VNA Council Agenda
Wednesday, June 22, 2022, at 7:00pm – via Zoom
Sarah Bahauddin - President Rachel Bennett, Treasurer
Ben Blitz Regan Botsford, Secretary
Bonnie Gruber Doug Carlson
Pat Scheckel Wendy Fearnside
7:05 Call to Order
Meeting Rules: Stay on mute unless talking.
Discussion of approval of May 25 Meeting Minutes: remove ‘zoo liaison’ section. With that edit, approved.
Announcements
o Join the listserv: Send an email to VilasNA+subscribe@groups.io
o Website: vilasneighborhood.com
o Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vilasna
o Donations: (Dues no longer required for membership) https://www.vilasneighborhood.com/take-action
7:08 Alder Report (More information can be found here: https://www.cityofmadison.com/council/district13/blog/)
Two weeks ago during the council meeting on June 7, the Network Transit Draft plan was approved. Included new route, O, that would go through Bay Creek and wind into Bram’s Addition and then through Vilas.
At last night’s council meeting, we approved the 12 story building plan (originally proposed as an 18 story building). This will allow the Wonder Bar to remain. 192 units of much needed housing.
Last Friday, officially opened Vilas Park Drive to pedestrians and bicyclists.
By and large, traffic concentration was heavy around commuter times. No guaranteed right that you can drive to every part of the park.
Two press conferences recently- Madison Forward Fund- Mayor’s guaranteed income pilot project. Tag appointed to the advisory council. Private money to fully fund this program that will involve 155 families in Madison who meet qualifications on a needs-based assessment who can get $500 with no-strings attached. Against a control group of 200 families.
Generate data to be supplied on a national level. Concept that has received bipartisan support.
Today’s press conference, Tag along with the mayor and others announced the city’s building energy saving program. Tag has been working with the mayor’s office for over a year and a half on this.
There have been a series of workshops, inviting various stakeholders to work out the finer details- focused on larger buildings for energy benchmarking. This information will then be collected to monitor usage, efficiency, updates, etc.
Critical that we have full participation from the private sector to meet our climate goals.
Questions/Comments:
Doug: with this heat, a reminder to spray and clean your air conditioner to get it working more efficiently.
Ben: Transit Oriented Development Overlay- why one of the changes to allow an increase in the number of renters per unit- Tag doesn’t have the answer and can forward to staff. Will adjust within a quarter mile of transit routes. Some of it will adjust the number of units you will be able to do by right. Purpose is to add some density in these neighborhoods that are adjacent to transit routes. Tag encourages questions.
Doug: Note: TOD does have a direct email (tod@cityofmadison.com). A reminder to copy Tag on emails.
Interested in having Town Hall on various issues on why people oppose development. We need to come together as our city grows and not fight necessary development.
7:20 Existing Business
Social Report: Doug Update (on behalf of Bethany and Sarah)
4th of July Parade looking for volunteers for traffic control and popsicles. Email sarahbahauddin@gmail.com with the subject “Bike Parade Volunteer.”
Garth’s is willing to sponsor a ‘Meet Your Neighbor’ event on August 18.
Contact Sarah if there’s interest in helping to participate or plan.
Pat: Block party a success. Great turnout, guessing about 100 or so participants.
Neighborhood Garage Sale (at a point either this year or next): Email Barb Richardson if interested: barbandtomrich@sbcglobal.net
Treasurer’s Report: Rachel Bennett
Up $425 for the year. One very generous donor at the party, and a few smaller donations (thank you).
Put out the donation box at the Garth’s event!
Vilas Ink: Pat Scheckel- Summer 2022 issue posted already.
Next issue articles due August 20. That one will be printed. Expect an early September delivery. Note: Pat now has Adobe Creative Cloud access through a non-profit discount.
Zoning Committee: Ben Biltz and Wendy Fearnside:
Ben: Transit Oriented Development- something the city is considering a slightly denser and pedestrian friendly BRT route, but Monroe Street is under the proposed plan and will see a bus running every 15 minutes. Neighborhood would see overlay.
Mandate two story height for any new development, eliminate minimum parking requirements, drive down the amount of parking spots essentially for these areas.
Much discussion ensued. More detailed information can be found here.
Next steps: Doug to ask Tag about five renters and potential implications for NE area of our neighborhood. Ben to also reach out to the city directly.
Ben to get additional clarification before we move this forward further.
Historical and updated development information can be found here.
District-13 Alliance – Dana Scheckel and Sarah Bahauddin (no report)
JCAC: Doug Carlson (No report)
Edgewood Liaison Committee: Sarah Bahauddin, Shawn Doherty, and Craig Stanley (No report)
Zoo Liaison Committee Report: Bonnie Gruber and Ann Rivlin (No update as the group was not able to meet this month). Baby orangutan was born.
7:50 Other Business: N/A
Adjourn: Meeting called to an end at 8:17PM.
Upcoming Meetings: July 27, Aug 24, Sept 28, Oct 26, Nov 16*, and Dec 14*