Immigration & Deportation (Lead: Public Safety Task Force)
Homelessness (Lead: Housing Task Force)
Economic Development (Lead: Economic Issues Task Force)
Madison Metro Services (Lead: Transportation Task Force)

As we often do, in addition to researching these issues and following what is transpiring at the city and county level, Progressive Dane task forces have already begun to ally activists and community organizations to find solutions that work for all and to amplify the voices of those most affected, for those voices are often not heard.

Go to http://www.prodane.org/projects/ to read about what the task forces are doing and how you can get involved.

This month's chair is Aaron Crandall.

Alder Brenda Konkel will lead us in a continued discussion regarding current issues and setting priorities for the rest of the year.

Madison School Board President Arlene Silveira and County Supervisor John Hendrick will give reports on County and School Board activities.

Individuals who are not members of Progressive Dane are encouraged to attend. Anyone with questions or special needs should contact the Progressive Dane office at 257-4985 or office@prodane.org.

Marj ran last time and lost in a very tough race. This time, Marj ran unopposed. She won. Marj has an excellent knowledge of the school district and will be a welcome addition to the school board. On a side-note, this brings the total of Progressive Dane-endorsed board members from three out of seven to a majority four out of seven total.

County Board Unopposed Incumbents

Progressive Dane re-endorsed three incumbents who were unopposed. They were Kyle Richmond (District 27), Chuck Erickson (District 13), and Barb Vedder (District 2). We welcome these three incumbents back to the board!

County Board District 5 – Wyndham Manning

This is the “student” district, previously represented by Progressive Dane supervisor Ashok Kumar. Ashok is moving on to other things outside of Wisconsin. So first of all, a hardy thank you to Ashok for all his hard work on the county board.

Wyndham set out to work very hard right from the beginning of the campaign. He campaigned on a platform of clean lakes, good transportation, and creative use of the arts. At the end of his campaign, all his hard work paid off with a victory in which he gained 66 percent of the vote.

County Board District 6 – John Hendrick

John is the dean of the Progressive caucus and is looked to for leadership given his institutional knowledge and attention to intricate details, especially on land use and environmental protection. Due to his longstanding service on the county board, John was heavily favored to win. And on election night, John won with an impressive 84 percent of the vote.

County Board District 11 – Al Matano

Al Matano had, perhaps, the most legitimate challenger out of all the Progressive Dane candidates. So Al buckled down and campaigned on his record of responsible transportation, environmental protection, and social justice. Al’s cats also returned for a cameo appearance on his campaign literature. The near-West side district liked Al’s record enough to send Al back to the county board with a comfortable 18 percent margin of victory. His cats probably helped too.

The Bottom Line: Progressive Dane ends up with six seats of out 37 on the county board, exactly the same as before. Despite the relatively small size, the Progressive Dane county board members work hard and get a lot done. Let’s hope they have a lot of success in the upcoming two years.

Now, it’s city council season.

The City of Madison has hired a consultant to develop a Strategic Economic Development Implementation Plan to guide our efforts over the next 3 – 5 years.

Do you like it?

It’s all about your economic future, Madison!

Creating quality jobs, supporting small businesses, encouraging public-private partnerships, up-dating zoning, designing city spending to stimulate economic growth, and preserving quality of life are all on the table.

Matt Mikolajewski, Manager of the Office of Business Resources, City of Madison, will present a draft of the city’s 3 – 5 Year Strategic Economic Development Implementation Plan and respond to your questions and comments.

Learn about the plan and provide input!

Thursday March 13, 2008
Hawthorne Branch Library, 2707 East Washington Avenue
6:00 – 7:30 pm

The earlier you are on board the better!

A draft of the city’s 3 – 5 Year Strategic Economic Development Implementation Plan is now available online at:

www.cityofmadison.com/business/obr

You may also submit your comments and suggestions via e-mail at obr@cityofmadison.com or by calling the City of Madison Office of Business Resources at 267-8721.

Sponsored by Progressive Dane, www.prodane.org, 608-257-4985

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Ashok Kumar, Dane County Supervisor (District 5), Ph: (608) 843-0615
Linda Ketchum, Executive Director, Madison-area Urban Ministry, Ph: (608) 256-0906

(Madison) – Dane County Board Supervisor Ashok Kumar, District 5, will be introducing an ordinance to establish a mandatory fee exemption for inmates earning below the federal poverty line for the electronic monitoring program. It will be introduced at tonight’s Dane County Board of Supervisors meeting and is expected to go to the Public Protection and Judiciary and Personal and Finance Committees.

In September a grassroots coalition of students and community activists worked with Kumar and other progressive supervisors to successfully pass an ordinance that ended millions of dollars of profiteering from inmates in the jail.

Kumar stated, “A $20 a day fee for every inmate on top of the millions we will be saving by not having inmates in jail is shameful. Most inmates are living in poverty and can barely afford to survive day-to-day, an additional $600 a month is too high a burden for inmates living in poverty. The county should not choose profit over people. This ordinance hopes to assure that low-income people and people of color are given equal access to their families and jobs through this well-intentioned program.”

The ordinance uses a number of methods to identify those who qualify including, but are not limited to, the following:

“A person assisted by a court appointed attorney or public defender; a person receiving W2 assistance, federal Section 8 housing
assistance; or parents or guardians of children receiving the federal breakfast or lunch programs.”

In addition, the Clerk of Courts or the County Sheriff may exempt or reduce rates for individuals whom they believe have a financial hardship but do not qualify under the ‘poverty exemption’ provision.

The Madison-area Urban Ministry’s Executive Director Linda Ketchum stated her organization’s strong support for the ordinance; “The expansion of the electronic monitoring program is long overdue but establishing these fees universally succeeds in creating a two-tiered system of justice. Considering the findings and recommendations of the recently released Governor's Commission on Racial Disparities we see the relationship in our state between economics, education, income and race in creating a system where there exists huge racial disparities in participation in alternatives to incarceration programs and options.”

Dane County was recently shown to have the third-highest disparate black incarceration rate in the country, and Wisconsin continues its tradition as the state with the highest black incarceration rate in the country.

The Madison School Board has drawn fire from Progressive Dane for a proposed policy change regarding public appearances.

The change would limit public commentary preceding school board meetings to agenda items. Individuals who want to speak on issues that are not part of the agenda would be required to speak after the business portion of the meeting was complete.

"The board has very ambitious agendas this year and several times in the last couple of months we haven't gotten through our business meetings. That's a problem and that's the issue we're trying to address," Board President Arlene Silveira said.

In the last year, lengthy public appearances before meetings have caused some meetings to begin hours after they were scheduled to begin.

"By the time we get to discussing our business and trying to make decisions, none of us are at our best because it's so late. I don't think we're serving the best interests of the kids when that happens," she said.

But Thomas Mertz, Progressive Dane's education task force chair, said the group was concerned that the change in policy would limit public input about important school-related topics.

"We believe public input should be as easy as possible," Mertz said. He said by limiting public commentary and appearances to agenda items before the meetings, the board risked increasing distrust from the community.

In a press release from Progressive Dane criticizing the board for the suggested change, former board member Bill Keys said, "We urge the Board of Education to abandon this proposal and begin an open discussion on ways that both the Board and the public can improve communiction. There's no need to rush."

Silveira objected to characterizing the change as an effort to limit public discussion or input.

"That is simply not true. This has been a discussion about trying to find a solution to a problem in getting the work done we were elected to do. Under this proposal, people can certainly speak on non-agenda items, just not before we begin our business meetings," she said.

She added that the board's communications committee was looking at additional ways to hear from individuals and organizations, and that at its Feb. 18 meeting there would be an opportunity for public discussion.

"I am glad the board did not vote on this proposal this week, that it was moved to a later date and there will now be an opportunity for public debate," Mertz said.

Debbie Fields, secretary of the Madison Common Council, said individuals who want to make public comments prior to Madison city council meetings must register on the specific agenda item they wish to address. Their remarks are limited to 3 minutes for regular agenda items, 5 minutes for public hearing items.

Although individuals may not speak on non-agenda items at regular Council meetings. public comments on a variety of subjects are permitted at committee meetings.

madison.com is operated by Capital Newspapers, publishers of the Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times, Agri-View and Apartment Showcase. All contents Copyright ©2008, Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved.

Being able to ride a city bus easily and conveniently is so important to Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway that, when she bought her first house in December 2005 at the age of 34, she chose it in large part because it was one bus ride away from her job on campus.

As the primary champion of the city bus system on the Madison City Council, her ideas about how to improve Metro matter, especially now when the quality of Madison's bus system is so much a part of the regional transit authority (RTA) referendum debates.

And, at least on talk radio, the effectiveness of Madison's bus system is crucial to forming people's opinions on the need for an RTA, especially one with a countywide taxing authority.

On Thursday, the Dane County Board pulled back from holding a countywide advisory referendum this spring, instead opting not to consider a referendum until after the Legislature gives approval for counties to set up RTAs. Middleton Supervisor Mark Opitz's resolution was a substitute for Fitchburg Supervisor Jack Martz's resolution to place an RTA referendum on the April 1 ballot.

Rhodes-Conway believed an immediate referendum in the RTA would have been premature. "The state Legislature has not even taken the necessary actions to make an RTA legal," she said.

That authorization will determine the kind of RTA that would possible: one supported by a sales tax or some other tax, one covering the entire county or a smaller metropolitan planning area, etc. Voting before those parameters are known makes no sense to Rhodes-Conway.

Using the bus

Although she has been a bus rider since middle school and high school when she rode city buses to school in upstate New York, she hadn't ridden city buses in more than a decade before moving to Madison in 2002. Bus rides weren't necessary when Rhodes-Conway studied biology at Smith College in Massachusetts, where she lived on campus. And it wasn't practical to use public transportation in metropolitan Los Angeles, where she lived while she went to graduate school in ecology at the University of California-Irvine and had her first job as an environmental policy analyst. She is now a policy analyst at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center on Wisconsin Strategy.

"I wasn't on a train line, and the bus took too long to get there," Rhodes-Conway said.

But when she moved here in the fall of 2002, her first apartment was on Jenifer Street near Baldwin and she worked off the Square. "I began to ride the bus. A bus pass was one of the benefits with my job. I've been a bus rider ever since," she said.

Three years later, when she was looking to buy a home, she bought a three-bedroom, 1,100-square-foot house near Oscar Mayer because she could afford its $173,000 price, and because there were two bus stops near it that allowed her to get to work without changing buses.

"We don't have a true workforce transportation system in Madison," Rhodes-Conway said in January.

Basic workforce transportation includes being able to get to work no matter what shift you work, she added. Currently, Metro Transit service is different on weekends than on weekdays and stops at midnight.

Rhodes-Conway noted, for example, that hospital shift times are a problem for bus riders. However, "if we are able to extend hours, stops must be well-lit and we must address potential riders' safety concerns," she said.

Overall, "I think our buses are very safe. We've had some issues with rowdiness of high school kids, but the bus system is fundamentally safe."

Workforce transportation also means "you have to be able to get close to where you are going," according to Rhodes-Conway. She claims Metro does not pay enough attention to people who are not going downtown.

For example, she would like to see improved service to the airport. "There is one bus that goes there. It is physically possible to ride a bus there at some times of the day, but it is not convenient," she said.

It should also be easier, she said, to go from the east side to the north side of town and wonders if a route to the American Family Insurance campus on the Sun Prairie side of the interstate would be a good idea.

Unlimited ride passes sponsored by employers such as hers are a key to increased workforce transportation, according to Rhodes-Conway. She said the university is a great partner with the transit system. The bus service will collect 95.2 cents for each ride that unlimited pass holders take this year.

In addition to UW-Madison, Edgewood College provides unlimited ride passes to their students and staff and Madison Area Technical College provides them to its students. Employees of the city of Madison and St. Mary's Hospital also get them.

But, Rhodes-Conway noted, the State does not have unlimited ride passes for its employees.

Expanding ridership

In 2007, Madison Metro had a fixed-route ridership of 12.7 million, just 700,000 rides short of its all-time high set in 1982.

If growth continues at its current rate, it could hit the 1982 record of 13.4 million in less than two years, according to Metro officials.

The growth in Metro ridership has been steady since 1989, when the number of riders dropped to about 9 million. Since 2000, when ridership was at 10 million, the number of fixed-route riders has climbed by 26 percent.

During the same period, paratransit ridership has grown by 12 percent.

Of course, Madison has also grown during that period. The city's population increased 6.9 percent between 2000 and 2006, the most recent year for which numbers are available, going from 223,389 to 208,054. That means the 10 million riders in 2000 is the equivalent of just over 9 percent of the population, while the 12.7 million in 2007 is the equivalent to 12 or 13 percent of the population.

"Fundamentally, we have a really strong bus system. We have incredible ridership numbers for a city our size. That we do this without having a transit authority is impressive. But that is not to say we can't get better. It is just saying we are starting from a strong place," she said.

Growing ridership remains the key to the future, according to Rhodes-Conway.

"We must talk not only about connecting outlying communities with Madison but improving transportation in town. If we really want people to change their transportation habits, we must make it possible and convenient," she said.

To make bus riding comfortable and enjoyable, Rhodes-Conway said, people must be able to go to the nearest bus stop and catch a bus within 10 to 15 minutes.

"No one wants to deal with a ride guide. No one wants to think 'Do I have correct change,' she said. "We need to remove the barriers to riding the bus and improve transit times."

She also advocates putting schedule information at more stops, not just in bus shelters. She also is interested in increasing the number of informal park-and-rides available to commuters by partnering with neighborhood businesses and increasing service density, which she defines as "more buses, more of the time and making the transfer points more helpful to users."

Bus angels

Metro Transit Director Chuck Kamp said Rhodes-Conway is unusual in being able to talk about global issues and things like how to make the bus schedule more user-friendly and "how technology can help us make our customers find the information they need easily."

Rhodes-Conway said she is very open to the public's ideas about removing barriers. For example, she touts a Middleton man's idea of recruiting bus angels: regular bus riders who would be willing to mentor new riders.

She believes the ad hoc Long Range Metro Transit Planning Committee created in September 2006 is the key to making changes in the system. She has served on the committee since its inception and chaired it until her election to the City Council in April. She vehemently supports the council rule that members not chair city committees.

The ad hoc committee's recommendations are due spring, perhaps as soon as March or April.

"I am glad she is as involved in the Metro's long range planning committee," Kamp said. "She understands we must look regionally. But how do we fund that?"

Kamp and Cieslewicz disagreed with Rhodes-Conway last month and this month about whether to add five more buses to the current bus wrap advertising pilot program. She voted against the expansion at both the Jan. 22 and Feb. 5 council meetings.

"As a bus rider, I am not fond of them," she explained. "As a City Council member, I understand the need for the revenue."

Although noting that they have agreed to disagree on bus wraps, Cieslewicz said, "She has been a consistent advocate for Metro. Much like many of the new alders, she really does her homework and asks a lot of good questions."

The mayor said he and Rhodes-Conway had worked together long before she got on the council in April. At her UW-Madison job, she has been the staff person for about three years for the Mayors Innovation Project, a national organization Cieslewicz and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson started shortly after Cieslewicz was elected mayor in 2003.

"I know her pretty well," he said, alluding to an MIP conference call they would be on the next day.

"I think she is a thoughtful, hardworking alder," Cieslewicz said.

"She is passionate" about transit, Kamp said. "She knows the world and the economy are changing and transit is on the right side of that and communities that embrace transit will be well-positioned in relation to gas prices, climate change issues and community health issues. How communities design themselves has an impact on public health. If people are out and about and walking to the bus stop, it is a healthier community. She embraces that and I want that viewpoint on the metro long-range transit committee."

madison.com is operated by Capital Newspapers, publishers of the Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times, Agri-View and Apartment Showcase. All contents Copyright ©2008, Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved.

At Monday’s school board meeting, a proposal was considered that would limit meaningful public comment at School Board meetings. The proposal as noted on the agenda was as follows:

It is recommended that the Board approve the revisions to School Board Policy 1222 and School Board Policy 1220 as identified in Appendix JJJ-8-6; said revisions affecting public appearances at board meetings, committee meetings, public hearings, and other meetings.

In short, if you are coming to speak about an item that is on the agenda, public speaking will be at the beginning of the meeting. If you are speaking about a non-agenda item, public speaking will be after the business portion of our agenda. If you are a student (K-12), you can speak at the beginning of the meeting even if you are speaking on a non-agenda item.

“This change effectively makes it difficult for parents of children who come to testify to also testify and depending upon how late the meetings run, may limit this input altogether, “ said Brenda Konkel, co-chair of Progressive Dane.

“We are very concerned about the manner in which this item was introduced. While the item did appear on the agenda, members of the public did not have access to the item until the meeting, “said Progressive Dane Education Task Force Chair Thomas J. Mertz.

To further complicate things, the public will not be allowed to speak when this item comes up on February 18th because it is a workshop session and public appearances are not allowed.

“We urge the Board of Education to abandon this proposal and begin an open discussion on ways that both the Board and the public can improve communication. There’s no need to rush.” said former School Board Member Bill Keys. We ask the public to make their voices heard by contacting the Board and testifying at the Communications Committee meeting on February 11, 2008 at 5:00 PM. We invite all who are concerned to participate in the School Budget 101 seminar that Progressive Dane is sponsoring in the coming month (details to be announced soon) and work to enhance understanding and communication for all.

“Eliminating early public input makes it hard for ordinary citizens to testify at board meetings on issues that might be below the radar. While it’s important that the Board has adequate time to deliberate on their agenda, it’s also very important that the public has a chance to have their say,” said Lukas Diaz co-chair of Progressive Dane.

Related Story in The Capital Times

County leaders and community activists to introduce resolution at Thursday's Dane County Board meeting to accept an invitation from the Venezuelan ambassador to create sister relationship with Andres Eloy Blanco, Venezuela

Contact:
Ashok Kumar, Dane County Supervisor, District 5, Ph. (608) 843-0615
Omar Sierra, Venezuelan Consulate – Chicago, Ph. (312) 236-9655
Juscha Robinson, Fellow, Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution, Ph. (608) 239-4269
Charity Schmidt, Board Member, Community Action on Latin America, Ph. (608) 334-6370

Madison –Dane County Supervisors Ashok Kumar, Barbara Vedder, and Al Matano will introduce a resolution at Thursday's Dane County Board of Supervisors meeting to create an official sister relationship with the municipality of Andres Eloy Blanco, Venezuela. The resolution is a response to an invitation from Venezuela's ambassador, Bernardo Alvarez. Earlier this year, Alvarez met Supervisors in an effort to establish a sister relationship between Dane County and a municipality in Venezuela.

County Supervisors, community organizers, and officials in Andres Eloy Blanco worked together to formulate the resolution and relationship. Matt Earley, co-owner of Madison-based cooperative Just Coffee, who recently returned from visiting Sanare, the capital of Andres Eloy Blanco, said; "The people of Sanare and of Dane County share the same sense of progressive politics, environmental stewardship, and grassroots democratic participation in government. In Venezuela the municipality of Sanare is often called the birthplace of the nation's cooperative movement. Like Dane County, Andres Eloy Blanco is looked to as a leader in cooperative activities."

Anne Reynolds, Assistant Director at the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, who has also been working to create the relationship stated, "Dane County is home to a diverse and successful group of cooperatives. A sister - county relationship with Andres Elroy Blanco would help build connections between the cooperatives in both communities, and support opportunities for education and research."

Currently, the City of Milwaukee is looking to create a relationship with Corora, Venezuela. The government of Venezuela has stated their interest in offering discounted heating oil and free eye surgery to Milwaukee's low-income residents. Over the last few years, the Venezuelan government has provided millions of gallons of heating oil at a 40% discount to hundreds of thousands of low-income households in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Philadelphia, New York City's Harlem and Bronx neighborhoods, and Indian reservations across the country.

Other cities around the world have created relationships with Venezuelan cities. These relationships have opened new avenues for trade between cities and counties, whether they exchange ideas and culture or goods and services. For example, London recently signed an agreement with Venezuela in which Venezuela will provide 20% reduced fuel costs to city buses to directly subsidize the fares of 250,000 low-income bus riders. In exchange, Venezuela will benefit through the provision of London's technical knowledge in its infrastructure, urban planning, and tourism.

Sanare is an urban area surrounded by small rural towns located in the Midwest of Venezuela. The main engine of the municipality's economy is agriculture and coffee production. According to Mayor Alfredo Orozco, during many decades this area has been the epicenter of many struggles for social justice and is also considered to be the birthplace of the Venezuelan peasant cooperative movement, as well as home of poets, musicians and revolutionary leaders. All these characteristics make Andres Eloy Blanco a place with a unique social and progressive environment, as well as a place whose inhabitants have great adherence to participatory democracy and to community life. "After receiving the visit of several Wisconsin residents in our state, and after the participation at our International Coffee Fair of Madison's Just Coffee Cooperative, with which we established a relationship, we feel very excited about the prospect of establishing a Sister County relationship with Dane County," said the Mayor.

Officials from Andres Eloy Blanco are very excited at the prospect of building a relationship with Dane County. Sanara's head of the Department of Tourism and International Relations Maria Victoria Casanova said, "From Sanare we would like to say that we believe it to be a great idea to establish this relationship with Dane County, we think that we have much in common and much to share, and that to us seems marvelous!"

According to Martin Sanchez, Consul General of Venezuela in Chicago, the Andres Eloy Blanco Municipality shares many values with those of Dane County, such as its adherence to democracy, solidarity, cooperation and citizen empowerment. "A sister county agreement is an excellent opportunity to begin a strong relation that promotes and strengthens economic, social, and cultural exchange between these two counties, at levels and in areas not yet reached or explored," Sánchez said. According to the consul, "there is a conscious effort underway in Venezuela to revitalize its agricultural sector. "It makes sense for us to establish relationships with those from whom we can benefit in terms of technology cooperation and who can benefit from what regions like Andres Eloy Blanco have to offer due to its culture and the quality of its agricultural products," Sanchez said.

Currently, Dane County has a sister relationship with Apartado, Colombia and the City of Kassel, Germany. Most recently, a delegation of Dane County supervisors visited Kassel to meet with city officials and observe the light-rail system and energy generating plants with the hope of replicating a similar model in Dane County.

Beyond official recognition of the sister-county relationship, the resolution would also establish a revenue and expense account for donations, and form a taskforce to foster trade, enhance intercultural understanding, and encourage communication, friendship, and goodwill between communities in Venezuela and the United States.

Please let your County Supervisor know you support this measure; you can email your supervisor (and let all the other Supervisors know of your support) at county_board_recipients@co.dane.wi.us. If you don't know who your Supervisor is, go to www.co.dane.wi.us/coboard/supervisor.aspx to find out.

Send a Letter

Click here to send a letter to the editor of your local paper.

Attend a public meeting
where this resolution will be discussed and voted on

Feb. 5 – County Environment, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee meeting (1 Fen Oak Ct, Room 208 at 5:30 pm)
Feb. 14 – County Lakes & Watershed Commission meeting (City-County Bldg, 210 MLK Jr. Blvd, Rm. 431 at 5:15 pm)
??????? – Personnel & Finance Committee meeting (not scheduled yet)
??????? – County Board meeting (not scheduled yet)

Ask other to help

Get others involved—ask them to do any of the above.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FISH ADVISORY SIGNS

• In general consumption of fish from Madison lakes is good—the fish are a free, local, nutritious and natural food that all cultures eat.
• Unfortunately, mercury, PCBs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides and other toxins make it necessary for people to limit their consumption of many of the fish caught in Dane County waters. Yet there are no signs posted anywhere along the shoreline to notify anglers of the risks.
• The lack of any signs along shoreline spots where people fish is important since shoreline anglers are often low-income and minority people who are not aware of the fish advisories.
• Posted signs, in Hmong, Spanish, and English, at least would provide information to help them make safer decisions about consuming fish.
• Environmental problems that disproportionately affect people of color and the poor are environmental justice issues; thus the need to provide public health information to shoreline anglers who are often minority and/or poor.
• Public agencies have little or no data about toxins other than mercury and PCBs; therefore PAHs, pesticides, arsenic, cooper, lead, zinc and other chemicals are not included in any advisories, though they are known carcinogens (meaning they cause cancer) or cause neurological and developmental problems.
• Public agencies have little interaction with local anglers and their families who eat large amounts of locally caught fish. Women of child bearing age, pregnant women and children are especially at risk for developmental, congenital and long term risk from exposure to toxins present in locally caught fish. The environmental impacts of pollution on low-income and minority citizens are often unknown or underestimated because of a lack of data collection, and lack of consideration of these populations in determining public policy.
• The common good and sound public health policy is served by informing anglers and others of potential risks associated with consuming many kinds of locally caught fish.
• Local efforts to "clean up the lakes' focus on agricultural and stormwater runoff that increases the nutrient loads in the water, resulting in large amounts of algae and aquatic plant growth. None of these efforts address reducing toxins in the water, sediment, aquatic plants and animals, nor human health impacts. A comprehensive "clean up the lakes" program would address toxins and human and animal health.
• MEJO has been working with the Northside Hmong community and others for the past two years discussing and addressing concerns related to catching and eating fish from Madison lakes. MEJO aims to build collaborative partnerships, to identify the local environmental and/or public health issues, and to envision solutions and empower the community through education, training, and outreach.
• MEJO has been asking state and county officials to install translated advisory signs since August 2006. On Sept. 20, 2007, about 60 MEJO members, anglers and others gathered at Brittingham Park to post their own fish advisory signs around Monona Bay, demonstrating the need for public institutions to acknowledge and address the problems with toxin levels in locally-caught fish.

Dear Capitol Area Regional Planning Commissioners:

The Progressive Dane Alders and County Supervisors listed below urge you to maintain the strong criteria for urban service area extensions, as well as the goals and policies laid out in the draft documents you will be considering on January 24. We are committed to natural resource protection and restoration as well as compact infill and re-development, because we believe that this is the fiscally, environmentally, and socially responsible and sustainable way to grow and develop.

We are particularly in support of the following criteria that are part of the draft documents. We feel these are essential to protect Dane County's farmland and groundwater from poorly planned development.

• Prioritize infill, redevelopment, and density, and emphasize contiguity of urban infrastructure. New USA extensions should not be approved while developable land remains in the 20 year supply that each municipality is allotted. Compact and contiguous development is more efficient to service, and can significantly reduce taxpayer burden.

• Eliminate the multiplier or “flexibility factor. The “flexibility factor” used formerly by the DCRPC allowed municipalities in the Central Urban Service Area to expand the number of acres up 50% more land than the population estimates would allow. In the outer municipalities, the flexibility factor was 100%, doubling the acreage. A multiplier is inconsistent with priority for infill and redevelopment. Municipalities should be encouraged to plan for development within their current urban service areas and the 20 year supply of land that is estimated to be needed to serve their population growth.

• Farmland Loss Mitigation: A number of tools are available to discourage loss of valuable farmland. Examples include intergovernmental agreements, easements, Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) and Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) programs. PDR is already a proven success in the Town of Dunn and in northwestern Dane County. TDR has been in effect in the Cottage Grove and the Dane County Board recently adopted a TDR ordinance. CARPC’s work group on this criterion is just beginning to flesh out how these programs can work to the advantage of developers and incorporated areas as well as farmers and towns. Support programs will be available for local jurisdictions using these planning tools.

  We support the amended goals and objectives in the draft documents. CARPC added two very important goals: dealing with water resources and promoting sustainability.
  
  There is one area of the draft document that is lacking however. A stronger water quality plan needs to be added to both the Goals and Objectives document as well as the criteria for reviewing urban service area extensions.

  The Water Quality Plan needs to be updated to reflect areas that need to be protected to preserve both surface waters and underground aquifers and recharge areas. The charter for the CARPC states, “The CARPC will work with communities to update the Water Quality Plan. In addition to the elements required by NR 121 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, the Water Quality Plan shall also define areas that should be protected from development based on provisions to protect water quality…. The Plan shall also define areas that can be developed with measures to protect, restore, or minimize degradation of water quality.” [Emphasis added]

  Water quality must be the first priority when reviewing urban service area extension requests, and an updated Water Quality Plan is essential to be able to accomplish this task. Per Res. 52, 06-07 #7, CARPC is required to update the Water Quality Plan. The draft Goals and Objectives and Planning Requirements do not give sufficient attention to updating the Water Quality Plan that is the basic reason for the existence of the CARPC. Until the Water Quality Plan is updated as required, CARPC should not approve any applications to extend urban service areas.

  We believe all of the above elements are essential to successful planning in Dane County, and we thank the CARPC for its hard work to produce a thoughtful document to guide protection of all we hold dear about the quality of life and natural resources of the region.

  The fiscal impacts and environmental insults of poorly planned development are many and serious. Beyond the additive impacts, these insults aggravate and build on each other. These:
  

  
  
  • cause increased local property taxes;
    
  • threaten water quality, lake levels, drinking water quality and quantity;
    
  • degrade wetlands’ ability to absorb floodwaters;
    
  • reduce acres of food production; and
    
  • increase the intensity and number of days and weeks of unhealthy air, resulting from the increased vehicle miles traveled by residents of sprawling low density development.
    

  The location and quality of new residential and commercial development that require extensions of water and sewer services will depend on the Review Criteria that the Commissioners adopt. Low density residential development does not pay its fair share of operating costs or of investments in infrastructure (typically having a 20-30 year life), e.g. new roads, police and fire protection, trash pick-up, new schools, etc.

  The Review Criteria are the master key to controlling poorly planned, low density development in Dane County. However, the successful use of the Review Criteria depends on interpreting presently available mapped data and updating the Water Quality Plan.

  Thank you for this opportunity to comment to CARPC.

  Regards,
  
  Dane County Supervisors Chuck Erickson, John Hendrick, Ashok Kumar, Al Matano, Barbara Vedder

  City of Madison Alders Tim Gruber, Brenda Konkel, Satya Rhodes-Conway, Marsha Rummel, Mike Verveer, Robbie Webber

  ]]> 2008-01-21T12:27:53Z 2008-01-19T12:45:21Z tag:,2008:/2.191 2008-01-19T12:45:21Z
  Did you say your New Year's Resolution this year is to help make the world a better place? It is easy to get started right here in your own backyard! All Progressive Dane meetings are open to the public. To...
  prodane Main Middle Column Did you say your New Year's Resolution this year is to help make the world a better place? It is easy to get started right here in your own backyard! All Progressive Dane meetings are open to the public. To see this month's schedule go to Progressive Dane's Calendar. To see others ways you can get involved go to Volunteer.

  Come to this month's General Membership meeting being held this Wednesday, January 23rd, at Madison Downtown Public Library at 6:30 p.m. There you will be able to meet members of the Task Forces and Committees and hear about some of the projects they are working on this year.

  ]]> This month's chair is Brenda Konkel. In addition to a regular briefing or two, there will be:

  1. some more Elections Committee endorsement recommendations,
  2. an educational overview by the chairs of the all the Progressive Dane Task Forces and Committees,
  3. an opportunity to provide input on the work being done by these groups, and
  4. a final vote on the proposed new logo.

  Progressive Dane is a member-run political party. Your input is important. Members of the public are encouraged to attend.

  People with questions or special needs should contact the Progressive Dane office at 257-4985 or office@prodane.org.

  For information on this and other ways to get involved, please go to www.prodane.org.

  *******************

  The public is invited to meet and greet the three finalists for superintendent of the Madison School District. One candidate will be available for each of the sessions from 4 to 5:15 p.m.:

  Steve Gallon III on Tuesday.
  James McIntyre on Wednesday.
  Daniel Nerad on Thursday.

  The meetings will be held on Level 4 of Monona Terrace. In the first hour, visitors will be able to visit with the candidate as part of a receiving line. From 5 to 5:15 p.m. each day, the candidate will make a brief statement and might take questions. More information about the superintendent search is available on the district's Web site, www.mmsd.org.

  ****************

  The regional planning commission (RPC) hearing is this Thursday. Since the old RPC was dissolved and the new one is setting for the first time its policies to limit urban sprawl, this is a unique opportunity to shape the future of Dane County. www.danecorpc.org

  7:00 p.m. January 24th
  Room 201 City County Building
  210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

  The Realtors (TM) and right wing radio are attacking the proposed criteria for the new RPC. We should help defend sustainable development by turning out on Thursday. You can use the following to make some brief comments. Or just wear green, fill out a registration form using the first line below and stand up when someone asks "Who is here in support of the proposed criteria?" Please join us.

  
  I support strong, strict criteria for the Capital Area RPC

  to protect Dane County's farmland

  to protect groundwater and surface water from poorly planned development.

  I especially support criteria to:
  prioritize infill and redevelopment,
  eliminate the so-called flexibility factors,
  consider farmland mitigation such as PDR or TDR, and
  protect groundwater recharge areas.

  Before they can begin to review new development proposals, the CARPC must fulfill the mandate in its charter to update the Dane County Water Quality Plan to identify areas of the highest environmental sensitivity and growth pressure.

  ]]> 2008-01-17T04:07:25Z 2008-01-09T03:06:29Z tag:,2008:/2.194 2008-01-09T03:06:29Z
  Input for City of Madison November 28, 2007 Listening Session Regarding development of an Economic Development Plan...
  prodane In The News Input for City of Madison
  November 28, 2007 Listening Session
  Regarding development of an Economic Development Plan
  
  ]]> Social Justice and “good” jobs are equally important

  1. An economic development plan must emphasize social justice. This counts with residents of Madison:
  

  
  
  • City economic development policy should promote and expand job training and educational opportunities, particularly to benefit those members of our community who are low-income and members of minority racial and ethnic backgrounds.
    
  • City policy should prioritize programs of economic and social aid and protection to our community's most vulnerable residents and should protect funding for such programs as part of an economic development agenda.
    
  • City policy should seek opportunities to make affordable, quality health care benefits available to small businesses and the self-employed
    
  • In granting contracts and economic support for development projects and when purchasing goods and services, the City should prioritize and favor locally owned firms, unionized firms and firms with a proven track record of recruiting and hiring a diverse workforce.
    
  • Investment of economic development monies into community development helps economic development by providing the skilled workforce, social safety nets and quality-of-life infrastructure needed for attracting and insuring the success of new businesses. In other words, economic development investment in social justice enables strong economic development.
    
  
  2. An economic development plan must create good jobs:
  
  
  
  • Minimum wage jobs that meet the standard of a living wage and are indexed to inflation
    
  • Offer a career path towards improvement.
    
  • Support mechanisms and training to allow for advancement
    
  
  3. If jobs created by economic development are not “good” jobs, there will be a negative benefit impact, creating additional burdens on the community from low wage earners in areas such as:
  
  
  
  • Education
    
  • Social Services
    
  • Housing
    
  • Public safety
    
  
  Growth for growth’s sake gets us nowhere

  Unbridled economic development simply to raise the tax base and to “grow” the economy can have hidden costs that make it undesirable, such as:
  

  
  
  • Increasing population without providing accompanying public and social infrastructure. Example, who is going to pay for the new roads, new schools, public works, social services (especially if the new jobs are marginal ones),
    
  
  Density is very important and spending TIF and other monies to accomplish this does aid economic development indirectly (example: enabling better public transit).
  
  
  
  • It is short-sighted to simply say projects to increase density are for “neighborhood improvement” rather than for economic development.
    
  • The opposite of density is sprawl which impacts agricultural land – an important “local” resource and it places additional stress on the area transportation networks.
    
  
  The charge has been leveled that there are people in the Madison community who don’t want economic development.
  
  
  
  • The issue isn’t economic development vs. no economic development. The issue rather is what kind of economic development do we want? It is more accurate to say that there are people in the Madison community who don’t want unbridled, thoughtless economic development.
    
  • Growth for the sake of growth can be detrimental (more traffic, stress on infrastructure, more crime, additional burdens on schools, housing, a larger economically disadvantaged population, etc.).
    
  
  What could be more inherent to Madison’s Culture than the Wisconsin Idea?

  Emphasize the “Wisconsin Idea” in economic development planning, meaning a close partnership with the UW’s capacity for generating new business should be a major focus of any economic development focus and spending.

  This partnership needs be applied to generating a broad range of job types, not just high-tech jobs.

  Coordinate with surrounding Communities

  Economic development must be coordinated between all the Counties boarding the Madison Metropolitan area. This applies to:
  

  
  
  • Coordination and delivery of social services and infrastructure
    
  • Developing solutions
    
  • Creating regional authorities to solve problems that span municipal boundaries
    
  • Developing appropriate revenue streams to fund solutions and multi-jurisdictional entities
    
  
  Invest in local and basic sector industries

  Investment in basic sector companies should focus on locally grown businesses whenever possible. Local companies have more of a commitment to the community and given Madison’s resources and with the UW as an economic engine, there should be a broad range of such investment opportunities without needing to cater to national and multi-national corporations that have no such community ties.

  If Madison does invest in attracting an “outside” business, it should do so when that business is a basic-sector business (i.e. not a retail business, restaurant, etc.), and when:
  

  
  
  • That business does not compete directly with existing locally-owned businesses
    
  • That business provides good-paying jobs and good career ladders
    
  • Factors exist to insure that business will make a long-term commitment to the community.
    
  
  Regarding both non basic-sector and basic-sector businesses, investment of city resources should favor those businesses that re-circulate dollars within the local economy.
  
  
  
  • Example, a business that uses banking, accounting, and other sourcing from outside the community is basically draining money from the local economy.
    
  • Preference should be given to businesses that re-circulate dollars by using other local businesses and that invest profits locally.
    
  
  Development must be sustainable

  The City should critically evaluate prospective development projects to fully understand any potential environmental and economic impact.

  Preference should be given to initiatives and programs that promote energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy by the City of Madison and its residents.

  Leverage the use of TIF financing
  

  
  
  • City policy should require businesses that receive economic subsidies, including Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) funds, from the City to pay their employees a living wage, indexed to inflation and provide health insurance benefits.
    
  • TIF should be used to support projects that would not otherwise occur and where there are clear public benefits, economic and otherwise, and include Public Benefit Agreements.
    
  • The location and scope of TIF districts should be driven by priorities set by the City.
    
  • There should be a uniform application of minimum financial feasibility criteria for funding TIF Districts.
    
  • There should be tangible, measurable economic benefits from developers receiving Tax Incremental Financing and developers who fail to produce these results should be required to repay the TIF subsidy with interest.
    
  • City policies should promote and expand affordable and accessible public transportation options to promote economic development along transportation corridors making jobs and commercial activities more accessible.
    
  
  In conclusion

  City policy should promote economic development that:
  

  
  
  • Benefits the general public in ways that favor and further the creation of family-supporting jobs; equal opportunity; a rising standard of living; a more equal distribution of wealth and workers' rights.
    
  • Preserves the environment
    
  • Strengthens neighborhoods
    
  • Is guided by local resident associations
    
  • Follows neighborhood plans
    
  • Pursues transit, bicycle and pedestrian friendly designs
    
  • Improves the quality of life of all city residents.
    

  From:
  Rick Richards
  Member of Dane Buy Local
  Chair of the Economic Issues Task Force, Progressive Dane
  (608) 255-5023
  syzygy1@charter.net
  

  ]]> 2008-01-17T04:07:25Z 2008-01-09T01:39:16Z tag:,2008:/2.193 2008-01-09T01:39:16Z
  The City of Madison is updating its economic development plan and recently held listening sessions to gather input from the public, non-profits and businesses. Progressive Dane agrees with the consultant hired to complete this plan when he stated at one...
  prodane Main Middle Column The City of Madison is updating its economic development plan and recently held listening sessions to gather input from the public, non-profits and businesses.

  Progressive Dane agrees with the consultant hired to complete this plan when he stated at one of the listening sessions that the new plan must both lead to the creation of good jobs and a strong workforce. The Wisconsin State Journal, unfortunately, editorialized in a cartoon denigrating some members of the community (who bore an uncanny resemblance to some Progressive Dane leaders) as being too out of touch to meaningfully participate in this important discussion.

  So let’s set the record straight about what Progressive Dane’s thoughts are about economic development planning:
  

  ]]> Social justice and “good” jobs are equally important. Investment in community development enables economic development by providing the skilled workforce, social safety nets and quality-of-life infrastructure needed for attracting and ensuring the success of new businesses. There was much concern at the listening sessions about people in our community who might be a burden on our city because they lack the skills, training and support to contribute meaningfully. If we include “investing in people” as a part of our economic development strategy, people become a valuable resource instead of a perceived burden.

  An economic development plan must create good jobs. Good jobs pay at least a living wage indexed to inflation. They also offer a career path and must be coupled with support mechanisms and training to allow for advancement. If we focus on creating “any” jobs instead of “good” jobs, we will hamper our economic development efforts and generate more crime, additional burdens on schools, housing, and social services, and a larger economically disadvantaged population. The key in creating jobs should be on quality.

  Growth for growth’s sake gets us nowhere. Unbridled economic development simply to raise the tax base and to “grow” the economy can have hidden costs that make it undesirable, increasing population without providing accompanying public and social infrastructure. Who is going to pay for new roads, new schools, public works, public safety, and health and social services when the new jobs are marginal ones? Who will pay for the long-term protection of the natural resources—especially water, and farmland? The issue is not economic development vs. economic stagnation, doing something or doing nothing. We have to ask the tough questions about what kind of economic development do we want and be willing to set high standards.

  Progressive Dane is an active participant in this discussion. Our members have been attending Economic Development Commission meetings (and a PD member serves on this Commission) and we have been submitting comments and ideas. Anyone who is inclined to believe the rhetoric bandied about by the Wisconsin State Journal and some others about Progressive Dane being anti-business and not interested in supporting quality economic development efforts should read and listen to our comments and talk to us in person, instead of believing what they read in the cartoons.

  See Input for City

  Progressive Dane members
  Mary Anglim
  Jim Kellerman
  Rick Richards
  

  ]]> 2008-01-17T04:07:25Z 2008-01-09T01:35:31Z tag:,2008:/2.192 2008-01-09T01:35:31Z
  A letter to the editor January 8, 2008 Dear Editor: Your New Year's editorial regarding the enviro-timidity of the Dane County executive and Madison mayor was dead on. Then the mayor came a-whinin'....
  prodane Main Middle Column A letter to the editor
  January 8, 2008

  Dear Editor: Your New Year's editorial regarding the enviro-timidity of the Dane County executive and Madison mayor was dead on. Then the mayor came a-whinin'.
  

  ]]> Do not relent, TCT editors! There is entirely too much green-washing going on, and you are right to expose it.

  Take, for example, the mayor's braggadocio about the Natural Step framework. While Mayor Dave Cieslewicz figures out how to close the garage door on the bus barn, his planners and engineers are busy paving over the countryside.

  In addition to amnesia about his last job, apparently the mayor missed the fundamental principle of the Natural Step: "People will avoid systematically encroaching upon nature by destroying the habitat of other species." That's enviro-speak for: End sprawl!

  The city's latest sprawl project paves over a trout stream! That's right, the plan for a far north side subdivision (Pumpkin Hollow) cuts off water recharge areas necessary for healthy flow and temperature of an acclaimed stream restoration project. To use the Natural Step language, this poor planning will "destroy the habitat of other species." In this case, the project will be destroying habitat of the classic indicator species of a healthy Upper Midwestern environment -- trout.

  And this isn't about just one little stream. Token Creek is probably the healthiest tributary flowing into the Yahara chain. By degrading this stream, we degrade all of our lakes.

  The county executive hasn't done much better. Even as Kathleen Falk brags about the crumbs for land conservation funding, she rubber-stamps every McMansion that comes her way.

  She's never seen a highway she hasn't caved to. The result? Dane County is the fifth-worst metropolitan area in terms of large-lot sprawl across the countryside.

  Keep stickin' it to 'em! The health of our city and county depends on it!

  Michael Barrett, Madison
  

  ]]>