Country Grove Park as the location. The shelter building will include restrooms, a covered picnic area, and small parking lot. City Staff will present the project design at the meeting, and attendees will have the opportunity to offer input on the building location/orientation, siding color, parking, and path connections.

• Additional information is available on the City of Madison Engineering Project Page
• Prior to the meeting, presentation materials will be posted on the Parks Division’s Country Grove Park Shelter page
• REGISTER IN ADVANCE for the public input meeting

Please join me for my first Lunch and Learn event on Thursday, July 27, 2023, at noon, where you will learn how to actively engage with the Common Council. Meet Council Office staff and learn about Council office operations, Council website resources, community engagement, tips on how to use Legistar, and the Government Resource Guide. Please register at www.cityofmadison.com/LunchandLearnD7 .

Lunch and Learn with Alder Wehelie flyer PDF version pdf 

Parks Alive is continuing building strong neighborhoods!

Events are held in parks across the city and throughout the summer. Checkout all of the Parks Alive events and other summer activities listed on the Parks calendar.

Elver Park Monday, July 17, 2023 5:00pm to 8:00pm	Aldo Leopold Park Tuesday, July 18, 2023 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Hammersley Park Wednesday, July 19, 2023 5:00pm to 8:00pm	Owl Creek Park Thursday, July 20, 2023 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Allied Park Monday, July 24, 2023 5:00pm to 8:00pm	Worthington Park Tuesday, July 25, 2023 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Warner Park Wednesday, July 26, 2023 5:00pm to 8:00pm	Meadowood Park Wednesday, July 26, 2023 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Penn Park Thursday, July 27, 2023 5:00pm to 8:00pm

The Madison Arts Commission awarded $107,485 to 68 organizations and individuals for projects through their annual arts grants program.

The arts grants program provides support for projects that enrich the cultural landscape of the City, supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Grants are awarded to both individual artists for fellowships, or organizational applicants for project or arts educations programs. View the full list of recipients here: https://madison.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=11926290&GUID=0B336F59-972D-4368-B050-AAE1CB28E2E7

Streets Division Updates:

• 121 Olin Avenue Closed for Swim Meet: From July 27 to July 29, the Streets Division facility at 121 Olin Avenue will be completely closed to the public. This means there you will not be able to pick up mulch, use the drop-off site, or deliver brush for processing during these three days. Why? The All City Swim meet will be held next door at the Goodman Pool and it is expected to generate a significant amount of vehicle and pedestrian traffic. We’re closing our site to minimize try to make things a little safer for everyone visiting our neighbor for the swim meet.
• Work Orders for Large Items: Don’t forget you need to submit work orders to have your large items picked up. Work orders have been required for two years now, so if you have some neighbors that have items that have been sitting out for a while, perhaps a friendly conversation to let them know that the City doesn’t just come around to collect things like anymore. They should call us if they need help setting up the order.
• Food Scraps Collection Going Strong: We had one of the biggest days ever at our food scraps drop-off program last week by collecting just barely under 1,000 pounds in one day! You can help keep certain food scraps out of the landfill, too, by participating in our program or even composting at home.
• Televisions, Computers, Laptops Are Free: As a reminder, for 2023 you can recycle these items and all other electronics at the Streets Division drop-off sites at no cost. You just have to be a City of Madison resident. We cannot accept electronics from businesses.
• Take Batteries to a Drop-off Site: Batteries should never be placed into your recycling cart. Take them to a Streets Division drop-off site. Here’s more details on how to handle these items safely.

How to Help Your Trees Endure the Spongy Moth Outbreak

Every ten to fifteen years, there is a spike in the spongy moth population. And we are in another one of these boom years now. Due to a variety of environmental factors, this year is a bad one, too, with high numbers throughout all of Wisconsin. This is a problem because when these moths are in the caterpillar stage of their life cycle they defoliate trees. The University of Wisconsin Extension has a great season-by-season breakdown of what you can do to help control the population of this moth.
We recommend you focus on destroying egg masses on your property and trees when the time comes.

Additional resources and information about the spongy moth can be found on the City of Madison Forestry website, www.cityofmadison.com/Forestry.

Westside Alders are excited to announce the first Westside Alders Meet and Greet of the year, taking place Thursday, July 13, from 6:00pm-8:00pm at the Meadowood Neighborhood Center in their Multi-Purpose Room, 5740 Raymond Rd., Madison, WI 53711. In an effort to speak directly to residents, Westside alders hope to harness the power of engagement to create positive change for the Westside of Madison. More details to come Monday, 07/10/23.
 

Event Flyer

As you may have noticed, our bimonthly meetings have been on a hiatus for quite a while now. In line with that, we are canceling our planned meeting for Monday July 10th, 2023.

We would like to restart those meetings and the events that the association had previously sponsored/coordinated (e.g. the July 4th cookout, the annual neighborhood garage sale, trick-or-treating at St. Mary’s).

In order to do so, we need additional people to participate in the board and help plan events/activities.

If you are interested in helping out, please reach out to the officers and we will get you plugged in.