Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood e-News
October 25, 2011 August 26, 2011
The DMN e-News and an occasional hard copy DMN News are published by the Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association (DMNA) on an “as-needed” schedule. The Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association, Inc. has been working to unite neighbors to solve mutual problems and promote fellowship among neighbors since 1973. Our neighborhood is in Madison & Fitchburg.
President, Bob Hague, bphague@tds.net 218-1760
News contact, Mary Mullen, mmullen@chorus.net 298-0843
Website: http://www.dunnsmarsh.org <http://www.dunnsmarsh.org> (temporarily out of order)
On Facebook: http://facebook.com/note.php?note_id=378988848623 <http://facebook.com/note.php?note_id=378988848623>
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This e-News is mainly about the October 26 DMNA annual meeting: a greeting from President Bob Hague, a brief agenda, and a notice about how Madison residents might be able to register to vote. This is planned to be a speed meeting of one hour’s duration. Six other short articles complete this issue.
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Articles in the October 25, 2011 Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood e-News
1 - Greetings, neighbors! Invitation to DMNA annual meeting, Wed., Oct. 26
2 - Annual meeting agenda
3 - Neighbors Sharon & Pam Flinn Can Register You to Vote Right Here
4 - WisDOT and Odom Associates Hold Many Public Outreach Hours about Verona Rd. Project
(Attachment: “Verona Rd outreach.jpg”)
5 - Construct-U May Help Neighborhood Women and Minorities Get Employment in Verona Rd. Project
6 - Neighborhood Trick-or-Treaters Invited to Halloween Party at Prairie UU
7 - Need a kitten? (Attachment: “kittens pic.jpg”)
8 - Preschool Ad Advertisement Attached to e-News (Attachment: “preschool ad.jpg”)
9 - Alder Solomon’s District 10 Alder Report from 9-21-11 (Only the timely excerpts)
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1. Greetings, neighbors! Invitation to DMNA annual meeting, Wed., Oct. 26
The Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association works to make our neighborhood a great place to live!
We want to hear from you at our ANNUAL NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING, Wednesday, OCTOBER 26, 6:30 pm, at Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society, 2010 Whenona Dr. (corner of Whenona Dr. and Crawford Dr.)
· What concerns do you have about our neighborhood?
· Do you have ideas for social gatherings that help us get to know each other?
· Are there ways neighbors could help each other during these hard times?
During the meeting you will also select your representatives to serve on the Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association Council for the next year (Nov. 2011 – Oct. 2012).
Over the past year our neighborhood council has been active to look out for our neighborhood interests and to help neighbors get to know each other. Some of our accomplishments have included:
· Installation of pet waste bag stations in Marlborough Park
· Neighborhood garage sale
· Participation in Apache Pond project in Fitchburg
· Marlborough Park picnic in August
· Neighborhood Yard & Garden Tour
· Changes to Verona Rd Project to address neighborhood concerns
We hope to see you on Wednesday, October 26, 6:30 for our important annual meeting!
Bob Hague, President
Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association
bphague@tds.net <mailto:bphague@tds.net> and 218-1760
Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association
Annual Meeting
Wednesday October 26th, 6:30 P.M.
Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society
2010 Whenona Drive
AGENDA
1. Call to order/greeting by DMNA President – (5 min)
2. Thank-You to Project Welcome Volunteers – (5 min)
3. Introduction of DMNA Council Members, Alder Brian Solomon, & any other dignitaries – (5 min)
4. Open Floor Period/Questions, comments, concerns (30 min)
5. Caucuses and voting
6. Adjourn
3 - Neighbors Sharon & Pam Flinn Can Register You to Vote Right Here
You’d have to be an ostrich not to know that Wisconsin has passed the most restrictive Voter ID law in the entire United States. What this means is that it will be much harder to register to vote and even to “get permission” at the polls to vote if you don’t already have a current Wisconsin driver’s license, if you are a student, or have recently moved.
“It will be much easier to have one of us register voters ‘off-site’ than it will be to register at the polls,” says Sharon Flinn, Chief Inspector for the City of Madison polls in our neighborhood (HeadStart building). She and her daughter Pam Flinn, also a poll worker, are certified to register Madison residents right where they are - at home, at a store, at the DMNA annual meeting, even on the street. This will save a lot of time for unregistered voters at the polls.
Sharon and Pam plan to get certified to register Fitchburg voters as well. This is important since the Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood straddles the border of Madison and Fitchburg.
The Flinns have offered their phone number as a way to get in touch with them if you aren’t registered and want to be. It is 271-3958. The Flinns will be making every effort to come to the annual meeting so that any unregistered voters can fill out registration forms at that time.
You will have to show a picture ID such as a Wisconsin driver’s license, a Wisconsin picture ID, a passport, naturalization papers, or a military ID.
But the nice thing about registering in the neighborhood rather than at the polls is that you don’t have to prove your current address. That will be handled by the city. The city of Madison will send a notice of registration to the address you give. If it is returned by the post office as undeliverable, it’s assumed that the registrant no longer lives there, and the person won’t be put on the poll list of registered voters.
The DMNA will be sponsoring an information session on the new Voter ID law sometime in the future but after the October 26 annual meeting. The annual meeting is set for 6:30 pm at Prairie UU Society, corner of Crawford and Whenona.
by Mary Mullen
4 - WisDOT and Odom Associates Hold Many Public Outreach Hours about Verona Rd. Project
(Attachment: “1 Verona Rd outreach.jpg”)
The “preliminary design phase” for the Verona Road /Beltline Interchange Project will soon begin. WisDOT through its consultant Strand Associates is providing many public outreach office hours at the Boys and Girls Club and also at the Upper Iowa University campus on Hammersley Road.
To see the schedule, click on the attachment referenced above.
The next two outreach sessions at the Boys and Girls Club are October 26, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and Nov. 9, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.
The brochure notes that “Sites will be staffed by individuals who are prepared to respond to questions and feedback. Project maps, displays, documents and handouts will be available, including a copy of the Final Environmental Impact Statement.”
When I visited, Joe Bunker from Strand and several representatives from Odom & Associates were present including a young woman who could speak Spanish. A video on how to use a roundabout was playing. The reconstructed Verona Road will include a roundabout.
I requested a copy of the large map of the project for use in the neighborhood. That map will be provided by Strand and will be displayed at the DMNA annual meeting on October 26.
by Mary Mullen
5 - Construct-U May Help Neighborhood Women and Minorities Get Employment in Verona Rd. Project
The Verona Road reconstruction project will be seriously underway in 2013. Seeing the project as inevitable, some speakers at the hearing for the Final Environmental Impact Statement spoke about the need for neighborhood people to be employed in the project. How can that happen?
One way it can happen is through Construct-U. Construct-U is an 8-week course through the YWCA that introduces women and minorities to the road construction industry and building trades. The class meets Tuesday through Friday from 1:00 to 5:00 pm and on Saturday from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm. What’s even better is that this course is FREE!
Ordinarily the course is taught 3 times a year. The next session begins on January 10. One requirement is that potential Construct-U students must attend an orientation session prior to the start of class. Five orientation sessions are being held between November 17 and December 1. All are held at 3101 Latham Drive in the vicinity of Fish Hatchery Road and Greenway Cross, a couple of blocks from Kentucky Fried Chicken. The Thursday, November 17 orientation is at 3 p.m. Others are on different days and at different times.
A flyer about the course is available at the public outreach sessions for the Verona Road project that are held at the Boys and Girls Club and Upper Iowa University campus on Hammersley Road.
More detailed information is also available from Kevyn Radcliffe, Construct-U Instructor, at 257-1436, option 3 or by e-mail at kradcliffe@ywcamadison.org.
This flyer and Construct-U are not going unnoticed. When I stopped into the public outreach session for Verona Road on October 12, several young Black women were inquiring about Construct-U and how it would help them get jobs on the Verona Road project.
by Mary Mullen
6 - Neighborhood Trick-or-Treaters Invited to Halloween Party at Prairie UU
Walking around in the dark, cold streets to gather candy is hard work! Take a break from trick-or-treating by warming up to some hot apple cider and eating some spooooky treats!
The Halloween Party is for anyone in the neighborhood. Stop by at Prairie UU Society between 5:00 and 8:00 pm on Monday, October 31. Location is at corner of Whenona and Crawford.
from Rebecca Malke-Eliganti, Prairie UU Society
7 - Need a kitten? (Attachment: “2 kittens pic.jpg”)
If you have a soft spot and a good home for a kitten, you might want one or both of these two kittens. One is all black and the other is black and white. Both are females. Contact Donna at dksarafin@yahoo.com or 273-0437.
8 - Preschool Ad Advertisement Attached to e-News (Attachment: “3 preschool ad.jpg”)
The Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood e-News accepts some ads for its newsletter. They may be in the form of an attachment to the e-News. As in this case, a notice will inform readers about the advertisement.
Attached to this month’s e-News is an advertisement for the New Morning Nursery School. New Morning is a non-profit, parent cooperative nursery school located on Monroe St. in the Wingra School building and serving children ages 2-6.
9 - Alder Solomon’s District 10 Alder Report from 9-21-11 (Only the timely excerpts)
Greetings neighbors. Hope you are enjoying this beautiful early autumn. A few things to update you on, including an upcoming meeting. Thanks all, Brian
Budget. The Capital budget has been released. The operating budget will be released in a few weeks. I am very supportive of the Capital budget, which greatly reduces city expenditures and begins to deal with our long term debt issues. Given the economy and reductions in state aid, I think this is a very responsible action. The biggest controversial item was Mayor Soglin’s proposal to reduce the TIF allocation to the Edgewater. Most of you will remember that I was actively involved in that discussion, trying to get some guarantees for living wage jobs and minority hiring post construction. Because I was unable to get support for even a broad range of targets, I was unable to support the $16 million TIF allocation. I am leary of changing our decision (even with my opposition), but do think the proposal is worth considering, especially given our budget situation. More to come. If you’d like to check out the Capital budget, you can do so here: http://www.cityofmadison.com/finance/budget/2012/ <http://www.cityofmadison.com/finance/budget/2012/>
Brush Collection. Final rounds are currently in place. Crews will be on brush from now until snow, as available. But most of the attention will be on leaves once they start falling. For more information, check out the city streets website at: http://www.cityofmadison.com/streets/ <http://www.cityofmadison.com/streets/> .
Triple A. Our new farm team? A recruitment poster for road side assistance? Nope. Our bond rating. This is a very strong signal that our city’s financial situation remains stable and strong, despite the economic difficulties we face. I serve on the Board of Estimates and we approved some additional borrowing in a special meeting tonight. We got an incredible interest rate thanks to the Triple A rating. It’s nice to share some good news. Read more at: http://www.cityofmadison.com/news/view.cfm?news_id=2853 <http://www.cityofmadison.com/news/view.cfm?news_id=2853> .
from 10th District Madison Alder Brian Solomon
--- end of the October 25, 2011 DUNN’S MARSH NEIGHBORHOOD E-NEWS --
Thanks for reading.
