New Year's Eve Round Up

There were too many items yesterday for me not to do a round up - so here it is . . .

COUNTY BOARD CANDIDATES
I checked the office yesterday, many people on the list got more papers in, but no new candidates. I may update later today. People can still file Monday or up until 5:00 on Tuesday to get on the ballot. 20 potential races so far.

SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES
Only on race at the moment, in the seat being vacated by Johnny Winston Jr. Tom Farley and James Howard are running for that seat. The only coverage I've seen so far, since their announcements was this little story about a cat fight. I hope the coverage gets better and they start talking about issues.

EDGEWATER COMPROMISE?
Schumacher says that there might be one. Here's the thing about compromise, both parties have to agree. Since no one I know in opposition to the project knows what the compromise is, its unlikely to be a real compromise. Instead, its likely one of those were people on one side decide that they are making some concession and call it a compromise, even if the other side doesn't agree. That's not a compromise. Any which way, can't wait to hear what it is. It's be cool if there really is something new. But, um . . . are we going to find out what it is on Tuesday?

WE DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THIS, THIS WAY
Brad Murphy explains what projects like the Edgewater need to do to get approval.

All city zoning districts that allow for nonresidential development have permitted and conditional uses. The first requires no review by the city’s plan commission; the second does.

In addition, the city has so-called “overlay” districts that basically impose additional requirements on top of existing zoning requirements. With economic development projects, the two relevant types of overlay districts are urban design and local historic districts, Murphy said. For projects in the first type, developers need the OK of the Urban Design Commission. For projects in the second, they need the Landmarks Commission’s approval.

Otherwise, determining which projects are considered by which city bodies “really depends on the project, where it’s located and what the zoning is,” Murphy said.

So, a different project, located in a different location might not have had this kind of trouble. This was an extremely challenging project as proposed.

Interesting note. Is all new development "economic development"? Should we try to literally build our way out of this recession? Isn't that part of how we got here in the first place?

HOTEL REJECTION, WAS A GOOD IDEA
Former Mayor gently suggests that Edgewater Hotel rejection might not be the end of the world. Um, awkward.

THANK YOU GLENN GROTHMAN
He teed this one up for us! Um, yeah, maybe if the state paid us the money we should be getting for all the university and government buildings here in Madison we'd have more money to plow the streets. Paul Soglin calls it the gift that will keep on giving. So, thank you Grothman.

VOTING EARLY, GOOD OR BAD?
Personally, I like voting on election day. You just never know what might surface in those last days, and I want to make the most informed decision that I can. However, for many, voting early means the difference between voting and not voting, so, I have no problem with it. It's a good thing when used properly. This article takes a look at if there will be changes in the future to early voting.

POLICE TO DRIVE DODGE CHARGERS?
Really? I wonder how much more these will cost? Basic blue book values on a 2009 appear to be the same, but it depends up on what they get.

DRECKMANN ANSWERS REPUBLICANS
Plastic bag law could have been works, it could have been a complete ban. By the way, seems to be popular. Or maybe people were just saving them for months waiting to be able to recycle them. I guess only time will tell. But hopefully, as more and more people participate, the pace will remain the same or improve.

HOW'D THAT SMATH GROWTH LAW WORK OUT FOR YOU?
January 1st, 2010 is State Deadline to Adopt “Smart Growth” Plan ". Dane County finished their plan 2 years early. But here's how others are doing:

According to the state Department of Administration’s latest count in August, 28 counties have approved plans, 41 counties are in the process of adopting, 1 county was in the preliminary planning stage and 2 counties were not planning.

RICHARD RUSSELL ON MAYOR DAVE/OBAMA
An interesting point of view.

BUS SCHEDULES FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW

SERVICE ON DECEMBER 31 & JANUARY 1

NEW YEAR'S EVE: Thursday, December 31
WEEKDAY Schedules
Buses follow regular WEEKDAY service on Thursday, December 31.

FREE NEW YEAR'S EVE RIDES
Thursday, December 31; Starts at 7 PM
Starting at 7 PM, Miller Coors Brewing Company and Metro will offer free extended service until approximately 3:30 AM.

For help planning your trip, call (608) 266-4466 or 1-800-FREE RIDES (1-800-373-3743).
Customer service representatives will be available from 6:15 AM through 1 AM.
New Year's Eve Schedules

NEW YEAR'S DAY: Friday, January 1
Holiday Schedules
Routes 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 30, 32, 36, 40, 50, 51, 59, 63, 67 and 68 operate
Holiday Schedules. These are the only routes that will operate on New Year's Day.

PARATRANSIT SERVICE ON DECEMBER 31
Free Extended Service Starts at 7 PM
Free paratransit service will be available starting at 7 PM until approximately 3:30 AM. Service depends on Metro fixed-route service operating in area of travel.

For help planning your trip, call (608) 266-4466 or 1-800-FREE RIDES (1-800-373-3743). Customer service representatives will be available from 6:15 AM through 1 AM on New Year's Eve.

Complete Info

PARATRANSIT SERVICE ON JANUARY 1
Standing Rides Cancelled
All standing and long term assignment paratransit rides will be canceled on Friday, January 1.
Paratransit passengers must schedule casual rides to travel on this date.

UPCOMING DETOUR
CAPITOL LOOP DETOUR: U.S. Bank Eve
Thursday, December 31; 5:30 PM - End of Service
Due to the U.S. Bank Eve event, Metro detours to the Capitol Loop starting at 5:30 PM on Thursday, December 31.
Buses return to the Capitol Square on Friday, January 1.

Paratransit riders are the losers again. While they might have some service, if they aren't going within 1/4 mile of the routes that are running, they likely won't get service.

That's it for now, there may be some posts later today, or maybe not. Maybe the Wii or the Roku will take over my life instead . . . or maybe, a nap. :) Oh, wait, I still have boxes to unpack . . .

Happy New Year! Have fun, but be safe tonight!
Read more!

End? of the Week Round Up

This may be my last post for the week. I have the rest of the week off . . . but then again . . . maybe not.

UPDATED COUNTY BOARD INFO
I updated yesterday's post with websites and facebook pages I could find. Please feel free to forward any info you find. I also updated with info from the clerk's office yesterday at around 4:20. I also corrected a few errors, there are now up to 20 races possible if everyone files their paperwork.

THIS GUY IS RUNNING IN THE SECOND AGAINST VEDDER?
Yeah, screw child labor laws, who needs em? Department of Labor press release. He also gives money to this PAC that gives mostly to Republicans. Wanna place bets on if this is the realtors candidate? (Um, when I say "realtors candidate" I do mean the association and leadership backed candidate. Some of my best friends are realtors, and they don't vote for many of the association candidates, if they are informed.)

STATE TO TAKE OVER CITY SNOW REMOVAL POLICIES?
It's hard to take anything Glen Grothman does seriously, so this did make me smile. He's such a tool. Yeah, our snow plowing policies suck, maybe our legislative branch of government should take a whack at it first. I wonder if anyone will step forward and get this to the council floor as a discussion. I know we tried in the past . . . but there is great resistance to that. We got accused of micromanaging and were told to stay out of it. So, I appreciate Soglin's comments about the alders not making any conscious decisions. It's all those pesky details people got upset about me paying attention to. They matter. This is why.

DEPUTIES UNION APPROVES AGREEMENT
Finally. More information and press release to follow . . . . uh, when?

HEARING MORE ABOUT WYOU
It was an active year . . . and more changes coming in the new year! Stay tuned! Channels 95 or 991. Consider donating today! It's your public television stations, and yours to lose.

MORE BIG BUILDINGS FOR DOWNTOWN
No official notice of demolitions yet, but here's the addresses:
1208 Spring Street (1880 building)
1212 Spring Street ($1M property)
1214 Spring Street ($.65M property)
45 N. Orchard St. ($1.2M property)

EDGEWATER, DO-OVER, DO BETTER?
Wow. This is quite the dilemna. No one wants to hear all that testimony again. But, there are three members who will make or break this decision, and they haven't heard it. So, if you care alot about the issue, you kinda gotta show up again. No one wants the meeting to go until 5:15 again. So here's some suggestions to do this better this time around.

1. Schedule the issue for a special council meeting, where this is the only issue.
2. Don't let Fred Mohs and Gene Devitt talk for 25 minutes, but not other opponents. That was an ad hoc decision made by the Mayor.
3. Don't take questions after every 10 speakers, especially the developer and neighborhood folks, if they are going to be there til the end, ask them questions at the end after other speak and go home.
4. Have the Mayor pay attention and actively chair the meeting, especially during the council discussion, keeping people on task.
5. Use staff time efficiently and don't make that many staff people sit there for 11 hours. (4 planning staff, 2 clerks, 2 economic development staff, 1 city assessor, 1 city engineer, 1 comptroller, 4 Mayor's staff, 2 city attorneys there well after midnight. And after 2:00 only lost one Mayor's staff. I'm not sure, but we may have lost a few more along the way.)

More comments and critique here. There must be other ideas as well, I just hope they aren't limited to limiting public input. (Yeah, you only get 3 minutes this time around, not 5. Problem is, I don't think the public was the issue. It was the questions from council that dragged it out.)

GROAN

Schumacher is hopeful the council will approve revisiting the matter, and isn’t daunted by the prospect of another all-nighter.

Of course he isn't. He wasn't there for the first 11 hour meeting. And, if there is that many staff there again, is he going to pay for all that staff time that will be used. Or, pay for the 11 hours they wasted the first time around? I wonder how much that cost us? And what the human cost was - I wonder how miserable they all were if they had to go to work the next day.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY
I find Bruer's comments interesting. Could the council go through all of this, for nothing?

Bruer met with representatives from Hammes last week and says the project is now seen by the company as more of a long-shot. He says Hammes had lumped the project with several others around the country to secure financing. "Now that that door has been slammed," Bruer says, "This project is a stand alone competing with hundreds of projects nationally with only a handful of banks able to finance a project of this scale."

If this is true, Cnare's motion was crucial to saving the project. I don't know why supporters insisted on voting against that motion. That may have been the vote that killed the project.

AYE: Rhodes-Conway, Rummel, Solomon, Verveer, Cnare, Kerr, Palm, Bidar-Sielaff
NO: Sanborn, Schmidt, Skimore, Bruer, Clausius, Clear, Eagon, King, Maniaci
ABSENT: Pham-Remmele, Schumacher, Compton

DANE COUNTY REPBULICANS TAKE A STAND!
Against plastic bag restirctions. Hmmmm . . . it might be more effective to show up to the council meeting when the decision is being made, instead of writing a letter to the editor after the fact. But it is good to see a name connected with the party here, not many are willing to do that. And I liked the first comment after the letter. The commenter forgot to mention cost to the taxpayer as well.
Read more!

Mid-Week (Tuesday) Round Up

Love it when Tuesday is mid week . . .

ONE WEEK, THEN A DO-OVER
That's right, the Edgewater is back. Re-do the bingo game, print out the drinking game rules, grab the caffeine beverage of your choice, watch for more push from the mayor and council leadership to cram this down our throats, count the alders who will be present, hope it doesn't snow . . . let's try this for a third time . . . it looks like its all coming down to . . . dare I say it, an undecided Pham-Remmele and Compton. Could be an even longer meeting as they catch up to the rest of the council. And it might end up in referral if Compton's argument wins (same as Cnare motion - wait til Plan Commission and UDC are done with the project). And, if it passes or gets referred, then, watch out for the "efficient" approval process that Bruer is talking about . . . sounds like they are planning on more short-cuts. What a freaking nightmare. I took the 6th off - still have vacation days to burn . . .

WAIT FOR IT . . .
They still haven't confirmed who will and will not be at the Council meeting on Tuesday. The council members were given 18 hours, during a holiday week to let the council office know if they will be in attendance:

From: Veldran, Lisa
Sent: Monday, December 28, 2009 2:58 PM
To: ALL ALDERS
Subject: Notified Absences: Common Council Meeting January 5, 2010

Council President, Ald. Tim Bruer, has asked that I email alders to find out if any of you will be a notified absence at the January 5, 2010 Common Council meeting.

As of 2:57 p.m. on 12/28/10 I have no alders being absent at the January 5, 2010 Common Council meeting.

Please let me know by 9 a.m. tomorrow, December 29, 2010 if you plan on being absent.

Thank you.

I wonder how many alders won't even check their email in that 18 hour period.

SPRING ELECTIONS
Today, I covered the county board candidates, I count on TJ to cover the school board . . . and he does. One week to go til the races are set! 19 so far on the county side? 4 retirements, 15 challenged incumbents.

SKIDMORE TAKES A STAND
Against Walmart and 7-11 and for the low- and middle-income shopper!

REMOVE THAT SNOW
I signed up for some of the alerts from the City of Madison. Here's one of them I got yesterday.

Sidewalk Snow Removal Alert
The snow that accumulated on Saturday, December 26, 2009 and Sunday December 27, 2009 must be removed from the public sidewalks by noon on Monday, December 28, 2009. Sand and/or salt must be applied to packed snow and ice that remains on the public sidewalks.

Seriously, do you think they might start enforcing this against absentee landlords downtown, that would be cool! It just doesn't really seem to happen without complaints, which you can easily file on-linehere. Hint. Hint.

BRUER'S BEEN CALLED ON TO "MANAGE" ME
End of the day yesterday, I got this email - A response to my open records request.

Please find attached a PDF copies of the following documents:

1. 2009 Absence from the City Emails – Alders – These are official notices that are sent/copied to the City Clerk (MGO 2.025) and which should be on file there as well.

2. 2009 Aldermanic Absence – Staff Calendars – These calendars are for staff use only, are not a complete or accurate absence account and should not be considered official notices of absences.

[snip]

If you are in need of further assistance please feel free to contact Ald. Tim Bruer, Common Council President.

There's some differences in the info in the first and second documents, trying to figure that out. The first document is only for missed council meetings and absences for longer than 5 days. The second has more information, which is why it was what I had originally requested. I haven't sorted it all out yet. See below. Any which way, the fact that Bruer doesn't respond, this sounds like a blow off to me.

WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Rob and I, after talking about it for a year, finally bought a Wii. :) So, I was too busy defeating the Black Knight to finish my blog on snow. Maybe tomorrow. Or maybe not . . . :)

WEEK AHEAD, CANCELLED
Meeting: ADA TRANSIT SUBCOMMITTEE TO THE TRANSIT AND PARKING COMM on 12/28/2009 5:10 PM at ROOM 303 MMB has been cancelled.

WEEK AHEAD, ADDED
I really didn't think they'd add anything this week . . . but . . . well, they did.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009
5:15 PM HUMANITARIAN AWARD COMMISSION, REVEREND DOCTOR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. ROOM 523 CCB

OOOOPS
That's embarrassing. Think they really get to keep their jobs?
Read more!

New Year's (Slow) Week (Weak?) Round Up

Here's what I got . . . I'd have been tempted to skip it, but it looks like there are still plenty of people reading the blogs over the holidays . . . plus, I've broken readership records this month and might as well see where it goes. It's about as brief as the City and County meeting week ahead.

SNOW
You might have missed it, the Mayor released his rather weak 12 page snow report on Christmas Eve Day. No wonder you missed it. I'll have a blog post on it tomorrow, still looking for something I want to include, but Soglin has a bit to say about it. And he's right, there was no conscious decision made by the Council, some of us (Rhodes-Conway, Rummel, Webber and myself) tried to get them to be accountable for the decisions being made and worked hard to make some improvements, but they didn't make it easy for us and make it clear they were annoyed we were "interfering". And it was difficult to get information we wanted. You can see some of it in my past posts (mostly) labeled snow.

FIX IT FIRST
Former Alder Robbie Webber has a good post where she puts the numbers for transportation projects in perspective.

METRO HOLIDAY SERVICE DREAM
The Cap Times reported:

On Christmas Eve next Thursday (Dec. 24), buses will follow their regular weekday schedules but will stop running at 6 p.m.

The former Transit and Parking Commission Chair, Carl DuRocher, who was not reappointed by Mayor Dave, and a paratransit rider, had this to say:

In the same way that Miller Beer voluntarily ponies up money to pay for extended service on New Year's eve, I dream of a benefactor who'd defray the cost of Metro running on Christmas Eve. It's a day when a lot of once a year opportunities are lost for transit dependent riders, especially paratransit riders.

HO CHUNK AND UNION CORNERS
Just to make it clear. This post has some details about ideas that might be pursued. The group's legislative council has not yet voted to pursue the project, but its still exciting to think about the possibilities. And its still impressive that this is where we are starting to talk about the project.

Yeah, that's about it for today . . . not much going on as most people take the week off. Not me, off to work! 9 - 6 Monday - Wednesday.
Read more!

I Can't Wait!!! Round Up (Final)

Silly, I know, but for those of us on the sidelines, this is like the superbowl.

EDGEWATER: IT'S DO OR DIE TIME
Geek Alert: I am just dying to hear the economic hardship argument and how they wade through the legal requirements of the ordinance. I'm sure there will be new information presented tonight. I tried to get it out of Dunn, but he was holding his cards close to the vest. I'm bummed I'll be at a board meeting working on the 2010 budget and trying to save WYOU instead of hearing it first hand. (No, I won't be at Dusty's party . . . but I wish I was . . . ) I will have it Tivo'd and will have to likely watch the performance after the meeting. I hope Dunn/Edgewater et al explicitly address the ordinance requirements and make their argument and don't just stand up there and say "jobs" and "good for the economy and neighborhood". Truth be told, I think its exciting to see redevelopment of this property. I was initially for the concept of a project when the Mayor was still against because "Fred Mohs would never let it happen". It's my dirty little secret. I think somewhere, there is a project that even I could approve and I actually kind of enjoyed working with Dunn and Supple one on one. I wish there would have been better leadership to help get this project to a point where it might be approved - I just don't think it is there yet. And I wish the Edgewater folks and the Mayor hadn't made such awful mis-steps along the way. I'm just bummed about the way this all unfolded and I REALLY don't want this project to destroy the landmarks ordinance and the council's credibility/integrity in the process. I have alot of respect for a few of the members of the council and I hope they do the right thing, or Dunn et al gives them the tools to justify their votes. But, I still haven't been convinced and can't see how it will happen. I'll be watching closely this evening. And, if it doesn't work out . . . there's always East Washington!

[Important note: Dunn said he'd buy me dinner if I said something nice about the project in my blog. So, nothing I said above should be considered as being "nice." :)]

THE REST OF THE STORY
This website made the rounds yesterday. The best endorsement of it tho, has to be this one from the former Landmarks' staff (for 30 years!) to the alders:

This site explains why you should not overturn the Landmarks Commissions decision:
http://sites.google.com/site/edgewatertherestofthestory2/home
Thank you,
Kitty Rankin

MORE ON THE EDGEWATER
Mayor Dave jumps the shark. That was my assessment as well. Although I personally found that he crossed the line long ago, it seems many are now taking note.

This response from Mayor Dave caused me to post this on my facebook:

Is Mayor Dave trying to write the RTA opposition's lit piece for them? Can someone get him to shut up? You can make alot of arguments for and against the Edgewater, but does "handful of unelected people" not being transparent and accountable have to be one of them? Come on Mayor Dave, you're smarter than that - think... about the RTA and how important it is!!!

He's just being reckless now. It's killing me. I wish he'd see the damage he is doing in the bigger picture. Or, if he does and doesn't care, I'm even more concerned.

More harsh words for Mayor Dave, and a challenge to the council.

Cnare vs. Bruer! I so wish she had run for Council leadership. I think she'd be much better and less likely to blindly do the Mayor's bidding.

OH BARF
What story lately doesn't say Mayor has an idea, Bruer thinks its great. And of course, staff say "yeah, but give us more money and we could do better". People, its Wisconsin, it snows here, this isn't news. Why is this such a problem? Does it take a study to figure it out. The Mayor has it figured out, he already apologized - he made a bad decision.

THOUGHTS?
People have been really helpful since I posted the "porch issue" yesterday in my round up. A particularly wonderful and helpful person sent me this. What do you think? Rob had a few other more creative ideas, and we're still wondering why we aren't grandfathered in. Several people commented that if I was in a Historic District I wouldn't be allowed to change it.

Still looking at all our options.

I have more, but . . . gotta get some work done. More tomorrow if I have time after the marathon meeting. Read more!

Snow Emergency Continues for Tonight

Cost me $15.60 to get my car out of the parking ramp where my car was parked since Tuesday at around 6:30. Cost to not shovel to get IN or OUT of street parking spaces: priceless. Don't get towed tonight!

The City of Madison has extended the snow emergency for a third evening. Residents are asked to keep their vehicles off the street today and tonight if possible. If you must park on the street this evening you should park on the ODD house numbered side of the street. Details on winter parking restrictions are available at www.cityofmadison.com/winter. Violations of the alternate side parking restrictions during a snow emergency are punishable by a $60 fine.

Cars parked illegally on the following streets may be towed

* W. Doty St.
* W. Main St.
* W. Washington Ave.
* 10-200 blocks of W. Gilman St.
* E. Mifflin St.
* W. Mifflin St.
* N. Hancock St.
* S. Hancock St.
* N. Franklin St.
* S. Franklin St.
* N. Blair St.
* E. Johnson St. (between Blair and Baldwin)
* Wisconsin Ave. (200,300 and 500 blocks)
* 300 block of S. Henry St.
* 300 block of S. Hamilton St.
* N. Bedford St.
* S. Bedford St.
* N. Henry St.
* N. Carroll St. (300,400 and 500 blocks)
* E. Dayton St.

Residents can sign up to receive text and/or email alerts whenever a snow emergency is declared at the city’s web site www.cityofmadison.com/winter. You will also get storm and plowing updates at the site or by calling 261-9111.

Both the streets I live on (corner lot) on the list again! "Lucky" me. Read more!

Snowy, Tenanty Round Up

Snow related items, tenant items and a few others . . . I almost made it without mentioning the E word . . .

CAN'T GET CHARTER'S ATTENTION
Here's one way to do it. See the comment at the end of the entry.

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO . . .
The Mailman's Creed:

And neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor the winds of change, nor a nation challenged, will stay us from the swift completion of our appointed rounds. Ever.

I didn't get my mail yesterday, did you? Not that I care, just sayin'.

WHAT DOES A WORK SNOW DAY MEAN?
This is from a facebook disucssion of people in the know.

City Employees: Use your vacation day or come in. Or, modified by recent economy - with supervisor's approval, unpaid day as a cost saving measure for the city.

County Employees: Paid day.

State Employees: Vacation/personal time or arrange to make up the time.

CAMPUS STRUGGLING WITH TENANT SERVICES
And the saga continues. The Tenant Resource Center became ineligible to services a few years ago with the Roman Catholic Foundation fiasco. We helped set up a student organization that worked out, well, like student run tenant services. It's hard for students to keep it going with classes and everything. So now, there's a new idea. I hope they can work it out, students need the services.

AS AN ASIDE
The Maniaci proposal in the above article needs some work to accomplish what it is being sold as. See, there is a GIANT loophole which renders the whole thing meaningless. See if you can spot it.

If Landlord and Tenant fail to enter into a Non Standard Rental Provision regarding showing premises for rental purposes, then it is presumed that the parties to the lease intend that the Landlord will not rent the leased premises to another tenant for a subsequent lease period until after one-fourth (1/4) one-half (1/2) of the lease period has passed.

So, you go to sign your lease, and the landlord hands you a piece of paper saying that they are going to start showing your apartment a month and a half after you move in, do you sign? And what happens if you don't?

I should be clear, that language isn't Maniaci's fault. It's the current language. It's just that if she really wanted to stop the practice, she'd have to eliminate that language as well, ensuring that it doesn't pass. But if left in, passing means nothing. It's been a dilemna for years. I wish her luck in this latest effort, I'd like to see it changed.

IN OTHER TENANT 'NEWS'
Seriously, I have a hard time believing this is news. 167 Madison apartments received a total of 1,809 ratings and so we ranked 3rd in the top 100 most populated cities in the nation. Seriously? I hardly knew where to begin to explain with why its all be irrelevant. That could be a very, very, very long blog post if I were forced to explain in detail.

ALDER SNOW REMOVAL SERVICE
This went out after 10:00 on Tuesday night.

Also, I doubt that I'll be making it into work tomorrow, so if you have physical/health difficulties and have no other options, feel free to call me and I'll come out and help you shovel your walks/driveways. Please call after 9am Wednesday morning.

Now that's a full-service alder. Which one do you think offered this? I'm glad its not election season, could be considered an ethics issue. Anything for a vote, right.

ALDER RELIEF
One alder's facebook update said that they never thought they'd be happy to be receiving snow plowing complaints. Implying that after the Edgewater phone calls, this was welcomed. "Like."

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
I was going to move my car out of the ramp after the first night of the snow emergency, but truth be told, there was really no place to move it to, unless I wanted to shovel to get IN to a spot, and then get plowed in, and then have to shovel to get back out. You see, even tho the cars were moved, the plowing didn't happen or it was spotty. Makes me furious to look out and see the moved cars and yet no plowing of those spots. Anyways, I left my car in the ramp all day yesterday at $.80/hour (glad I live by the cheaper ramp). Should cost me about $20 once they charge me for the time outside of 9pm - 7am. I guess they get you, one way or the other. Seems odd to be punished for getting your car off the street and cooperating. But, it was worth it! Glad I can afford it. I feel bad for those who can't.

ONCE I GET MY CAR MOVING
John Nolan outbound is closed this morning due to ice? Glad I'm not going in that direction.
Read more!

Will you be towed?

At least they are telling us which streets they are going to target, that's progress. I'm "lucky" enough to live on one of them, are you?

A snow emergency remains in effect for the City of Madison. Residents are asked to keep their vehicles off the street this evening. If you must park on the street you should park on the EVEN house numbered side of the street. Details on winter parking restrictions are available at www.cityofmadison.com/winter. Violations of the alternate side parking restrictions during a snow emergency are punishable by a $60 fine.

Cars parked illegally on the following streets may be towed

* W. Doty St.
* W. Main St.
* W. Washington Ave.
* 10-200 blocks of W. Gilman St.
* E. Mifflin St.
* W. Mifflin St.
* N. Hancock St.
* S. Hancock St.
* N. Franklin St.
* S. Franklin St.
* N. Blair St.
* E. Johnson St. (between Blair and Baldwin)
* Wisconsin Ave. (200,300 and 500 blocks)
* 300 block of S. Henry St.
* 300 block of S. Hamilton St.
* N. Bedford St.
* S. Bedford St.
* N. Henry St.
* N. Carroll St. (300,400 and 500 blocks)
* E. Dayton St.

Due to the heavy amount of snow and blowing and drifting that will occur today, it is possible that the snow emergency will be extended. Residents should check the city’s web site www.cityofmadison.com/winter or call 261-9111 for updates.

Read more!

Hey! It's a Snow Day! Round Up

Eh, I slept in, went to Bizzardoke at the High Noon last night. Now I can't decide if its worth it to get my car out of the ramp, the streets don't really look all that plowed. I was kind of hoping for a plowed spot to move into before tonight. Problem is that if they're not plowed the spots will start filling in as people move their cars for tonight making it hard for the plows, resulting in moving all our cars for no reason at all. Seems silly to shovel to get your car into a spot, so you can shovel to get it back out. Plus, it's a delicate balance of how long to wait . . . and how long everyone else will wait . . . or should I just leave it there . . . uh, yeah, that's an idea. Luckily, I can afford it.

HEY, IT'S SNOWING - EVERYTHING IS CLOSED
I don't understand why the city was sooooooo slow to respond, this one was easy see coming, but they didn't declare a snow emergency for the city until around 5:00. They cancelled the council meeting just three hours before the meeting. They waited til the end of the day to determine that they would be closed the next day, giving city employees little time to prepare for being closed and cancel all the meetings for the next day. They waited til this morning to end Madison Metro service, and if you read the Mayor's blog, apparently the only way Mayor Dave Cieslewicz he could figure it out was by consulting a meteorologist Council member and having the governor tell them what to do, apparently there was no other way to find out how bad the weather was going to be. (If you want more snow links, look here.) Whenever I see him blowing smoke up someone's ass like that, he wants something . . . hmmmmmm . . . .what's going on that the Mayor might be interested in . . . . hmmmmmmmmm . . . . luckily, I think Chris Schmidt has more sense than that and won't let a little recognition sway his vote.

HEY, IT'S SNOWING - SO WE STILL HAVE TO TALK/HEAR ABOUT THE EDGEWATER
Bummer, eh. I think just about everyone from the developer to the alders to the public just wanted this to be over. But, no, we have another week! Sigh . . . so a whole new calculation of where the votes are. Apparently Judy Compton is gone. And Thuy Pham-Remmele might still be out due to the death in her family.

HEY, SOMETHING BESIDES THE SNOW
Where should I start . . . .

TAMBOURINE MAN
My co-worker told me yesterday that she had an idea about the little green box the panhandlers had to stand in. When she was walking down State Street the other day, there was a guitar player playing a few feet from the green box, right in front of the ATM and that was apparently legal so . . . you can see it coming, can't you . . . she was wondering if, well, I'll let her put it in her own (Facebook) words:

[Insert probably not so anonymous co-worker's name here] has a solution for the "corralled" panhandlers by peace park: casio keyboards. i noticed some sidewalk musicians a mere 8 feet or so from the new subway atm, playing music with their cases open... a nice keyboard beat with a preset or perhaps a tambourine...? you can stand anywhere...

Rock over Madison! (Of course, next musicians will be banned as well. They're just so noisy and bothersome to the shoppers with the kids eating their ice cream and holding their balloons.)

DENNIS DENURE IS RUNNING FOR . . .
Well, county board election seasons is coming up, so Dennis Denure is running!

IT'S ROUGH OUT THERE
Churches are feeling the crunch. Need is high, resources are low, stimulus money going out quickly.

GO RAINBOW!
20 years! And a questionable future. We live in interesting times.

You know, without the pressure of having to leave for work, it takes a whole lot longer for me to blog . . . and I didn't even have much . . .
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Snow Emergency - Declared?

You figure this out . . .

As someone who lives downtown, this is the worst public education I've seen. There were no flyers on the cars this year, there were no efforts to communicate with new residents in the area. No education about getting us to park off the street or in the ramps. No text messages. A useless email/press release about plowing. No word about towing. No emails from our alders on our neighborhood listserves. [Uh, they're probably distracted by something or other.] No communication, until we wake up in the morning and our cars are towed. Now, I'm not going to have that problem, cuz as long as I know what tomorrow's date is, I should be able to find the right place to park. But what about all my new neighbors, who might not have lived here last year. How are they supposed to know? By reading the city's website? Even going by past experience, sometimes they don't call the snow emergency the first night, so how would we know?

The important info for people to know is here.

Don't forget, you can park in the ramps for free:

Where do you park during a Declared Snow Emergency?
Off street is best. Free parking is available between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. in the cashiered sections of City-owned parking ramps, and also at some City parks.

* When parking in the ramps overnight, do not park on the top level so this area can be plowed.
- Be aware that vehicles stored in city ramps longer than 48 hours are subject to being ticketed and towed.
o Parking in City-Owned Ramps during a Snow Emergency, Parking Utility

Meters in lots and ramps are enforced 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

* Parking is also available at Britingham Park Shelter lot off of West Washington Avenue.
* If you must park on the street, you will need to find out where to park.

You can:

* Sign up to get notified at My City of Madison Account and get notified by Email or Text Messaging
* Call the Winter Parking Hotline at (608) 261-9111
* Continue to visit the Winter Portal

More on parking in the ramps here.
Read more!

Are You Sick of This Yet Round Up

I am. I really want the final vote to be tonight (as long as it is safe for everyone involved) and I really hope no one reconsiders. Of course, if the appeals passes, it will be back for several more votes. (Um, I'm talking about the Edgewater in case you've been living under a rock.) I'll try my best to talk about something besides the Edgewater, but it'll be tough . . . .

A BLOGGER'S DILEMNA
Important things first. At first, I had to be at a WYOU meeting to discuss next years budget, but that has been cancelled. So now, I have to decide, do I join Dusty et al at Amy's Cafe for the drinking game, or bingo (thank you for the "Bruer calls a female Council member by her first name"), or do I show up and see all the good stuff you don't see on camera? Truthfully, I think the drinking game would result in no blog in the morning, it looks pretty harsh, especially the council break - that could be brutal. I'm torn. Dusty's party sounds like more fun.

MUSICAL CHAIRS
So, originally it was reported that Palm and Schumacher would be gone. Yesterday, the council members were informed of the following:

Due to a death in her family, Ald. Thuy Pham-Remmele will be absent from the city starting today, Monday, December 7 until further notice. (Please note that this absence will be updated as needed).


Ald. Pham-Remmele will not be in attendance at the Tuesday, December 8, 2009 Common Council meeting.

My condolences to Pham-Remmele and her husband.

I was also informed the following:

However, it is confirmed that Michael S. is returning to town to vote.

I suppose it is all very unpredictable given the snow, so we'll have to see who really shows up.

SPEAKING OF SNOW
Why is Tim Bruer so eager to make sure the meeting is not cancelled tonight? He must not have gotten a good response to this. I'm sure it is all about manipulating the vote.

NOT MUCH FAITH IN THE COUNCIL
Wow, what does it say that the new poll on my blog is running 75 - 80 against the council actually following the law? Is it my readers, or the small percentage of them that actually voted? Or does the public really have that little faith in the council?

SLOPPY COUNCIL SUPPORT
Yesterday the council members received a list summarizing the emails that went to allalders@cityofmadison.com. It is skewed significantly in support of the project. However, a quick review shows:
- Some were listed in support AND in opposition.
- Some people against are listed as being in support.
- The emails came from all over including Stewsbury, MA, Cedar Rapids, IA, Sauk Creek, Middleton, Fitchburg, Verona, Monona, Waunakee and Spring Green.
- Many are listed with their businesses (some with more than one person from teh same company) including Building and Construction Traces, Epic Life Insurance, Madison's, Building Trades, Hausman-Johnson Insurance, Chamber of Commerce, Alphagraphics, Professor of Zoology, Williams St. Art Center, Lindsay Stone & Briggs, Kelly Financial, Zebradog, Boardman Law Firm, Mansion Hill Inn, TDS Custom Construction, Mad City Style LLC, H&H Industries, WhoopDeDoo Productions, World Council of Credit Unions, HDR ONE Company, Badger Popcorn and the Edgewater.
- 25% did not indicate where they were from.
- Many listed with Madison addresses had a suite number attached to their address, indicating it was their work address not home address.
- Some who had testified on behalf of their businesses, didn't have their businesses attached. (I'm thinking of Downtown Hotels)

Do you really think the Zoology Department meant to weigh in on the project? It's kind of a bummer cuz it makes all that public input somewhat suspect and I'm not sure what it means. Were all those businesses in support, or just people using their work emails? It makes me want to disregard the document because its so sloppily done and seemingly inaccurate, but I can't because 235 people took the time to send in their opinion. Oh well, if you want your voice counted, email allalders@cityofmadison.com and hope they read the email, not just the summary.

VERVEER, "FED UP"
I don't know why, but it makes me giggle when Verveer actually gets mad. He's so even keeled so often - too often. Which is what makes his statements to the Isthmus interesting, he's too nice to say anything too critical. I think everyone knows that behind the scenes meetings happen, I don't think they know to what extent, which is likely what has Verveer talking. But there's something else here, that I pointed out on thedailypage forum, that is problematic. At what point, will the pursuit of getting this project passed cross the line for you. For some, its the TIF, for others it is the landmarks ordinance, but bring in the enviros, because if Verveer is right, their going after the Shorline Preservation Ordinance next:

Verveer says that besides anticipating the need to override the Landmarks Commission, the strategy team has focused on "having the Zoning Board of Appeals taken out of the equation" because the board was seen as a "danger" to the project.


"It's a 100% citizen body, no elected officials on the body, and their decisions are appealable only to a circuit court," says Verveer. "If Hammes wanted to prevail over an unfavorable ZBA ruling they would have to go to court, which would be difficult to overturn, generally, given past precedent."


Under current city rules, the Zoning Board of Appeals must issue a variance to allow Hammes to build so close to the water. The board has not yet acted and Hammes has not yet provided it with materials or measurements. Verveer says this is because there's talk about avoiding the board entirely by amending the shoreline preservation ordinance to exempt commercial buildings.


Says Verveer, "So all the way along, behind closed doors they have talked about how to get around the ZBA."

Regarding the comments that follow the article, if you want to look at campaign finance reports, you probably should be looking for all the conduit and business contributions here (and here and here). And if you want to know how Verveer knows, well . . . people talk. Too much. Too often. And nothing is a secret if you keep your eyes and ears open.

MORE SLOPPY STAFF WORK - "OWNER"
Ok, I really, really, really tried to find an answer to this one that would make some sense, and I couldn't. I asked another attorney who is relatively knowledgable in the way of the city and development process and their response was even more cynical than mine. Anyways, here's the question. Who is the owner for purposes of this language:

. . . After a public hearing, the Council may, by favorable vote of two-thirds (2/3) of its members, based on the standards contained in this ordinance, reverse or modify the decision of the Landmarks Commission if, after balancing the interest of the public in preserving the subject property and the interest of the owner in using it for his or her own purposes, the Council finds that, owing to special conditions pertaining to the specific piece of property, failure to grant the Certificate of Appropriateness will preclude any and all reasonable use of the property and/or will cause serious hardship for the owner, provided that any self-created hardship shall not be a basis for reversal or modification of the Landmark Commission’s decision.

A second question that was posed was did Hammes have standing to file the appeal. I think they did, because in that case, the language says:

An appeal from the decision of the Landmarks Commission to grant or deny a Certificate of Appropriateness under Subsection (5)(b) and (c) may be taken to the Common Council by the applicant for the permit.

The fact that they use two different terms "applicant for the permit" and "owner" indicates to me that they didn't intend for the "owner" to be loosely construed to mean the "applicant", but that isn't what Michael May emailed to the alders:

Folks:
I’ve received several emails concerned about the use of the word “owner” in the appeal section of the ordinances discussed in my recent memorandum. (Actually, the ordinance sometimes uses “applicant” and other times uses “owner.”)


The Hammes Co. has pursued the required certificate. My understanding is that they have an option or agreement to purchase the property, which is a sufficient property interest to pursue those approvals and the appeal before you tomorrow night. For purposes of applying the ordinance, you should consider Hammes Co. as the “owner.”

I'm not buying it. It's a rather loose interpretation with no back up and I searched and I couldn't find anything that would justify this conclusion. While I agree that they have sufficient property interest to pursue the approvals and appeal, I can't see how they are the "owner" for the balancing test. I can't tell if the city attorney didn't see it as two different questions, or if he didn't realize the distinction - or if the cynical response is the right answer.

SOMETHING BESIDES THE EDGEWATER
This one includes WYOU, Campaign Finance and Labor getting taken advantage of by big business. Check out how much money went into passing the "Cable Competition" Act or "Cable Con" as it has been labeled.

WATER RATES SKYROCKETING
A 22% increase on top of the recent 13% increase. Where's the taxpayer outrage here? Seriously, cuts to services at the city and county were rampant this year, and this gets little notice.

SPEAKING ABOUT GOVERNMENT BUDGETS
Are you feeling . . . .

Thanks to the smart ass who gave me the button! :)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Someone, I don't remember who, posted this on facebook yesterday. I cut and pasted it cuz I liked it, but I thought it would be a good quote for the day.

Economic growth without social progress lets the great majority of people remain in poverty, while a privileged few reap the benefits of rising abundance. John F. Kennedy

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Monday Morning Round Up

So, it was a very busy week last week and this week looks to be more of the same. Anyways, here's a few items of interest to kick the week off! So much to catch uo on.

MORE EXPENSIVE POSTCARDS
So, several people got postcards that look something like this (side one, side two) from the Wisconsin Homeowners Alliance (a Realtor front group), the postcards direct you to go to www.danecountypropertyrights.com (who don't identify themselves) that directs you here, a conservative/republican group opposed to the RTA. Also with several realtors/lobbyists/real estate interests on their board. It all makes me wonder how many organizations the realtors need to create to create the illusion of support.

SOME SORT OF FREUDIAN SLIP
So, this is how the mayor describes his own budget and the council:

I thought they bought too much stuff at the grocery store and turned the heat up too high. They thought I blew too much money on a plasma TV and new golf clubs (but, hey, that new driver is sweet!).

So, the council wants basic needs like food and heat. The Mayor wants luxuries like plasma TVs and golf clubs . . . maybe he does understand how some people see the difference between Community Services and the Edgewater! And just doesn't care.

CENSUS JOBS
We wanted to make sure that you all are aware that the Census Bureau is accepting applications for Census jobs. For your reference, please see the WSJ article:

Interested citizens are encouraged to call the Census Bureau jobs line at 1-866-861-2010, call the local Census office at (608) 327-5600 or visit www.2010censusjobs.gov They are then directed to an application/testing site that is convenient for them.

The Census Bureau has established testing sites throughout the County and continues to add more sites. Here are some of the area testing sites:
-Stoughton Fire Dept.
-Verona Public Library
-Waunakee Village Hall
-Door Creek Church (Dominion Drive)
-Dane County Jobs Center (Aberg Ave.)
-Dane County United Way (Atwood Ave.)
-Upper Iowa University (Beltline and Midvale)
-UW Memorial Union (Langdon)
-Villager Mall (S. Park)
-Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center (Jenifer St.)

MADISON URBAN MINISTRY PRAYER AND MEDITATION VIGIL FOR HUMAN SERVICES

As you know, the Dane County Board of Supervisors will begin voting on the 2010 budget on Monday, November 16th, at 7:00 p.m. Madison-area Urban Ministry will be hosting an interfaith vigil for restoration of the proposed across the board cuts to human services, and for our most vulnerable neighbors.

We will gather at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, 11/16, at the steps of the City County Building, 215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Madison.

Citizens will not be able to speak at the County Board meeting so we are hoping that the vigil will send the message to Supervisors that we are asking the cuts be restored. The proposed cuts will undermine the social safety net in our County, non-profit agencies are already preparing their lay off lists if this budget passes, many plan to renegotiate the contracts with the county as they cannot continue to serve the same number of individuals with what is, in effect, a much greater reduction in funding when stagnant funding over the last decade and increased costs of business are factored in. We are hoping that an amendment to restore the cuts will be introduced from the floor of the meeting. Amendments made at the Committee level to restore the cuts have been defeated, in addition, the Personnel and Finance Committee last week voted to increase the amount of money an individual facing evicted is charged for the actual eviction from $15.00 an hour to $50.00 an hour (these funds are to offset costs to the Sheriff’s Department for the actual eviction).

Faith communities across our county are reporting up to 30% increases in requests for help and many people are being turned away. Our shelter system is full and people are being turned away nightly. The proposed cuts to human service provider agencies will further exacerbate the current problems. The budget also includes a provision to close the Joining Forces for Families office in Stoughton. That office provides crucial assistance to residents of Stoughton and surrounding communities. The budget proposes relocating the services to Madison, which creates additional transportation problems for families in need.

Please join us on November 16th, as we raise our voices for our neighbors, as we call for a budget that reflects our values as a community.

A DAY OR TWO LATE
It's that time of year!

A reminder that Alternate Side Parking goes into effect at 1 a.m. on Sunday November 15th. That means that you should park your car on the ODD house numbered side fo the street on Saturday evening November 14th.

Alternate Side Parking restrictions are in effect throughout most of the City of Madison sevend ays a week, regardless of weather conditions from November 15th through March 15th with the exception of the Downtown/Isthmus Snow emergency Zone where the restrictions are in effect only during a declared Snow Emergency.

For more information visit www.cityofmadison.com/winter.

DEVELOPERS GET BENEFITS OF IZ, DON'T HAVE TO PAY OR BUILD THE HOUSING
Looks like the University Square developers won their court case against the city. They got the benefits outlined in the inclusionary zoning ordinance, but did not have to make their payments for the affordable housing they did not build. Wow. Could the city attorneys mess this up any more than they have?

LABOR ENDORSEMENTS
I was wondering how labor endorsements lined up with the labor vote on the Edgewater. Thanks to Lukas Diaz for breaking it down.


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Record Snowfall: Madison's Snowiest Ever! - UPDATED

This, from Al Schumacher, Streets Superintendent:

The record has been broken. We have now lived through the snowiest winter season on record with more snow yet to fall today and again on Thursday.

It has been too cold to salt during the overnight hours. We are planning on salting as soon as possible this morning, probably starting at about 9:00 am. It still will be only about 10 degrees at that time but the pavement temperature should be above 15 by then.

So far no plans to plow all residential streets because we have only received slightly more than 1" of dry, fluffy snow that traffic will beat down quite easily. We are expecting between 2" - 3" of total accumulation.

We would like not to plow all residential streets today based on the following factors. One is that this is a dry fluffy snow which is relatively easy to get around in with very little moisture content. Two is the fact that we are expecting more snow on Thursday and if possible, we will wait until then to clean it all up. Three, sunshine is supposed to return on Wednesday which will get some melting on side streets.

All of this is subject to change of course based on additional information.

To be certain, our crews are fatigued but they are hanging in there. They deserve a great deal of praise. Many thanks need to go out to the staffs of Forestry, Engineering, Parks Construction, Parks, Mall Concourse and of course Fleet Services for helping us get through this winter.

Here's a 10:30 update from Mr. Schumacher, Streets Superintendent turned weatherman:

Forecasts do change.

It is not supposed to stop snowing now until close to 2:00 pm. This very light snow is accumulating. We have close to 2.5" on the ground and should definitely reach the 3" amount.

We will be plowing all residential streets starting at 3:00 pm. Because it is such a light and fluffy snow, we will not declare a snow emergency for this storm.

I expect most if not all streets to be plowed by midnight tonight but for sure by early morning on Wednesday.

Salt is not working because of the snow continuing to fall so we have decided against wasting it. We will continue to plow and use sand on our main arterials until the snow stops and we start the residential plowing at 3:00 pm.

p.s. Sorry, I bumped this post below the other two posts today, since I think people are sick of hearing about snow. I don't like doing that, but I felt it was appropriate. i.e. I got the email at 7:30, but I changed the post time to 6:30 so the other two posts appeared first. Read more!

Snow, what else?

On a day like today, how could you talk about anything but snow? After yesterday, I'm sure just about everyone has a story. I'm sure mine pales in comparison to those stuck on the interstate. But for what it is worth here it is. City snow updates at the end of the post.

I went to work at 9:00 yesterday and parked my car on Willy Street. One by one, my 5 meetings got canceled and I just stayed at work. After all, I was already there, people were still calling and walking in (yes, as late as 4:15 someone came in for a housing list), and I had someone there working on my database. Slowly, my car was getting buried deeper and deeper under the snow. This was my car around 2:00.



Around 5:30 I decided it was time to go home, or at least start. I had been plowed in on one side, the snowblower blew snow on top of my car on the other side and a car had been parked behind me and the snow had blown in behind my car. The snow was up to my knees in the best places and as deep as my mid-thigh in others. The snow was over the tires and I couldn't open the door without moving some snow.



And of course, there was at least a foot of snow covering my entire car.



At that point, the smarter (and safer) thing to do would have been to just give up and walk home the 10 blocks to my house. But, ahem, I couldn't do that cuz I was parked on the wrong side of the street for alternate side parking and this morning my car would have been towed because it was in the "commuter lane" on Williamson St. So, I had to move it.

Many strangers and some familiar faces stopped to ask me if I needed help. Being stubborn and not about to let some guy rescue me, I refused all the help. After all, I grew up a Wisconsin farm girl and no snow was going to defeat me. I got the shovel from the Social Justice Center and after I knocked all the snow off my car, proceeded to shovel (between dodging cars on Williamson St.) my way out. It only took me about 20 minutes to do a good enough job to free my car from the pile of snow.

So, I put the shovel away, locked the door to the Social Justice Center and got in my (running) car to see what was going to happen. After rocking my car back and forth a bit and after about 4 attempts I broke free. And proceeded down Willy Street. As I drove by, some of the pedestrians that offered help gave me a big wave and huge smile and thumbs up.

Now that my car was moving, I really, really didn't want to stop. I knew I had a small shovel in my trunk just in case . . . or was it still in there? Anyways, I made it the 6 blocks down Williamson Street, managed not to stop at the corner of Willy and Blair by MG&E and made it to the stop lights at Blair and E. Washington Ave. I then had had to turn left and go one block up the hill where the Madison Metro bus (or buses) had been stuck. I was one block from my house but due to the one way streets, I am forced to go the long way around.

Unfortunately, at this point some car had gotten stuck and I was forced to stop and subsequently got stuck myself. After about 3 cycles of the stoplights, the two cars in front of me had made it through the lights and I was next! I rocked my car back and forth in anticipation of the light turning green and when my turn came I was able to get my car to move forward and navigate my way through the large intersection and across three lanes of traffic so I could immediately turn right on N Franklin.

With a block and a half left to go, I was in the clear. One block down N Franklin, no need to stop at the stop sign, turn the corner and voila! drive in the driveway which my boyfriend had cleared! (His car was parked on the street on the correct side and he left the driveway for me!) Thank goodness I didn't have to circle the blocks looking for a place to shovel a parking space for myself cuz I don't think I could have made it up the hill on E Mifflin St. to get my car into the parking ramp.

Rob had stayed home yesterday as his place of employment ended up closing so he spent over an hour shoveling our 33 feet of sidewalk and the driveway yesterday. I'm so glad I didn't have to do that as well!

I wonder how many people moved their cars last night and where they moved them to? And I wonder if we got our streets plowed even if people did move their cars? I wonder how long it will take me to get to work this morning? Should I walk or drive? Will I need my car? Will my meetings be canceled? Will my employees show up? Ah, I just love Wisconsin! We're about 2 inches away from breaking the record of the biggest snowfall for Madison. What an honor. Can we be done now? I have snow fatigue.

Here's the snow update from the Streets Department

13.3" of snow. 2nd highest single storm event total ever in Madison. (Highest was 17.1" on Dec. 3, 1990)

In 1990, it took us 3 days to completely get the City plowed and 11 days before the cleanup was complete.

We are at 75.1' for the year which is only 1" below the all time record of 76.1" set in the winter of 1978-79.

More snow predicted for Sat. and Sun.

Does anyone see a pattern for this winter?

Trying to move 13.3" of snow takes a lot of extra time. Our crews have to take extra cuts to get the snow back as far as possible. There were a lot of vehicles stranded on streets during the evening and overnight hours. We have had a great deal of difficulty plowing many streets because of these stranded cars. Our vehicles were getting stuck as well trying to push the snow off the roads. There is a lot of work to be done yet with regards to cleaning up the corners and the intersections but for the most part I am very pleased with the snow plowing effort. About 12 hours after a storm of this magnitude ended, the majority of our streets have had plows on them and traffic is able to get around.

We will be continuing with the cleanup today and tonight. We will be applying salt on the salt routes this morning. All available crews will again be assigned to the snow cleanup. We will be suspending Large Item collecton today and maybe further. Refuse and Recycling collection will take place as scheduled. There is still a lot of work to be done.

Snow removal will begin tonight as well as the alternate side plowing during the second night of the snow emergency.

Read more!

Canceled! (Updated!)

In case there was any doubt . . . .

Madison Metro (buses) is closing down at 7:00.

Also now updated: Due to deteriorating weather conditions, all non-essential City offices and facilities such as libraries will be closed to the public for the remainder of the day. Regular City operations will resume tomorrow.

As always, numerous City services can be accessed online at www.cityofmadison.com.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008
8:00 AM	CENTRAL PARK DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION TASK FORCE (Cancelled)	ROOM 101 MMB
12:00 PM	PERSONNEL BOARED (Cancelled)	ROOM 501 CCB
4:30 PM	BOARD OF PUBLC WORKS (Cancelled)	ROOM 108 CCB
5:00 PM	ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (Cancelled)	ROOM 201 CCB
5:00 PM	HOUSING COMMITTEE (Cancelled)	ROOM LL-110 MMB
5:30 PM	URBAN DESIGN COMMISSION (Cancelled)	ROOM LL-130 MMB
6:30 PM	BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS PUBLIC HEARING (Cancelled)	ROOM 201 CCB
7:00 PM	MADISON AREA TRANSPORTATION PLANNNG BOARD A METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION (MPO) (Cancelled)	119 E. OLIN AVENUE

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Tonight:: Move your Car or Be TOWED!!!

So, they're threatening to use their emergency powers and tow cars tonight. Here's the update from Streets Superintendent Al Schumacher and the Notice of the Snow Emergency. (SEZ = Snow Emergency Zone, i.e. the areas where you only have to alternate side park when they declare a Snow Emergency)

We are expecting snow to continue until about 4:00 pm this afternoon. Snow will be heavy at times with continued blowing and drifting in the outlying areas. A total of around 8" is expected.

We will be concentrating on keeping the main arterials open throughout the day but will have some additional units plowing some of the problematic residential areas that are drifting, have serious hills or curves, etc. We will be utilizing over 70 pieces of equipment during the day. We will commence the plowing of all residential streets at around 3:00 pm this afternoon with the assistance of our hired contractors. At that time, we will have between 150 and 160 pieces of equipment on the road plowing.

I will be declaring a Snow Emergency for the next two nights. People in the Snow Emergency Zone must abide by the alternate parking ordinance. If we don't get compliance, there will be street narrowings just like in December.

To the alders in the SEZ; please assist in getting the word out to your constiuents in any way you can.

I am planning on having Parking Enforcement tow vehicles in areas of the City where people are not abiding by the alternate side parking restrictions and where emergency vehicles and our plows are unable to get through. For the most part, this will be in the SEZ area.

Any comments, contact me.

Here's the email from the listserve you can sign up for:

The City of Madison has declared a snow emergency.

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

Madison residents are asked to remove all vehicles from the street if possible.

Residents who must park on the street this evening should park on the ODD house numbered side of the street. Vehicles parked on the street Thursday evening February 7th should be parked on the EVEN house numbered side of the street.

Violations of the alternate side parking rules are punishable by a fine of $20 outside the Snow Emergency Zone and $30 inside.

The Snow Emergency will remain in effect until at least 7 a.m. on Friday February 8th.

Parking is available in the cashiered sections of city-owned ramps in the downtown area. During a declared Snow Emergency you can park for no charge at the City ramps from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. If you enter before 9 p.m. or leave after 7 a.m. you are liable for any parking charges before 1 a.m. and from 7 a.m. until the time you leave. When parking in the ramps overnight, do not park on the top level so this area can be plowed. Be aware that vehicles stored in city ramps longer than 48 hours are subject to being ticketed and towed. Meters in lots and ramps are enforced 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

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

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

And if you're a facebook user, you can sign up for Madison Snow Emergency News to get notifications. Read more!

Never ending snow . . . .and snow trivia.

Here's the latest update from the head of the Streets Department . . .

We were supposed to get less than 1/2" of snow today. It continued to develop and dropped closer to 1.5". This snow coupled with the close to 2" on Thursday and Thursday night and the snow from earlier in the week has made many of our residential streets in need of plowing.

We will be plowing all residential streets this evening and finish through the overnight. I will not declare a snow emergency.

Here's the snow trivia from Friday's update:

Since Dec. 1st - It has snowed on 34 out of 63 days or 54% of the days.
Normal snow for winter season - 48.8"
Snow totals so far this winter season - 58.4"
Madison's record winter snowfall - 1978-1979 - 76.1"
We are less than 18" from setting the all time record with all of February, March and into April yet to go

Read more!

Weather and Streets Update

Yesterday was a bad day to have your furnace go out. Sorry to state the obvious, but luckily for me, $180, some extra layers of clothes and some patience and it was up and running again in less than 2 hours. Bundle up - it's cold out there. Madison schools are closed. I hope my car starts and my doors aren't frozen shut. There, I think I covered all the small talk. Meanwhile, here's the update from the streets department:

We received just under 1" of snow yesterday afternoon and evening. Yesterdays midday rain and drizzle followed by the 1 hour or so of sleet and freezing rain iced up all of our streets since most of them were bare due to the Monday snow melt. That coupled with the rapid drop in temperature iced up our streets. We were able to salt a little during the afternoon yesterday but not enough to break the ice bond. The temperatures dropped so fast yesterday afternoon that we had to stop applying salt by around 6:00 pm and start applying sand at the hills, intersections and curves of our salt routes.

I expect todays commute to be better than last Tuesdays commute when we had the 8.8" of snow with cold temperatures because we have been sanding our mains all night. Traction at the intersections should be better but still not great. We will be scheduling every available sander to keep sanding our main streets and to sand our residential streets throughout the day today.

It does not look good for salt use today as the temperatures are not supposed to get above 5 or 6. It doesn't look like we will be able to use salt until sometime on Thursday when there is another chance of light snow but temperatures are supposed to rebound to around 20.

The blowing and drifting was not a major problem in the City but it definitely added to the icing of our roadways. The snow blowing over snow covered streets acted like sandpaper and polished some of our streets making them even more icy.

Read more!

Snow . . . some progress.

Hours changed for "free" parking in City Parking ramps. This is from the press release:

NEW “FREE” PARKING TIMES FOR CITY PARKING UTILITY GARAGES DURING DECLARED SNOW EMERGENCIES

Beginning Monday January 28, 2008 the Parking Utility will not charge for parking in cashiered sections of city garages between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on declared snow emergency days. Parkers will need to pay for parking before 9 p.m. or after 7 a.m. on those days. These new times will take affect immediately at the following facilities: Government East, Overture Center, State Street Campus, State Street Capitol and Capitol Square North. It is not available at other Parking Utility facilities. By expanding these parking hours during snow emergencies, the City hopes that there will be fewer parked vehicles on public streets, which would help facilitate snow removal during heavy snowfalls.

Sometimes,we make progress. Read more!

Snow Emergency: In Case it isn't Obvious

Park on the EVEN side tonight!!

From City Staff:
T

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

Madison residents are asked to remove all vehicles from the street if possible. Residents who must park on the street this evening should park on the EVEN house numbered side of the street. Vehicles parked on the street Tuesday evening January 22nd, should be parked on the ODD house numbered side of the street. Violations of the alternate side parking rules are punishable by a fine of $20 outside the Snow Emergency Zone and $30 inside.

The Snow Emergency will remain in effect until at least 7 a.m. on Wednesday , January 23rd.

Parking is available in the cashiered sections of city-owned ramps in the downtown area. During a declared Snow Emergency you can park for no charge at the City ramps from 1a.m. until 7 a.m. If you enter before 1 a.m. or leave after 7 a.m. you are liable for any parking charges before 1 a.m. and from 7 a.m. until the time you leave.

When parking in the ramps overnight, do not park on the top level so this area can be plowed. Be aware that vehicles stored in city ramps longer than 48 hours are subject to being ticketed and towed. Meters in lots and ramps are enforced 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

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

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

Read more!