Author Archives: TheEastSider

MNA Elections Have Consquences

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Annual Membership Meeting a chance to celebrate and set priorities

Former MNA President Scott Thornton addresses the 2012 meeting. MNA has seen a resurgence in membership recently and is strong advocate within the city.

Former MNA President Scott Thornton addresses the 2012 meeting. MNA has seen a resurgence in membership recently and is strong advocate within the city.

In the same month that the Marquette Neighborhood was honored for being one of the greatest places to live in America, partly due to the strong engagement by its residents, a key meeting this week by its association may play a role in the shape of the neighborhood for years to come. The Marquette Neighborhood Association will hold its annual Membership Meeting Thursday October 17, 6 p.m. in the Marquette Elementary School cafeteria.

Most years this meeting is a time for the MNA Board to present an overview of the past year and the one ahead, elect new officers, consider initiatives, collect membership dues, and approve the budget. This year seems to carry special weight as several contentious issues in the areas of development, festivals, and how the Board itself conducts business and fills vacancies have bubbled up among the members.

The jammed packed agenda was deemed so critical that guest speaker Wisconsin State Representative Chris Taylor was asked to move her appearance to the November meeting to accommodate the proceedings.

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We’re Quite Neighborly

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Williamson-Marquette named a top place to live in the United States

Earlier this month the Williamson-Marquette Neighborhood was recognized as a Top 10 Great Neighborhood in the United States. The honor, presented by the American Planning Association, is ratification of the intense involvement by neighborhood residents both longtime and new to create a truly unique and rewarding place to live.

“Marquette has a vibrancy that is a benchmark for other neighborhoods,” said Mayor Soglin at a ceremony the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center on October 4. “It is our SoHo.”

Citing walkability, strong revitalization efforts following decades of decline, and strong community engagement, the APA‘s Larry Ward presented the award to the neighborhood and was joined by Soglin, District 6 Alder Marsha Rumel and Marquette Neighborhood Association representatives Lindsey Lee and David Mollenhoff.

“The Marquette Neighborhood has the rich legacy of a place built up before the era of the automobile. Shops, entertainment, and employment are all located within walking distance of our homes. This is the foundation on which our Great Neighborhood was built,” said Alder Marsha Rummel. “As we develop and redevelop areas of the City, we should aim to create other great neighborhoods with the same human scale and mix of uses as Marquette.”

In the late 1960s and early 1970s the Marquette neighborhood, dilapitdated in some areas and bound by an aging industrial corridor, was threatened by various uneven development schemes including a freeway through the rail corridor. The MNA was formed in 1968 in part to combat these encroachments and created its first neighborhood plan in 1971.

The plan and the engagement of community members who took the risk to live and build the neighborhood to what it is today, is why the APA is recognizing what we have already known for some time: This is a great place to live.

An Inconvenience Store Truth

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 Atwood BP station wants to sell beer, neighbors say prior problems not yet solved

BP Gas Station owned by Lake Management, LLC. It was once a Clark station and the corner suffered from crime and drug activity.

BP Gas Station operated by Lake Management, LLC. It was once a Clark station and the corner suffered from crime and drug activity.

City officials are weighing issues of fairness regarding a business owner’s right to sell beer against neighbor’s objections due to a history of problems on the property and a present day problem of public intoxication at a nearby park. The proprietor, Lake Management, LLC., runs the BP Gas Station  at 2801 Atwood Avenue and has managed to have a conditional use restriction regarding alcohol lifted, but faces a tougher road at the Alcohol Licensing Review Committee.

In 2005, it was known as the Clark station and was home to occasional sketchy activity. There were periodic armed robberies, occasional drug activity and other recurring incidents that began to affect the residential properties nearby. Late that year, Murthy Polasa and Kuldip Singh Mavi, of M & J Petroleum, LLC., purchased the property and proposed tearing down the structure and building a new convenience store along with the gas station under the BP Brand.

The new store was a hard sell to the neighborhood, especially to the immediate neighbors. After numerous neighborhood meetings the project was allowed to go forward with promises from Polasa and Mavi of no alcohol sales and that the atmosphere at the property would improve. Judy Olson, the District 6 Alder at the time, lobbied the Plan Commission to place a conditional use restriction on the property that no alcohol sales would be allowed.

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My Fair Willy

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36th Annual Willy Street Fair prepares to make us happy to be neighbors

Courtesy: David Michael Miller

Have you got time for one last summer festival? The Willy Street Fair will straddle the Autumnal Equinox this year with sunny and 65 predicted for Saturday September 21 and Sunday September 22, the first day of fall.

The fair is a major fundraiser for Common Wealth Development and the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center. Common Wealth Development and the neighborhood at large have gotten pretty good at putting on this event. The food and retail vendors are more numerous, the music stages highly coordinated and more spophisticated, but the inclusive soul of the neighborhood still shines through.

Maybe its just me who has noticed this but, now fair Saturday is named as “The Willy St. Warm-up” and the actual fair is Sunday. Don’t be confused by these marketing semantics, there will be music, fun, dancing, and food each day, all day.

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MNA Establishes 722 Willy Working Group

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Subcommittee formed to work with developer to resolve concerns

A view of the north side of the proposed development at 722 Williamson Street.

A view of the north side of the proposed development at 722 Williamson Street.

The one clear fact that emerged from the Marquette Neighborhood Association Preservation & Development Committee (MNA P&D) meeting today (September 18) is that the proposed development at 722 Williamson Street is the first true test of the Williamson Street 600 to 1100 Blocks Better Urban Infill Development (BUILD) Program II plan which was launched 10 years ago.

From the beginning its was apparent the two hours allotted for this monthly meeting would not be enough to deeply discuss the many aspects of the proposal by Baldwin Development Group (BDG) and make a recommendation to the MNA Board that would properly represent the wishes of the neighborhood.

Early on, it was proposed that a subcommittee be formed to meet with BDG on a frequent basis to present the issues raised by the neighborhood and offer guidance as BDG further refines their design in advance of the upcoming City approval processes such as the Urban Design Commission (UDC), which is the next stop for this project.

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Interviewing Wild Orangutans

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Marquette neighborhood grapples with proposed development at 722 Willy Street

An architectual rendering of the proposed development "722 Williamson". Courtesy: Baldwin Development Group

An architectual rendering of the proposed development “722 Williamson”. Courtesy: Baldwin Development Group

Neighborhood planning covenants are playing into the debate over a large mixed-use development proposed for the 700 block of Williamson Street which would fill in the parking lots between and behind Ground Zero Coffee and the Olds building, possibly reaching ten stories into the air.

Baldwin Development Group wants to build a $46-million retail and housing complex on property owned by Williamson Associates, LLC, an entity of the The Rifkin Group, which also owns three other buildings on the block. The three-tiered design, currently named “722 Williamson”, would feature retail and office space along Williamson with seven- and ten-story apartment towers deeper into the property.

The proposal is drawing mixed reactions from the neighborhood, with some hailing its design and density and others bristling that the towering building exceeds the Williamson Street 600 to 1100 Blocks Better Urban Infill Development (BUILD) Program II plan, which seeks to preserve the historic character of the street. District 6 Alder Marsha Rummel says the development would include approximately 220 apartments, 5,600 square feet of commercial space, 386 parking stalls and co-working space.

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City Officials to Inaugurate Central Park Construction

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Soglin, Rummel, and Park Director to conduct kickoff ceremony today

Bulldozers have been at the site of Central Park all week as construction finally begins on Phase I of the project

Bulldozers have been at the site of Central Park all week as construction finally begins on Phase I of the project

Earth moving crews were at the corner of East Wilson and Ingersoll Streets this week prepping for the installation of the restroom building which is part of Phase I of the Central Park project. The long term goal of building a community park and greenway along the East Isthmus Rail Corridor stagnated recently due to funding; but the project is moving forward again.

City of Madison Mayor Paul Soglin, District 6 Alder Marsha Rummel, Madison Parks Department Director Kevin Briski, and other city officials will host a kickoff event at 2 p.m today at the site to celebrate the project finally getting underway.  Continue reading →

Rail Corridor Street Closings Sent Back for ‘Do Over’

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Dane County Judge says OCR did not fully explain decision

A Judge has asked the Office of the Commissioner of Rail Roads to reexamine his ruling to close crossings at Livingston and Brearly Streets.

A Judge has asked the Office of the Commissioner of Rail Roads to reexamine his ruling to close crossings at Livingston and Brearly Streets.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi has remanded the City of Madison’s appeal of the closing of two rail road crossings at Livingston and Brearly Streets. State Commissioner of Railroads Jeff Plale had ruled last year that the two crossings should close to address safety concerns. The City contended that there hadn’t been an accident in 40 years and the closures would substantially inhibit traffic flow on the Near East Side

In an email to various City officials City Attorney Steven Brist wrote that Judge Sumi asked the commissioner to re-examine his decision, and added some instructions. The commissioner is to fully explain his reasoning to increase the number of street closures to two, from the one recommended by a hearing examiner in February 2012.

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Help Your Friends In The Heat

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Madison issues guidance for public to protect against heat-related illness

The Mayor’s Office distributed the following information to Alders today to share with residents regarding options for those with inadequate cooling options or none at all.

The letter form Katie Crawley of the Mayor’s Office outlined which community agencies and public spaces would be open to heat refugees:

Although temperatures are certainly giving us a break today, I wanted to keep you in the loop on heat issues.  As you know there are releases and reminders that went out yesterday.  With the heat forecast to extend into the weekend, I know Fire, Public Health and others will continue to stress the importance of getting into cooler locations during the day to lower core  body temperatures.  The temperatures will be low enough throughout the night to be safe.

There are many public buildings that serve as cooling centers without a formal designation.  Those would include of course the City County Building and MMB, but also all public libraries and Senior Centers.  There are also shopping malls, movie theaters, churches and other facilities that are open for use.  Continue reading →

Cycropia’s Enchanting Evening

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Circus Quercus amazes and delights Family Night at Orton Park

Luv Joy Seamon (center) and two other Cycropia performers during the opening act of Circus Quercus on Family Night at the Orton Park Festival, August, 22, 2013.

Luv Joy Seamon (center) and two other Cycropia performers during the opening act of Circus Quercus on Family Night at the Orton Park Festival, August, 22, 2013.

Several thousand people, most of them families, gathered under the grand oak next to the Orton Park gazebo to watch Cycropia’s salute to the trees of the park and the modern circus movement with their performance of Circus Quercus.

Crycropia uses various rings, trapezes, and custom-made metal apparatuses adorned with colorful silks and suspended from trees in their performances. Thursday (August 22) was a veritable mid-summer night’s dream as theater-style lighting allowed the performers to fade in and out of the darkness like one had happened upon playful forest creatures in a clearing on a glorious summer evening.

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