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VNA Council January, 2021 meeting notes
VNA Council Meeting Minutes
January 27, 2021
Council Members
o Sarah Bahauddin (present)
o Pat Scheckel (present)
o Ben Blitz (present)
o Bonnie Gruber (present)
o Hans Borcherding (present)
o Jim Corkery (present)
o Wendy Fearnside (present)
o Karie Krantz (not present)
Call to Order (meeting was conducted virtually using Zoom)
Approval of Minutes - previous minutes were approved.
Announcements
o Communications
o A reminder that our neighborhood web site is www.vilasneighborhood.com
o Email address for the VNA: vnapresident@gmail.com
o The Vilas Ink newsletters are now being posted on the web site at https://www.vilasneighborhood.com/vilasink
o The VNA February 24, 2021 meeting will also be via Zoom
Existing Business
o Madison Police presentation and discussion by Midtown District Captain Freedman and Lieutenant Berkovitz included discussion of the following:
o Most of the discussion was related to the recent bomb scare on Jefferson Street. The officers involved worked to inform only those residents the officers thought would be impacted by the issue so as to not cause any undue concern outside of the impacted area. The officers did go door to door to notify those potentially impacted. It was noted that officers generally lean towards not sharing information (with those not directly impacted) on active investigations for many reasons. The Reverse 911 system is legacy and is currently connected to landlines, although there are procedures that can be used to connect cell phones.
o The name of our neighborhood liaison officer will be provided to Tag Evers so that he can share this information with the VNA.
o The officers discussed the recent increase in car thefts and burglaries and reminded residents to lock their residences and vehicles, to not leave valuables in vehicles and to not leave vehicles running with the doors are unlocked.
o President’s comments – Sarah Bahauddin
o Sarah requested that all VNA council members provide bios for the VNA website.
o Treasurer’s Report and Vilas, Ink– Pat Scheckel
o The VNA budget for 2021 was previously distributed to the council members and was approved by all council members at this meeting.
o There is approximately $2,700 in the bank account. Pat indicated that insurance for the(3) Vilas neighborhood signs and liability insurance for events increased from approximately $1,000 to approximately $1,400 – based on this Pat suggested VNA shop for competitive offers before renewing next year.
o The submission deadline for the next Vilas, Ink newsletter will be February 22. The next Vilas, Ink will be printed mid-March and will be given to the block captains to distribute. Pat will be contacting area businesses to generate advertising in the newsletter.
o Block Captains - Roz Woodward
o Roz indicated she has welcome packets available to provide to new residents moving into the Vilas neighborhood.
o Social Report
o Sarah indicated a new Social Chair is still required and we should work to identify potential candidates for this position.
o Listserv updates
o Brad Ricker indicated people can join the new listserv VilasNA@groups.io by e-mailing VilasNA+suscribe@groups.io, including your name and e-mail address.
o Brad will develop a communication on the features of the new Listserv (including how to get digest summaries of postings) and suggested procedures to be used with each post (i.e. listing hundred block and street name)
o Monroe/Regent Streets Retail & Monroe Street Library News
o No updates
o District 13 Alliance – Dana Scheckel and Sarah Bahauddin
o Dana indicated that there are 10 members on this committee representing all neighborhoods within District 13. Dana indicated additional information will be distributed via the listserv as to how to contribute to a January 30th ethnic food drive for Bayview and the Triangle community associations.
o Joint Campus Area Committee
o No updates
o Edgewood Liaison Committee Report - Shawn Doherty, Craig Stanley and Sarah Bahauddin
o The Common Council denied EHS’s request to overturn the Plan Commission decision to deny lights for the athletic field.
o Next steps are unclear as to how EHS intends to proceed.
o Alder Update – Tag Evers was unable to attend as he had another meeting so he provided the following update for Sarah to present:
o The Truman Olson project received unanimous approval from Plan Commission and Urban Design Commission and awaiting final staff signoffs. We're looking at April or May for ground-breaking.
o I am working with Bayview Exec Director - Lexi London, City IT Director - Sarah Edgerton, and Library Director - Greg Mickells to address digital access on the Triangle. Virtual learning obstacles for Bayview families are enormous. The zoo is doing great work with some of our Bayview kids, but the challenge is still immense. The problem is three-pronged: access to the internet, access to devices, and digital literacy. If anyone is interested in helping out, please let me know.
o Plan Amendment for the new North/South Street on the Triangle goes before CDA on Thurs Feb 11. The amendment is to limit the northern half of the street, from Regent to Braxton, to ped/bike & emergency access only. We are working to get robust resident participation, which is hard during Covid due to limited digital access as discussed above. A number of alternative strategies are in place to get robust resident participation, which involves getting around the digital access issues discussed above.
o Alder Abbas and I are working with Deputy Mayor Christie Baumel on a new initiative to address the City's building sector. 48% of our total carbon emissions come from residential and commercial buildings.
o I've been asked by the Mayor to be on the steering committee for the Guaranteed Income pilot project based on a model that started in Stockton, CA where 125 families low-income received $500 per month for 12-18 months. The city will review the data against a control population to determine the impact. The city has been awarded a $500,000 grant to get started.
o Changes are being proposed to our zoning ordinance to reduce restrictions on multi-family housing. I support these changes. Our housing affordability crisis is due in large part to simple economics -- more people want to move here than we have places to put them.
o Vilas Park Master Plan - Wendy Fearnside and Ann Rivlin
o A Zoom presentation of the final Vilas Park Master Plan is scheduled for February 4th at 6:00 pm. More information on the meeting will be provided via the Listserv.
o VNA comments on the final Master Plan are to be submitted by 2/18. It is expected that the Board of Parks Commissioners will perform a final review and approval of the Vilas Park Master Plan in early March.
o Traffic Engineering is considering options, and is expected to make a decision in April or May, related to closure/partial closure of Vilas Park Drive for the summer of 2021.
o Bylaws update
o Sarah indicated the bylaws review and update work is to begin late March with a focus on elections and dues.
o Zoning Committee - Ben Blitz and Wendy Fearnside
o The committee is continuing work on an updated neighborhood survey. Ben expects the draft survey will be sent to the council for review prior to the next council meeting for comments and approval prior to issuing to the neighborhood in the Spring of 2021.
o Lucky’s 1313 Regent Street development has changed the bedroom mix within the building (more two-bedroom units and less studios and one-bedroom units), however the building exterior is to remain unchanged.
o A new business has applied for a liquor license in the former Cat Café at 1925 Monroe Street. The new establishment is to have a retail seafood focus with alcohol sales.
New Business
o 2021 Neighborhood Grant Program: The Department of Planning and Community & Economic Development, Planning Division, has a grant program designed to help neighborhoods build capacity and beautify public places. The grant program helps to improve the quality of life within neighborhoods, and the City as a whole. Email vnapresident@gmail.com for more info.
o Sally Lehner will be sending out more information via the listserv on the City’s Storm Drain Mural Program
o Sarah indicated we could use assistance with the following committees. Please email vnapresident@gmail.com if interested or for more information.
o Social chair or co-chair
o Election Nomination chair/co-chair
o Help with website and possible social media
o Listserv co-moderator
Adjourn
Next Meeting: 2/24/2021.
January 27, 2021 VNA Council Meeting - Agenda
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VNA Council December, 2020 meeting notes
VNA Council Meeting Minutes
December 16, 2020
Council Members
o Sarah Bahauddin (present)
o Pat Scheckel (present)
o Ben Blitz (present)
o Bonnie Gruber (present)
o Hans Borcherding (present)
o Jim Corkery (present)
o Wendy Fearnside (present)
o Karie Krantz (not present)
Call to Order (meeting was conducted virtually using Zoom)
Approval of Minutes - previous minutes were approved, with addition to clearly state that “The November 18, 2020 meeting was the Annual Meeting of the VNA”
Announcements
o Communications
o A reminder that our neighborhood web site is www.vilasneighborhood.com
o Email address for the VNA: vnapresident@gmail.com
o The Vilas Ink newsletters are now being posted on the web site at https://www.vilasneighborhood.com/vilasink
o The VNA January 27, 2021 meeting will also be via Zoom
Existing Business
o President’s comments – Sarah Bahauddin
o Per Sarah’s request, all committee members introduced themselves.
o 2021 meetings of the VNA will be held via Zoom (until further notice) on the fourth Wednesday of each month, except that the meetings will be the third Wednesday in November and December to avoid holiday weeks.
o Treasurer’s Report, Vilas, Ink and Directory maintenance – Pat Scheckel
o Pat indicated there is approximately $4,200 in the bank account.
o Vilas, Ink was posted to the VNA website the week of December 7th.
o Pat indicated that someone needs to maintain the VNA directory with information he receives as dues are paid. Mary Clare Murphy volunteered to work with Pat on this effort.
o Block Captains - Roz Woodward
o No updates
o Social Report - Lee Lazar
o Lee’s term as Social Chair is over at the end of December and a new chair is needed.
o Listserv updates
o Brad Ricker indicated people can join the new listserv VilasNA@groups.io by e-mailing VilasNA+suscribe@groups.io, including your name and e-mail address.
o Brad reported that approximately 200 individuals had already signed up for the new listserv and he expects 250 – 300 people when complete. He noted that there were 330 names on the previous listserv, but that several of those he suspected were inactive or had moved out of the neighborhood.
o A discussion was held on limiting the Listserv to households with the VNA boundaries (approximately 15 households outside the boundaries are currently on the Listserv – they are primarily in adjacent neighborhood associations.) It was decided to leave membership on the Listserv open.
o Brad will develop a communication on the features of the new Listserv (including how to get digest summaries of postings) and suggested procedures to be used with each post (i.e. listing hundred block and street name)
o Wendy Fearnside volunteered to work with Roz Woodward to get more households with the VNA boundaries to join the Listserv. Wendy and Roz will work with Block Captains to do this and they will also send communications with the newsletter.
o Monroe/Regent Streets Retail & Monroe Street Library News
o No updates
o District 13 Alliance – Dana Scheckel and Sarah Bahauddin
o No updates
o Joint Campus Area Committee
o Doug Carlson indicated that UW Athletics has resolved the noise issues associated with the previous football game. Doug will pass on the neighborhood’s thanks to UW Athletics for their efforts to correct this issue.
o Edgewood Liaison Committee Report - Shawn Doherty, Craig Stanley and Sarah Bahauddin
o The Common Council is to discuss EHS’s request to overturn the Plan Commission vote at their January 19, 2021 meeting.
o It was noted that he Liaison Committee has been in place for approximately 25 years and was required as a part of the initial Edgewood Campus Master Planning effort. It was noted that since the Master Plan has been dissolved, the requirement for a Liaison Committee is also dissolved, although all parties appear to want to keep this in place.
o Tag suggested that it may be helpful to bring in a third-party mediator to facilitate discussions between EHS, DMNA and VNA.
o Alder Update – Tag Evers
o The Parks Commission has voted to open Vilas Park Drive to traffic for the rest of the winter to facilitate access to the skating rinks and the lagoon skating. Tag plans to offer proposals in April to close the drive again for the summer.
o Tag indicated problems with snow shoveling can be reported to the City.
o Tag indicated the South District and the Mid-town district police captains recently held an anti-racism community discussion. The VNA council was interested in this discussion, so Tag will work with Sarah to schedule Captain Hansen for a 20-minute discussion during an upcoming VNA council meeting.
o Tag indicated that monthly meetings to discuss the future of the Annie Stewart fountain are scheduled for the 4th Tuesday at 6:30 pm via Zoom. Tag indicated the City has contracted to have the fountain covered this winter to prevent further damage.
o Vilas Park Master Plan - Wendy Fearnside and Ann Rivlin
o Wendy provided and overview on the work to date by the Resident Resource Group on the Master Plan.
o Wendy and Ann noted that the Parks Department made a presentation on the Master Plan to the Urban Design Commission(UDC) on December 2, 2020. It was noted that the UDC does not have decision authority on the Master Plan but is required to provide feedback.
o Ann strongly indicated that changes to the current park, as envisioned in the Master Plan, should not be included in the Master Plan until after analysis is completed to justify the changes, for instance proposed changes related to increased parking, the lagoon and the Drake Street entrance to the Zoo.
o A Zoom presentation of the Final Vilas Park Master Plan is scheduled for February 4th at 6:00 pm. More information on how to register for the meeting will be provided via the Listserv.
o Election Committee - Mary Clare Murphy and Lee Lazar
o Mary Clare indicated she will remain on the committee for another year and Lee will leave the committee at the end of December.
o Mary Clare provided an overview of the most recent election changes including no-contact and early voting being open to all households within the VNA boundaries, no second round voting was required and more residents participated in this election than the previous election (166 ballots were received, an increase of 38 over the 2019 election)
o Mary Clare suggested the following potential election changes be considered and discussed for the 2021 vote including:
i. Earlier deadlines for candidates to declare prior to the election date, unless there are not enough candidates.
ii. Having a dedicated election e-mail account.
iii. Having a reduced early voting window.
iv. Publication of candidate positions on current neighborhood issues.
v. Opening of voting to all households with the VNA boundaries without a need to pay dues as a condition of voting.
o Since many of these changes require changes to the VNA bylaws, Pat suggested a bylaw editing committee be formed to review the election and other provisions of the bylaws. Wendy and Bonnie indicated they would be interested in assisting with this effort.
o Zoning Committee - Ben Blitz and Wendy Fearnside
o Ben indicated the committee is continuing work on an updated neighborhood survey. The draft survey will be sent to the council for review, comments and approval prior to issuing to the neighborhood in the Spring of 2021.
o The council approved a motion to retain Ben and Wendy as 2021 Zoning Committee.
New Business
Adjourn
Next Meeting: 1/27/2021.
VNA Council meeting December 16
Agenda here
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VNA Council November, 2020 meeting notes
VNA Council Meeting Minutes
November 18, 2020
Council Members
o Sarah Bahauddin (present)
o Pat Scheckel (present)
o Ben Blitz (present)
o Lea Jacobs (present)
o Hans Borcherding (present)
o Jim Corkery (present)
o Wendy Fearnside (present)
o Karie Krantz (present)
Call to Order (meeting was conducted virtually using Zoom)
Approval of Minutes - previous minutes were approved.
Announcements
o Communications
o A reminder that our neighborhood web site is www.vilasneighborhood.com
o Email address for the VNA: vnapresident@gmail.com
o The Vilas Ink newsletters are now being posted on the web site at https://www.vilasneighborhood.com/vilasink
o The VNA December 16th meeting will also be via Zoom
Existing Business
o President’s comments – Sarah Bahauddin
o Sarah extended her thanks to all the committee chairs and committee members for their work the past year. Sarah noted the specific work and achievements of the Election Committee work to change to absentee voting, the District 13 Alliance work with community organizations, the Edgewood Liaison committee work including the associated neighborhood survey, the Vilas Park Master Plan committee work and the Zoning Committee work, including Lea Jacobs’ work as chair of the Zoning Committee.
o Treasurer’s Report and Vilas, Ink – Pat Scheckel
o Pat indicated there is approximately $2,700 in the bank account. Bills were paid including $1,000 for donations and $200 for Halloween costume prizes. Pat indicated some dues were to be transferred from PayPal and he expected some dues to be included with the VNA council ballots.
o Pat indicated he would be working on Vilas, Ink publication over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, so that it could be published in early December.
o Block Captains - Roz Woodward
o No updates
o Social Report - Lee Lazar
o Lee indicated voting for the Halloween costumes was still open.
o Listserv updates
o Brad Ricker indicated people can join the new listserv VilasNA@groups.io by e-mailing VilasNA+suscribe@groups.io, including your name and e-mail address.
o Brad reported that 136 individuals had already signed up for the new listserv and he expected 200 to 250 people when complete. He noted that there were 330 names on the previous listserv, but that several of those he suspected were inactive or had moved out of the neighborhood.
o Brad encouraged people to post on bit listservs until the end of 2020, after which the Yahoo listserv will no longer be active.
o Monroe/Regent Streets Retail &Monroe Street Library News
o No updates
o District 13 Alliance – Dana Scheckel and Sarah Bahauddin
o No updates
o Joint Campus Area Committee
o Doug Carlson indicated he has spoken with UW concerning the sound system rattling windows in the neighborhood at the last UW football game. He indicated UW will review this issue.
o Edgewood Liaison Committee Report - Shawn Doherty, Craig Stanley and Sarah Bahauddin
o Edgewood High School, DMNA and VNA met earlier this afternoon. EHS and DMNA exchanged proposals at this meeting. The good news is that discussions are ongoing, however no real progress was made on a compromise.
o The Common Council is to discuss EHS’s request to overturn the Plan Commission vote at their December 1st meeting.
o Alder Update – Tag Evers
o 2021 Operating and Capital budgets passed. Tag put forth amendments that passed increasing funding for affordable housing and COVID relief targeting eviction prevention and violence prevention.
o County passed their budget including amendment to include $1.35 million for the Truman Olson project.
o City is moving temporary men's shelter operation from Warner Park Community Center to the First Street Garage (future site of the Public Market). City and County have budgeted a combined $6million to establish a permanent shelter on East Side.
o Vilas Park Master Plan process has been frustrating. Lots of missed opportunities.
o Tag put forth an amendment to the Triangle Monona Bay Neighborhood Plan to limit the northern half of the new north-south public street to ped/bike only (with emergency vehicle access).
o 1224 S. Park project goes before Plan Commission on Monday.
o Lucky's got their Plan Commission approvals.
o Vilas Park Master Plan – Wendy Fearnside and Ann Rivlin
o Wendy and Ann facilitated a very good discussion on VNA’s draft position statement concerning the proposed Vilas Park Master Plan. A detailed summary of these discussions, as incorporated into the final position statement, will be issued via the listserv after it has been approved by the VNA council.
o Election Committee - Mary Clare Murphy and Lee Lazar
o Results of the election were reported and new council members for 2021 and 2022 are:
i. Sarah Bahauddin
ii. Pat Scheckel
iii. Ben Blitz
iv. Bonnie Gruber
o The new council met after the new members were announced and elected the following officers of the council:
i. Sarah Bahauddin - President
ii. Pat Scheckel - Treasurer
iii. Jim Corkery - Secretary
o Zoning Committee - Ben Blitz and Wendy Fearnside
o Ben reported that Lucky’s development was approved by the Plan Commission
o Ben indicated that the committee is working on an updated neighborhood survey. Doug Carlson is assisting with development of this survey. The draft survey will be sent to the council for review and approval prior to issuing to the neighborhood.
New Business
Adjourn
Next Meetings: 12/16/2020 and the 3rd Wednesday of each month in 2021.