Park on the EVEN side tonight 1 am to 7 am

I know, its seems like an exercise in futility . . . but please do it!

I moved my car today, and I'm wondering, how many feet from the curb do you think I ended up parking?


And that is where they plowed because the cars were moved. I don't think I got any closer to the curb than where they didn't plow because a car was in the way.


Oh well. Please move your cars so you don't get a ticket. Free parking in the city ramps 1am - 7am. Free parking at Burr Jones, Tenney and Olbrich. See yesterday's post for more info. Also, Alder Eli Judge started a facebook group called Madison Snow Emergency News and a few alders on facebook are posting messages when we get notified. Also, the city has a listserve where you can sign up to get emails as well. Save yourself $30 and move to EVEN side tonight!
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Snow Emergency Declared.

Here we go again . . . .

Email from the "snowemergency" listserve:

The City of Madison has declared a snow emergency.

That means that alternate side parking restrictions will be in effect throughout the entire City of Madison including the downtown/isthmus snow emergency zone.

Madison residents are asked to remove all vehicles from the street if possible. Residents who must park on the street this evening should park on the ODD house numbered side of the street. Vehicles parked on the street Saturday evening December 29th should be parked on the EVEN house numbered side of the street. Violations of the alternate side parking rules are punishable by a fine of $20 outside the Snow Emergency Zone and $30 inside.

The Snow Emergency will remain in effect until at least 7 a.m. on Sunday December 30th.

Parking is available in the cashiered sections of city-owned ramps in the downtown area. During a declared Snow Emergency you can park for no charge at the City ramps from 1a.m. until 7 a.m. If you enter before 1 a.m. or leave after 7 a.m. you are liable for any parking charges before 1 a.m. and from 7 a.m. until the time you leave. When parking in the ramps overnight, do not park on the top level so this area can be plowed. Be aware that vehicles stored in city ramps longer than 48 hours are subject to being ticketed and towed. Meters in lots and ramps are enforced 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

NEW, Parking is also available at three central city parks. Residents can park in the lots at Burr Jones Park 1820 E. Washington Av, the boat landing lot of Tenney Park, 1615 Sherman AV (located along the east side of the Yahara River), and beach parking lot at Olbrich Park 3527 Atwood Av.

Madison residents can get complete snow emergency information at ww.cityofmadison.com/streets or by calling 261-9111.

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Allied Drive . . . February 1st is Coming.

February 1st, the big deadline for the WHEDA application to help make the housing affordable on Allied Drive. And what do we know at this point? Not much more than we knew before. Last week I went to a meeting to find out what "the numbers" were. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that I got what I thought we would.

There is so much we still don't know. Here's a partial list.

1. How many of the units will be owner-occupied and how many will be rental?

2. How many rental units will be in which bedroom sizes?

3. How affordable will the rental units be?

4. How affordable will the owner-occupied units be?

5. Will there be community space - for the whole community?

6. Where will the people who live there now live while they are waiting to get into the new units?

7. How much will the city pay in relocation costs for the people who have to move twice to get into these units? (Was this included in the costs of the project?)

8. What is the price per unit in the first phase?

9. What is the plan for the second phase of the project? (This is important because if the CDA gets the WHEDA tax credits, ALL of the land is transfered, not just the land for the first phase.)

10. How many section 8 vouchers will be removed from the community to be "stuck" to this project?

Seems like many of these questions are the same questions that were being asked a year and a half ago, and they are still not answered, and we have less than a month (January 22nd) before the council and all the committees have to vote.
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Downtown Parking and Snow

The very first issue committee I ever sat on was a "Backyard Parking Implementation Committee" that was looking at commuters parking in backyards. Paul Soglin appointed me to the committee in 1995 or 1996. Looks like if we want all these cars off the downtown streets for snow removal, we may need to go back to looking at those rules.

The parking dilemma in the downtown area is that many of us, even the few homeowners, don't have places to park our cars (garages), or maybe even driveways. Look around, the garage in the downtown area is a rare find, mostly we have surface parking spots in backyards. Personally, I share a driveway with my neighbor and we each have one parking spot. Of course, we have more than one car in our households.

The second issue is that even when there are parking spaces, many landlords rent them out to commuters who will pay more monthly than the people who live here. So, many of the off-street parking spaces are taken up by people who work downtown. I have 8 parking spaces across the street from my house (soon to possibly be the new home to the Conklin House) that the previous landlord refused to rent to neighbors.

A third (side) issue is that when you live downtown, you have to pay the city for a "hunting permit" to park your car on the street for more than 2 hours during the day. We call them "hunting permits" because they sell up to four times as many permits as there are parking spaces in some areas.

So, for the pleasure of living somewhere without a garage or a permanent parking space or even the ability to rent one, and having to pay to park on the street for more than 2 hours or risk paying additional tickets for that, you also get the pleasure of paying more for your alternate side parking tickets during snow emergencies. That's right, the rest of the City pays $20 for their alternate side parking tickets - and most of them have driveways and places to move their cars to. In the downtown area, with parking taken by commuters and few driveways or garages to move the cars to, we get to pay $30.

That's why the recent proposal to have those of us who live downtown pay three times as much as the rest of the people in the City of Madison is just offensive. A $60 ticket can only be supported if there are signs posted in the downtown area that clearly states that these tickets will be given and everyone in the downtown gets annually mailed something letting them know about the rules and a the public education is quadrupled. (Simply leaving a flyer on a car once a year, when your car might not be parked where they are handing out the flyers that night is not sufficient.) Sending a press release to the TV and radio stations just isn't enough. We have to do more, I suggested that when they give out tickets, they should hand out the rules about alternate side parking, but they said that would be too time consuming. I guess its just easier to fine people than educate them.

I know that many people think that people who live downtown are just willing to pay the tickets for the "convenience" of not moving our cars. To that I say, if you've ever tried to get a car shoveled out after you forgot to move your car, you only do that once. Standing on the snow covered streets, shoveling while cars are going by is a very uncomfortable (i.e. dangerous) thing to do. Plus, you end up shoveling hardened plowed snow and often you end up needing a push to get out. Additionally, once you've done that, that is one less parking spot for you to park in when you get back. I used to carry a shovel in my car so that I could then shovel a parking space for my car when I got home, but I broke the shovel on the hard crusty snow left by the plows. I can just say, it's not worth the $30 "convenience". (Luckily, now Rob usually gets home before I do and he parks on the street and I get the parking spot. I feel so spoiled.)

So, before I'd agree to a $60 ticket for alternate parking during snow emergencies, I'd say, get the commuters out of our backyards, put up signs about alternate side parking, mail something to the residents who live downtown, open the parking ramps and parking lots (for those who are close) find new and better ways to get the word out about snow emergencies and then, we can talk about raising the fines. I think that before we raise the fines, we have to try harder to let people know the rules, especially since many are renters (95% of my neighborhood) who may be living in this area of town for the first time.
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The Week Ahead . . .

Snooze.

Here's your government, hard at work.

Since the link will change on Sunday, here's what it says on the clerk's website.

WEEKLY MEETING SCHEDULE

COMMITTEE/COMMISSION/BOARD AGENDAS,MINUTES, MEETING DATES

Time Meeting Location

Now, I'm not complaining, I just don't think I've ever seen that.
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Salvation Army - Doesn't want our money?

Sometimes I think the Salvation Army gets the award for being most ungrateful. Or for being the biggest scammers when it comes to fundraising. Their latest comes from today's article in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Now, its no secret that I'm not a big fan of their religion based homophobic services that they provide, but I'm also not a big fan of the way they fundraise, it gives all non-profits a bad reputation. Last year, the only reason they couldn't open the warming shelter was because they didn't have the staff. This year, they denied knowing anything about the money requested by the Homeless Consortium and now they claim that they don't have the space. Someone want to let Major Moore know that the Salvation Army is a member of the Homeless Consortium and that it was discussed at their meetings for months?

I don't get it. The "space" for the year round warming shelter, which is admittedly far from ideal, is some mattresses on the floor in the hallway for 14 people. If its available in the winter time, why isn't it available the rest of the year? Are they "crying wolf" again? Or do they simply not want to provide these services to the homeless?
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Air Quality Warnings

For the past three days, the DNR has issued air quality warnings for Dane County. This is an area I'm not an expert in, I know just enough to be dangerous. My first question was, why wasn't it a clean air action day in the City of Madison? And then I thought, doesn't this just happen in the summer time? You know me, always full of questions.

Turns out, there are two kinds of air quality warnings, ozone (the ones that typically happen in the summer) and these which are due to particles in the air.

I first heard about the bad air quality through a listserve a couple days ago when we were at orange alert, yesterday we went to red alert, and we're back at orange alert again today. Here's the interactive DNR map of Wisconsin and here's the red alert notice:

Air Quality Advisory for Particle Pollution (Red)
Issued: 10:16 am on Thursday, December 20th 2007

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is issuing an Air Quality Advisory for Particle Pollution (Red) effective 10:16 am on Thursday, December 20th 2007 through 11:59 am on Friday, December 21th 2007 for Dane, Jefferson, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Racine and Waukesha counties.

The advisory is being issued because of persistent elevated levels of fine particles in the air. These fine particles come primarily from combustion sources, such as power plants, factories and other industrial sources, vehicle exhaust, and wood fires.

The Air Quality Index is currently in the red level, which is considered unhealthy for everyone, especially people with heart or lung disease including asthma, older adults and children. When a red advisory is issued for particle pollution, everyone should cut back or reschedule strenuous activities and people in sensitive groups should avoid any strenuous activity.

People with lung diseases such as asthma and bronchitis, and heart disease should pay attention to cardiac symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath or respiratory symptoms like coughing, wheezing and discomfort when taking a breath, and consult with their physician if they have concerns or are experiencing symptoms. Fine particle pollution deposits itself deep into the lungs and cannot easily be exhaled. People who are at risk are particularly vulnerable after several days of high particle pollution exposure.

Suggestions about what we can do from the website include:

• Reduce driving when possible and don't leave vehicle engines idling.
• Postpone activities that use small gasoline and diesel engines.
• Minimize outdoor wood fires.
• Conserve electricity.
• For more ideas on how you can reduce your emissions today and every day visit: Do a little, save a lot!

I have to say, ever since I've had pneumonia a year ago, I've been a little more aware as I have had more problems with wheezing and coughing and yesterday, my wheezing cough came back. I didn't make the connection until this morning. It's kinda sad that we don't even have good air to breathe. And likely, living 2 blocks away from the MG&E coal fired plant and in between the major traffic corridors of E. Washington (60,000 cars per day) and Johnson/Gorham (another 30,000/25,000 cars per day) isn't helping.


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Pesky Open Meetings Laws

Sometimes, I think I'm the only one who cares about this type of thing. And people get really upset when you bring up issues about Open Meetings laws, they think you are trying to be obstructionist. So, I was pleasantly surprised when there was a real discussion on thedailypage about the value of open meeting laws and a robust defense of why we need them. I'd suggest checking it out . . . but you might want to ignore my snark. You might also ask yourself . . . who decides who has to leave? Why was it Kelly and not one of the boys?

p.s. I don't have to be back at work until Jan. 2nd so my posts are likely going to happen later in the day.

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Happy Birthday!

HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY ROB!!!

Come join us tonight at 9:00 at the High Noon Saloon to hear Little Marsh Overflow, Baghdad Scuba Review and Yokanizu Project. ($5 cover.) And wish my very old boyfriend a happy 40th!
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Tenant Resource Center Needs Volunteers

After our recent funding cuts at the Tenant Resource Center, our staff continues to shrink. We have lost 3 part-time and 2 full time employees over the past few years . . . so we need volunteers to make up more than 40 hours of work per week! We want to return to our regular office hours of Monday - Friday from 9 - 6 at the first of the year, and we can only do that with help from the community!

TRC is seeking people who are willing to make at least a one year commitment to volunteer on a weekly basis as housing counselors. Learn to help others solve their rental housing related problems! Volunteer housing counselors help staff our housing information line and assist walk-ins with their rental housing questions. About 60% of the questions are about evictions, getting repairs done, getting a security deposit back or breaking a lease. The rest are varied but include things like landlord entry, ending a month to month tenancy, earnest money (deposits), discrimination, retaliation and oh, so much more! Training and thorough written materials are provided on the basics of tenant and landlord rights and responsibilities. The typical volunteer commitment is 3 to 5 hours per week, between the hours of 9:00 and 6:00, Monday through Friday.

Great for retired professionals, law students, social work students, and political science and urban planning students looking for non-profit experience, but ALL are welcome!

Contact Megin at 608-257-0143 or by e-mail at mmcdonell@tenantresourcecenter.org for more information or to sign up. Please sign up at least 24 hours in advance so that enough materials will be available.

There are two different options for completing the necessary training.
Please CHOOSE either “Training Option One” OR “Training Option Two”.

Training Option ONE – Must attend the full day. This single full-day training will complete the training requirement.
SATURDAY, January 5, 9:00—5:00

Training Option TWO – Must attend three different sessions. CHOOSE ONE option for each of three sessions. Select one from session one, plus one from session two, plus one from session three to complete the training requirement.
Session ONE, choose either ��Tuesday Feb. 5, 2—5 OR Wednesday Feb. 6, 2—5
Session TWO, choose either ��Thursday Feb. 7, 2—5 OR Monday Feb. 11, 2—5
Session THREE, choose either ��Tuesday Feb. 12, 2—5 OR Wednesday Feb. 13, 2—5

All sessions are held at the Tenant Resource Center office (in the Social Justice Center Conference Room) at 1202 Williamson Street, Madison. Call 257-0143 for directions. (257-0006 or asktrc@tenantresourcecenter.org for housing questions.)

Other project also available to work on our database, website updates, computer maintenance, answering business line phones, board members, word processing, editing, desktop publishing, and oh, so much more. Let us know if you are interested and hopefully we can find a match!
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I made a mistake.

Gasp. Horror! That's right, yesterday, I made a mistake. One is bound to do that from time to time. The ghastly mistake I made yesterday was when I said that people who have "sticky Section 8" vouchers can't move and take the subsidy with them and therefore are "trapped" in their housing. Turns out, they are only "trapped" for a year and then, and this is a really cool loophole, then they can move and they are first in line to get a new section 8 voucher. That means that if you can't get on the section 8 waiting list or you've been there for a really long time, you should go to one of the agencies that have these "sticky Section 8" vouchers (YWCA, Housing Initiatives, Prochlight, Project Home, Moving Out) get into one of their apartments and after a year you can move on and get a section 8 voucher without having to wait. Cool.

Of course, with every mistake you make, you also get the opportunity to learn something new. In addition to learning about the cool loophole above, I also learned a couple other things. First of all the "sticky section 8" vouchers are really a conversion of some of the current 1350 vouchers we have from "tenant-based vouchers" to "project-based vouchers". Those are the correct terms to be using. "Sticky section 8" means quite a few different things and is likely a wrong term to be using, but it is how it has been described by city staff to the community.

The other thing that I learned is that although the city/CDA staff told the community that 100% of the units would affordable due to these project-based section 8 units there is a catch. In order to have a project have more than 25% of the units be affordable, you have to have "services" that go with the project. I wonder what "services" the CDA is going to provide? In all the meetings I've been to, and I haven't been to all of them, I haven't heard them mention these services once.

Finally, check out this blog by one of the Allied Drive residents. Of particular interest to me is why she finds these community meetings useless to her. It's a pretty good critique of the city's/CDA's community/planning process. Yup, just fine.
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Allied Drive: They don't know.

Yesterday I went to the meeting on Allied Drive to see the grand unveiling of the "plans" for Allied Drive. Fortunately, I didn't expect much, otherwise, I would have been sorely disappointed. They presented two different plans, that are completely different than the three plans that the neighborhood came up with in their 4 day charrette process in September 2006. And unfortunately, the questions remain the same.

What we do know is that

• there will be 40 - 47 rental units and the rest will be owner-occupied; and
• the units will be made affordable by taking current section 8 vouchers and making them "sticky" (i.e. the will stay with the unit, no the person who lives in the unit so when they move out, they lose the rental subsidy) [This statement is in error, see correction here.]

What we don't know is:

• How affordable will the units be?
• How many rental units there will be?
• How many owner-occupied units there will be?
• How many of the owner-occupied units will actually be affordable for the people who live in Allied Drive?
• How many of the rental units will be 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms?
• Will all the rental units use "sticky 8's"
  
• Will there be community space?
• Will there be space for the non-profits that work in the neighborhood?
• Will the 32 families still on these properties be able to live in the new apartments? What if they don't qualify for Section 8 because they make too much money or for other reasons?
  
• How will this all be financed? Even if they get the $7.5M in tax credits, where does the other $1.5M come from?
  

It's much the same as it has ever been. Not many answers for the community. And even trying to find out when the answers will come is difficult. Either this Friday or Saturday the financial information about the affordability will be available. Tho, they don't have a meeting scheduled, yet. The community might be having another meeting on January 7th if it works out for them (sounds like they will decide that at the Allied Drive Task Force meeting on Thursday). Then on the 9th the Housing Committee will be discussing the resolution that the CDA has already passed. Several other committees (Community Development Block Grant and Board of Estimates) will have to vote on it and then the Common Council will vote on it on the 22nd of January so that the application to WHEDA can get in by February 1. That's about 6 weeks, and we still have many missing answers and if you ask me, the solutions we do know about are less than satisfactory. My major concerns still remain:

• There are currently 140 rental units on this property and over 80 of them are three bedroom rental units. In the new plan, there will be 20% of the rental units that are three bedrooms. That means 8 - 9.4 units. Tho, they've said several things and I did hear them say that there would be 12 3-bedroom units. I also heard them say that there would be 20 3-bedroom units.
• The "sticky 8's" are not a very satisfactory way to make the units affordable.
  
• First of all that means that whenever we decide to do this, there has to be 40 section 8 vouchers that do not go to families that can use them throughout the entire city. Since about 12 vouchers are available per month, that means that for 3 - 4 months, families who need those vouchers will have to wait until those vouchers go to Allied Drive.
• We are already getting free land, demolitions and tax credits to make these units affordable, why do we need to layer these vouchers on top of that?
• The people who move into these units become "trapped" in the unit if they continue to need subsidy. In other words, if they decide to move, they will no longer be able to use that Section 8 voucher in the market the way the program was intended to work.

There are many other issues, too mundane to mention here or where we still don't have enough information to know if the resolution will be satisfactory or not. The council will be voting on this 5 weeks from tomorrow. Hopefully by then, they can fill in some of the blanks.
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Snow: Pictures speak better than words.

You tired of the snow? I am. Or more accurately, I'm tired of the complaints about the snow. Some of the complaints are certainly legit and there seems to be plenty of blame to go around. Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so yesterday, I took a few in my district in about 15 - 20 minutes. Highlights include a (Mullins/vacant) building that collapsed:




People parked on a street during a snow emergency (alt. side parking) right next to the the parking ramp where they could have parked for free. Were they too lazy? Or did they just not know? Or did they just fall asleep before 1:00? Additionally, these pictures are taken on a street where you can only park on one side. There are two cars under that snow pile.








This is the clean up efforts that were going on at N Hancock and N Franklin to make the streets passable due to the parked cars and the snow and lack of moving cars and resulting lack of plowing.








I found areas where cars were moved, but it was not plowed.


Areas where the trash cans prevented the streets from being plowed.



Some creative trash can placement.


And, some dangerous snow piles preventing drivers from seeing if there are cars coming at them.


All in all, while the streets are better, there is still work to be done. And, if a car has been in the same place for 13 days . . . we should be able to do something about it.
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More "wrinkles" with the snow. Free isn't always free and moving the snow.

A constituent of mine emailed me about why she had to pay to park in the "free" parking ramps in the downtown area. So, yesterday, I made a few phone calls, got and sent over 30 emails and ended up wasting at least an hour trying to figure out what happened. What I found out doesn't quite come across in the Wisconsin State Journal article. Probably cuz the Mayor's full-time spinmeister was hard at work, calling it merely a "wrinkle". Too bad the reporters can't talk to those who know what's going on.

The original response I got from staff about why this person was charged was as follows:

This is a software issue. At a booth staffed by a cashier we are able to make the adjustment for snow days. If the customer exited before a cashier was on duty and used the ZEAG machines this is where the problem is--the Machines currently do not have the ability to adjust the fee in their software. We believe the machines have the ability to do it, but it requires a programming change by the front end software manufacturer (CTR). To date we haven’t been successful in getting them to address it. We are dropping this “software” company (CTR) and going directly with the equipment manufacturer (ZEAG) and it is on our list of things to be addressed by ZEAG. XXX will contact this person and straighten this out.

The second response I got from staff about why this person was charged was as follows:
It's not quite as simple as David's explanation below.

First, if our revenue equipment is working properly the people are charged the right amount. We have processed one small overcharge amount in this office since the first of these recent snowfalls.

When Dreckmann advises us of the snow emergency a PU employee needs to go to each facility and throw a switch to indicate a snow emergency at every entrance station. This triggers a special entrance ticket that is encoded as snow emergency. When the exit station equipment receives one of the specially coded entry tickets it knows to charge nothing four hours between 1a and 7a.

I think we could get into problems when folks enter before 1am or leave after 7am. While the revenue equipment should know how to calculate this our customers often think they should get free parking. If a cashier is present during the customer's exit, the cashier will explain the payment system and make sure the automated revenue equipment has charged the right price. Every facility has large parts of the night that are unstaffed. If the customer enters before we have thrown the snow emergency revenue switch and exits before cashiers start work, the revenue equipment does not know to deduct the time between 1a and 7a. If a customers brings this to our attention we provide a refund.

I've spoken to George Dreckmann and he is going to modify his snow emergency material to make it clearer that customers must pay for parking time outside of 1a to 7a. Perhaps this will help.

In the mean time send all of the charge complaints to us and we will handle them individually.

Sounds like they knew there was a problem, but just didn't worry about it and were just waiting for people to complain. And then they wonder why people don't park in the ramps. If they tried it and they ended up paying would you do it again? Can't we have a little more effort people? And couldn't the city at least put up some signs explaining what people needed to do and give them the phone number if they had problems?

Plus, I'd be much more interested in what the increases in parking are closer to the more heavily residential neighborhoods such as the MATC/State St. Capitol ramp, McCormick/Capitol Square North and the Capitol Center/Overture ramp. And why isn't the information about snow emergencies not available here? After 7 years on the council, it always amazes me when I have more questions than answers.

MOVING SNOW
Also, Paul Soglin seems to be getting the snow moved. Without asking, I received the following email from city staff yesterday:

Brenda,

Just a heads up that we will be removing snow from N. Franklin and N. Hancock between E. Washington and and E. Johnson St. on Thursday. We posted those streets for NO Parking and will be towing if they haven't moved.

We already removed snow from about 12 blocks of E. Johnson St. on Monday 12/11.

More streets will be done in the future.

Too bad they didn't talk to me about why those streets and why its not such a good idea to do two adjacent streets on both sides of the street on the same night. i.e. Where the hell do the cars park when there is already no place to park? And why only E Johnson, not E Gorham? I can't imagine they're going to get great compliance and then they can complain that getting people to move cars is a failure. Plus, this neighborhood just suffered through street construction and water main replacements all summer and all the screw ups and inconveniences that go along with that and it would have been nice to have been a little more sensitive to the needs of the neighborhood. Oh well . . . it's just students that live there right? Not! And even if it is, they should get a little more respect. These types of attitudes and problems hardly encourage people to live downtown long-term.
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Homelessness, a start.

Yesterday, Kathleen Falk's Office invited me to attend a press conference on homelessness. It was an opportunity to thank County Board Chair Scott McDonell for his hard work in getting $150,000 in the County Budget for homelessness. $50,000 will go to help get jobs for the homeless and the rest will go to keep the overflow shelter at the Salvation Army open year round. Several news accounts are below:
Channel3000.com
Channel 27
Daily Cardinal
Cap Times

This is a step forward. Currently, the warming shelter is only open in winter months. The warming shelter currently consists of 14 mattresses in the hallway, but its better for some than whatever alternatives they might have. This overflow shelter is for women with children who can't get into the shelter because it is full and have no place else to go.

As we stood outside in the cold with freezing toes, it just sort of seemed very appropriate to be thanking the County for taking this kind step. After the press conference several of us were standing around and talking about the way the public sometimes perceives the homeless. As we shivered, someone wondered aloud, who would "choose" to be homeless in this weather? No one had to answer the question, the answer is "no one".

A big thanks also should go out to the Homeless Consortium who put together proposals that were presented to Kathleen Falk and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. While the County did their part to step up to help the increasing homeless population. The City didn't fare so well. Here's a re-cap of some of those 44 pesky amendments, 2 of which went ok, the rest went down in flames, in part, no thanks to the Mayor. At the time, I think I summed up the budget/our values by saying screw the homeless and that they got to "share the pain".

Amendment No. 22
Agency/Service: Parks / General Parklands
CDBG - Provider to be Determined
Page(s): 103 (Highlight No. 3), 153
Sponsor(s): Alds. Konkel, Rummel, Solomon

Remove funding for the hiring of two additional hourly Park Rangers. Provide funding in the CDBG budget to add two homeless outreach workers to deal with homelessness issues, including addressing issues surrounding car campers and issues relating to homelessness in the parks. An RFP process will be used to determine a provider.

CDBG: Purchased Services $ 70,000
Parks: Hourly Wages (13,514)
Benefits (1,486)
Total $ 55,000 Levy Impact: $ 55,000

The homeless get to "share the pain". Failed 7 - 13. AYE Gruber, Judge, Konkel, Rummel, Solomon, Verveer, Webber NO Clear, Cnare, Compton, Palm, Pham-Remmele, Rhodes-Conway, Sanborn, Schumacher, Skidmore, Brandon, Bruer, Clausius.

Amendment No. 33
Agency/Service: CDBG
Page(s): 153 - New Program: Eviction Prevention (Provider to be Determined)
Sponsor(s): Alds. Solomon, Konkel, Kerr, Verveer

Provide $50,000 for eviction prevention or entry funds (provider to be determined via a Request for Proposals).

Purchased Services $ 50,000
Total $ 50,000 Levy Impact: $ 50,000

The homeless got to feel some more pain, hand delivered by the Mayor. This one was a 10-10 tie with the Mayor voting no. AYE Clear, Gruber, Judge, Kerr, Konkel, Rhodes-Conway, Rummel, Solomon, Verveer, Webber NO Compton, Palm, Pham-Remmele, Sanborn, Schumacher, Skidmore, Brandon, Bruer, Clausius, Cnare

Amendment No. 36
Agency/Service: CDBG
Page(s): 158 - Program #33 - Salvation Army
Sponsor(s): Alds. Konkel, Solomon, Kerr, Verveer

Provide an additional $7,500 for a year-round overflow homeless shelter.

Purchased Services $ 7,500
Total $ 7,500 Levy Impact: $ 7,500.

This one was one amendment for the homeless that passed 13-7. AYE Solomon, Verveer, Webber, Bruer, Clear, Cnare, Gruber, Judge, Kerr, Konkel, Palm, Rhodes-Conway, Rummel NO Compton, Pham-Remmele, Sanborn, Schumacher, Skidmore, Brandon, Clausius.

Amendment No. 46
Agency/Service: Office of Community Services / Community Resources
Page(s): 171, Program #64 - Domestic Abuse Intervention Services
Sponsor(s): Alds. Konkel, Solomon, Verveer

Provide $29,000 for homeless emergency vouchers for victims of domestic violence.

Purchased Services $ 2 9,000
Total $ 29,000 Levy Impact: $ 29,000

Passed on a voice vote.

Amendment No. 51
Agency/Service: Office of Community Services / Community Resources
Page(s): 173, Program #78 - Porchlight, Inc.
Sponsor(s): Alds. Solomon, Gruber, Konkel, Kerr, Verveer

Provide an additional $40,000 for transportation assistance for low-income, Metro-dependent adults to search for or maintain income security.

Purchased Services $ 4 0,000
Total $ 40,000 Levy Impact: $ 40,000

The homeless got another dose "sharing the pain". Even thought this got changed from $40,000 to $10,000 it failed 8 - 12. AYE Gruber, Judge, Kerr, Konkel, Rummel, Solomon, Verveer, Webber NO Clear, Cnare, Compton, Palm, Pham-Remmele, Rhodes-Conway, Sanborn, Solomon, Skidmore, Brandon, Bruer, Clausius

While the County took some baby steps, the City failed pretty miserably. To be clear, while grateful for the County's efforts, it's not all that is needed, there is so much more that needs to be done as we struggle with how to deal with people who are afraid of the homeless who use the parks and camp in their cars.



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Basic Services

The political vogue seems to be to talk about how we're going to work on "basic services". No more of these "unnecessary" distractions in local politics. This trend leads me to ask two questions. First of all, can't we do both, or are we incapable of multi-tasking? Second, the City has been relatively well run for years, why do things seem to be crumbling around us now?

The City of Madison is a great place to live for many reasons, and at least some of those reasons are the actions that the Common Council has taken over the years. And we historically haven't stuck to "just the basics" usually described as plowing the streets, good police and fire services, good drinking water, picking up the garbage, etc. Instead, we have things like one of the best child care accreditation programs in the country. Something that is not "basic services" as described by some.

What often isn't said, is what all these "unnecessary" things that we are working on are. I'm guessing that its things like paid sick leave, inclusionary zoning, minimum wage, lobbying laws or anything else that isn't liked by the business community. What is kind of interesting to note is that "economic development" doesn't seem to be a "basic service." But then again, neither is protecting our environment, affordable housing, good jobs, etc. but clearly we can't have the quality of life we have here in Madison without them. And some of our basic services like the bus system and the swimming pool have been under constant attack by the right and center because they don't "pay for themselves". Well, neither do many other of our basic services like police, fire, streets etc.

What makes this focus on "basic services" even harder is that, we, as a Council, have historically been told to "stay out of it" when it comes to some of these basic services. "Micromanagement" is what we are often told we are doing. We are told that we hire good people to do the good work that they do. When we as alders stick our noses in to the business of some of the departments we are publicly chastised. The police department comes to mind.

Finally, why is it that lately it seems we, as a City, can't get things done right? Is it poor management? Poor hiring decisions? Or have these calls for 3% reductions every year been taking its toll on some of these departments? As the city grows, we have been asking departments to cut or stay at the same levels and still provide the same level of services for a constantly growing city. The assumption seems to be that somehow since we are a government, we must be wasting money. I have to say, after many years of being involved, its hard to find that waste. And you can see that in lack of amendments to cut the budget from alders. As hard as some have tried, the obvious cuts just aren't there.

So, while "basic services" are definitely important, I'm not sure its much of an agenda for the Common Council or Mayor for 2008. Its the job of the Mayor to manage the department managers. And the more we as a Council "interfere" with the daily functions of the City, the more this micromanagement is going to be met with a big push back by the departments. It should be an interesting struggle next year if indeed that's the only thing that we focus on.


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Computers, Parks, Same Difference

Interesting "management" strategy. Make the IT Department Manager in charge of Parks? When I first heard it, I thought the person telling me was joking and I didn't take it seriously. And I thought it was another joke when the reason was that we can't hire a Water Utility Manager and a Parks Manager at the same time? What?

When someone gives notification of resignation in August, why do you wait until the new year to start advertising? Isn't the point of getting notice from employees so that you can make a hire and have a transition period where some training/transition can take place?

And with the water utility, I heard the other day that there aren't ANY applications yet, maybe cuz they failed to advertise in the professional journals that they said they were going to advertise in? Glad they're putting all their efforts into that.

Stunning.
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Snow - Shouldn't we have this down by now?

So, the City has been plowing roads for years, why didn't we get it right this time? I actually asked myself, did we do something to piss off the unions, cuz we couldn't have done this poorly. It's hard to follow all the spin coming out of the Mayor's office, but in one of the media accounts I heard him explaining that after last year, they looked at where the complaints were coming from and prioritized those areas. If that was the case, they made a big mistake, perhaps they should re-think that strategy and consider where the most cars are using the streets. But then again, the Mayor's office likes to take care of the squeaky wheel.

Alders Rummel, Rhodes-Conway and myself sent out a press release today, suggesting some new strategies for dealing with the snow. I'll get back to that in a moment. After we finalized the press release last night, I woke up this morning to two interesting sights outside my house. The first one I found leaning against the tree in front of my house and I'm guessing it was meant to be a political statement by some unhappy constituent:

The second, is a whole new problem I hadn't thought about:

Um, where are you supposed to put all those carts when there is also a snow emergency, do you drag them to the odd or even side of the street? And, if we all have to put our carts on the side of the street that the cars are on, where to the cars go? These carts from the buildings on that side of the street were taking up two full parking spaces where cars that were still on parked on the wrong side of the street could have been parked. And if it had been an "odd" day, where would they have put the carts? If they put them where they are in the picture if the cars are supposed to be parked on the other side of the street, how would the plows be able to clear the street?

Anyways, here's my favorite ideas from the press release:

• Snow action days where the following things happen:
• The bus lanes and bus routes are given high priority for plowing.
• Busses are free to anyone who rides.
• Parking Utility extends the hours of free parking downtown from 1am - 7 am to 9pm - 7am.
• Find new ways to get the word out to the younger people who live in the downtown area. Traditional ways by notifying people through am radio and the print news may not reach the younger generation. We need internet and cell phone based strategies.
• Consider having smaller trucks that work with the plows in the snow emergency zones so that the areas where cars are moved actually get cleared.
  

And I think Jesse at dane101.com makes a very good point. I think we need to look at the amount of roads were adding compared to the number of plows and staff on the streets.

And after my view this morning, we're going to have to figure out how to instruct people what to do with their carts during snow emergencies.

The next steps as I see it are:
Alders Rummel, Rhodes-Conway and myself will be with Madison Metro, the Parking Utility, Streets and the Mayor's Office to work out some of the details of our plans and then we will propose any resolutions or ordinances that might be required.

Meanwhile, to the snow plow driver that just went by and very noisily dropped his blade right in front of my house on the currently clean driving lane and likely took a chunk out of the new road before raising the blade a few feet further down the street, it's not about you. Don't take it so personally. If you look at the solutions we suggested, it has more to do with policy than the quality of the work being done by the hard working city employees.

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A bloggers dilemna: Today's topic is . . .

My list of things to blog is piling up faster than I know what to do with., but I did find a kind of meandering theme in that long list that allow me to cover several subjects with one post. I kinda thought that having the last meeting of the year for the council would make it so that I to work harder to find blog topics, instead, I find my list so long, I just won't get to everything. So, here's some of the things on my mind.

97:1 HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?
In a county that has like 12% population that is not white, how does it happen that we jail 97 blacks for every one white person for drug offenses. How does that happen? We're 3rd in the nation for cities over 250,000. Even compared to other Wisconsin Counties, we are off the charts. The notorious racially segregated Milwaukee County is 15:1, Waukesha is 24:1 and the national average is only 10:1. And as noted in the Dane County analysis of the jail needs, who ends up in the jails starts with the police, and the Madison Police department is a major factor in the arrests for Dane County. Is it time, once again, to be looking at our policing policies when it comes to race? Or will the police department, under the leadership of Noble Wray, be proactive and make suggestions before we get to it? It'd be cool if it were the later, but I suspect it will be the former.

DISGUSTING HOMOPHOBIC HATRED
I use google alerts to get much of my news. Mike Verveer's name pops up alot, but I was a little taken aback the other day when this popped up. Wow. I guess you can say whatever you want on your blog, but I thought the day was over when someone would write:

If that day ever arrives [when it becomes legal to lynch faggots], I’ll be more than happy to provide this information to those that might legally string you degenerates up [Mark’s on the below list].

Wow. That's about all I can say.

HIRING PRACTICES/GENDER
Vikki Kratz had a chance to look at the hiring practices input from city employees. We'll be getting the full report later this month. In February we will be getting a report on the issues of gender in city hall. Some people have talked to me about the concerns that they have that because of certain attitudes in City Hall, while some folks will cooperate in trying to make needed improvements, others, will write of the very real concerns and issues that need to be addressed as "that's just Brenda" and won't make the needed changes.

It seems the world has taken some steps backwards. It seems to be that when it comes to issues of civil rights, most people think we are doing just fine, "they took care of that in the 60s" and so there is no need to be vigilant. And it starts at the top. Our recent reluctance to put the impeachment issue on the ballot and have our community vote on our opinions about a President who thinks the Constitution doesn't apply to him is just another sign that we aren't willing to step up and stop the gross injustices in this world. I know, I know, those of us who raise these issues end up painted by those who want to be seen a "pragmatic" as lunatics. They say it is a waste of time when we choose to take on an issue that might not win, and sometimes we don't. When we don't take those issues on, we become part of the problem. Open your eyes. Look around. We live in a great city in a great nation, but you can't deny there is room for improvement. And for me, it makes this Saturday night's celebration of the 15th Anniversary of Progressive Dane all the more poignant. If you think there is more work to be done, please join us Saturday at 7 at the State Bar and Grill!
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Council Recap: December 4

The council meeting was a short 1.5 hours, with little to report. Here's what happened of note:

1. Dick Wagner received the Jeff Erlanger Civility Award. This didn't happen until 7:30. There were some nice speeches.
2. We honored Pat Kreitzman for her years of service to the City in the Planning Department. Verveer gave another nice speech!
5. We approved recommendations for the the Emerging Neighborhood Funds. The info was emailed to us around noon yesterday, but sorry public, its not available to you! There were $140,000 of requests for about $29,000.

Here's who requested, the area they serve, the amount requested and the amount awarded.
(I fixed as many of the spelling mistakes as I spotted, the report was loaded with them.)

Summer Playground Program (Allied Drive, Elver Park, Penn Park) $2,925 $0
Youth Academic Development Through Athletics (Allied, Hammersley) $10,000 $0
Spanish-speaking Early Childhood Education Radio Program $6,000 $0
Family Resource & Technology Center (Allied Drive) $5,000 $0
Neighborhood Watch Program (Meadowood, Orchard Ridge, Prairie Hills & Midvale Hgts) $10,000 $0
Meadowood on the Move (Meadowood, Balsam/Russett) $7,056 $0
Girl Scouts (Allied Drive) $3,000 $0
Neighborhood Association Outreach to Latino Families (Brentwood Village) $2,500 $0
Community Build (Kennedy Heights) $2,550 $0
PRIDE (Allied Drive, Kennedy Hts, Atwood, Vera) $7,650 $0
COMVIDA (South Side) $6,500 $0
Relocation feasibility Study (Bridge Lake Point/Waunona) $5,000 $5,000
TRIAD of Southwest Madison (Greentree, Orchard Ridge, Prairie Hills, Meadowood) $9,789 $7,900
Badger Wellness Workshop (South Madison) $10,000 $5,000
Neighborhood Outreach Program -Elver Park (Elver Park, Hammersley, Schroeder, Bettys Lane, Jacobs Way, Laureen Way) $10,000 $0
Southwest Neighbor-to-Neighbor Timebank (Allied & Surrounding area) $10,000 $2,500
Strong Young Sisters Striving to Succeed (SYSSTAS) (Far West & Southwest) $7,500 $0
Omega Boys Club (Unknown) $8,000 $0
Skills Development Groups (Worthington Park, Darbo) $10,000 $5,000
Intergenerational Program (North & East)$6,650 $0
Hmong Neighbors (Allied, Northport/Packers) $9,872 $0
Driver's License Recovery Program (Allied, South, Southwest, Darbo and other neighborhoods) $10,000 $2,500

9. The development at 1022 W Johnson was referred.
10. Minimum Parking Standards - There was a substitute and offices and professional buildings only have to provide one parking space for every 400 sq feet, instead of 300 square feet.
12. We approved the liquor license for the "Field Pass" the 550 capacity "restaurant" at 702 W Johnson. There was some opposition but strong support from the alders and it passed unanimously.
17. The billboard ordinance was referred for further work.
22. The law clarifying the law that says when you need to clear your sidewalk of snow and ice passed without comments.
28. Approving a public information officer position for the Water Utility (who does conservation work?) passed. Ironically, about an hour earlier we had heard a preliminary report from the AA department about how our terminology and process need to be more transparent. I urged them to think about how they advertise this position, as a great person for water conservation would likely look right over a public information officer position.
32. We placed the silly Affordable Housing Trust Fund changes on file without comment.
36. We approving the contract for the Neighborhood Indicators without comment.
39. We made the end of the year adjustments to the budget with a minor adjust of giving the streets department and additional $300,000.
65. We approved the annual Elections Advisory Committee report without comment.
77. We approved the rules that govern how the City Council operates without comment.
78. We approved the Police chief 3rd quarter overtime report without comment.
80. We "accepted" the Inclusionary Zoning Report with no comment on the content of the report.
81. We approved setting Council dates for 2008 without comment.

Probably the most notable thing of the evening was what did not happen. No one introduced the resolution putting the impeachment question on the ballot for this spring. Despite all the squawking on AM radio about how PD was going to introduce the resolution, it didn't happen, because no Democrat stepped up to support it, though several said they would support it and vote for it.
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Common Council meeting tonight

Last Council meeting of 2007 . . . here's what's in store.

1. Dick Wagner getting the Jeff Erlanger Civility Award - I understand this may not happen until later in the meeting so that everyone can be there. (Hmmm, sorry no link, I looked at it this weekend, but its gone now.)
5. Giving out the remaining Emerging Neighborhood Funds - Last I looked, we didn't have a list of which agencies were recommended to get these funds.
9. Development at 1022 W Johnson - we'll be getting the recommendation of the Plan Commission tonight. I tried watching last night and after two hours of discussion, it looked like it was going to get referred. The issues seemed to be the moving the historic house(s), the impact of the building on historic buildings around it, the design of the top of the building (13th and 14th floors) and if 18 moped parking spaces were enough. The issue was not the height.
10. Minimum Parking Standards - I believe this is the non-controversial portion of the two proposals. The more controversial part is the part where they cap the maximum amount of parking, but I don't think we'll be discussing that part. We need the recommendation from the Plan Commission last night, and of course, there is nothing on-line from our local papers this morning.
12. Approving liquor license for the "Field Pass" the 550 capacity "restaurant" at 702 W Johnson.
17. Likely referring the billboard ordinance for further work.
22. Clarifying the law that says when you need to clear your sidewalk of snow and ice. This says if there is snow on the walks at midnight, you have to clear it by noon the next day, even if the snow continues to fall. i.e. try.
28. Approving a public information officer position for the Water Utility (who does conservation work?)
32. Placing the silly Affordable Housing Trust Fund changes on file as they are no longer needed for Allied Drive thanks to Alder Solomon's budget amendment.
36. Approving the contract for the Neighborhood Indicators.
39. Making end of the year adjustments to the budget and giving the police department an unusually high amoung of money (over $700,000). I wonder if we'll have to make further adjustments due to the snow storm?
65. Approving the annual Elections Advisory Committee report.
77. Making changes to the rules that govern how the City Council operates.
78. Police chief 3rd quarter overtime report.
80. Inclusionary Zoning Report - last I checked, the wrong report was in Legistar. Staff told me we'd have paper copies on our desks.
81. Setting Council dates for 2008. Hopefully we do a better job this time.

There, that's it for 2007.

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Snow, the City, snow and more snow.

They're still working on it . . .

Here's what you need to/might want to know.

The City of Madison includes

• 750 miles of streets
• 1700 total lane miles.

SALT ROUTES
Additional salting and plowing is being performed on the salt routes (these are the city’s heavily-trafficked streets) that have ice buildup. The City of Madison does not generally salt residential side streets, in an effort to minimize harmful salt runoff into Madison-area lakes.

STREET PLOWING/SANDING
Streets is also continuing to plow the areas where cars have moved, and sanding hills and intersections on the residential streets. Heavy equipment such as end loaders and graders are being used to scrape the residential streets where ice has bonded creating rutting. Work is also continuing on crosswalk snow removal.

WHY THEY DELAYED PLOWING
The Streets Division delayed plowing most residential streets until early Sunday morning, due to the freezing rain that occurred overnight Saturday night into Sunday morning. Plowing those streets prior to the freezing rain would have resulted in extremely dangerous and icy conditions on paved streets.

SIDEWALKS - A REPRIEVE
Due to the exceptionally difficult snow and ice conditions on sidewalks, the City will not start enforcement of the sidewalk cleanup ordinance until 12:00pm on Tuesday (under normal conditions, enforcement would have started today at 12:00pm). However, residents and businesses are urged to clear sidewalks and make them safe for passage as soon as possible.

SAND AVAILABLE
Sanding is advised for sidewalks that cannot be entirely cleared of ice at this point. The Streets Division provides sand for the use of City of Madison residents and several locations around the City. All sand is mixed with a small quantity of salt to prevent the sand from freezing. A list of free distribution locations is provided below.
East Side

• Monona Golf Course: front parking lot near the waste oil site.
• Olbrich Park: softball parking lot off of Walter St.
• Reindahl Park: parking lot off Portage Rd.
• Warner Park: parking lot behind the centerfield fence of the baseball field (Duck Pond)
• School Rd. Waste Oil Site: parking lot at the intersection of Wheeler and School Rds.
• Demetral Field: softball parking lot off Sixth St.
• Tenney Park: beach parking lot off Sherman Av.
  

West Side:

• Garner Park: parking lot off Rosa Rd.
• Elver Park: parking lot off of McKenna Bl.
• Glenway Golf Course: parking lot off Speedway Rd.
• Brittingham Park: parking lot near the boat house off W. Washington Av.
• Spring Harbor Park: parking lot at Norman Way and Lake Mendota Dr.
• South Point (yard waste site): at 402 South Point Rd.
  

(The use of this sand is limited to individual City of Madison residents only. It is not for use by contractors, businesses, or apartment complexes.)

MOVE YOUR CAR!!
Residents can also help by observing the winter storm parking rules that are currently in effect, including both alternate-side parking and snow emergency rules. When cars are not moved in accordance with these rules, city plows are unable to plow the street to the curb, making travel and parking very difficult.

SENIORS/(Disabled?) WHO NEED HELP
The Senior Home Chore Program can help those who require assistance clearing their sidewalks and driveways. To request assistance from this program, or to volunteer, contact one of the following numbers:

• East Madison/Monona Coalition of the Aging, 223-3100
• North/Eastside Senior Coalition 243-5252
• South Madison Coalition of the Elderly 251-8405
• West Madison Senior Coalition 238-7368
  

REPORT PROBLEMS
Residents and businesses with questions or concerns about their street conditions can contact the Streets Department at 246-4532 (East), or 266-4681 (West), or via the Report-a-Problem website: http://www.cityofmadison.com/reportAProblem.

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The Week Ahead . . . Kinda

After a small delay, here's the meetings this week that I find of interest, the short version:

Monday, December 3, 2007
4:00 PM TAX INCREMENTAL FINANCING POLICY AD HOC COMMITTEE ROOM LL-110 MMB
- What are our priorities for TIF? Is it a choice between housing and jobs? If we want jobs, how will that work?
- What happens when a developer doesn't do what they said they would do to get the money - i.e. clawback
- The TIF 10% set-aside committees - who should be on them?
4:45 PM LANDMARKS COMMISSION ROOM LL-130 MMB
- Demolition Ordinance
5:30 PM PLAN COMMISSION MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING ROOM 201 CCB

Tuesday, December 4, 2007
4:30 PM COMMON COUNCIL ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE ROOM 103A CCB
- Update from staff on hiring practices
6:30 PM COMMON COUNCIL ROOM 201 CCB

Wednesday, December 5, 2007
12:00 PM PERSONNEL BOARD ROOM 103A CCB
- UPdate from staff on hiring practices
4:15 PM URBAN DESIGN COMMISSION ROOM LL-110 MMB
5:00 PM HOUSING COMMITTEE ROOM 100 MMB
5:00 PM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION ROOM 108 CCB

Thursday, December 6, 2007
8:30 AM COMMON COUNCIL ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMITTEE CREATION AND COMMITTEE RULES ROOM 414 CCB
1:30 PM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LISTENING SESSION 510 CHARMANY DRIVE, MG&E INNOVATION CENTER, CONF. ROOM 50
5:00 PM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE ROOM LL-110 MMB
5:00 PM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMMISSION ROOM GR-27 CCB
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Someone should do something about that!

Ok - my blog this morning is not as it should be. Nothing is working out... I intended to tell you about the week ahead, but the City's website is not working correctly and the work around was taking too long. It's doubly frustrating because the council members didn't get their 100's of pages of Council agenda and packets (paper or thumb drive) for the meeting tomorrow.

Even worse is looking out my window this morning and seeing parking tickets on the cars that didn't move, but where the cars were moved, they didn't plow. These are times when it is frustrating to be a part of "the City".

Ah, "the City". All I can say to people who complain to me is "I feel your pain" and "I'll do the best I can."
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Snow Emergency - Move Your Car!!

From the City of Madison:

The City of Madison has declared a snow emergency. That means that alternate side parking restrictions will be in effect throughout the entire City of Madison including the downtown/isthmus snow emergency zone.

“Because of the mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain that will fall this evening anyone planning to drive on Madison’s streets should use extreme caution,” Streets Division spokesperson George Dreckmann said. “We urge folks to stay off the roads if possible.”

Madison residents are asked to remove all vehicles from the street if possible. Residents who must park on the street this evening should park on the EVEN house numbered side of the street. Vehicles parked on the street Sunday evening December 2nd should be parked on the ODD house numbered side of the street. Violations of the alternate side parking rules are punishable by a fine of $20 outside the Snow Emergency Zone and $30 inside.

The Snow Emergency will remain in effect until at least 7 a.m. on Monday December 3rd.

Parking is also available in the cashiered sections of city-owned ramps in the downtown area. During a declared Snow Emergency you can park for no charge at the City ramps from 1a.m. until 7 a.m. If you leave after 7 a.m. you are liable for any parking charges from 7 a.m. until the time you leave. When parking in the ramps overnight, do not park on the top level so this area can be plowed. Be aware that vehicles stored in city ramps longer than 48 hours are subject to being ticketed and towed. Meters in lots and ramps are enforced 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

Madison residents can get complete snow emergency information at www.cityofmadison.com/streets or by calling 261-9111.

Due to the expected mixed precipitation of snow, sleet and freezing rain this evening, the Street Division will not follow its usual snow emergency plowing pattern. We do not plan on plowing all City of Madison residential streets until Sunday morning. All streets in the snow emergency zone will be plowed tonight, beginning at midnight, while main streets and arterials will continue to be plowed and salted throughout the rest of the City until morning.

“Because of the potential for freezing rain most of the early morning hours we feel we should continue our salting operations on the main streets and arterials until the freezing rains ends,” Dreckmann said. “This is the best way for us to protect public safety. Once the freezing rains is over we can divert slating trucks to plowing residential streets.”

All City of Madison streets will be plowed beginning early on Sunday morning when the temperatures are expected to get above freezing and the precipitation is expected to switch over to rain or drizzle. It will take anywhere from 8-10 hours to plow all City street once the plowing commences Sunday morning.
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