When I was campaigning, I promised to provide you with regular updates on what's happening in the City. This is my first City update message! My goal is to help you remain engaged in what’s happening in your city. I’ll likely miss a thing or two but this should give you a good overview. If you would like to reach out to me by email, my address is kschilling@ci.monona.wi.us. I will plan on posting a city update each month or more if there is a lot going on. Thank you again to those of you who voted for me and supported me during the election! I'm excited to have the opportunity to serve each and every one of you as your Alder.
Alder Kristie Goforth Schilling - City Update - April 28, 2020
All city meetings are now being held virtually. This is a great time to tune in and catch up! You can watch them at your convenience on YouTube if you have internet capabilities. Many are also running on TV on our Monona Community Cable Channel 990 (Charter) or 99 (AT&T U-Verse). The link to the City’s YouTube channel is: https://www.youtube.com/user/MononaTV
City News • There are committee openings and people are being sought to serve on the following committees: Sustainability, Community Media, Facilities, Transit, and License Review. You can apply here: http://www.mymonona.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1215 The most frequent question I’ve received is does someone have to be a Monona resident to participate? The answer is no but residency is preferred.
• The City’s yard waste drop-off site, located at the Public Works Garage on Edna Taylor Parkway (between Femrite and Broadway, next to the Monona Dog Park), is now open. Residents can take leaves and garden waste to this site, but no brush. Residents should not congregate at the site and should continue to practice social distancing when using the site. **Please note that our contractors are experiencing staff shortages during this time due to the Coronavirus pandemic; therefore, we may experience some delays in getting the bins emptied, and we thank residents for their patience.**
Council & Committee Updates
This will include committees that I serve on in detail (Plan, Community Media, Transit, Landmarks). For the others, you can learn more from the minutes or agendas that are posted on the Agenda Center: http://www.mymonona.com/agendacenter
All the Alders received their committee appointments on Tuesday, April 21. I’ve listed them below and have included a graphic as well:
Alder Grupe: Mass Transit Chair, Senior Citizen Chair, Parks, Sustainability Alder Kuhr: Public Works Chair, Tourism, Library Board, CDA Alder Moore: Facilities Chair, Plan Chair, Sustainability Chair, Public Safety Alder Goforth Schilling: Community Media Chair, Landmarks Chair, Mass Transit, Plan Alder Thomas: Public Safety Chair, Zoning Board of Appeals Chair, Finance & Personnel, Public Works Alder Wood: License Review Chair, Parks & Rec Chair, Finance & Personnel, CDA
• Alder Doug Wood was elected Council President on April 21. • Many committee meetings have been put on hold. Plan Commission, which I serve on, did hold a meeting Monday, April 27. We approved a rezoning to accommodate a new business going into the same strip mall as Budget Signs & Specialties on Industrial Drive. The new business is an auto detailing shop. Hector Marin is the owner of the new business. This will be Monona’s only auto detailing shop. The name of the new shop has not yet been announced.
At the next meeting, we’ll likely be reviewing the Phase 3 of the Riverfront Development which includes the new 5-story apartment building to be constructed in the vacant area just north of the Avid hotel. That project will include two floors of parking—one which will be dedicated to public parking and another exclusive to apartment tenants.
Event Cancellations
Please note that all events have either gone virtual or have been cancelled. These are the big ones to note for May.
• Memorial Day Parade - they are hoping to hold a parade later in the year
• City Wide Garage Sales - they are rescheduled to the Friday/Saturday of Sept. 11 & 12. This is managed by our local newspaper, Herald-Independent. You can call them for info: 608-839-1544
Road/Street Updates • South Towne Boulevard bridge reconstruction is underway by the WisDOT. That project entails new concrete, new lights, onramp/offramp improvements, and new sidewalks. The DOT project page says completion is summer 2020. • McKenna Road construction is underway. Sidewalks are being installed on one side and no trees will need to be removed for this project which is great news. The project includes installation of new watermain, sanitary sewer, water laterals, sanitary laterals, storm sewer, sidewalk, curb and gutter, and new pavement. The construction limits stretch from the intersection at Dean Ave. to the 5-way intersection at Maywood/Greenway. During construction access via vehicle may be temporarily unavailable to driveways. Construction crews will do what they can to give access as they go.
Please do not remove stakes, paint, or flags along the street right-of-way. These are there to mark underground utilities or new locations of utilities. Be careful traversing the roadway at night as the streetscape will not be flat and safe to walk through without proper lighting. When possible please take other routes. For more information on this project please visit the City’s projects webpage. This page will be consistently updated with work schedules and progress reports throughout the project. https://mymonona.com/1113/Current-Projects
• Bridge Road reconstruction will be underway soon. Homburg, Monona's contractor, will be milling off pavement and fixing base course starting early May. Final pavement and striping to be installed by the middle of June and restoration of medians and terraces to be completed soon after. The bridge railings had to be returned to the manufacturer due to defects. New railings will be installed this spring. For plan drawings, click here: https://www.mymonona.com/DocumentCenter/View/9347/2019-Monona-Bridge-Road-Improvements-1-2019 • Winnequah Road Pirate Island Bridge Replacement in 2020. The City of Monona has plans to replace the Winnequah Road bridge to Pirate Island in 2020. The current bridge was constructed in 1960, and has a sufficiency rating of 8.6 out of 100. Reconstruction plans call for the complete replacement of the bridge. One lane will be open to residents during the construction. During construction, the water main currently hanging from the bridge will be placed under the channel, just to the west of the bridge. This project will be rebid in the Fall of 2020. Bids came in at a much higher cost than was initially budgeted. The link to view the plans: https://mymonona.com/DocumentCenter/View/9395/Winnequah-Bridge-PPT-08222019