May 18, 2010
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.
President, Jeff Glazer, jglazer75@gmail.com 277-1778
News contact, Mary Mullen, mmullen@chorus.net, 298-0843
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Note: Some events are listed and described ONLY in the Calendar. All articles by Mary Mullen unless indicated otherwise.
Calendar
Tuesday, May 18, 7 p.m. – DMNA Council. Prairie UU Society, corner of Crawford and Whenona. Any resident may attend, but only Council members may vote.
Tuesday, May 18 and throughout May on different days – HospiceCare Grief Support Groups - See article. These are quality groups and well worth trying if you have had a death in the family or are struggling with end of life issues. See article 10.
Wed., May 19, 7 p.m. - Fitchburg Public Library Long Range Planning Public Meeting, Stoner Prairie Room, Fitchburg Community Center, 5520 Lacy Road. Give input on the priorities and goals for the library's services and collections! Questions? Call 270-4205 or e-mail library@city.fitchburg.wi.us.
Wed., May 19 – NO liquor license hearings. These applications will be removed from the agenda until the applicants reapply and meet with the DMNA and neighborhood. We have the written promise of both Ald. Brian Solomon and Ald. Mike Verveer that this will be done. Don’t waste your time going to the Alcohol License Review Board today. See article 1.
Wed., May 26, 7 p.m. and every 2nd and 4th Wednesday – Neighborhood Verona Road project group meets at MacDonald’s to learn more information and plan strategies to lessen the impact on our neighborhood. For more information, contact DMNA Council member Jo Kelley at jokelley@tds.net or 276-8010. See article 2.
Wed., June 2, 7 p.m. – Neighborhood meeting, question & answer session about planned Verona Road/Beltline reconstruction plans. Prairie UU Society, corner of Crawford and Whenona. We are expecting a short presentation by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation & Strand Associates followed by a more lengthy time for questions, answers, and comments. Come and get your questions answered and speak your mind about what you see and hear. We hope this will be tailored to meet our needs rather than be a total rehash of past presentations.
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Articles
Neighborhood Interest
1 - Liquor License Applications to be Placed on File
2 - Alder Solomon Gets on Board for Action About Verona Road Project
3 - Correction
4 - Orchard Started in Marlborough Park
5 - Light Installed on Marlborough Playground
6 - A Perfect Day (Attachment: “Cleanup 2010.jpg”)
7 - Invasive Plants Try to Take Over (Attachment: “Invasive Plants.jpg”)
8 - Need Organizer for Neighborhood Garage Sales
General Interest
9 - Camp Pawprint Registration Still Open
10 - HospiceCare Grief Support Groups for May & June
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Neighborhood Interest Articles
1 - Liquor License Applications to be Placed on File
After months of being on tenterhooks about whether to attend hearings before the Alcohol License Review Board (ALRC), the neighborhood can relax for a bit in regards to applications for liquor licenses for two establishments on the Beltline Frontage Road.
Both Alder Brian Solomon who represents the Madison area of our neighborhood and Alder Mike Verveer who serves on the Madison ALRC have assured DMNA President Jeff Glazer that both applications will be “placed on file” at the ALRC meeting this Wednesday, May 19.
Placing on file means that the applicants will have to reapply, although they may do so as soon as the next month. Neighbors need not attend this ALRC meeting.
On May 17 Brian Solomon, in an e-mail to Alder Verveer, expressed his frustration with the applicants. He said,
Mike: I would like to either place on file items 23 and 24 or refer back to ALRC for the November meeting (six months). Neither applicant has contacted the neighborhood or scheduled a mtg, as requested multiple times. I had this item referred for two months at the March mtg after
re-referring month to month at least 3-4 times. This is not fair to neighbors and I'm getting kind of tired of it.
Alder Verveer’s response was very positive to Mr. Solomon’s request. Verveer responded:
Thanks, Brian. I'm sorry that I didn't get back to you last week about these items.
Consider your reasonable request granted. I will move Wednesday that the ALRC place these items on file without prejudice. That would allow the respective applicants to start the process again with a new application in the future. It is inappropriate to keep these applications pending any longer.
The two locations are at 4265 and 4245 West Beltline Frontage Road, the stucco house at the corner of Danbury Rd. which Tom Caputo had wanted to turn into Bernie and Tony’s Piano Bar & Sicilian Restaurante, and Faouzi’s Restaurant, the old Blarney Stone Bar, located 2 doors to the east.
Meantime, Faouzi’s has opened as a restaurant that does not serve alcohol. Faouzi’s serves Moroccan cuisine and is open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
These applications had first come before Madison’s ALRC on December 16, 2009. The hearings were attended by nearly a dozen neighborhood people who expressed serious reservations about opening bars on the frontage road where there is already a liquor store. The applications were referred to the next month with instructions to meet specific conditions and then referred month to month when neither applicant met the conditions set forth by the ALRC.
Mr. Caputo was advised to get an approved parking plan and apply for an entertainment license. The Faouzi applicants were told that their application could not be considered because it wasn’t completely filled out and also could not include Mr. Faouzi because of his alcohol-related convictions. ALRC members also questioned the statistics provided by the Faouzi applicant about how much revenue would come from alcohol and how much from food sales.
Both applicants were advised to get together with the neighborhood to work out differences. Nothing has been forthcoming from either one.
by Mary Mullen
2 - Alder Solomon Gets on Board for Action About Verona Road Project
It was a small but intense and, at times, noisy group of individuals who occupied the front corner of MacDonald’s on May 12. With the help of a big map and their collective knowledge of the Verona Road project, they convinced Alder Brian Solomon that there are a myriad of issues that he, as our representative, should act on.
Alder Solomon began with a statement that other than pollution and relocation concerns, he basically liked Phase 1 of the Verona Road reconstruction project. He said he especially liked the jug handle crossing under Verona Road, the interchange at the Beltline that will allow simultaneous left-hand turns, and what he called improved pedestrian/bike connections. He did express serious opposition to Phase 3 of the project that would locate Verona Road in a trench and allow full-speed access to the Beltline via flyways.
His premise that “Realistically, changing the way we commute won’t happen in the foreseeable future of 20-30 years,” and statement that there was really nothing he could do about the project did not resonate with his listeners. Hearts fell.
But this group of citizens was not giving up and obviously felt that it is inappropriate for any elected representative to bow out without a struggle. By the end of the meeting with the Verona Road Justice Coalition group, Solomon had developed an action plan involving both himself and the people who had invited him to the meeting. He also apologized for his original statement of powerlessness.
At Brian’s request, the group will develop a 2-page list of all the major concerns and objections. He will take this list to meetings he will arrange with those above him in the hierarchy of political representatives, namely Mayor Dave of Madison, the County Executive Kathleen Falk, and Mayor Jay Allen of Fitchburg. These meetings will wait until after Alder Solomon recovers from surgery that he will undergo on May 21. (We wish him well in this surgery.)
The Verona Road Justice Coalition group that night included people from 3 neighborhoods. Five of the 8 attendees were from the Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood: Connie Roderick, Kim Zinski, Jim Lyne, Cathy Casper, and Mary Mullen. Bill McCarthy and Ted Collins attended from the Westchester area west of Verona Road in the vicinity of Raymond Road. They have been involved for years in trying to mitigate the effects of the project. The eighth person was Joceylyn Riley who represents the quadrant behind Dorn Hardware and along the Beltline known as Summit Woods.
All interested residents of the areas affected by this reconstruction project are invited to come to meetings which are held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at MacDonald’s at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Jo Kelley jokelley@tds.net or 276-8010.
Or go to http://groups.google.com/group/verona-road-justice-coalition <http://groups.google.com/group/verona-road-justice-coalition> which is the website devoted to sharing information about the reconstruction project. Note: If this link doesn’t work, simply copy it and paste it into the address blank of your Internet browser. On the right side of the opening page is a link that allows you to join this group and then add your own thoughts. All are invited to add their concerns.
by Mary Mullen
3 - Correction
It was neighbor Jim Lyne who set up the Google Group about the Verona Road project. Thanks, Jim. It’s Connie Roderick who manages the group.
To get current information about this massive project from a neighborhood point of view, go to http://groups.google.com/group/verona-road-justice-coalition <http://groups.google.com/group/verona-road-justice-coalition>
4 - Orchard Started in Marlborough Park
During the opening day at the Marlborough Park community gardens May 15, six orchard enthusiasts planted as many plum trees on the west side of the park between the plowed and no-till gardens. They were a gift from Hilltop Community Farm LLC.
The Allied Wellness Center has applied to the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation for further orchard plantings. To vote for an orchard in Marlborough Park, go to www.communitiestakeroot.com <http://www.communitiestakeroot.com> and cast your vote for the Allied Wellness Center application.
This orchard application presently has 918 votes. The current leaders have vote totals of 13,097, 10,170, 8,356, and 7,738 votes. You may vote once a day!
by Mary Mullen
5 - Light Installed on Marlborough Playground
A bright light has been installed on the Marlborough Park kids’ playground as a security measure. Several years ago vandals burned the playground. A new, slightly relocated, and larger playground was built the next year with input from a committee of neighbors about the new equipment.
In a meeting between neighborhood leaders and park officials, a light was promised. Finally it has been installed.
6- A Perfect Day (Attachment: “Cleanup 2010.jpg”)
Serenaded by frogs, caressed by gentle breezes, delighted by the gurgling brook, warmed by the sun and good conversation, 4 neighbors and a Fitchburg intern picked up trash and recyclables from the waterway running to Dunn’s Marsh behind the Dunn’s Marsh Apartments and the Megan’s Bay condos on May 1. The participants were Chris Lowry, Dave Martin, Patty Stockdale, and Mary Mullen from the neighborhood, and Amy Klusmeier, the intern.
Other groups were doing the same further west at Arrowhead Park below Chalet Gardens and on the south side of Dunn’s Marsh. The groups were coordinated by Fitchburg Environmental Engineer Rick Eilertson who briefly spoke to the group before joining the Arrowhead group. Those in the Arrowhead group were Rick, Felipe (another Fitchburg employee), and Kurt and Sam Gutknecht.
The good news is that there was much, much less litter than in previous years. Or perhaps the group found less because of the advanced season that had produced tall grass that may have hidden what would’ve been obvious otherwise.
Those hundreds of you who didn’t join in missed more than you can imagine!
by Mary Mullen
7 - Invasive Plants Try to Take Over (Attachment: “Invasive Plants.jpg”)
Now that spring has really sprung, it’s time to search out and destroy the invasive plants that might have a foothold in your yard. We all recognize the prickly thistles and the delicate Queen Anne’s Lace, but other plants are equally problematic. Foremost among them might be the pungent Garlic Mustard and the pretty Dame’s Rocket that are blooming and setting seed right now.
Take a look at the picture sheet that is an attachment to this e-News. It shows 32 – yes, 32! – terrestrial invasive plants in Wisconsin. If you are wondering how to tell Dame’s Rocket from the similar-looking phlox, just count the petals. Dame’s Rocket, the invasive pink, white, and purple flower, has 4 petals. Phlox have one more. Both the tall, showy Dame’s Rocket and the yellow-green leafy spurge are evident along some of the Beltline embankments east of Fish Hatchery Road.
8 - Need Organizer for Neighborhood Garage Sales
People have been asking about holding neighborhood garage sales. All we need is an organizer to take names, make a map, and get some signs out at the entrances to the neighborhood. Are you that person? If so, contact or call Jeff Glazer, DMNA President. (See the masthead for contact information.)
General Interest Articles
9 - Camp Pawprint Registration Still Open
Camp Pawprint is a series of week-long day camps held at the Dane County Humane Society. Campers age 7 to 15 enjoy animal-related lessons and activities while having fun with other animal lovers! Activities include humane education lessons, critter projects, group games, and daily presentations from local animal experts. All campers spend time interacting with our camp animals and getting hands-on experience providing daily care and socialization.
For more information <">">http://www.giveshelter.org/sitemgr/camp_pawprint#daycamps> <http://www.giveshelter.org/sitemgr/camp_pawprint#daycamps> <http://www.giveshelter.org/sitemgr/camp_pawprint#daycamps> Eight of the 10 camps still have openings. A limited number of scholarships is available.
from Dane County Humane Society
10 - HospiceCare Grief Support Groups for May & June
In May, HospiceCare Inc. will begin a grief support group series and offer three recurring support groups for those grieving the death of a loved one. HospiceCare will also offer an informational seminar for caregivers. All groups are open to the public and are free of charge. All groups require pre-registration and are held at the Don & Marilyn Anderson HospiceCare Center, 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway, Madison, unless otherwise noted.
In May
· Bridges Weekly Support Group is held every Wednesday, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This open-ended, weekly group is for adults who have suffered a loss due to death. Pre-registration is not required.
· Introduction to Grief is held the first Wednesday of every month, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This hour-long presentation covers the common reactions of those who are grieving, offers suggestions to navigate the grieving process and provides information about HospiceCare grief support groups.
· Young Widows Group is held the first Thursday of every month, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at San Damiano’s, 4123 Monona Drive in Madison. This monthly group is for women under the age of 50 who have experienced the loss of their spouse/partner due to death. This group is held in collaboration with The Center for Life and Loss Integration and Gunderson Funeral Home.
· Family Caregiver Discussion Group - SHARE THE CARE: Creating a Caregiving Team will be held Tuesday, May 18, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This seminar is for those caring for someone with a progressive or terminal illness. This session will provide an overview of the SHARE THE CARE model that shows you how to create a caregiving team to help “share the care.”
To register, call HospiceCare at (608) 276-4660 and ask to speak with a grief counselor.
In June
June 8: Q&A Seminar – Final Insights: Discovering the Messages of the Dying
June 15: Family Caregiver Discussion – What I Meant to Say …
July 20: Family Caregiver Discussion – Balancing Elder Care and Work
HospiceCare Inc., 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway. Madison, WI 53711
Phone:(608) 276-4660 http://www.hospicecareinc.com/ <http://www.hospicecareinc.com/>
--- Thanks for reading the May 15, 2010 Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood e-News ---
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