I figured it is a good time to cover a few happenings over the past month. This is a good time to let me share a few New Years resolutions that I have made as well.
The Photo Ordinance I authored is moving through committees with some healthy discussion. Recently, the Tenant Landlord Subcommittee made minor changes, including a small addition that says only damages subject to a photo or picture need to be documented. We felt damages like the smell from animals – obviously – cannot have a picture associated with the damage, so it was fair to add such an exemption.
The ordinance has been gaining support from the business community as well. Nancy Jensen, the representative of the Apartment Association that I blogged about in past posts, made an appearance at our meeting to tell the committee why she, and her organization, felt this ordinance both a good idea and better business practice. From there it moves to the Housing Committee, which will be meeting February 6th at 5pm. There will certainly be a few house cleaning amendments to it, so stay tuned for that blog post update.
I strongly believe which ordinance balances the needs of tenants – many of whom are students – and landlords at the same time. This is a win-win for students and the Madison business community.
Aside from the Photo Ordinance, other activity has been happening around Madison. It does not take a meteorologist to notice that snow has hung around for a good part of the winter so far. It makes for great fun down Observatory Hill, but causes a few headaches on Madison’s roads and highways. In response, the downtown alders, along with Ald. Rhodes-Conway, met with several city division heads and staff to further clarify our plans for dealing with snow removal and emergency reaction in the case of a major storm.
As our conversations and meetings continue, I have been working with campus area alders in trying to find ways to reach out to students and keep them informed on the city efforts. One of the methods we came up with was the creation of a Facebook group that not only spells out the city’s policies towards snow, but also has the capacity to alert the members of the group when an emergency is declared. I also hope the student papers will continue to post emergency information on their respective websites. I have also begun to consult with the office of the Mayor and University staff to develop a plan for campus wide emails in order to get the message out as quick as possible.
Now as for those resolutions. With 2008 finally here, I thought it would be proper for me to end this long awaited blog post by sharing my newly formed Eli Judge Alder Resolutions. If you have any comment on my list (along the lines of suggestions as to how I might get things done/ what needs to be done), or anything else for that matter, always feel free to contact me at district8@cityofmadison.com or call me at (608) 322-6258 (please use the area code!).
1. Hold listening sessions, with the help of University and UH private housing, in each of the dorms in the district (Witte, Sellery, Statesider, Towers, and Carson's [for Adams, Tripp, and Slichter]). Further, I intend to hold listening sessions in the Union so students and residents not in University/UH housing can meet with me. In addition, I plan to meet with the executive boards of the UW-Madison Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council to discuss the affairs of Langdon Street.
2. Assist the Neighborhood/Langdon Watch Programs in any way possible to ensure their success.
3. Pass the Photo Ordinance.
4. Maintain my current attendance record at council meetings. I am proud to serve the 8th District and I will continue my perfect attendance at Council meetings, along with my near-perfect attendance at committees.
5. Work with student tenants rights groups, the Tenant Resource Center, and the Apartment Association in the creation of the Ratemylandlord.com website.
6. Get a stop sign at the corner of Langdon and Francis near the Gamma Phi Beta sorority (east/west traffic).
7. Ensure that the 500/600 blocks of the State St. reconstruction goes smoothly for all parties involved (Students and businesses specifically).
8. Maintain this blog. I have received the suggestion of possibly making smaller posts, thus making fresh posts more common. Expect such a change soon.
9. Whatever you think I should do. Send me emails, call me, or Facebook me to tell me what I should do to make this city/district better.
Like always, I will continue to hold office hours. Given the new semester and a fresh list of classes, I will be scheduling new times that work with my schedule. When I get the times finalized, they will immediately go up on this blog. Stay tuned!
Two final notes to pass along:
First, from the Associated Students of Madison blog: help pick the new UW-Madison Chancellor. Two students will serve on the Search and Screen Committee and this is very important work. Besides picking the next leader of UW’s multi-billion dollar budget, this person will be enormously important in maintaining a successful city-UW relationship! You can find all of the details over at the ASM blog.
Second, if you would like to come chat with me, on Monday, February 11th, the Badger Herald will be sponsoring a debate between the College Democrats and College Republicans. Come find me there! The details can be found here and I am sure the parties involved will be promoting this ahead of time. It runs from 7:30 to 8:30pm and will be going down in the Great Hall in the Memorial Union. The turnout for this is expected to be huge. It should be both educational and a good time!
