The festivities will begin early Saturday with the Dandelion Dash, a fun run with various distances, culminating in the dash involving the youngest runners making 100 yard scamper. The 5K race is open to all while there will be two heats for the Dandelion Dash; one for children 6 to 9 years old and one for children 5 and under. See after the jump why this last race can not be missed.
An early graphic on the side of Plan B which has since been scraped off. If the agreement is approved by all parties a new mural will go up on this wall.
In the hours before the Alcohol Licensing Review Committee was to meet to rule on the renewal of Plan B’s license, the nightclub, the Marquette Neighborhood Association and neighbors concerned by noise came to an agreement about how to address the issue collaboratively.
The agreement is independent of any ALRC action, but evolved out of the committee’s directive from last year’s separation hearing for all the parties to continue to work together. Later during the hearing, the ALRC renewed Plan B’s license.
It is unclear if the renewal was a direct result of the announced agreement but City of Madison representatives were closely involved in helping to craft the deal. The agreement is still tentative and the MNA Board will consider whether to endorse at its meeting on Thursday. Continue reading
My location (right) on the night I heard the somewhat typical Plan B hubbub. Without trying, I was able to clearly hear talking and music from over 200 yards away. Base image courtesy: Google
In a few days the Alcohol License Review Committee will hold a separate hearing to further examine the renewal of Plan B nightclub’s alcohol license. This is the second straight year the establishment, located at 924 Williamson Street, has received extra scrutiny rather than their license being renewed in a block by the City of Madison.
This blog has looked at the various reasons for the problem surrounding Plan B’s operation, and both the owners of the club and neighbors affected by the noise have legitimate beefs. But it was not until Sunday night, May 26, when I took Plan B co-owner Rico Sabatini up on his challenge to take a late night walk on Jenifer Street, that I concluded that Sabatini and his partner Cory Gresen are not trying hard enough.
The City of Madison Alcohol Licensing Review Committee voted Wednesday night (May 22) to separate Plan B Nightclub’s (924 Williamson Street) license renewal and consider it at a special hearing on June 3. The separation was requested by the Marquette Neighborhood Association, in a letter, citing unresolved noise issues since the nightclub opened in 2009.
While the typical nightclub noise has largely been addressed, at least three households on the 900 block of Jenifer Street continue to cite lost sleep from low bass frequency noise emanating from Plan B. Both the club’s owners, and an audio specialist they hired to assess the location, agree bass noise is being transmitted through the roof of the club; housed in an older concrete block building that used to house Star Photo, a commercial photo processing business. Continue reading
The MNA Board meets at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center on Thursday April 18, 2013. (L to R: Ralph Kuehn, President Michael Jacob, Anne Walker, Nicole Craig, Bill Scanlon, Treasurer Cheryl Solaris and Joan Frost (foreground). Not pictured but present: Carl Durocher, Tom Boos, Vice-President Chris Lukas and Secretary Mike Soref.
It was a pretty busy night at the Marquette Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Thursday April 18. While decidedly the big news was the MNA letter to the Alcohol Licensing Review Committee regarding Plan B nightclub; quite a bit of ground was covered on many neighborhood initiatives including the naming of a new director of the Orton Park Festival.
The Marquette Neighborhood Association voted this week to ask a City of Madison Committee to review the alcohol license of Plan B nightclub at 924 Williamson Street. In a letter approved by the MNA Board on Thursday, April 18, the association wants the City’s Alcohol Licensing Review Committee (ALRC) to separate Plan B’s license for closer scrutiny when the ALRC makes its yearly license renewals in June.
The battle over noise at Plan B has pitted a nightclub which appears to be in compliance with current noise ordinances against neighbors who nightly feel vibrations from the bass portion of the music being played at the club. The owners of Plan B say they have made good faith efforts and spent money to ameliorate the noise issues. The neighbors say that Plan B has only taken minimal steps to solve the problem and refuse to tackle the main culprit: a roof that is susceptible to vibration and is likely transmitting it toward the neighborhood one block away. Continue reading
The 800 North Block East Washington Avenue Committee has unanimously voted to recommend that a proposal submitted by Gebhardt Development be built on the city-owned parcel of land next to Reynolds Park. The $63.7 million proposal features 48,000 square feet of commercial space, 262 residential units and a 50,000 square-foot Metcalfe’s grocery store which has been long-desired by the neighborhood.
In addition to approving the proposal, the committee added six additional recommendations as City Staff move on to the negotiating phase with Gebhardt. The recommendations expand on the sustainability aspects of Gebhardt’s design that was already highly advanced. The committee also set guidelines for housing affordability as well as a call for union-neutral commercial tenants.
Current District 6 Alder Marsha Rummel will be challenged by former MNA Board President Scott Thornton in elections in April.
Madison Common Council District 6 Alder Marsha Rummel and her challenger, former Marquette Neighborhood Association President Scott Thronton, will participate in a candidate forum next month.
The north 800 Block of East Washington Avenue looking east towards Breese Stevens Field. The City is attempting to create an impressive gateway corridor just east of the Capitol while encouraging developments that blend sensible residential and commercial uses for area residents. Photo by: Jamie Grunniwaldt
The quest to revive the moribund Capitol East corridor has been restarted on the City-owned 800 block of East Washington Avenue as three new proposals are under consideration. The City was negotiating last year with Urban Land Interests to build mixed-use commercial and residential buildings featuring high-tech tenants but talks centering on public financing of a parking ramp broke down and the proposal was withdrawn.
The failed first attempt at developing the site was a sigh of relief to many residents of the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood, and to a certain extent those in the Marquette neighborhood, who were excited about a late (but not considered) proposal by Metcalfe’s Market for a mixed-used development including a grocer, hotel, and apartments. As the 800 North Block East Washington Avenue Committee prepares to consider submissions from T. Wall Enterprises, C.D. Smith, and Gebhardt Development one proposal is emerging as a clear favorite. Continue reading
The City of Madison is eyeing improvements to the Capital City Trail bike path and is seeking feedback from residents. District 6 Alder Marsha Rummel along with traffic committees from MNA and SASYNA neighborhood associations requested the draft report.
The plan examines each intersection that crosses a street in District 6 (from Blair to Waubesa Street), recommending improvements at 13 intersections including raised pavement, added sineage, bump outs, and the yet-to-be-approved diagonal crossing at the Atwood//Dunning intersection. Continue reading