North Street NA Announcements - February 10th

[North Street Cochairs]

Hi everyone. Here are some announcements about things of relevance to folks in Emerson East and Eken Park. Some of these were announced at the February association meeting but some are new since then. 

North Street Neighborhood Association Announcements

All of our committees are getting more active at this time of year.

Giving Committee: The Giving Committee is seeking new members to join in February through the rest of the year. If you are interested, contact Jim at giv...@northstreetna.org. 

Festival Committee: Festival planning is getting underway and the planning committee is open to new members. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, February 13th, at 6:30pm at the Bodgery. For more information, contact Charlie at fest...@northstreetna.org. Note: the festival will also need lots of day-of volunteers - we'll send out information about that in July. 

Transportation Committee: The Transportation Committee is looking for someone to step up as the chair. This committee advocates for transportation needs in our neighborhoods, and holds events for Bike to Work Week (early June). If you are interested, please contact Mike (outgoing chair) at transpo...@northstreetna.org.

Green Space Committee: The Green Space Committee will hold their annual Earth Day Cleanup on Saturday, April 19th (more information in March). They are currently conducting a survey to learn how people want to engage with the committee and with our green spaces. They are also looking for Site Stewards for some of our green spaces. You can contact Sara and Sydney at green...@northstreetna.org. They also have a committee announcement google group that you can join. 

Development Committee: If you are interested in connecting with neighbors and developers working on projects in our neighborhoods, you can join the Development Committee. Contact Julia at devel...@northstreetna.org. There are currently a few projects at various stages. 

Yard Sale: Save the date - our annual neighborhood yard sale will be on Saturday June 7th, with a rain date of Saturday June 14th. We'll make an announcement when registration opens. 

Announcements from City Agencies

Notice of Public Hearing for an amendment to the Connect Greater Madison 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and to the 2025-2029 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)

Please see attached memo regarding a proposed amendment to the Greater Madison MPO’s Connect Greater Madison 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and to the 2025-2029 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for the Madison Metropolitan Area & Dane County. The amendment would (1) add the I-39/90/94 (Beltline Highway to North County Line) capacity expansion project to the official, fiscally constrained plan; (2) add the USH 51 (Stoughton Road North) (Milwaukee Street to I-39/90/94) reconstruction project to the official, fiscally constrained plan and to the 2025-2029 TIP; and (3) revise the North-South BRT project already in the official, fiscally constrained plan to reflect the adopted Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) and associated project costs.

The Connect Greater Madison 2050 RTP had recommended completion of the Interstate 39/90/94 and USH 51 (Stoughton Road North) corridor studies and anticipated amendment of the plan to add the recommended projects once the scope and design details were finalized, Majors program funding secured, and regional agreement on the projects reached. The studies have been completed, the project scopes have been finalized, and Majors program funding was recently approved. For more information on the USH 51 and I-39/90/94 projects, see the project corridor study webpages, available on the WisDOT Southwest Region Highway Projects and Studies webpage. The estimated cost of the I-39/90/94 project is $1.364 billion ($1.985 billion in year-of-expenditure dollars). The estimated cost of the USH 51 project is $174 million ($195 million in year-of-expenditure dollars). For more information on the North-South BRT project, refer to the North-South BRT Line webpage and adopted Locally Preferred Alternative. The estimated cost of the North-South BRT project is $194.25 million.

The following is the date of the public hearing on the amendment to the Connect Greater Madison 2050 RTP and to the 2025-2029 TIP, which provides an opportunity to provide oral comments to the board.

 

Public Hearing

Wednesday, March 5 at 6:30 p.m.

at MPO Policy Board Virtual Meeting hosted via Zoom

[Note: See agenda when posted on the Greater Madison MPO Policy Board Meeting page (https://www.greatermadisonmpo.org/meetings/tpb.cfm) and on city of Madison and Dane County websites for information on how to register to speak]

 

Written comments or concerns regarding the amendment to the Connect Greater Madison 2050 RTP and to the 2025-2029 TIP must be submitted in writing by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5.  Please email comments to MPO staff at m...@cityofmadison.com or mail them to the Greater Madison MPO office at 100 State Street, #400, Madison, WI 53703.

 

The MPO anticipates taking action on the RTP and TIP amendments following the public hearing unless the board receives comments expressing concerns prior to or at the hearing in which case action could be delayed. 

Building Neighborhood Strength, Supporting Food Security, and More: 2025 Neighborhood Grant Program is Now Open!

From now through February 18, 2025, small groups of five or more residents, centers of worship, nonprofits, neighborhood associations and other groups serving neighborhoods can apply for the  Neighborhood Grant Program to help make small improvements to the local area or to organizations.

The  program has been around since 1999 and has provided funding for more than 350 projects that have helped neighborhoods beautify gateways, create public gathering places, build leadership skills, or plan for the future. The program gives out $25,000 of grant money, generally in amounts of $1,000 to $5,000.

• How to apply for a 2025 Neighborhood Grant
• City of Madison Neighborhood Association Map and Resources
• City of Madison Neighborhood Programs and Services

Applications now open for 2025 Arts Grants

The Madison Arts Commission (MAC) is inviting individual artists and non-profit organizations to apply for its annual grant program. These grants support cultural programs and artistic activities that promote arts and culture as an essential part of life in Madison. Arts projects seeking a grant should create an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming city and do one or more of the following:

• Engage Madison residents in arts and cultural activities
• Expand an artist’s body of work or reach in the community
• Give the community an opportunity to participate in the creative process
• Provide PK-12 students with arts activities in or after school
• Reach diverse or under-served communities
• Celebrate identity, a group, or neighborhood.

The guidelines and application for 2025-2026 grants are now available. Applications are due by 11:59pm on March 1, 2025. There are three types of grants:

Project Grants provide up to $5,000 for arts education programs, performances, exhibitions, workshops or events that enrich the cultural lives of Madison citizens.  

Legacy Grants support organizations that have received MAC funding for 3 out of the last 6 years. These $1,500 grants help them sustain their successful arts programming.  

Individual Fellowships for up to $2,000 help artists advance their practice and share their work with the community.

Thinking of applying? Email  madis...@cityofmadison.com to ask questions or request assistance. MAC volunteers offer 15-minute one-on-one assistance with applicants upon request.

Sign up for the Madison Arts Newsletter to stay up to date on grants and opportunities.

• Learn more about the application process
• Review grant restrictions before applying
• Requirements for all grant recipients
• How applications are reviewed and scored

Spring Primary & Spring Election

The Spring Primary Election is on Tuesday, February 18th, and early voting is open now. Note: Our district has three candidates for alder, which means there is a primary to narrow it to two candidates for the spring election. 

The Spring Election is on Tuesday, April 1st. 

You can view upcoming elections, get voter registration information, and more on the City Clerk's Elections page. 

Vote for City Snowplow Names

The City is holding a contest to rename several snow plows. Voting is open until February 24th at 8pm. For more information about the contest and how to vote, visit https://www.cityofmadison.com/news/2025-02-04/time-to-vote-on-the-snowplow-names. 

Other Announcements

Update from Volker Development (East Wash & 7th, "Speedy Muffler" site)

Volker Development is working on architectural and civil drawings in preparation for a submission to the City for building permits in March. Construction is expected to tentatively commence in June.

One slight design change since the project obtained its conditional use permit, is the enclosing of the project’s parking garage at the ground floor. The parking garage, underneath the building, was previously open and exposed. This garage structure is being closed and will be accessed via garage door. The reason for this change are: controlled access, enhanced security, minimizing noise and lights from cars in parking lot, better insulation of building, etc.

Total parking counts will be increased, from 61 to 62 (which will be a combination of 9 visitor stalls, 19 surface stalls, and 34 garage stalls).

Contact: Travis Fauchald.     t.fau...@volker.co       952-334-7294