Dunn's Marsh E-Newsletter - From The Desk Of The President

Hello Everybody,

Mary is out of town on vacation, so I thought I'd send some updates on what's going on in our neighborhood. For those who don't know me, I'm Jeff Glazer, President of your Dunn's Marsh Neighborhood Association. As you can tell by the flurry of emails sent by Mary in the past few months, we've been hard at work in the neighborhood. With the onset of Spring, there will come a new slew of projects to undertake and I hope this email will address some of those. 

But, please, if you have any questions, concerns or comments, please get a hold of me. You all now have my email address (jglazer75@gmail.com) and my phone number is 608-277-1778. I'd love to hear from you. So, now, on to the good stuff.

Facebook:

Dunn's Marsh is on Facebook! Become a fan at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dunns-Marsh-Neighborhood-Association/187654193505?ref=ts - you'll get this e-newsletter to your Facebook account and put a face to your neighbors. We also occasionally post photos and have discussion groups for you to get a hold of the Neighborhood Association Council or each other.

ChiliFest!

The ChiliFest will be held on Saturday, April 17th. New Beginnings DayCare, with new management and a nice, big, fun space, have generously agreed to let us use their space. So, bring your Chili, your kids, your friends, your dog, your bike, whatever. Just get yourself over there and enjoy an afternoon of mingling with your neighbors. We'll have door prizes and maybe a surprise or two for you. A time has not yet been selected, so please keep an eye out. 

EarthDay at 40
Interact with leaders from business, government, advocacy, literature and academia. Celebrate Wisconsin's 
historic leadership role in environmental thought and policy, and help chart our path to a sustainable future.  
Registration ends soon! Guest speakers include Governor Jim Doyle, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Rep. Tammy Baldwin, Author Margaret Atwood, and others. http://www.nelson.wisc.edu/earthday40

MGE Green Power Challenge

As you'll recall, our neighborhood is registered for the MGE Green Power Challenge. We have an excellent opportunity to win some cash for our neighborhood, and help save the environment all in one go. If you have not yet signed up for MGE's Green Power initiatives, please do so. My wife and I have enrolled, our energy use is completely set-off by wind-power purchases to the grid, and our energy bill went up by less than $5 per month. Knowing that your energy comes from sustainable sources and that you are not contributing to further coal emissions is worth less than $5 month, no?

Madison Gas and Electric has developed a new web page and map at http://www.mge.com/challenge to help update neighborhood residents about the green power challenge.  All 16 participating neighborhoods are located on the map along with links to the respective neighborhood web sites.

In May we will check on green power participation in each neighborhood and show the percent changes on the page.

As we head in to April and Earth Day, you can use this page to inform your neighbors about the challenge.  From there they will be able to link directly to the MGE green power information and sign up form.

Thanks again for your participation and your support for renewable energy. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like any resources to help with the challenge.

Bob Stoffs
Community Services Manager
Madison Gas and Electric Company
(608) 252-7906  phone
(608) 252-4734  fax

See the latest renewable energy video at http://www.mge.com/greenview

Madison Fruits and Nuts - Communities Take Root

You'll recall that our neighborhood has been awarded the grant opportunity to win a fruit and nut orchard to be planted in Marlborough Park. This orchard will be freely accessible to anyone in the neighborhood. We'll have educational events on what to do with these fruits and/or nuts. And, it will be provide food access and education for our neighborhood for years to come. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to do what's right for ourselves and our children and our neighborhood. But, we won't get this orchard unless you vote for us. So, go to http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/Plant/Index, find Madison: Allied Wellness Center (that's us!), and vote. You can, and should, vote every single day. Once a month between now and September, the top 5 neighborhoods will win an orchard. So, please, help us out and vote.

Crescent Road/Dunn's Marsh Tree and Shrub Removal

I've had some questions over the past few weeks about the shrub and tree removal near the Marsh on Crescent between Apache and Red Arrow Trail. Apparently, rumors have begun to fly about what exactly is going on there. A reminder: this is not a condo development, it is for the creation of a new retention pond to filter run-off from our neighborhood to prevent it from getting into the Marsh. Below, you'll find the time schedule for this project:

In a letter mailed this past week to Dunn's Marsh residents and owners within a 300-foot distance from the Lot 19 & 20 wet pond project, Fitchburg Environmental Engineer Rick Eilertson gave the following tentative timeframe for the project:

Late Feb. -late March 2010 - Tree and shrub removal
April 2010 - Topographic Survey
Summer 2010 - Final design and bidding
Fall 2010 to Summer 2011 - Construction and restoration

People with questions or comments related to the work were urged to
contact Rick at 270-4264 or rick.eilertson@city.fitchburg.wi.us.

Verona Road Construction

There is a meeting coming up next week of the Policy Advisory Committee ("PAC") and Technical Advisory Committee ("TAC") for the Verona Road construction project. The public is welcome to attend this meeting, but non-committee members may not (and probably will not) be permitted to comment. I, and a few others, plan to attend this meeting and will report back to you. If you would like to attend this meeting, I ask that you do so in a friendly and open manner and that you follow the rules established for the meeting.

Dear Policy Advisory and Technical Advisory Committee, 

We will be holding a joint PAC/TAC meeting on April 7th, from 6 P.M. to 8 P.M. at Strand Associates, 910 W. Wingra Drive.  This will be the last meeting before the release of the SDEIS and public hearing. The SDEIS describes WisDOT's three-stage preferred alternative. The public will have 45 days to comment on the SDEIS once it is published. The hearing is a public event where anyone interested can learn about the proposal and comment if desired.

This meeting will provide background on both the document and the hearing. You are encouraged to attend or send an representative if you are unable to.