Monona City Council Preview - August 30, 2010

The Monona City Council meets tomorrow (Monday, August 30) at 7:30 PM in the Media Room at the Library. The full agenda.

We will be getting three reports to start the information portion of the evening. Chris James of Dane County Parks Department will speak about the Capital Springs State Recreation Area (this includes the status the proposed bike trail connecting Lake Farm County Park with the Village of McFarland and associated railroad trestle widening).

Also on tap:

• Dane County Supervisor Robin Schmidt (RTA, Radio Interoperability, and Other County Issues)
• City Engineer Rich Vela and BT Squared Civil & Environmental Engineering: Belle Isle Planning/Engineering Update.

Also Consideration of Resolution 10-08-1718 Requiring a Referendum on the Levying of a Sales Tax to Fund Commuter Rail (Aldermen Kugle, Wiswell, Veserat). This referendum would ask us Monona voters if we want to use the entire half-cent sales tax increase for commuter rail. What a question! Heck, I don't think anyone would support using all of the sales tax increase just from commuter rail. I sure wouldn't (I might not support using any of it for that purpose).

As I've said before, this referendum is premature and a distraction. We ought to be focused on telling the RTA Board what Monona wants out of a planned regional transit system (like other communitiess are doing).

The Monona Transit meeting did not reach a conclusion and has scheduled another meeting for September 8 when RTA Board members and staff will attend.

I expect the council vote will be delayed until after that meeting (We can approve the referendum at our September 20 meeting and be in time for the November ballot).

See my prior posts on this topic.
http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2010/08/monona-transit-meeting-on-august-25.html

http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2010/08/rtas-draft-principles-for-regional.html

http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2010/08/lets-play-hypothetical-referendum.html

http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2010/08/dane-county-rta-status.html

http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2010/08/monona-city-council-preview-august-16.html


The council is also asked to approve at a first reading: Consideration of Resolution 10-08-1722 Approval of CDA Recommendations for “Renew Monona” Program Loans (CDA).


and Consideration of Resolution 10-08-1723 Award of Contract for Demolition at 608 Clear Spring Court (City Administrator). CORRECTION. This building is being razed because it is "dangerous, unsafe, unsanitary, and otherwise unfit for human habitation".  This is one of the properties the CDA acquired in the past year.

The council will have a first reading on changing the status of the Sustainability Committee [Consideration of Ordinance 8-10-616 Reconstituting the Sustainability Committee to that of a Standing Committee (Alderman Wood, Alderman Munson)].

Finally, the Mayor has knocked it out of the park with his nomination of James Pflasterer to the Monona Police and Fire Commission. He is the former General Counsel for the state's Labor and Industry Review Commission.