Minutes for April, 2016
Date: Monday, April 11, 2016 – 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Where: First Baptist Church, 518 N. Franklin Avenue
Attendance: 24
Announcements
- Spring Quarry Park cleanup/garlic mustard removal – Saturday, April 16, 9:00 – Noon
- Meet at the park entrance between Stevens St. & Barlow St. anytime in the morning.
- Garlic Mustard is extremely invasive and can easily move into yards/gardens, also chokes out other more desirable plants such as Wood Violets.
- This is our 4th year and we have reduced the amount of garlic mustard; however, the seeds can remain viable in the ground for 4-5 years. So we need to continue removing it yearly.
- Important to remove in the spring because by mid-summer it will flower and drop seeds.
- New this year we are having a social gathering after. Beer and soda hosted by Betty & Dick Bauhs at 2941 Barlow St.
Discussion Items
- Election of RBNA Officers – Two Year Terms
- A voice vote was taken and the following officers were unanimously elected: President-Erik Haroldson, Vice-President-Andy Manis, Secretary-Tim Schneider, Treasurer-Betty Bauhs
Tasks: Schedule transition meeting with exiting officers and new officers. - Harvey Street Liaison
- BJ Haman is the RBNA liaison for the entire length of Harvey Street. He would prefer to share the duties with another member because Harvey Street is very long.
- No one volunteered to deliver to Harvey. BJ agreed to continue to deliver to the entire street.
- Neighborhood Engagement
- Jason Mack is researching how much it would cost to do a RBNA-wide mailing to get out more info about RBNA. Including apartments.
- Food Cart Night – Tim Schneider is looking into how to organize this. He is waiting to hear back from a contact.
- Happy Hour planned for Monday, 4/18 at Blue Moon 7:00. Consider trying out other location in the future? Smokey’s Club or Great Dane?
Tasks: Jason – Continue research into RBNA-wide mailing.
Tim – Continue research into Food Cart Night
RBNA – E-mail reminder to members about Happy Hour.
- Summer Party Committee Volunteers
Erik Haroldson, Tim Schneider, Jake Austin, Andy Manis and Betty Bauhs volunteered to be on the planning committee. The picnic is tentatively planned for the first part of August.
Tasks: Schedule planning meeting(s), set date, arrange for location, food, activities, etc. - Open Discussion
- Quarry Park Use/Trail Plan: The city completed the updated map and has scheduled a public meeting on Monday, April 25, 6-8 p.m. at Whole Foods to review the plan and get feedback. The plan will be posted to the RBNA website.
Tasks: Tim – Make plan available on web site and notify RBNA members via e-mail. (Completed 4/11.)
- Quarry Park Use/Trail Plan: The city completed the updated map and has scheduled a public meeting on Monday, April 25, 6-8 p.m. at Whole Foods to review the plan and get feedback. The plan will be posted to the RBNA website.
- A voice vote was taken and the following officers were unanimously elected: President-Erik Haroldson, Vice-President-Andy Manis, Secretary-Tim Schneider, Treasurer-Betty Bauhs
Guest Speaker: Alder Shiva Bidar-Sielaff
We were fortunate to have our Alder Shiva Bidar-Sielaff as our guest speaker. Shiva discussed a variety of both city-wide and neighborhood topics:
- Mid-Town Police Station approved and moving forward. Breaking ground in late summer. Neighborhood meeting April 14, 7:00 p.m., at Queen of Peace. Scheduled to be open in January 2017. Looking forward to having presence in the neighborhood. Should help with recent increase in neighborhood car break-ins, windows, garages.
- Quarry Park Plan. Shiva will attend the meeting on April 25th at Whole Foods.
- Property Assessments out today. In general property values are up in city. The city is working on development of more affordable housing, both west and east sides.
- Concern about trains stopping in town and blocking streets, noticed more on east side. City does not have any control over the trains. For different behavior of the trains, the city would need to upgrade the crossings. Some upgrades are approved for the east side. Eventually city hopes to upgrade more crossings as budget allows.
- Bus station inconvenient by Chazen. Are there any plans to have additional stations? City was hoping to utilize the downtown multi-modal station proposed but did not move forward. City is having dialogue with others, including campus and bus companies, on options. Upgrades to parking ramp in the Chazen area are being considered. Ideally bus and train station would be combined. UW does not want the bus stop back at the Union after renovation is completed.
- General discussion about the downtown Judge Doyle Square project and public market proposed for the near east side.
- Discussion of transportation congestion in and through the city. City is pursuing bus rapid transit lines and park and ride somewhere in Middleton. Funding for this type of project has been difficult for the city to acquire.
- Some say that Madison is a bad place for people of color. Is there anything being done to improve this? City is working on this problem. A few examples are: Council is starting to use a racial equity tool when they make decisions. The tool helps to evaluate how decisions will impact racial equity. City is working with businesses to create more summer jobs for high school youth. Also working with the county on restorative justice initiative. Programs for school age children.
- Traffic, pedestrian, biking issues:
- Improvement on Ridge/University Ave crossing. Issues with confusion over split timing for pedestrian crosswalk. The city will improve signage. The city is also implementing a driver education program focused on pedestrian right of way awareness.
- Concerns about amount of traffic and speed issues on Bluff Street. Bluff is not a candidate for speed bumps because it is a main travel route for Fire Station 9 trucks. Bluff is considered a ‘collector’ street which means it is expected to have heavier traffic – approx. 2600 cars per day. Limiting or diverting traffic not an option, but slowing traffic is something the city will look into. Possibly make the Sunset Village neighborhood sign more prominent to convey that this is a neighborhood. The bike boulevard extension was added to Bluff Street as an attempt to slow traffic. Temporary speed boards do have impact on drivers and there are plans to have one on Bluff Street this summer. Neighborhood could request a permanent speed board for Bluff. Request for more frequent speed enforcement.
- Ridge Street sidewalks. Neighborhood is divided on whether sidewalks would be a good addition to Ridge St. Sidewalks would have a major impact on the property of residents that live on Ridge. Neighborhood plan suggests ‘pedestrian pathways’ to leave it open to alternatives.
- Residents can contact Shiva to report neighborhood concerns or issues. She is willing to work with city staff to resolve. http://www.cityofmadison.com/council/district5/
Next Meeting: June 13, Monday, First Baptist Church