Meeting Minutes – February 2018
Sunset Village Community Association
Madison, WI 53705
Meeting Minutes for February 15, 2018
Meeting Location: Bethany United Methodist Church
3910 Mineral Point Road
Madison, WI 53705
Attendees: Ken Raffa, Liz Vowles, Sue Reynard, Anne Badey Raffa, Kelly Danner, Carl Baumann, Brian Andersen, Leanne Bergstrom, Joe Grande, William Needelman, Rich Kedzior and William Cross
Meeting Opening: The meeting was brought to order at 6:35 PM
Officer Election Results:
There were 15 votes each for Sue for president and Anne for secretary and Brian as Treasurer.
Neighborhood Liaison Police Report:
William Needelman is our new liaison police officer. He works the 11:00PM to 7:00PM shift as a patrol officer. The main issues affecting our neighborhood are theft and burglary and 99% of it stems from unlocked cars and garages. Overall our neighborhood is safe. His email is: wneedelman@cityof madison.com. He is willing to come to our meeting again and address any and all concerns.
Joe Grande: Water Quality Manager:
Joe distributed literature regarding water quality management. Highlights of his presentation are noted here. When we maintain water pressure in downtown areas, the water flow is insufficient in other places. We have a ground water system and 22 wells. Sunset Village is in Pressure Zone 7. We have a lot of manganese in our water but lead is not an issue. Lead was removed five years ago. There are high levels of chloride and sodium in our drinking water due to manmade sources. It impacts the taste but not health for most people. Madison is working toward using responsible usage of salt for snow removal. The city and county applicators are going through a training program and there is a voluntary salt certification application process at this time that has been met with some success. The plan is to slowly replace the entire aging system.
Rich Kedzior: Development Issues In The Neighborhood:
There is currently a proposal to amend TR-C1 setbacks.
Rick wants consideration regarding setback issues and would appreciate our support along with that of our alder, Arvina Martin when he brings up this issue with her. She was unable to attend this meeting so further discussion will be forthcoming. Attendees voted unanimously to support Rick’s proposal for the setback language.
Rick also presented information regarding reconstruction of North Blackhawk Ave. The city will be replacing water and sewer utilities there and to accomplish this will be tearing out existing pavement and adding sidewalks. He felt that there was not enough publicity prior to the single meeting that was held with residents. After discussion, the attendees agreed and voted to support an effort to ask Arvina to help organize another meeting.
State of SVCA and Presidents Report
Review of Current SVCA status:
Midtown construction is on track so far. Any more sub-zero weather could lead to delays. The building should be finished by early to mid July and occupied beginning in mid August.
Sue has received lots of requests the past two months from people running for various political offices. In consultation with the rest of the officers, we decided to NOT have candidates speak at these association meetings because we don’t have the infrastructure needed to ensure equal access to all candidates.
Street construction on Westmorland Blvd. should start in April or May.
Brian Andersen: Review and Approval of Budget:
In the 2017 Budget, we predicted an end balance of $5867.00. New expenses for 2018 include printing newsletters, social events, discretionary funding and neighborhood projects, if needed. The budget will be adjusted accordingly to reflect these items.
Ken Raffa moved to approve the budget and Anne seconded the motion.
Discussion of Initiatives for 2018:
Current membership numbers are down from the peak of 2016-2017, but on track with previous years. We did not include a SASE with the fall newsletter as we did in past years, so that may be one contributor. Also, because we are more active getting donations at the events, people forget when they last contributed. New membership lists will address that. We will return to including the envelope with the fall newsletter, and Sue will publish more reminders on FB and in the Presidents letters in the newsletter.
Anne Badey Raffa: Friends of Hoyt Park:
The Friends of Hoyt Park is hosting a winter sledding party this Sunday, February 18, from 1:00 to 3:00. Meet at the main shelter for hot chocolate and hot cider. There will be snacks. Bring your sleds. We will have a party snow or no snow.
On Thursday, April 19 Friends of Hoyt Park will have their annual meeting. It’s at Bethany Church and begins at 6:45. The speaker will be Jennifer Redell, a conservation biologist with the DNR. She will be presenting about Wisconsin’s native bat species here and will bring some live rehab bats.
The Full Moon Owl Walk had about 60 people and was a wonderful evening for all.
Brian Andersen: Lucia Crest Update:
Save the date: On March 17 the fruit trees in Lucia Crest will be pruned. There will also be free lessons teaching people how to prune fruit trees. Look on the list serve for updated information about this event.
Meeting adjourned at 8:12
Minutes submitted by:
Anne Badey Raffa
SVCA Secretary
dancinthrulife14@gmail.com