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1 – Let the City of Madison Know How You Feel About Having a New Liquor Store in the Neighborhood
Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association President Bob Hague reminds neighbors that the Alcohol License Review Committee will be holding a hearing on this Wednesday, November 30, on the application for a liquor license for a liquor store in Madison Plaza, 4611 Verona Road. This is the spot where Dream Bikes used to be located.
The best way to make your voice heard is to attend the hearing. It’s at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 30, Room 201, City County Building.
If you can’t attend the hearing, the next best thing is to send an e-mail. Send your e-mail to the city at these addresses:
Eric Christianson <echristianson@cityofmadison.com>
Thomas Lund <tlund@cityofmadison.com>
To learn more about this application and the responses to it, go to
http://legistar.cityofmadison.com/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=26733&mode=print <http://legistar.cityofmadison.com/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=26733&mode=print>
2 - Future dates for DMNA Neighborhood Council Meetings
Dates of future DMNA Neighborhood Council meetings have been reserved at the Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society meeting house, corner of Crawford and Whenona. All meetings start at 7 pm.
Wed., Dec. 7, 2011
Wed., Jan 11, 2012
Feb. 2012 - None decided yet
Wed., Mar 7, 2012
Wed., April 4, 2012
Any resident is welcome to attend these meetings although only Council members can vote.
Contact President Bob Hague if you have a special item you would like the Council to discuss or take action on at any meeting. His contact information is bphague@tds.net 218-1760 (h), or 770-9693 (c).
Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood e-News
November 23, 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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The articles in issue of the e-News covers just one subject, the proposed liquor store in the Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood. However, 2 picture collages feature the September 17 Apache Pond dedication and the October 26 DMNA Annual Meeting. A third attachment takes the reader back to 1971 when naturalists Jim and Libby Zimmerman wrote about how to protect Dunn’s Marsh.
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1 - Liquor License Application Hearing Moved to Nov. 30
The DMNA has learned that the cancelled November 9 meeting of the Alcohol License Review Committee has been rescheduled to Wednesday, November 30 and that the public hearing on the application for a liquor license at 4611 Verona Road in Madison Plaza will be on that agenda.
The location of the proposed liquor store is in the strip mall just behind the Mobil station where Dream Bikes used to be.
The rescheduled meeting was confirmed by Eric Christianson in the Madison City Clerk’s Office. In an e-mail to DMNA President Bob Hague, Christianson said: “Mr. Hague, There is no agenda yet, but the ALRC will meet to address items on the November 9 agenda. The meeting will be on November 30 at 5:30 in Room 201 of the City-County Building.”
The liquor license hearing was #6 on the agenda of the previous (cancelled) meeting It was described as
Public Hearing - New License
Madison Oil LLC • dba Madison Oil
4611 Verona Road • Agent: Lakhvir Kaur
Class A Liquor & Class A Beer
Aldermanic District 10 (Alder Solomon) • Police Sector 104
To learn more about this application and the responses to it, go to
http://legistar.cityofmadison.com/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=26733&mode=print <http://legistar.cityofmadison.com/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=26733&mode=print>
Responses include 12 communications opposing the license and one suggesting that opposition “could be seen as racially motivated and stereotyped against women and their ethnicity.”
Both the Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association and the Allied Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association oppose this license.
Alder Brian Solomon has also confirmed his opposition. In a November 9 e-mail, Solomon said: “Please let folks in DMNA know that Madison police are opposed, ADMNA and DMNA are both opposed, and I am opposed. I talked to Fitchburg police as well to see if they’d register a statement to that effect. I have no concerns about the owner / operator; only the location. But I do not believe it is a good fit and have told police, the applicant, and the Madison Alcohol Policy Coordinator the same.”
2 - Facts from the Liquor License Application
· Application is for a Class A beer and liquor license.
· Location is 4611 Verona Road, Madison Plaza mall.
· The total space is 2,375 square feet/
· will sell beer, wine, spirits, and packaged food
· open 7 days a week, 9 a.m to 9 p.m.
· bathrooms, storage in back, coolers & shelves in front of store, extra liquor stored in back
· manager’s experience is managing a family gas station the past 2 years in a mall that also has a liquor store
· Applicant is Lakhvir Kaur, Madison Oil LLC, address 1414 Starr Grass Dr., Madison, WI 53719,
· Applicant claims there are no special conditions desired by the neighborhood. (Editor’s note: At the time of the application, the applicant had not contacted the Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association or held any informational meetings in the neighborhood. Since then, she has asked to appear at the next DMNA meeting which is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 7. However, now the public hearing has been rescheduled to November 30, which is before the DMNA Council meeting.)
· Target market would be the local neighborhood.
· Plans are to put a big sign on both the front and side of the store. (Editor’s note: This location is on the end of the mall, so signs would face both Verona Road and Britta Parkway.)
· Owner of building is FSGB, LLC, Madison Plaza, p. O. Box 724, Geneva, IL 60134, phone # 1-847-962-3414
3 - How to Make Your Opinion Known
Individuals who wish express their opinions about the proposed liquor license and liquor store have several options.
1. Attend the public hearing and register in favor of or in opposition to the license. Registrants may either choose to speak or simply register for or against the license.
The hearing is in Room 201 of the City County Building on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Meeting starts at 5:30 p.m.
2. Contact one or more of these people:
Alder Brian Solomon, <district10@cityofmadison.com> or <briansolomon@charter.net> You can also write to Brian at 2148 West Lawn Avenue, Madison, WI 53711. His phone number is 608-446-1362.
Madison’s Alcohol Coordinator Mark Woulf, mwoulf@cityofmadison.com
Eric Christianson who is the staff person for the Alcohol License Review Committee (ALRC). He will make your communication available to the whole committee.
<echristianson@cityofmadison.com>
Also given in the ALRC materials as the contact is Thomas Lund, tlund@cityofmadison.com <mailto:tlund@cityofmadison.com> . He can be contacted at the City Clerk’s office, 266-4601. Mr. Lund was the source of the detailed information first published to the neighborhood about this license application.
All the alders for the City of Madison since they will make the final decision: allalders@cityofmadison.com
4 – Check out the Photo Collages about Apache Pond, the DMNA Annual Meeting, and Protecting Dunn’s Marsh
Ready for a little “eye candy?” Click on the attachments.
“col Apache Pond dedication.jpg” shows many colorful photos from the September 17, 2011 Apache Pond dedication event. You’ll wish you had been there!
“col Zim article.jpg” is a trip to the past when neighbors protested the apartments going up at the foot of Red Arrow Trail. It’s a picture of a Capital Times article from May 7, 1971. See an air view of the southern part of the neighborhood from way back then.
“col DMNA AnMtg.jpg” shows scenes from the October 26, 2011 DMNA annual meeting.
These photo collages are small jpeg versions of the original Word documents. Anyone who wants a version with better resolution can contact the news editor. The Word versions are quite large.
Alder Dorothy Krause informed me of the ALRC meeting cancellation and I have checked this out with the Madison City Clerk. The Alcohol License Review Committee meeting scheduled for 5:30 pm today, has been cancelled. Presumably, the agenda items including the application for liquor licenses for a liquor store at 4611 Verona Road in the Madison Plaza, will be put on the agenda of the ALRC’s next meeting, December 21.
In other news, a neighborhood resident of the Crawford area asked that we look for her lost cat. “We're missing our cat, Kedi. She's a long haired solid black cat. She has cancer, and is subsequently quite skinny, and not overly friendly but very much loved. Call Brian if seen 658-8165. 2009 Axel Ave.”
Mary Mullen
Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association Communications
298-0843
I apologize for the typo in the text of my last message about the liquor store application in Madison Plaza.
As the headline noted, this hearing is this coming Wednesday, November 9, 5:30 pm, Room 201 of the City County Building, 210 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd.
An incorrect date was printed in the text of an article of last night’s communication.
Mary Mullen
Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association Communications
608-298-0843
Liquor Store Hearing This Wednesday: What You Can Do (Attachment: “1 liquor app notice.jpg”)
As noted in the last DMNA communication in late October, there’s an application for a liquor store in Madison Plaza for the spot that Dream Bikes vacated. The hearing before Madison’s Alcohol License Review Committee is this Wednesday, November 4, 5:30 pm, in Room 201 of the City County Building, Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. All interested parties are encouraged to attend and give opinions.
At its November 2 meeting, the Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association Council voted unanimously to oppose the liquor store and authorized DMNA President Bob Hague to speak at the public hearing. Most other members of the Council also plan to attend and speak against the liquor store.
Anyone attending the hearing can speak. The limit is 3 minutes. Sign up a few minutes before 5:30 - or whenever you arrive - at the table at the entrance to Room 201. This is Item 6 on the agenda but will probably be taken up at the beginning of the meeting because people will be registered against it. It is legislative file ID 24239
Want to speak but don’t have a way to get to the hearing? Anyone who needs a ride to the hearing should contact Mary Mullen, 298-0843, or mmullen@chorus.net. She’ll either pick you up or try to find someone else to do so.
If you cannot attend, you may call, write an e-mail, or sent a snail mail letter. Facts from the application and other sources are summarized below.
Here are some people you might want to communicate with giving your reasons for your opinion about having another liquor store in our neighborhood.
Alder Brian Solomon, <district10@cityofmadison.com> or <briansolomon@charter.net> You can also write to Brian at 2148 West Lawn Avenue, Madison, WI 53711. His phone number is 608-446-1362.
Madison’s Alcohol Coordinator Mark Woulf, mwoulf@cityofmadison.com
Eric Christianson who is the staff person for the Alcohol License Review Committee (ALRC). He will make your communication available to the whole committee.
<echristianson@cityofmadison.com>
Also given in the ALRC materials as the contact is tlund@cityofmadison.com
All the alders for the City of Madison since they will make the final decision: allalders@cityofmadison.com
by Mary Mullen
Facts About the Liquor Store Application (Attachment: “493601b3-e051-4f50-9199-b7e93292e407.pdf” which is the application itself)
If you click on the attachment with the many numbers and letters, you can see the actual application for the liquor store proposed for Madison Plaza where Dream Bikes used to be. To see everything about this application including some responses to it, go to http://legistar.cityofmadison.com/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=26733&mode=print <http://legistar.cityofmadison.com/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=26733&mode=print>
In a nutshell, the application provides the following information:
· application is for a Class A beer and liquor license
· location 4611 Verona Road, Madison Plaza mall
· the total space is 2,375 square feet
· will sell beer, wine, spirits, and packaged food
· open 7 days a week, 9 a.m to 9 p.m.
· bathrooms, storage in back, coolers & shelves in front of store, extra liquor stored in back
· manager’s experience is managing a family gas station the past 2 years in a mall that also has a liquor store
· applicant is Lakhvir Kaur, Madison Oil LLC
· applicants address is 1414 Starr Grass Dr., Madison, WI 53719,
· Applicant claims there are no special conditions desired by the neighborhood. (Editor’s note: The applicant has not contacted the Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association or held any informational meetings in the neighborhood. Therefore, she could not know if special conditions are desired.)
· Target market would be the local neighborhood.
· Plans to put a big sign on both the front and side of the store. (Editor’s note: This location is on the end of the mall, so signs would face both Verona Road and Britta Parkway.)
· Owner of building is FSGB, LLC, Madison Plaza, p. O. Box 724, Geneva, IL 60134, phone # 1-847-962-3414
· The floor plan with the application is unreadable.
by Mary Mullen
Current Responses to Application
Currently, response to this application has been negative. A neighborhood resident’s inquiry established that Alder Brian Solomon is opposed. The Madison police are opposed. The Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Association is opposed. Several neighborhood residents including Bob Hague, President of the DMNA, have already written to various authorities expressing their opposition. At least one Council member talked about starting a petition against the liquor store.
At its November 2 meeting the DMNA Council discussed its reasons for opposing a liquor store in Madison Plaza. These are some of the reasons for opposition.
· What a contrast to Dream Bikes, the previous occupant of the space, which was positive for the community in every way, employing young people from the neighborhood and encouraging bike riding.
· Our neighborhood is already at risk regarding health due to many factors. It is close to major highways with their noise and air pollution. The neighborhood has a lot of issues with alcohol and drug use, now. You can find a trail of alcohol bottles and beer cans all along the frontage roads and some other streets. Do we need more of that?
· We already have one liquor store in the neighborhood, Zimmer’s on the Beltline Frontage Road, 7/10 of a mile away from the proposed liquor store.
· Zimmer’s is the site of police calls on a pretty regular basis.
· Alcohol is available at many other locations within the neighborhood and nearby.
- One can buy beer at the Mobil station just a stone’s throw from the proposed store and also at the BP station right next to Einstein’s. Beer is also available at the Speedway gas station at Verona Road and Raymond Road.
- Several establishments just across Verona Road have alcohol on the menu. Feiler’s Restaurant next to Kentucky Fried Chicken has a bar and to the west right next to the bike path there’s Bennett’s Meadowood Country Club, also a bar.
- Up on Williamsburg Way is a full-fledged liquor store, Liquor Town, and just around the corner from it is Picasso’s Pizza that also has a bar.
· What the neighborhood needs is a grocery store, not another place to buy alcohol.
by Mary Mullen
