City Council Report

The city council got back on its regular schedule last evening. We heard from two residents, Joe Chern and Daniel 'Jim' Guilfoil asking the council to pass a resolution supporting the impeachment of Bush and Cheney. I doubt that such a resolution will be proposed in part because it would not have any chance of passing.

Question: Is it OK for council members to use a laptop, Blackberry, and other electronic devices during our meetings? Alder Suslick does so on a regular basis, apparently sending and receiving emails right through the meeting. He engaged on the Monona Drive issue (see below), but otherwise did not contribute to the proceedings. Am I being a fogey? Is this practice common at the county board? It seems to me that council business deserves our full attention.

Garden Circle

The council approved the first step of a two-step process to vacate Garden Circle, the roadway that is. When a roadway is vacated the land reverts to the adjoining owner(s), in this case that's the city. In the near future the council will also be taking up the vacation of the Garden Circle Park. The council also had a first reading on establishing TID #% and the associated Redevelopment District [Consideration Of Resolution 07-09-1499, Declaring Redevelopment Project Area No. 5 A Blighted Area (Community Development Authority And Plan Commission)]. All this action is needed to make way for redevelopment of the Garden Circle property (the TID covers a somewhat larger area). CDA is considering (has approved?) a proposal for senior housing.

Monona Drive

The council had a lengthy discussion about the Monona Drive project. The council scheduled a special meeting for next Monday, September 24 at 6:00 p.m. to take a final vote on the approved plan. The council and ad hoc committee previously identified about $1.16 million in savings by reducing some of the aesthetic amenities.

The consultant did present seven Monona Drive options. I will try and post the spreadsheet later. The council and ad hoc committee has thoroughly considered all of these in the past (with one exception) and basically ended up back with the design we settled on long ago: 4-lanes divided by a median with protected left-turn bays, bike lanes and sidewalks (Option 2). The cost to the city is estimated at $4.76 million (not including utilities). That cost will be paid from TIF funds. We will also replace the 40- to 50-year-old sewer and water utilities. The cost for the utility work will likely be born by the ratepayers.

The one new wrinkle was an option to simply remove and replace the roadway (Option 7). The cost for that option is much lower, about $1.9 million. This plan would not allow the replacement of the old underground utilities, would not improve safety, and would not address congestion.

One problem I have with the way we look at these projects is that we always know the cost, but seldom now the dollar value of the benefits. These benefits can be monetized. I have written
before about the socio-economic costs of motor vehicle crashes. Quite apart from the anguish that injuries and deaths cause, they also generate costs to the individual and to society. In addition, the proposed design with medians and left-turn bays will also improve the ability of the road to carry traffic. Reducing traffic delays also has a real dollar benefit. My educated guess is that the likely benefits of the proposed design over the life of the project will outweigh the cost to build it. On the other hand, simply replacing the road 'as is' will continue to pile up more costs because of the Drive's very high crash rate and increasing congestion.

A decidedly low point in the proceedings came when Alder Suslick objected to the cost of the project and accused the mayor of being 'giddy' over the prospect of increasing taxes. The mayor had noted that if property values in the city actually fell, then the mill rate would go up and an increasing mill rate is actually beneficial to the financial operation of a TIF district. In other words, the mayor never said that taxes would go up. The mill rate and property values are like opposing forces on a teeter-totter: all other things being equal, one goes up as the other goes down. Taxes go up or down depending on the amount of the property tax levy not because the mill rate goes up or down. And again, the city's share of the Monona Drive project is being funded with TIF funds, i.e. taxes generated by real increases in value of property within the TIF district.

Alder Suslick also stated he did not see how the Monona Drive project would him as a resident on Belle Isle. That's a head-scratcher. I don't live or own a business on Monona Drive either, but I can see the benefit of having a safer, less congested, more attractive and inviting Monona Drive. We are building this road for the next generation. We need to do it right. And we are.

Goose Plan

The council also had a first reading on a goose management plan that would try a multitude of approaches to try and discourage geese from parking at Winnequah Park. I posted on this in more detail after it was approved by the Parks Board.