Help Save WYOU

Here's a brief rundown on what you can do! Pledge week is come up March 1 through March 8. Please help save this important community resource!

WYOU Community Television Announces The First Fundraiser for 2009 Will Take Place From March 1 – 8

WYOU Hopes to Raise $20,000 During the Week Long On Air Pledge Drive and to Help Reach Their Goal are Pleased to Announce that Beginning March 1, All Programs will Be Streamed LIVE from their Website www.wyou.org

Due to recent changes in public funding, WYOU needs your support to continue providing our programming to the television medium in Madison and to support our technical education for the community. Donations can be made by calling the station (608.258.9644 or 608.258.8006) or donating online.

Donations of $40 or more are encouraged but we appreciate any amount you can give.

What's going on? Madison's Citizen Access Station WYOU is losing its funding due to recent changes in the state's telecommunication laws. (And Mayor Dave vowing to quit supporting public access television.)

Please check out WYOU as there will be lots of live, original prime-time programming including local music and dance groups.

WYOU can be seen on analog channel 95 and cable channel 991. Or live streaming via the internet as of March 1st.

Check them out online at at their website, their blog or their "I'd Rather be Cooking with Bob!" facebook page.

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Kindergarden Registration on Monday

Kindergarten registration for Madison Schools set for March 2

Kindergarten registration for incoming students in the Madison
Metropolitan School District is Monday, March 2, 2009 from 1:00 to 6:00
p.m. at MMSD elementary schools.

Parents or guardians should register their child at the school he/she
will attend. To be eligible, children must be 5 years old by September
1, 2009.

When parents or guardians register their child, they will be required to
show proof of age (birth certificate, baptismal record or medical
assistance card,) proof of residency (utility bill, lease or mortgage)
and an immunization record. Children are welcome to accompany parents,
but they are not required to attend.

Parents are encouraged to register their child on March 2, but if they
are unable to do so that day, they should contact their school as soon
as possible for alternate dates and times.

To locate a child's school, call the Public Information Office at
663-1879 or look on the district's web site at www.mmsd.org under Parent
Information, then Find Your School.

If parents have questions regarding early entrance to kindergarten (4
years old on September 1), they should contact after March 2nd the
school their child will attend.

Below is information about registration at individual schools. All
schools will be registering children from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Contacts:
Ken Syke, 663-1903, or Joe Quick, 663-1902.

School Enrollment Room & Address
Allis Elementary
204-1056
Main Office
4201 Buckeye Rd.

Chavez Elementary
442-2000 Cafeteria
3502 Maple Grove Dr.

Crestwood Elementary
204-1120 LMC
5930 Old Sauk Rd.

Elvehjem Elementary
204-1400 Gymnasium A
5106 Academy Dr.

Emerson Elementary
204-2000 Cafeteria
2421 E. Johnson St.

Falk Elementary
204-2180 Music Room
6323 Woodington Way

Franklin Elementary
204-2292 Hallway by School Office
305 W. Lakeside St.

Glendale Elementary
204-2400 Gymnasium
1201 Tompkins Dr.

Gompers Elementary
204-4520 LMC
1502 Wyoming Way

Hawthorne Elementary
204-2500 LMC
3344 Concord Ave.

Huegel Elementary
204-3100 School Office
2601 Prairie Rd.

Kennedy Elementary
204-3420 School Office
221 Meadowlark Dr.

Lake View Elementary
204-4040 Music Room (101)
1802 Tennyson La.

Lapham Elementary
204-4140 Hallway outside Main Office
1045 E. Dayton St.

Leopold Elementary
204-4240 Office Lobby Area
2602 Post Rd.

Lindbergh Elementary
204-6500 Main Office Hallway
4500 Kennedy Rd

Lowell Elementary
204-6600 Auditorium
401 Maple Ave.

Mendota Elementary
204-7840 Room 27
4002 School Rd.

Midvale Elementary
204-6700 Gymnasium, 502 Caromar Dr.
(after March 3rd, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. -
Main Office)

Muir Elementary
663-8170 School Office
6602 Inner Dr.

Nuestro Mundo Community
204-1079 Main Office
4201 Buckeye Rd.

Olson Elementary
442-2600 Cafeteria
801 Redan Dr.

Orchard Ridge Elementary
204-2320 All Purpose Room
5602 Russett Rd.

Sandburg Elementary
204-7940 Gymnasium
4114 Donald Dr.

Schenk Elementary
204-1500 Main Office
230 Schenk St.

Shorewood Elementary
204-1200 Gymnasium or MP Room
1105 Shorewood Blvd.

Stephens Elementary
204-1900 Gymnasium, 120 S. Rosa Rd.
(after March 3rd, 8:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. -
Main Office)

Thoreau Elementary
204-6940 LMC
3870 Nakoma Rd.

Van Hise Elementary
204-4800 Gymnasium
4747 Waukesha St.

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? PLEASE CONTACT:
Madison Metropolitan School District
Public Information Office
545 W. Dayton St.
Madison, WI 53703
608-663-1879


This and other news releases can be found at

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That Golden Email - Re: Bus Fares

On Tuesday night, several people made reference to the "Golden email" and I thought I should make it available for those who were interested:

From: Ken Golden [mailto:kengofpluto@yahoo.com]
Sent: Mon 2/23/2009 9:39 PM
To: Veldran, Lisa
Cc: Carl DuRocher
Subject: Overruling the TPC

Lisa, can you pass this along to the council members and have cpoies at their place fpor the meeting. thanks.

Council members: Sorry I can't be there to discuss this but I am recovering from a fractured hip. Too much dancing around issues like this weakened my bones.

I suspect that all of your decisions about the bus fare increase were made months ago. I suspect you all considered what you thought was right and voted accordingly. I am not going to argue the merits or lack of merit in the decision you made. What I will do is ask you to consider the action you are taking tonight- to overrule the TPC and have the MADISON City Council set metro fares for the first time in history. Let me give you a few things to ponder.

I think you can maintain your opinion about fare and vote differently about the overrule. They are two different issues. My position is that you should continue to let the TPC be the decision maker over fares and service as they have been since the city purchased the Madson Bus Company.

One argument I hope you investegated is whether you actions would be legal. It would be a waste of time for me to argue with the analysis that supports the legality of an overrule. An appeal to WISDOT will decide that in the long run. Mike May is a good attorney and I am sure he found solid, if arguable reasons to justify overrule. I wonder if he was looking for justifications for both sides of the argument as some of his predicessors did years back or just pleasing the Mayor. Even when I was on the council, other attorneys said the ordinances were ambivilent about who was in charge. Some of my arguments below may give you apuse so watch you backs on relying on that assumption.

For example, if the council is in charge, why did the TPC separately set fares for the UW when the UW system ran a separate system using metro. that system had different fares and the TPC, not the UW set them even though the funidng scame to Metro was under contract from the UW. Further, think about the communities who buy Metro services- Middleton, the Town of Madison, Verona etc. If they wanted different fares for their community, coud they override the TPC or would you make the decisioin for them.? Getting compicated isn't it! Sure the other communities would have to approve the funding and contract but could they force fares on routes that ran only in their city? Could you change these without the consent of the other ELECTED BODIES? Has anyone asked about this? I'm sure you will be told "yes" but you should think about the arrogance you are displaying to the other communities you have been trying to woo.

You should also think about RTAs. Soon you will have the oportunity to create an RTA with the power to do what you are about to do tonite. It will set fares and service and will also be able to tax. Overturn the TPC but let the RTA do what it wants? Your consistency would not be impressive should you vote that way. If you can't trust your own transit commission, how can you possibly explain a vote to support an independant RTA that can tax you constituents? Makes no sense.

Finally, please think what you are doing to the processes the TPC and Metro has operated under for decades. You are changing the rules just because this Mayor has seen citizens stand up to his bullyng, shameful for you to support that. But more imporantly, think of the process here. When I was on the council we cared as much about process as we did about the issue before us. Tim B, you know that and need to be the keeper of that value. Tim, tell you collegues about this (but be brief about it).

To overturn the TPC is a violation of anything approaching good process as I could imagine. For 30+ years the council trusted that commssion; they have sat through the hours and hours of hearings needed to make an informed decision; you didn't, don't and won't (you should if you are taking on the role of final decider.) You did not hear from the customers you always give lip service to valuing.

Let's face it, you made a budget driven decision. Fair enough- that's your job. I strongly suggest you as the TPC to present a Metro budget to you that is balanced and has the agreement of staff that it is balanced. They might propose you raise the fee of street meters 9they are the parking utility) to gather the funding needed to adequately support the system. If they can, you should consider their ideas. If you don't like them, tell them to come back with a better plan. If they can't, they know that they will have to reduce service or raise fares at the end of the year and will blink. If they can't come up with a plan, I guarantee you they will back down. If they can, you owe good process the chance to at least consider their ideas.

In sum, this is likely to not be your best night. You've made commitments to the Mayor and don't want to be a whimp and back down. However, if you care about how you govern, not just the results, you have a duty to not overturn the TPC. Please think about it! Personally, I could not imagine the council going home after bullying a commission and making it up as they go. I also can't imagine your discomfort the night of the RTA vote. I ask you to think about this and vote as you will but only because you have a good argument to counter mine. If you don't....

thank you for your service.- make good soup.

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Road Construction Info!

The city has a new webpage . . .

All the info you need to know about road construction projects can be found here.
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Support Tenney Shelter - Buy a Tile!

As the fundraising for the Tenney Park Shelter moves forward, I thought you might be interested in this:

Join us as we renew and rebuild the Tenney Park Shelter. Together we can build a place to shelter memories and build more dreams. You can put your name on the shelter at the Public Kick-off for the Tenney Park Shelter Inscribed Tile Campaign on Saturday, March 7th at 2:00 to 4:00 pm at Manna Cafe (611 North Sherman Avenue). Become part of the legacy of Madison's oldest and beloved city park. The inscribed 12 inch square tiles start at $150.

The Plunkett Rayisch architecture drawings will be there for your reviewing.

For added fun, there will be complimentary hot chocolate and door prizes every 10 minutes. Bring your family, neighbors and friends.

Out of town??? Tile Campaign brochures are available at
- Manna Cafe
- Burnie's Rock Shop (901 East Johnson Street)
- Cork n' Bottle (855 East Johnson Street)
- Goodman Community Center Lobby (149 Waubesa Street)
- City Parks Department ( Main Floor, City County Building)
- At the shelter

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The "As Long as I'm Awake" Council Recap

Well, I just got home at 2:00 . . . and it's not cuz we were at the bar!

We probably should have known that would happen, by the way the meeting started. The motion to suspend the rules was challenged by Alder Webber and there was a roll call vote! The reason for the request was that we had an item we had never seen proposed for approval on this agenda. That hardly ever happens - typically items are introduced, referred to committees and come back to us with a recommendation. This item was about the BioAg Gateway proposal that they originally wanted us to approve $1.8M TIF, without a TIF application. They back way off - to the point of being silly by creating a nearly meaningless resolution. The vote to consider this item at our meeting was 14 to 5 with Verveer absent. It required 14 votes to override the objection, so it passed, but we waited until item 10 came up. AYE: Sanborn, Schumacher, Skidmore, Bruer, Clausius, Clear, Cnare, Compton, Gruber, Judge, Kerr, Monson, Palm, Pham-Remmele. No: Rhodes-Conway, Rummel, Solomon, Webber, Konkel ABSENT: Verveer

Next, Compton wanted us to take this item out of order . . . various people objected because there were 50 people at the meeting to testify on the bus fares and she quickly withdrew the motion.

So, we went to item number 1. We honored Nancy Jensen from the Apartment Association for their work with the Setion 8 program. Nice words were exchanged, the AASCW board members were recognized, standing ovation and the entire council signed on as sponsors.

Then, more trouble - the consent agenda, was a little more complicated than usual. We approved everything on the agenda, with their recommendations except:

Agenda linked here - its too late to put in all the links!
#7 - Appointments was separated to be discussed later
#8 - Report on Race, Gender and People with Disabilities appointments to city committees was referred to March 17th.
#10 - BioAg Gateway resolution was separated to be discussed later.
#13 - Hiring Martin Schreiber and Associates as the lobbyist for the city was approved with a provision that they come to Common Council Organizational Committee twice a year to report on their efforts and get input.
#20 - To change the amount of money for architect services for the Tenney Shelter was placed on file.
#21 - Giving park land to street for Hoepker Road was separated to be discussed later.
#30 - Edgewood Ave. reconstruction was referred to a future meeting or back to Board of Public Works.
#44 - Adding a non-voting member to the Plan Commission to be appointed by Madison School District was separated to be discussed later.
#54 - TIF policy was separated to be discussed later.
#62 - Revoking committee members who didn't fill out their statement of interest forms was separated to be discussed later.
#63 - Money for the North Police HVAC retrofit was separated to be reconsidered.
#69 & #78 were items for introduction which were withdrawn.

It seems so simple when its all written here, but it wasn't all that simple at the meeting!

So, we reconsidered item number 63, which failed at the last council meeting. This was the HVAC for the North Police District. There was no discussion, only a roll call vote because it needed 15 votes. AYE: Pham-Remmele, Rhodes-Conway, Rummel, Schumacher, Solomon, Webber, Bruer, Clausius, Clear, Cnare, Compton, Gruber, Judge, Kerr, Konkel, Monson, Palm. NO: Sanborn, Skidmore ABSENT: Verveer

Then - to number 3 - the bus fare increase. The motion was to approve the $2 fare with the low income rider bus pass and reaffirming our commitment to the $150,000 in service increases. The item started at 7:00 and ended at 12:50. There were three hours of testimony, a 25 minute "15-minute break", questions of staff from 10:25 - 11:15 and discussion from 11:15 - 12:50. The final vote was 11 - 8. AYE: Pham-Remmele, Sanborn, Schumacher, Skidmore, Bruer, Clausius, Clear, Cnare, Compton, Monson and Palm. NO: Rhodes-Conway, Rummel, Solomon, Webber, Gruber, Judge, Kerr, Konkel. ABSENT: Verveer For giggles, here's Mike Barrett's admittedly quite snarky recap of the evening sent to several east side lists (if you ignore the snark, you'll get the gist of the evening)- I'll try to get you more later:

While most folks were busy hearing a young new president inspire the nation "bold action and big ideas," the Madison Common Council thought small. And punitively. They voted to raise bus fares to $2.00 a ride.

Significantly for these lists, Alder Larry Palm set one part of his district against the other: "I've got one part of my district which is pretty dense and transit-oriented. Another part hardly has any bus service and doesn't see why they should be paying for it." He proudly voted for the fare increase.

Well, at least he had the courage to say something.

Alder Joe Clausius had nothing to say, but voted for the Draconian increase.

Over 80 people testified. 75 testified against the fare increase. You've heard all the reasons--social justice, the environment, the economy, basically, all of the causes we work for, thus setting Madison apart from, say, Rockford, IL.

But that testimony meant nothing. The minds were made up before the thing even began. The Outer Ring Republicans did what Republicans seem to do everywhere: They punished the poor and trashed the environment.

The ORRs, giddy at their majority, scoffed at the notion that fare increases might be economically hurtful to the poor. Or that the middle class, ever the clever bunch, would do a cost-benefit calculation and just forget about the bus and drive (ok, maybe assuaging their consciences by carpooling). Presented with strong, damning evidence that bus fare increases would cause significant ridership declines, Ald. Mark Clear scoffed that the nationally recognized models were "myth" and that Ald. Brian Solomon was just using those models as a "scare tactic." Bobbing up & down next to Clear, electrified by the prospect of pleasing teacher (yeah, the competitive brown-nosing of the mayor by those two would be funny were it not for the serious implications) , Ald. Michael Schumacher denounced those who testified in defense of the poor as "poverty pimps...stepping on all the poor people."

They were giddy all right. Mark Clear couldn't contain himself at not having a competitor for his seat, gleefully pointing out that most of those on the other side of the issue did. He really did a marvellous job of rubbing eight liberal and progressive noses in it.

It was straight out of Contract on America, 1994, Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay & Co., or the Bush-Cheney gang of 9/12/01.

But then, it was alright. The mayor made everyone feel better about the cruelty of this measure. And somehow he has it all worked out beautifully that throwing people off of buses can't be helped, but is the environmentally righteous thing to do. Kinda like when dad re-assured you that this was going to hurt him a lot more than it was
you.

Folks, while you were out working for Change last fall, the city got taken over by Republicans. It might be time to start acting locally. Electorally.

-Mike

P.s. No doubt the mayor is updating his Enemies List. I'll help him out by thanking those commission members who so bravely spoke out against this bus fare increase:

Mark Shahan, Chair, Ped/Bike/Motor Vehicle Commission
Betty Chewning, Parks Commissioner
Aaron Crandall, PBMVC
Susan DeVos, PBMVC
Carl DuRocher, Chair, Transit & Parking Comm
Peter Taglia, Sustainable Design & Energy Committee
Margaret Bergamini, Transit & Parking Comm

There may have been others I'm not aware of. In any case, thank you all for sticking your necks out on this issue. It was very courageous on your part, putting principle above power.

By 12:50 we had finished and moved on to some other business of the council. We referred item #54 (TIF policy) to Board of Estimates to return to the council on March 31st.

Then, we got back to BioAg. There were several questions, unanswered. We ended up voting unanimously for it, but only after making it clear we needed more before we committed the money. Only 2 of my 20 questions have been answered.

Next we booted quite a few people off city committees with number 62. I asked questions about why the city attorney's haven't filled out their statement of interest forms (some union issue) and why so many people didn't fill out their forms this year (no real answer). Usually its only 6 - 10 people, this year it was more around 50 - 60. We had not choice but to follow the ordinance and remove these people from the committees but the mayor's office is going to work on getting people to fill out their forms and get them reappointed.

It being after 1:00 we referred the remaining items - the housing appointment from #7, as well as item #21 and #44 to the next meeting. We adjourned at 1:35.

Obviously, I left out a HUGE part of the evening by skimming over the bus fare increase, but at 3:07, its time for bed! Will try to catch you up tomorrow.
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The rest of the week ahead . . .

I took yesterday off . . . so here's what's left of the week ahead!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009
12:00 PM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY SUBCOMMITTEE ROOM 313 MMB
- Villager Mall items
4:30 PM COMMON COUNCIL ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE ROOM 201 CCB
- Changes to committee names and rules
6:30 PM COMMON COUNCIL ROOM 201 CCB
- Bus fares
- Mayor's report on gender, race and people with disabilities and committee appointments
- BioAg Gateway
- Granting money for homeless outreach workers
- TIF Policy

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
5:00 PM PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE/MOTOR VEHICLE COMMISSION ROOM 300 MMB
- Opening car doors into traffic restrictions
5:00 PM VENDING OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ROOM 313 MMB
- Changing late night vending rules and vending fees

Thursday, February 26, 2009
5:30 PM ZONING CODE REWRITE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MADISON SENIOR CENTER, 330 W MIFFLIN ST, ROOMS 1 & 2

Friday, February 27, 2009
12:00 PM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY SPECIAL MEETING ROOM 313 MMB
- Will the CDA put a plan in place to purchase Inclusionary Zoning homes or will we waste the opportunity?
- Screening criteria for Allied Drive apartments (There are documents they are reviewing, but they are not available)
- Villager Again (some of the same items as Tuesday)
- Truax items


That's it . . . enjoy!
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A Madison Metro RTA!!

So, if all went well, the City of Madison and surrounding areas should have state authority to create an RTA!!! At least it was in the bill at one point that the Governor signed yesterday at 3:30 and I haven't heard it was taken out! (Oooops, my bad, its in the budget bill, not the stimulus bill - so it hasn't passed.) I don't know exactly what was in the bill - but . . . there's a hearing on the RTA on Monday in Middleton and I think people should show up to hear the details and to give their input, now that this thing looks like it's (finally) real!!

CITY OF MIDDLETON
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD
MIDDLETON CITY HALL (COUNCIL CHAMBERS)
7426 HUBBARD DRIVE, MIDDLETON, WI
6:00-8:00 p.m.

Other meetings are:

CITY OF STOUGHTON
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH
STOUGHTON CITY HALL (FIRE DEPT. TRAINING ROOM)
401 EAST MAIN STREET, STOUGHTON, WI
6:00-8:00 p.m.

VILLAGE OF DE FOREST
MONDAY, MARCH 2ND
DE FOREST AREA COMMUNITY & SENIOR CENTER (COMMUNITY ROOM)
505 NORTH MAIN STREET, DE FOREST, WI
6:00-8:00 p.m.

However, this is the only one you can actually get to with public transportation!

The agenda is as follows:
6:00-6:45 p.m.: Welcome and Brief Presentations
6:45-8:00 p.m.: Public Testimony/Questions and Discussion
8:00 p.m.: Adjournment

I hope to see the meeting packed!!
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Election Results

Sorry, I didn't have a connection last night and it was a little busy for trying to do it from my phone! (No madcitybroadband at E Wash and Baldwin?!)

Here's the results:

Ward	DeNure		Hackbarth		Konkel		Maniaci		Walsh		Total
37	0	0%	21	7%	135	42%	83	26%	83	26%	322
38	1	0%	9	4%	112	50%	45	20%	58	26%	225
39	2	1%	19	8%	80	35%	66	29%	62	27%	229
40	2	3%	12	16%	20	26%	36	47%	7	9%	77
Total	5	1%	61	7%	347	41%	230	27%	210	25%	853

Not bad! But lots more work to do! More on the campaign here.

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Stimulus and the City

I'm so glad Kristin from the Cap Times heard this the way I did:

"Are we going to do this piecemeal or is there any chance for a discussion of our priorities?" Ald. Brenda Konkel asked.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz assured the council that a team of mayoral and city staff will meet Fridays to tackle the stimulus process, and that council leadership can attend the meetings and forward information along.

What? The question was - can we discuss our priorities? I don't want to know that people are meeting in the Mayor's office. Where is the public discussion? Where is the broader idea generating about what would be good for our community? Where is the public input? When do the alders get to weigh in on behalf of their neighborhoods?

This should have been done before the Mayor submitted his list of ideas to the Feds and State. I'm not looking for a protracted complicated process, but how about a public hearing where the public gets to tell us what they think? And then a public discussion where we set priorities? I'm not interested in hearing a report on what was decided - I'm looking for input and discussion - and hopefully a better outcome as a result of that input and discussion.

If we don't have this discussion and work through this, I'd expect more last minute craziness like this.
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Vote!

Spring Primary Election Day! Don't forget to vote!!

Wisconsin State Superintendent (I'm voting Todd Price!!)
Dane County Judge (I'm voting Julie Genovese.)
And, for a lucky few, Aldermanic races! Districts 2 (Konkel), 7 (Brandon/Monson incumbents not running), 8 (Judge incumbent, not running), 17 (Clausius) have races!

Uh, I'm voting Konkel, in case it isn't obvious! :)

Seriously, don't forget to vote today, and remind your roommates, co-workers, friends, acquaintances, etc. etc. etc.

VOTE!
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$1.8M Leap of Faith?

At the nearly 5 hour Board of Estimates meeting last night, there were many items of interest, stimulus package update, alternate side parking during the winter and then this little gem.

Ok - I can't link to anything, as there is no information available. Which, about sums it up. The idea is either 3 years old, or we've known about it for two weeks. Except that we submitted a draft application on the 6th of February. It's all very confusing.

From the propaganda that was handed out at the meeting (somewhat summarized):

Project: An application to the Federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) to finance approximately $3.5M of Phase 1 of the Midwest BioLink Commercialization and Business Center (BioLink) to be located in the 27-acre, City-ownder BioAg Gateway Campus in TID #39.

Components: Phase 1 of BioLink will be a 21,000 s.f. facility housing the following components:
- 10,000 s.f. of Prototyping/Flex Space (light-industrial space to pilot processing and manufacturing of products)
- 5,000 s.f. of Commercialization Greenhouses
- 3,000 s.f. of a Headhouse (non-growing work such as seed sowing, transplanting, equipment and supply storage, computer stations, lab space and work stations)
- 3,000 s.f. Office/Lab/Meeting space

Operating costs: EDA would pay for three years operation costs. It would have three employees: Director, Lab/Plan Science technician and Admin Assistant ($250,000/year). Utilities, maintenance and property management would be $60,000/year.

Jobs: It would create 30 to 40 jobs.

On Jan 22, the state approached us and asked for a 4 page summary of the project based on the marketing study that was done in 2008.

The money is part of $81M in flood recovery money that are immediately available on a first come, first serve basis. Which is why staff thinks we need to apply by the week of the 23rd.

Key components of a successful FINAL application per EDA:
- City must partner with a non-profit economic development corporation in order to qualify as an applicant.
- City staff recommended partnering with Madison Development Corporation (MDC) to be the BioLink operator. The MDC Board has approved the partnership.
- MDC will be the "Co-Applicant" with the City on the final EDA application"
- Construction and operations will be managed by MDC, or its assigns
- The EDA grant requires a 75% (EDA), 25% (local) match.
- A City contribution of approximately $1.26 million of cash plus the values of the 2.63 acre property ($573,000) will provide a total City match of $1.837,650.
- This City match, combined with the $3.5M from the EDA, will provide the $5.4M required to build and initially operate the 21,000 SF incubator and commercialization facility.
- City staff has, and will continue, to reach-out to other potential contributors to the project.
- One of these contributors is Orbitec, whose Controlled Agriculture Manufacturing (CAM) technology will be a key component to BioLink. City staff and Orbitec have already discussed the possiblity of Orbitec investing $1M of CAM technology as a tenant in the facility. While the EDA has indicated that Orbitec's technology cannot be considered as part of our local match, it does show the level of commitment by others to the project.
- The State does not have a program to fund BioLink construction byt may be able to provide assistance to MDC (BioLink operator) and to future tenants of the incubator.
- TIF law does not allow the City to invest in city-owned buildings. Therefore, the City may not provide TIF assistance as part owner or "investor" in the project. However, TIF law would enable provided a "but for" condition is satisfied, a $1.26M loan to MDC through TID #39. MDC has indicated a willingness to move the project forward.
- The BioLink will be a non-taxable incubator generating no property tax for the City. Repayment of the TIF indebtedness assumes that other taxable property in TID #39 grows in value such that it generates sufficient increment throughout the remaining life in the District.

So, we're being asked to rush this through and vote on it a week from today. With about as much information as you see above. So, here's a list of the questions and obstacles (some identified last night, some new from me).

1. Can we get a copy of the marketing study that was completed in 2008, but not shown to the Economic Development Commission or approved by the Common Council?
2. Can we get a copy of the draft application given to the EDA?
3. This wasn't introduced at the council or sent to the committees (Economic Development Commission or Board of Estimates) for property vetting and it has to be voted on under suspension of the rules.
4. This is a budget amendment so it is a 15 vote item.
5. There was no request for proposals (RFP) to find a partner - resulting in a sole source situation that is likely not permitted.
6. There is no TIF application submitted.
7. There has been no "but for" analysis required by state law.
8. This hasn't been reviewed by the TIF Joint Board of Review
9. This will be a TIF grant, not a loan. We don't allow that in policy and have done that in anyone's recent memory (20 years?) or under the new laws. There won't be any guarantee of repayment.
10. We're paying $45,000 - $60,000 per job.
11. There's no business plan for the project. They couldn't even tell us what the rents per square foot would be.
12. They don't know what the governing structure of the new project will be. It's sound like there may be a Board of Directors that is staffed by city staff. But the city will have very little role in our "partnership".
13. We're granting the money to MDC but we've been told this is a "limited term partnership" so it sounds like they will be replaced after we give them the money.
14. The TIF plan needs to be amended (that can only be done 4 times in the 20 years of the TID)
15. Orbitec is one of the groups that gets the most Federal money in the state - and yet we are putting them in an incubator?
16. We're approving this money without a TIF analysis, partnership agreements or knowing the terms of the EDA grant.
17. We have no cash flow statements for the operating costs of the project so we don't know if the operating costs will be covered after 3 years.
18. It's unclear how to do a "gap analysis" on this project as the applicant isn't bringing anything to the table.
19. We have no idea who is going to run this project after MDC is out of the project.
20. What does the Mayor think of this project? He left with about 2 hours of the meeting left and wasn't there for the conversation.

Unfortunately, the press all left as well and there is very little information available to the public - so, sorry for the long post, but it's the only place to get the info. Sorry I did it quickly, so hopefully it makes sense!

I'll have to admit, the project sounds enticing, if we just throw out all the rules and just write a check. But, that seems to get us into trouble! We've got one week to sort this out.
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Spring Primary Elections Week Ahead

Lots of housing meetings this week, all of us tripping over the others with no coordination between them (Tenant Landlord and Affordability Subcommittee meet on Thursday as well) . . .

Monday, February 16, 2009
4:00 PM PLAN COMMISSION SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEMOLITIONS ROOM LL-130 MMB
- If 75% of a building is removed, is it a demolition? 60%? 50%? 40%?

4:30 PM BOARD OF ESTIMATES ROOM 260 MMB
- Presentation and discussion on how the federal stimulus package will affect Madison. (No materials currently available - but alders will be sent them if they don't make the meeting.)
- Hiring Porchlight for Homeless Outreach Services
- Treasurer quarterly briefing on investments
- Removing alternate side parking except when it actually snows.

4:30 PM COMMISSION ON THE ENVIRONMENT ROOM 108 CCB
- Stormwater runoff ordinance revisions

Tuesday, February 17, 2009
4:00 PM OLBRICH BOTANICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF DIRECTORS 3330 ATWOOD AVE
- Informational? Or Decision? on resolution supporting master plan for Olbrich

6:30 PM WATER UTILITY BOARD WATER UTILITY OFFICES, 119 E OLIN AVE
- Special meeting on master plan for water utility and its infrastructure (No materials available - you'll need to show up to find out what they are talking about.)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009
4:00 PM HOUSING MERGER PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE ROOM 403 CCB
- Reviewing maps (unavilable) and a 2002 survey of Section 8 recipients.
4:30 PM URBAN DESIGN COMMISSION ROOM LL-110 MMB
- Erik Minton's gym/eye doctor/apartment project at 425 W. Wash
- U.S. Bank remodel

Thursday, February 19, 2009
11:00 AM ANNUAL HOUSING REPORT SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE HOUSING COMMITTEE ROOM LL-130 MMB
- What do we already have that should be in an annual city housing report? What do we need that we don't have?

4:30 PM LANDLORD AND TENANT ISSUES SUBCOMMITTEE ROOM LL-130 MMB
5:00 PM LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING COMMISSION ROOM 300 MMB
- "THE REPORT" from Larry Nelson and Rob Phillips on future road projects and items we will ask for funding for. Here's the 2010 projects, but the overview is far more extensive and you can only get the presentation by attending. This is the presentation that we required to be done in front of the common council during the budget.

Friday, February 20, 2009
8:00 AM INCLUSIONARY ZONING ADVISORY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ROOM LL-110 MMB
- Wrapping it up!

Lots of interesting presentations, with no available information. You'll need to show up to hear what's going on!

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Crime Snapshot

These two graphs from the Madison Police Department speak volumes about the reality of crime rates in Madison.

Population Growth in the City of Madison


Number of (UCR) Crimes in the City of Madison (despite the label on the graph, the data is 1990 - 2008)


I have a few questions about this new info: Why isn't the press release on the city's website? (It wasn't there yesterday, its not there today.) Where is the volumes of data that were sent out to various groups? (It's not on the police website.) Why wasn't this info sent to the alders?

More to come.
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I'm spam.

So, turns out the Chamber of Commerce computers think I'm spam. :)

Yesterday I blogged about an error in the Cap Times article saying that I didn't return my Chamber of Commerce questionnaire. When I pointed it out, John added something to the story noting I had said I had sent it in. Then Kevin at the Chamber tried to figure out what was going on. He called and said that one of my emails I had sent went into the spam filter. I had sent it three times. They apologized quickly, by email and phone and fixed it on their website. And then I got another apology from Delora.

No harm done. This happens. Thanks for the quick fix all around!
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Crime in Madison Down, While Fear of Crime Seems to be Up

I'm running out of blog time, so I'm going to be lazy. Check out the bolded parts of the press release below - crime is down. More analysis, tomorrow or next week.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MADISON CRIME DROPS IN 2008: BUT VIOLENT CRIME IS UP, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TO GET NEW EMPHASIS

There were 10,572 reportable crimes in the City of Madison in 2008, which represents a slight decrease (-1.3%) from the 2007 tally of 10,705. Categories dealing with forcible rapes, burglaries, arsons, stolen vehicles and simple assaults all went down this past year.

Meanwhile our community experienced an up-tick in aggravated assaults and homicides, which helped fuel a 5.9% increase in Madison’s violent crime numbers.

In 2007 it was just the opposite: overall crime increased while violent crime went down more than 14%. This means violent crime – when looked at over a two-year span – is still down from where it was at in 2006.

Madison Police Chief Noble Wray believes crime numbers need to be analyzed over many years in order to get a true perspective on where our community is at in terms of public safety. When looking at data going back over a couple of decades, what bar graphs show is that crime numbers have been relatively stable in recent years - despite steady population growth. In fact, Madison was experiencing far greater crime numbers in the early 1990’s than we are seeing today. Also, as we analyze cities of comparable size, Madison’s crime rate is one of the lowest in the nation.

The new data does give us a valuable snapshot, one we must analyze and interpret. For example: last year - and into the first six-months of this year- burglary numbers were skyrocketing. At the rate they were occurring it appeared the 2008 tally would far surpass 2007. In response a Burglary “Blue Net” Task Force was created in early 2008. The concentrated effort appears to have had the desired impact; burglaries went down in the second half of 2008, and Madison ended up with fewer than 2007.

Each year the Madison Police Department will focus on crime categories where “red flags” appear to be rising. For the first time in MPD history we have, this year, taken a look at how much of a role domestic violence played in aggravated assault numbers. They went up more than 11% in 2008, and there was anecdotal evidence that domestic violence, in a down turned economy, was on the upswing. What was learned is that over 40% of the 463 cases in 2008 were directly connected to domestic violence. This coming year Chief Noble Wray is committed to capturing even more data concerning domestic violence as many arrested for such crimes are often charged with simple battery – rather than substantial batteries.

I can't believe its the first time in MPD history they actually looked at the role of domestic violence! That seems odd!
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TV and Electronics Recycling by the City of Madison

TV and Electronics Recycling by the City of Madison info below:

The City of Madison accepts TVs and electronics for recycling at its drop off sites, for a fee. The City no longer collects Televisions, Computer Monitors, Laptops, and Computer CPUs at the curb. These items must now be brought drop off sites for recycling. The West drop off site is located at 1501 W. Badger Rd. The East drop off site is located at: 4602 Sycamore Ave.

The Following Items Require a $10 Fee: CPUs, Monitors, Laptop Computers, and Televisions.

The Following Items Are Accepted Free of Charge: Keyboards, Miscellaneous Computer Parts, Scanners, Mouse, Printers, Cables, Stereo components, VCRs, Cell Phone, Telephones, DVD Players, Typewriters, Video Game Consoles, and Ink Jet Cartridges.

Hours of Operation:

December 3rd through March 30th: Monday through Friday 7 a.m. until 3 p.m.

March 31st through December 2nd:
Monday 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday 8:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Thursday 8:30 a.m. until 8:00p.m.
Friday 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Saturday 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Sunday 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

For more information: http://www.cityofmadison.com/streets/computerRoundup.cfm

Other Options for TV and Electronics Recycling

The Madison Recycling Center 2200 Fish Hatchery Rd accepts all computers, computer components, and peripherals. They also accept consumer electronics. They charge $.35 per pound. For more information call them at 251-2115.

Resource Solutions at 5493 Express Circle, also takes computer components and peripherals for recycling. They charge $15 for CRT monitors and $.10 per pound for other material. They also collect computers from businesses. For more information call 244-5451.

Best Buy Stores, 2452 East Springs Dr. (242-0701), 7357 West Towne Way (829-1188). Starting February 15, 2009 Best Buy stores will accept computers, TV's and electronics for recycling. Please call the stores for details.

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I Didn't Blow Off the Chamber of Commerce

Since the Chamber of Commerce didn't want to acknowledge that I filled out the questionnaire and turned it in, I thought I'd post my answers here . . . since I took the time. I did submit it electronically so it didn't have a signature, and I didn't answer the last question, but I did send it in. I didn't blow them off. The only group I've blown off was DCPAC!(And, for what its worth, I didn't blow off the Realtors - see Phil's email below. They just didn't conduct their own process apparently.)

CANDIDATE PROFILE
APPLICANT INFORMATION
Name: Brenda K. Konkel
Email: brendakonkel@gmail.com Phone: 345-8720
Current Address: 511 E Mifflin St but moving in February to 30 N Hancock St.
City: Madison State: WI ZIP Code: 53703
Aldermanic District: 2 Years of Residence in District: 18
Madison Native? Yes No Kinda? If not, where did you grow up: Madison, Waunakee, Wis. Dells, Saukville, Portage
SIGNATURES
I authorize the verification of the information provided on this form, and I have received a copy of this profile. I authorize any public distribution of this information.
Signature of candidate: Date: 1/20/2009

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Please limit your answers to the space provided below.

EDUCATION
Name of Technical School, College, or University: UW-Platteville, UW-Madison Law School
Years Attended: 4, 3 Degree Achieved: B.A. Crim Justice, J.D. Law Degree
EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION
Current Employer: Tenant Resource Center
Current Job Title: Executive Director How Long? 13.5
If less than 2 years, immediate past employer:
Immediate Past Job Title: How Long?

1. Why are you seeking this office?

I’m seeking my fifth term as 2nd District Alderperson to continue the work that I have begun. This work includes a transportation plan for the Isthmus, resolution of the properties in James Madison Park and continued improvements to 2nd district parks. I also believe that with this relatively new council, we can’t lose much more experience. It also allows me to continue working on affordable housing, transportation and childcare issues.

2. What in your background or experiences qualifies you to understand the unique needs facing small businesses?

With 13.5 years experience running the day-to-day operations of the Tenant Resource Center I am familiar hiring, training, retaining and sometimes firing staff and managing cash flow in order to pay the bills and meet payroll. I’ve been forced to be innovative in finding new ways to produce revenue (sell books, teach seminars, etc.) and am familiar with the realistic impact of this recent economic recession on our local community.

CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE
State your position on the following issues. Please limit answers to space provided below.

1. What are the most important issues the businesses in your district face?
On East Johnson Street: Parking and the future reconstruction of East Johnson Street plus the impact of the economy on spending habits. Some issues w/ attracting businesses that are able to stay open. On East Washington: Some are still recovering from the reconstruction and balancing growth and supporting the businesses that are already there.

2. How do you define economic development?
Creating and retaining living wage paying jobs preferably with opportunities for career advancement. And making sure that workers have the tools to make them successful employees: affordable, reliable, convenient mass transit options, housing they can afford with their wages, affordable, accessible quality childcare.

3. How will you notify businesses in your district about issues that arise that may have an impact on them?
For East Washington I had council staff develop a list property owners and businesses in the corridor from several different department sources. Community meetings and postcards would be used for large issues. I also encourage businesses to join neighborhood listserves I maintain, inform people via my blog and maintain contact with various owners.

4. Do you believe it is appropriate for the City of Madison to place regulations on businesses within its borders even if businesses in neighboring municipalities do not face the same restrictions? Why or Why not?
It depends, you have to weigh the public benefit and impact on businesses and the community. And, you have to weigh the perceived impact with the facts that we have available to us.

5. What initiatives or strategies recommended in the recently accepted 3-5 year Economic Development Plan would you pursue immediate implementation of?
My full comments and reasoning can be found here: http://brendakonkel.blogspot.com/2008/08/hmmm-something-wrong-here.html
Given financial constraints, here’s what I think we should be working on: Revise DPCED mission statement (1. 1.a.), Capitalize on systematic retention and expansion contacts. (2. 2.a.), Establish a Small Business Solutions OBR team. (2. 3.a.), Continue to support and work with small business contacts. (2. 3.c.), Monitor Kaufman impacts (2. 3.d.), Continue to work with existing business/business owners in employment centers. (3. 1.a.), Encourage the formation of Neighborhood BIDs. (4. 6.a.)

6. Do you support the use of Tax Incremental Financing as an economic development tool? If so, under what conditions should these funds be used?
Yes, I do support the use of TIF as an economic development tool – particularly for job creation and would like to see less focus on high end housing. However, I also believe that TIF should be driven by City goals and objectives that are clearly identified to the public. Will consider Pay-As-You-Go financing if necessary.

7. What strategies do you support to improve our transportation infrastructure? Under what parameters would you support creation of a regional transportation authority?
Create a downtown transportation plan, keep bus fares low to increase ridership and get the small business bus pass pool up and operational. I support a regional transportation authority but will keep a close eye on the governing structure to make sure that Madison has a major impact on the operations and that it is held accountable.

8. If offered a GMCC endorsement, would you accept it? Yes____ No____¬_

While I'm at it - here's what I sent to the Realtors:

from Brenda Konkel
to Phil Salkin
date Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 6:03 AM
subject Realtors

Phil - While I'm glad to hear GAC will not get involved in the D2 race, when and if it does, I hope you base your involvement on questions from the Realtors, not the Dane County Public Affairs Council - while I did not respond to them, I would respond to the Realtors.
Brenda

Dear GAC Members:

At the last meeting I was charged with contacting candidates in the 2nd District aldermanic race. For the present, the GAC does not wish to get involved in that race.

Through my position as the board member for the Dane County Public Affairs Council, I was able to participate in the interview of three of the candidates. As I also wrote the interview questions, I was able to include a few that broadly covered some issues of importance to our Association. The results were as follows:

Brenda Konkel - did not respond

Dennis DeNure - send a few email comments

Adam Walsh – Walsh gave one of the best interviews I have been privileged to hear in years. This young attorney was sharp and demonstrated a knowledge on a broad range of topics and an ability to convey ideas and positions in a succinct manner. If elected, he would not be in anyone's pocket, but he would be willing to work with us. He was unanimously endorsed by the DCPAC.

Bridget Maniaci – Ms. Maniaci was an intern for Mayor Dave. She is a bright young person, but lacks a broad perspective on the issues. She did articulate the need for an alder to address district concerns well.

Sherman Hackbarth – a young attorney – not ready for prime time – his heart is in the right place. Should he win, it would still be a big improvement.

Phil

And Phil's response to my email:

from Salkin, Phil - Governmental Affairs Director
to Brenda Konkel
date Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 10:31 AM
subject RE: Realtors

Brenda – If we opt to get involved in the District 2, we will not be using the DCPAC questions, with the exception of the general, “What are your priorities, etc.”. We have interviewed for several of the races using questions that focus on REALTORS issues.

Phil

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Metro: What its about!

Last night at the Transit and Parking Commission during the discussion about closing some bus stops, it was a very interesting struggle between serving the high ridership of the isthmus, or the perceived needs of people traveling through the isthmus.

Yesterday, I blogged about the potential closing of 6 bus stops on E Johnson and E Gorham, stops at Brearly on E Washington and 3 on Jenifer. Including some highly used stops.

I noted how this was just terrible timing - to close stops after wrapping the buses and raising the fares is leaving people feeling very dejected and wondering what will happen next. This is just the wrong message at the wrong time.

I also said that the efficiency gained was not worth the costs to the riders, especially those who are elderly or have a disability, or groceries, or kids. (Apparently this would save 30 seconds to two minutes so that people don't miss their connections at the transfer points - theoretically.)

I noted concerns about the process. How will riders be notified and give input. What is the timing of this, etc. etc. Some had answers, some did not. I suspect it will be more clear in March.

Finally, I asked that they look at other options. I suggested express buses (since they bunch up anyways) and some suggested hop-scotching - by having buses stop at every other stop.

Ultimately, they delayed any action til next month to get more input. I'm not sure how that input will be obtained, but they will be discussing this again in March.

At the end of the meeting I think Carl, the chair of the TPC, summed it best when talking about why the stops should not be closed: "Its not about getting the buses where they need to go, its about getting the people where they need to go."

Oh, right. The PEOPLE! Not the schedule and the bottom line and the "efficiency" however that might be defined. If the people won't/can't ride the bus because they don't get what they need, what's the point? That certainly won't help the bottom line!

P.S. Thanks to the staff for suggesting the referral to get more info and for trying to get input!
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Sheriff, Commissioner: Wasn't Me.

Sometimes, its hard to know what to believe. However, this press release I posted apparently had a mistake in it. See below for more details. Looks like the Sheriff's department erroneously let the Court Commissioner take the blame for calling ICE. IWU apologized to Commissioner Hanson (see below). But the problems remain and as a result Dane County Board Chair Scott McDonell called for a prohibition on running background checks in family court. Also below is the court commissioner's thoughts on why he used the system he used, along with the city's policies when it comes to dealing with ICE and immigration issues.

IWU Holds Candlelight Vigil for Immigration Justice
From: Immigrant workers Union (IWU)
29 E. Wilson St #202
Madison, WI 53703
Contact Alex Gillis 608/345-9544, Yvonne Geerts 608/335-0357

The Immigrant Workers Union (IWU), in conjunction with a number of other community organizations, held a candlelight vigil at the Dane County Courthouse Monday night to bring attention to the plight of a Honduran family unjustly targeted by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

Around three dozen community members and activists braved the rain on the steps of the courthouse, holding signs and candles while listening to speeches about the injustice which occurred there last week. "We are here to protest the continued cooperation between local government officials and ICE, cooperation which has led to a brutal enforcement of an unjust national immigration policy here in Dane County" said Alex Gillis of the IWU.

The basic facts of the case are as follows. Last Wednesday, a Dane County resident originally from Honduras, went to the Dane County Courthouse to fill out the paperwork necessary to change her children's last names. While she was at the courthouse, court officials became aware that this woman had an outstanding immigration warrant from 1996.

Subsequently, someone at the courthouse notified ICE about the woman's presence, leading to her arrest and interrogation by ICE. As a result of this interrogation, ICE then arrested the woman's mother, and began searching the woman's home for any information which would lead them to other undocumented individuals.

Who exactly notified ICE is still the subject of much debate. Originally, the Dane County Sherriff's office falsely let on that Court Commissioner Jason Hanson was solely responsible for the notification. This inaccurate information is what led the IWU to originally unfairly name Mr. Hanson as the primary instigator of the notification. However, the IWU later learned that it was not the Court Commissioner which notified ICE, but rather the Bailiff, who is under the supervision of the Sheriff's office.

"In attempting to set the record straight, the IWU would again like to apologize to Jason Hanson for the misinformation we originally received and inadvertently spread. We now know we must be far more discerning when making sense of any information obtained from the [Dane County] Sheriff's Office" Mr. Gillis said at the rally.

Mr. Gillis then called for a full investigation into exactly what procedures did lead to the notification of ICE, and what local policies can be enacted in the future to end such cooperation. The IWU recognizes that Mr. Hanson was acting within common court practice by letting the Bailiff know about the outstanding immigration warrant. As such, the IWU echoes Dane County Board Chair Scott McDonnell's call for a prohibition on running background checks in family court.

Others at the rally connected what happened at the courthouse last Wednesday with Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney's ongoing policy of reporting all non-citizens taken into custody to ICE. "Last week's egregious actions by ICE prove once again why our County officials must end all cooperation with this agency. While this case is an especially troubling example of the consequences of such cooperation, we must remember that this type of reporting goes on everyday in the Dane County Jail" said Adam Porton of Progressive Dane.

Several attendees also held up signs reading "Sheriff Mahoney Has Got To Go!," to express their displeasure with his continued cooperation with ICE and the resulting terror such cooperation has caused Dane County's immigrant community.

Here's a statement from an email from Court Commissioner in response to my question about his methodology of checking for warrants.

There are multiple tools and databases available. I used a system other than CCAP because I have been specifically trained in its use and because it contains information from outside of Dane County. This has, in the past, resulted in arrests on outstanding warrants from other counties and states for various offenses, including domestic violence, other crimes of violence, and weapons offenses, among other things. Upon performing the record check, I received an entry indicating a valid federal arrest warrant for the person in question and notified the Dane County Sheriff's Office. A deputy performed the arrest.

My record search was done on all individuals on my calendar for the day, without regard to race, ethnicity, or immigration status. The database itself does not give information regarding a person's immigration status. It merely provides information on existing restraining orders and warrants. In this case, I alerted the Sheriff's Office to the existence of a valid federal arrest warrant, just as I would have had the database said the person was wanted for forgery in Arkansas.

I have never had a reason to ask a litigant their immigration status or otherwise investigate their status. In the course of conducting hearings in various matters, individuals have volunteered their immigration status on countless occasions. I have never done anything to report that information to anyone, except in the case of the active federal arrest warrant in this case.

fwiw, CCAP has information for the entire state, not just Dane County, but it wouldn't have information for other states. I remain convinced McDonell is right, there is either a way to get the information they need in court without calling ICE or they can use some discretion. Additionally, I like the way the courts are using this as a way to get more money in their budget instead of looking for a more simple solution.

For those who are wondering, here's the City's policy:

9-600 Enforcement of Immigration Laws
The Madison Police Department recognizes the values and the diversity of the community it serves. The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance to our officers on this issue and to ensure equal protection and fairness is afforded to all persons, regardless of the immigration status.

The Madison Police Department will cooperate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as it would with any other law enforcement agency. However, it is the policy of this department that its officers shall not arrest or detain any person solely for a suspected violation of immigration laws, except upon request of ICE. All requests by ICE for this purpose will be directed to the Office in Charge (OIC). The OIC will immediately notify the Chief of Police or one of the Assistant Chiefs of Police for further direction. In the absence of the Chief of Police or Assistant Chiefs of Police, the senior Captain available will be notified.

Officers are required to obtain approval from their commander or the OIC prior to arresting or detaining any person solely for a suspected violation of immigration laws, even if requested by ICE.

Madison Police Officers have a responsibility to investigate and contact any person they believe is involved in suspicious activity. If on investigation probable cause to arrest exists, unrelated to the person’s immigration status, officers may effect an arrest for that specific violation.

Immigration Documents
Officers shall not ask any person to produce an Alien Registration Card (Green Car) or other immigration document except when assisting the ICE. This does not prohibit an officer from considering an Alien Registration Card as a form of identification if an individual offers it as such. Immigration documents identified as evidence ina criminal investigation may be seized according to State Statute 968.10 (Search and Seizure) and State Statute 968.11 (Search Incident to Arrest).

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Next Metro Goofball Idea

Removing bus stops in major transit corridors. I'm not kidding.

That's right, when we build dense areas, and have high usage of bus riders, apparently the thinking is that they don't need as many bus stops. Tonight the Transit and Parking Commission is considering a trial project where they would remove the bus stops on E. Johnson and E. Gorham at Brearly, Few and Livingston - as well as on Jennifer St. And, removing a (or two) bus stop on E Washington at Brearly.

My snarky response was that this was revenge for the Isthmus being strongly opposed to bus wraps and against raising the bus fares. Probably not true - but the three decisions together make you wonder, what's the big picture here?

All of this focus on efficiency and a tiny portion of the income for Madison Metro ($650,000 of $50M) seems to be ignoring something very, very important. THE RIDERS!! Seriously, what is the message Madison Metro is sending to its loyal riders? We've cut back on early morning, late night and weekend service in the last few years, we've wrapped the buses in dark, difficult to see out of bus wraps and now, we're asking them to walk farther to get to their stops. The message is clear - we don't value the riders, their needs or their comfort.

What's going on? I don't believe that the staff at Madison Metro don't value the riders. But wow, their timing couldn't be worse. And their methodology - giving the alders less than a week's notice to inform people - seems to be bad form. The public had little opportunity to hear about this proposal, as it just came out on the agenda on Thursday or Friday.

I'm guessing all the candidates in District 2 would join me in saying - bad idea!! As they agree about not raising the bus fares. (Comments on bus fares at end of this, not sure what Sherman was saying about bus fares except that it was inevitable.)

I'll be at the Transit and Parking Commission meeting tonight, I hope others join me. Meanwhile, here's some of the feedback I've gotten:

Brenda, where did this come from? I a signed up to receive e-mail alerts from Metro but I do not recall seeing this. How can there be a trial when nobody knows about it? What is the reasoning behind that?

I have several concerns about closing the Brearly/Jenifer stop. It has a shelter and many other stops on Jenifer don't. The other and more important concern is that there are a number of programs for children after school at the Wilmar Center and during the summer. Are they going to make these young kids walk a block in either direction and possibly crossing in the middle of the street. Right now, they just cross a Brearly and both bus stops are near the corner.

I personally see this as a service cut, no matter what they call it.

I am concerned about eliminating bus stops. Bus service is an
essential part of our City's infrastructure. We don't expect to make a profit on snow plowing but we do it to keep our City going.

Bus service is needed by riders of all ages, low income, and disabled. I led blind skiers at the Ski for Light. As we skied along, my skier explained that if the bus fares are not increased, the routes will be cut which would make it much harder for blind people to get to work and other places. The fares were increased and now the City is considering cutting bus stops. Perhaps the ones who are proposing cutting stops have not experienced a temporary or permanent disability. After an accident, I could not drive and walked with a walker. Walking half a block was very painful. We need to keep our basic services so our residents can continue to keep the jobs they have rather than requiring assistance.

Thanks for the update. I don't know if I can make this meeting or not, but please pass along my concern that I think this is a bad idea especially for those who are elderly or disabled. This will make the bus less handy for people to take when we want more people to be taking the bus not less. I don't think a slightly faster commute time for people who live outside the Isthmus is worth this change.

Here we go again more cuts. that makes for a long cold walk in the winter if you ask me. Especially if you are going to work. By the time you get there you are already freezing cold, now you have freezing cold and soaking wet by the time the snow melts off your clothing. (you do have to factor weather in there somewhere you would think) A lot of the passengers have to already walk a couple blocks more this way or a couple blocks more that way where buses no longer travel due to less stops and less stops in their neighborhoods.

In my opinion with the cost of bus fare the way it is then still having to walk forever to get where you would need to go, on top of that add on the bad weather rain snow and high humidity and needing to bring a change of clothes to change into if need be. I would have to say I will drive my car and save me the hassles of getting there by bus even though it is more expensive and less eco friendly.

While it is just a couple blocks all those blocks add up and sooner or later people that have vehicles will just start driving them again for the matter of convenience

Then you have older citizens you need to think about who cant walk those extra blocks. While this may sound harsh it is a fact that while the bus service provides a service to the community the community doesn't have an obligation to use the service.

This is what I have noticed over the years. Prices keep going up for everything. Services keep going down and getting lesser and lesser.

In fairness, I also got two comments from able-bodied people saying that they would walk further. And one saying that if Wilmar was for it - it was ok, but we need shelters. I got several other messages as well, but I felt this was a good representation of the sentiment.

This really just seems like a bad idea. If they are going to do it, they need to get feedback from the users of the bus stops and give them fair warning. If there are enough people using a stop to put in a shelter, its seems absurd to then eliminate that same shelter. And when the shelters are located near services - the Yahara House also gets served by one of these stops - that seems wrong to remove these stops as well.

I'm afraid, this is something the staff will just do, but I think they need to hear from you! mymetrobus@cityofmadison.com or 266-4466 or comment here.

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The February Thaw Week Ahead

Enjoy the warm weather!!

Monday, February 9, 2009
4:45 PM LANDMARKS COMMISSION ROOM LL-130 MMB
- Presentation by City Engineering Division on issues pertaining to solar and wind energy systems in historic districts and on landmark properties.

5:30 PM PLAN COMMISSION ROOM 201 CCB
- Adding a non-voting member representing Madison School District to the Plan Commission.
- Hy-Vee at Westgate
- Madison Flood Plain map (Think Lake Delton)

Tuesday, February 10, 2009
5:00 PM PUBLIC SAFETY REVIEW BOARD ROOM 103A CCB
- Opening Car Doors into traffic
- Alternate side parking in the winter

5:00 PM TRANSIT AND PARKING COMMISSION ROOM 260 MMB
- Raising parking rates
- Cutting bus stops, er, I mean "improving services"
- Forming a committee to consider low income bus fares

Wednesday, February 11, 2009
6:30 PM BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS 1625 NORTHPORT DR (WPCRC)
- This is an irritating agenda, hardly a link anywhere to know if what they are talking about is important or not.

Thursday, February 12, 2009
4:30 PM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY ROOM 260 MMB
All the usual topics.

Enjoy the weather!

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Important Vigil For Honduran Family

The Dane County Courts are no longer safe for immigrant families seeking legal remedies in family court.

There will be a vigil tonight:

Where: at the court house
When: Monday, Feb 9th from 5pm to 6pm.
Immigrant community and allies prepare to follow up on this outrageous harassment against immigrant families.

Here's the press release about the situation:

Contact Alex Gillis 608/345-9544, Yvonne Geerts 608/335-0357

IWU asks for immediate court commissioner' s resignation

In this press release you will learn about:
• Last update on the Honduran mother of a autism boy arrested in a family court
• Who did call ICE
• Vigil for family justice in the family court

More light on the Honduras Family harassed by ICE

Yesterday, a Honduran mother (initials D.E.) went to family court for a minor process to remove her husband (now in Honduras) form her children custody. The female did not have a criminal record; neither is she right now in any charge, trial or any other issue related with justice.

When she approached the Family Court she was asked to talk with some officers who informed her that she has an immigration warrant from 1996 for a court date that she did not show up, the Mather of 3 (2 1-year- twins, and an 7 years old autism boy) never got the court notification. She was put into local jail under ICE custody.
When the Immigrant Workers Union learnt about the case referred the Honduran mother to a local conscious lawyer (S.T.) who did all the processes to get her out of jail under supervision. The Honduran woman spent the night in jail and yesterday morning she was released from local jail handcuffed under ICE Custody.

When ICE agents drove the woman to her house, her mother (SE) and brother (JE) opened the door to welcome her relative, then ICE agents decided to get into and take over the house. With the excuse to get D.E. to sign some paperwork. Once ICE was in the house they rejected the intervention of several social workers, they rejected the IWU petition for a Spanish translator and proceeded to raid the house or legal assistance, they called relatives in the address book and keep forcing the family to collaborate with them or they would handcuff all the family at this time: the mother, her mother and her brother and the 3 kids and put them in jail.
Finally, ICE agents decided to arrest the grandmother of the 3 kids as they could not arrest the mother because early lawyer intervention.

Despite the tens of messages of support of the family and demanding for local leadership to do something about this terrible situation, little or nothing has been improved. Scott McDonald and Sheriff Mahoney have been calling ICE to advocate for the two women, however for what we know the grand mother is still Dodge County Prison.

Despite the rumors of good news announcing the release of one of the women, the facts shows that it was the lawyer who released the first woman and the situation is quality escalated as right now, the mother is release under supervision, the grand mother is in prison and the brother is cited to a future immigration trail. ICE fulfilled through force and deception their original goal with is to engross their capture and deportation numbers, last year close to 200.000 people.

IWU was able to contact the mother D.E. who is just dealing with a very difficult situation, she said upset "my older kid (with autism) was dramatically affected when his father was deported, even today he wakes up in the middle in the night asking for him, if I got deported they are killing both, my son and me, in my country there is not program related with autism at least you can afford a private institution that is way over my possibilities, the kid can stay in USA but he will not survive without me it is going to kill him, and it is killing me, I cannot sleep in the last two days I do not what to do, who to call, what to expect"

IWU DEMANDS JASON J HANSON' RESIGNATION
Sources inside court pointed that apparently Commissioner Hanson had contacted ICE about our Honduran mother prior to her hearing before his Court. This confirms the turn of local justice and enforcement on the immigration issue. In this case, we do not think Sheriff Mahoney is responsible as he does not manage the Court. However, it is the same tactics, as we can see a mother of 3 with no criminal record being the plaintiff for a family matter ended up screened by a local court staff and reported to ICE, exactly the same than in the book process in Dane County Jail.
One local lawyer was very clear on the issue, "why would you go as a mother to claim child support for maybe $200 per month when actually you can be arrested and then you have to pay me $5000 to take your case, it is better to lay low and not to show up in the downtown area as ICE is everywhere"

Court Commissioner JASON J HANSON, Jason.Hanson@ wicourts. gov, is suspected to been profiling Latino names and screening in the immigration warrant system and notifying to ICE. We demand his resignation and full investigation on what, how and why this procedure is in place. Mean while, for IWU opinion there is not enough information to be sure that cases like DE mother of 3 case will not happen again and therefore we call all immigrant to be extremely cautious to initiate any court procedure and let alone to present in the court house, recommending to get a lawyer assistance and using if possible a writing trial instead attend to court, when the law permit it.
Vigil for Family Justice on the Family Court

Immigrant community and allies prepare to follow up this outrageous harassment against immigrant families. IWU and other groups will organize a vigil on the court house this coming Monday, Feb 9th from 5pm to 6pm. And major actions are schedule in the next weeks as more information develops and the community decides how to address this lack of respect to the human rights and family values.
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Air Quality Watch

Ride the bus! But it won't be free!

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is issuing an Air Quality Watch for Particle Pollution for all Wisconsin counties effective 12:01 am on Monday, February 9, 2009 through 11:00 pm on Monday, February 9, 2009 .

The watch is being issued because of the forecast for elevated levels of fine particles in the air. Fine particle pollution is composed of microscopic dust, soot, liquid droplets and smoke particles that are 2.5 microns or smaller. These fine particles come primarily from combustion sources, such as power plants, factories and other industrial sources, vehicle exhaust, and wood burning.

The Air Quality Index is forecast to reach the orange level, which is considered unhealthy for people in sensitive groups. People in those sensitive groups include those with heart or lung disease, asthma, older adults and children. When an air quality watch is issued, people in those groups are advised to reschedule or cut back on strenuous activities during the watch period.

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.

To receive air quality advisories by e-mail, visit http://dnr.wi.gov/air/newsletters/.

There are several actions the public can take to reduce their contributions to this regional air quality problem.

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

For more information:

• Air Quality Watches and Advisories Status Web Site
• Daily Air Quality Hotline - 1-866-324-5924 (1-866-DAILY AIR)
• Federal interagency air quality web site, for information on the Air Quality Index and nationwide air quality forecasts and air quality conditions, http://airnow.gov
• DNR's statewide air quality monitoring web page, http://dnrmaps.wisconsin.gov/wisards
• For local DNR air management program contacts, http://dnr.wi.gov/air/about/regions.htm

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Mayor Creates Problem, Blames Others!

Bus Fares . . .

The mayor blogs the following (no point in linking it, when he posts something new, this will disappear, so I quoted it):

But in the case of the TPC and fare increases it works the other way around. The council had already acted in passing the 2009 City budget to budget for a fare increase. If the TPC action stands it would essentially have vetoed the council's action, which in my view and the view of many council members was inappropriate even if it was technically within their authority. What I was trying to do in giving the TPC another run at it was to let them set the exact fares within the context of the budgeted amounts for fares set by the council and I.

At the root of the problem is an ordinance that confuses the lines of authority. The council and the mayor are responsible for the budget, but the TPC is responsible for setting fares. So, what happens when the council budgets for higher fare revenues than the TPC is willing to go along with? Well, this happens.

Another problem is the different political pressures that come to bear on the TPC and the council. The TPC hears heavily from those who want neither service cuts or fare increases. The council feels these two pressures plus the pressure not to increase taxes too much. This, I think, is the primary structural reason that the council supports fare increases while the TPC doesn't.

Here's a problem, if according to the mayor the "fares set by the council and I" was intended to be a fare increase, we just put our federal funding in jeopardy. We didn't follow our written rules for having a public hearing before we raised the fares. Those rules are a condition of our federal funding.

And, I'm glad to hear the Mayor admit "in my view and the view of many council members was inappropriate even if it was technically within their authority." So, I guess the technicalities and rules can just be ignored when the Mayor disagrees with them? How Bushesque.

TPC wasn't vetoing us. We acted out of order to bully them into something we didn't have the authority to do and which violated our commitments for our funding. Lets be clear, the lines of authority are clear - the mayor just doesn't like them and wants them changed to give him more power.

The reality is that the TPC acts as a check and balance for the transit system and its riders.

If the council wants to raise the fares, we should have had a proper public hearing on the matter and then see if the decision would have been the same. We avoided hearing from the public and the people who depend on the system, now its a done deal and I suspect many won't waste their time showing up. Well played. Must be convenient to ignore the "technicalities". I just hope we don't jeopardize the $23M operating funds from the state and federal government or the $3M in capital funds.
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The State of Affordable Housing in this City - DISASTROUS!

So, after the Housing Committee meeting last night and a series of three discussions, with a 4th one interwoven, I can clearly say, the state of affordable housing in this City is disastrous. Here's my takeaways from the discussion.

TAX-EXEMPTION ISSUE
Mind you, I wasn't the primary advocate here, and I'm merely telling you what two fellow committee members were saying. Mario Mendoza from the Mayor's office came to report on one of his two biggest issues in the last year. How we lost the battle for our non-profits to be tax-exempt, jeopardizing the small amount of affordable housing we currently have.

The first person who asked Mario questions started out by giving his perspective of what has happened and raised multiple issues along the way. Apparently, the way we got into this mess is an activist city attorney proactively raised the issue and wanted a test case that they could seek clarification on the law. So, in other words, after years and years of this law being on the books and being applied throughout the state, we stirred the pot. We got a rules from a judge and then sent it to the state and the state made a ruling. The court case was considered a "victory" by the city attorney's office - but the end result was that many of our low income housing providers now have to pay taxes.

Mario didn't dispute any of this. And worse yet, didn't have any answers. Or try to defend it. It he just shrugged his shoulders.

Then the questions started to flow:
Why is only Madison affected by this, why not the rest of the state?
Why is Madison so aggressively pursuing this?
How many units will be affected?
Can we put this off for another year while we figure things out and hope for a state solution?
Why did the city attorney's office pursue this in the first place?
What was the Mayor's role in this? Why did he let it happen?
How does this affect the CDA?

Again, no answers.

So, we asked that the City Attorney (both Michael May and Larry O'Brien) be at the next meeting. We should probably also get the City Assessor there. And the press! If this looks like it is as bad as it sounds, this is horrific.

I also learned this little tid bit. I proposed two budget amendments to allow the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to be used to help pay the taxes that the non-profits are going to have to pay. Mario informed me that the City Attorney's Office has determined we can't do that. Funny, they never told me. I wonder at what point they were going to let that come up?

Anyways, there may be hundreds of affordable housing units that will end up getting sold off to the private market if we don't end up with a solution. Or which become significantly less affordable.

CDA
So, Gregg Shimanski was up next. He's the volunteer citizen chair of the CDA. I kind of feel sorry for him. Cuz you just know he's not getting the kind of staff support he needs to be effective. Nothing could have been more clear when I asked the following two questions:

1. My first (admittedly unfair) question was: What is the need for affordable housing in the City of Madison? The answer, of course was, "I don't know." There's a good reason for that. Because we don't have the data and the information to figure it out. I asked, because I thought maybe some of the data that they have might help us in the quest to figure it out. I've had long discussions about how we get to that answer. In 1998, I figured the number was between 11,000 and 17,000 households under 80% Area Median Income that were paying over 30% of their income towards rent. It's a ball park figure, and the methodology is subject to discussion and it's based on old numbers, but it all doesn't matter. The number is so overwhelming that whatever we do, it won't be enough. So, I kind of dropped it. But, how can you come up with affordable housing solutions if we don't know the need and can't target the programs?

2. My second question to Gregg was: During the Inclusionary Zoning wrap up discussions, one of the questions we had was "What is the CDA going to do when the houses come up for sale?" According to the ordinance the CDA is the one to purchase the houses. Gregg's answer: Um . . . . . (confusion). He didn't even know it was the CDA's role. They have no plan. He didn't even know that there was actually money available to purchase the houses. I'm quite certain the CDA never even had a discussion about this. I don't think the staff ever told them. Most likely because the staff doesn't care and wants the program to go away. (And by staff, I'm talking about the top! Not Percy or the others.)

So, that was depressing. During the discussion Gregg also mentioned that the City of Madison has no more affordable housing for its population, comparatively speaking, than it did 38 years ago. That's right. He's right. Despite all the discussion, despite all our resources, despite our claims of being liberal - we aren't making any progress. I'm paraphrasing him.

HOUSING REPORT
Next up - something we've been discussion for FOUR FREAKING YEARS. People have come and gone and we're still talking about how we can get a city report that does the following:
a. Pulls together the easily accessible data that we have on housing into one report. The report could include information on:
1. Building Inspections
2. Building Permits
3. Evictions
4. Police Calls
5. Zoning/planning approvals
6. Assessments
7. Needs of families, individuals
8. Homelessness data
9. Many other things that we have yet to identify

b. Identify the needs, set measurable, achievable goals for the city.

Once we have the info that is scattered throughout the city, we can then determine what other information we need and how we can get it. But, we can't even get the basic information together!!

I want to be clear, I'm not really blaming staff here. They've sort of tried, but it takes leadership and internal coordination. And we're sorely lacking in both. Plus, we don't have a housing department that focuses just on housing of all types. We don't have staff dedicated to housing. It's something that several departments deal with, but there's no coordination.

WHICH COMMITTEE?
Sadly, after I just said that above, we have the same problems with our committee. We now have so many housing committees or committees dealing with housing that it makes my head spin. So many that, they need to have a meeting to try to figure out who's doing what. I've been saying for quite some time we need to break the housing committee into its two subcommittees (Landlord/Tenant and Affordability) and then create a committee that has people from various committees like: CDBG, Office of Community Services, Planning Commission, Zoning, CDA, Housing Diversity Committee, the consolidation committee, Tenant/Landlord and Affordability, Inclusionary Zoning etc. Then we'd have a committee that could focus on housing. But we also have to staff it with someone who knows about housing. Right now, the housing committee is staffed by the building inspection department. Which is great, if we have a building inspection issue, but not so hot on the other issues.

CONCLUSION
Disaster.

We're going nowhere, and not even doing it quickly. In fact, we seem to be sliding backwards. More to come . . .
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The "I kissed a girl" Council Recap

It was a little long, and at points, pointless. Here's the rundown.

The meeting started around 6:36 with everyone present expect Council President Bruer.

CIVILITY AWARD (#1)
We awarded the Jeff Erlanger award, with the help of his parents, to former alders Judy Olson and Warren Onken. An excellent choice!

HONORING PARKS COMMISSIONER (#2)
We honored Betty MacDonald for her service on the Parks Commission. She was absolutely delightful to honor. When she got up in front of the Council she talked about 1963, which as soon as she said that year I smiled. It was the year that the City of Madison passed our Equal Opportunities Ordinance. She mentioned her experience than as a way to talk talked about the power of the citizen committees and what unelected volunteers can do and how they can impact our community. A class act.

MARCUS THEATRE (#4)
Ugh. I tried to ask them to address my main concern. This is labeled a "transit oriented development" in the comprehensive plan and I felt that it didn't meet those requirements, but that perhaps they could make an argument that it did. I have to admit, they totally blew it. Several alders tried to help them by rephrasing the question (Webber and Rummel), and several other alders went off on several issues that weren't really about the transit oriented development. After about a half hour, everyone was done, and I asked the question again. Trying to give them a chance to redeem themselves. They did a little better. The staff then did an pretty good job talking about the issues as well. To me, it was a close call and I think I changed my mind multiple times. In the end, everyone voted for it except Alder Webber - tho I thought she had a few more votes with her. Other issues with the project included that there was no bus service, too much parking & mostly part-time jobs with no benefits. However, there was a vision that I could see where some of these things would be remedied in the future and that it could possibly end up a park and ride for the city of Madison. So . . . I'm not sure if we did the right thing or not, but it was close and I felt like they said enough to give it a shot - we'll see if any of it happens.

ACACIA (The "I kissed a girl" project.) (#5)
This small project on Langdon Street brought out many people. The Alders in the area (Konkel, Verveer and Judge) were all against the project for various reasons, the neighborhood association (Capitol Neighborhoods) was against it and many residents showed up to speak. Residents had concerns about overcrowding and the intense density in this area and the results on the quality of life, like overflowing garbage, the fact that there are alot of pedestrians and a high risk of car vs. pedestrians clashes, the need for more parking (not less), the gentrification of the area causing it to be unaffordable for many, the loss of open space, the environmental concerns about development close to the lake and the general safety of the very crowded area when it comes to fires. The neighborhood association representatives also did a great analysis of the requirements to pass a PUD and the downtown design guidelines. The downtown design guidelines were a close call, but to me, when you added up the massing, lack of a central prominent entrance, the articulation, the lack of semi-public spaces and usable open space it was a swing and a miss. The project had been rejected by the Landmarks Commission, unaimously passed at the Urban Design Commission after several meetngs and then the Plan Commission failed to make a recommendation with a 4-4 tie and the Plan Commission Chair refusing to vote saying that it was a close call for the Council to make. Part of the issue at plan commission, in addition to everything above, was the general issue of open space in this crowded area. Which is where the testimony of one person who said the area is used for hacky sack and other activities, including the fact that "I kissed a girl" once there. While Eli Judge agreed with the sentiment, in a moment of levity assured us, he had not kissed a girl there. With an pretty impassioned speech from Alder Verveer the item failed for lack of 11 votes. The issue had to be previously tabled while Alder Clear determined what the appropriate motion was. I told him what it was, he was wary and needed to figure it out for himself and still got it wrong. Alders Kerr and myself, even tho we voted against it, had to help correct it to get it right. In the end, the vote was AYE: Palm, Pham-Remmele, Sanborn, Schumacher, Skidmore, Clausius, Clear, Compton, Gruber and Monson. NO: Rhodes-Conway, Rummel, Solomon, Verveer, Webber, Cnare, Judge, Kerr, Konkel. ABSENT: Bruer. When it failed, Alder Verveer wanted to make sure that Acacia and Alexander Company could come back without waiting - so he made a motion to place on file without prejudice, which should have been unanimous with all the opposition to the project voting in support, but some of the supporters voted no. I guess they didn't want to see the project come back??? Very confusing.

PLACE FOR FRIENDS (#32)
The council unanimously accepted the recommendation to revoke their license. Alder Rhodes-Conway made a statement and we voted. Not much else said due to legal constraints.

YWCA PROJECT (#41)
Alder Thuy Pham-Remmele had some issue I didn't understand. I don't think anyone else did either. Perhaps the real issue was something to do with an issue she should have disclosed in that she had a bit of a conflict of interest - and we were all surprised she failed to make the disclosure. The project was for $250,000 to renovate 11 units at the YWCA. Staff from there testified that they had multiple issues with an old building including plumbing issue, leaking roof, hvac issues, etc etc etc. The motion passed. And at least one member of the council felt compelled to apologize to the YWCA for the inappropriate behavior of our colleague.

OLYMPICS (#49)
No one knows what we just agreed to, but if Chicago gets the bid for the Olympics in 2016, three bike race events could he held here in Dane County, and we agreed to pay for quite a bit - and we were assured that we would get reimbursed by the federal government for the bulk of those costs - for security. We agreed to that binding agreement and who knows what the council in 2016 would be facing when it comes to the budget. Dicey, but the ability to bring those events here and the economic development it could lead to, seemed worth it with the limited information we had.

ALLIED PUBLIC ART (#40)
Alder Cnare wanted to make sure the the project was truly art and not just a marketing/branding issue. Alder Solomon said that it was art that the neighborhood was excited about. (Alder Sanborn and I had a side conversation about the message the art was conveying and thought they might have missed. We felt the message might be the opposite of what they are trying to convey.) The motion passed with a few voice vote "no's".

POLICE STATION HVAC (#43)
A long, convoluted discussion about the heating/cooling system at the Northside Police Station and some flaws when the building was built 10 years ago resulted in the "safety first/give the police everything they need" crowd denying the funding necessary to fix the problems. I guess they want to see the police sweat? The vote went as follows: NO: Sanborn, Schumacher, Skidmore, Compton ABSENT: Bruer, Kerr Since it was a 15 vote item, it failed. I'm not sure that is what some of the most ardent supporters of the police department intended. I suspect we reconsider and the police get their money.

ANNUAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN (#45)
It was getting late and there were a few questions and we ultimately we referred it til the new Economic Development Director got here. We should vote on it at the first meeting in March. I think some of the council members got confused - when the new ED director was here, we asked about passing the TIF policy before he got here and he said no problem. His comments about the plan were a little different and I think it will be good that he gives us his thoughts.

WOOD BOILERS (#109)
Hours ago, there were people at the meeting to testify, they gave up and went home. It passed.

With that, it was about midnight. The Green girls (Webber, Rummel, Rhodes-Conway, Konkel) went out for drinks and a late night dinner. Everyone else went home since this was one of the longest regular council meetings we have had in a while.

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Reconsidering the Bus Fares - Again?!

Apparently, the Mayor has made another admission. He wants the Transit and Parking Commission to reconsider the bus fares - and put it on their agenda for the THIRD time. The reaction - well, all I could say was "ouch". This is just getting painful to watch.

The chair of the Transit and Parking Commission, Carl DuRocher nails it with this:

"It does make people question why we work so hard, why we study the issues so hard and why we put in so much uncompensated time to listen to the public," Durocher said. "What’s the point if there’s a predetermined decision?"

Satya Rhodes-Conway expresses the way many are feeling:

"On the surface, it almost looks like a temper tantrum," she said "It seems really disrespectful and poor public policy.

And even Brian Solomon chimes in:

"The TPC has acted twice. Maybe it’s time to put it before the council."

And again, Carl nails it!

"The city council would have to conduct the public hearing and see hours of testimony from people's experience riding the bus, people who both ride buses out of necessity and people who ride out of choice," he said. "That moves the discussion into a different level than looking at numbers on a spreadsheet."

I guess they won't be getting any "civility" awards any time soon! But I'm glad to see people speaking their minds without fear of retribution!

The Mayor's excuse for acting this way:

"I’m trying to make peace here," he said.

Seriously, does anyone buy that? If so . . .

My first thought was that Robert's Rules of Order doesn't allow you to reconsider something that has already been reconsidered. I confirmed that and called the city attorney. Apparently, the City Attorney thinks that this is a "materially different" decision.

Excuse me? If I was the chair, I wouldn't rule it that way.

Question the first time: Should we raise the bus fares to $2 like the council budgeted?

Question before TPC the second time: Should we raise the bus fares to $2 like the council budgeted?

Question before TPC the third time: Should we raise the bus fares to $2 like the council budgeted?

How is that not different? Apparently reconsidering the $1.50 bus fare decision is different than reconsidering the $1.75 bus fare decision. If the chair ruled that they are materially different, I'd challenge the ruling of the chair - but I'm not on the Transit and Parking Commission. This is just absurd.

They had the same public hearing, have mostly the same information. The only thing different is someone resigned and someone missed a meeting and if they get the right people in the room, the Mayor thinks they'll get a different decision. I wonder who on the prevailing side will make that motion? It has to be someone who was at the meeting, unlike the Council.

And who doesn't believe, that no matter what the TPC decides, someone is going to be "aggrieved" and appeal it anyways and it will end up before the council anyways? What's the Mayor trying to avoid? Facing the public? Long public testimony? Possibly being forced to break a tie and vote on this?

It doesn't make sense to keep dragging this out. The TPC has clearly told us what they think - its up to the council to ignore them or take their advice.
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The oddly quiet week ahead . . .

It seems like there some meetings missing here . . . but here's what I have at the moment . . . I can't believe there are 12 total meetings scheduled for the first week of the month! I suspect more will get added as the week goes on.

Monday, February 2, 2009
5:30 PM CENTRAL LIBRARY DISPOSAL SURPLUS PROPERTY CRITERIA AND SELECTION COMMITTEE CENTRAL LIBRARY, 201 W MIFFLIN ST, R00M 202
- They will get a new staff analysis and discuss the pros and cons of the project.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009
6:30 PM COMMON COUNCIL ROOM 201 CCB
- Marcus project not served by bus service
- The Acacia project
- Economic Development Work Plan
- How much will the Olympics cost the City?
- Referendum for Garver Feedmill

Wednesday, February 4, 2009
4:30 PM URBAN DESIGN COMMISSION ROOM LL-110 MMB
- 435 W Washington Ave - Erik Minton/Dentist Building
5:00 PM HOUSING COMMITTEE ROOM 260 MMB
- Smoke Detectors Ordinance

Thursday, February 5, 2009
5:00 PM EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES COMMISSION ROOM LL-120 MMB
- Chronic Nuisance Ordinance

Friday, February 6, 2009
8:00 AM INCLUSIONARY ZONING ADVISORY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ROOM LL110 MMB
- Wrapping things up.

Hopefully, the technical difficulties of this morning do not continue throughout the week!
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