If I had to come up with one word for this year, it would be transition. We have experienced transition within our families, within our schools and workplaces and within our communities. In January, LENA elected a new board, and that pizza party seems like it was years ago. Many board members are completely new to the process, including myself. Stephanie Fitch and I stepped into the roles as co-presidents, and have been collaboratively leading LENA in 2020. However, life is full of change. Stephanie and her family decided to leave Lake Edge this summer, and so I will step into the role as President. Stephanie loves Lake Edge and has called it her home for the last two years, but as we all know, life has some unexpected surprises and opportunities, and it's important to grab them. With that said, I'm excited to step into the role as President of LENA.
In addition to board changes, we have all had a shared experience of COVID, stay at home orders, possibly working from home or being an essential worker, and paying closer attention to the health of ourselves and loved ones. We have experienced a larger and more visible racial justice movement at both local and national levels, and have begun to see how intertwined racial equity is within our own backyards. In this issue, we will have updates from our local officials and the new development plan on Cottage Grove Road. We will also have updates from organizations about what their current precautions are to open or not open, and how they will still offer their services in a more mindful and cautious way. We will let you know our updates on modified events like the cancellation of the annual picnic but also replace it with new community building opportunities that provide more socially distant, responsible options.
In many ways, it has felt like our worlds have been turned upside down this year, but this may be an opportunity for renewed hope, for a different way of doing things. It may be a way for us all to come together and ask - what do we want to keep? What do we want to get rid of? I invite you to be part of the process of creating something new.
"Sometimes you have to scorch everything to start over. After the burning, the soil is rich and life can grow there, life that is maybe even better than what it was before. " Little Fires Everywhere
Mel Freitag, LENA Presidenta
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June 2020: Garage Sale cancelled
July 4, 2020: Independence Day Community Event
The Lake Edge Neighborhood Association invites you to participate in a neighborhood Independence Day celebration! We invite you to decorate for the 4th of July and add your address to our celebration map so that neighbors can plan their walking route to enjoy the most of the Red, White and Blue! General artwork is welcome too (rainbow unicorns, for example). Get creative! You can even decorate your house and leave for the weekend. This is truly a socially distant event.
Please share your address if you intend to participate by decorating. The map of participants will be shared on Facebook and with our email listserv. After you get the map, you can take a stroll around our beautiful neighborhood and absorb some of our own artwork and pride.
Your responses will emailed to the provided address.
If you do not have an e-mail address, please use: LakeEdgeNA@Gmail.com
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdeuhQuZXj7Io0R9wz-agVHKD8LBmw21XJWHWuaTBHbCHMvdA/viewform
July 8, 2020: Olbrich Biergarten membership drive
Join us on July 8 at Olbrich Biergarten for a Lake Edge Neighborhood membership drive and community building. Come find out what LENA has to offer and connect with fellow neighbors in a socially distant, fun environment. For more on COVID precautions at the Biergarten, please check this out: https://www.olbrichbiergarten.com/rules
August 2020: LENA Picnic cancelled
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Madison Parks Update
All Madison Parks are open with some adjustments and closures in place until further notice. We continue to follow the phased-in Forward Dane plan and are evaluating the best way to safely open park amenities. More info can be found on the city website.
More information on site about:
Drinking Fountains | Field Reservations and Contact Sports | Splash pads/pools | Playgrounds | Shelter Reservations | Basketball Courts | Beaches | Skatepark | Paths/Trails | Tennis Courts | Disc Golf | Dog Parks | Boat Launches | Community Gardens | Golf Courses
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MSCR: Summer Inside Out!
Madison School & Community Recreation is pleased to present VIRTUAL & OUTDOOR summer programs starting June 29! Summer offerings include arts & enrichment, camps, dance, fitness classes, nature, boating, sports and tennis. Virtual classes take place through live Zoom streaming, recorded lessons and Google Classroom. All in-person classes take place outdoors and will follow current social distancing and safety guidelines from local authorities. Registration is open. Check our website, Facebook & Instagram for news, ideas and resources.
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Olbrich Botanical Gardens News
Olbrich Botanical Gardens re–opened on Wednesday, June 17, after being closed for three months due to the pandemic. The outdoor gardens are open from 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. daily. The Growing Gifts Shop, Bolz Conservatory, Schumacher Library, and Frautschi Family Learning Center remain closed because of difficulty maintaining physical distancing in those locations. Entrance is limited to 100 individuals every half-hour, and there are some closed and one-way paths to ensure physical distancing. In the first 7 days of operation, Olbrich welcomed 516 individuals on average each day. More than one thousand visited on Father’s Day, June 21!
The gardens are magnificent – horticulturists kept them well-maintained during the closure, assisted by staff from other departments. We missed our wonderful volunteers, who were not available during the closure for safety reasons.
While our Lake Edge neighbors will find some changes, we hope you will enjoy a return to our community’s public garden. For more information on staying safe while visiting, visit www.olbrich.org.
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Pinney Library News
At the beginning of June, Sarah Lawton left the job of Pinney Supervisor to take on a new challenge. Taking her place is eastsider, Jane Jorgenson. Jane has been with the library for a lot of years and has worked at every one of the 9 locations, including doing a stint as librarian at old Pinney.
The library started curbside pickup of holds and has begun to let individuals in by appointment to use our computers. For both of these services customers should call our reference line, 608-315-5151 or 1-888-266-7805 to book an appointment.
Have a stack of items to return? Pinney’s red return bin is on the play patio (near the atrium entrance from the parking lot) Monday-Friday 11-7, Saturdays 12-5. In case of rain, return service is NOT available.
Summer reading is here! To be a part of We Read/Leemos, read something you love and share it social media with the hashtag #WeReadMadison and @madisonpubliclibrary on Instagram.
Find out more about library services here: https://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/coronavirus
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Letter from East YMCA Branch
Executive Jason McColl
Hello All, my name is Jason McColl and I am the Branch Executive at the East YMCA. As some of you may know we had to close down for a little over 2 months because of COVID-19, but we are now so excited to be back open and serving our community in a more traditional way. That said we have implemented many new safety guidelines and have had to adjust some of our normal programs. To see all of our updates please click this link https://www.ymcadane.org/reopening-phase-2
I would like to just like to mention a few programs we were able to do while our buildings were closed. We were able to provide Child Care for Emergency/Essential personnel serving roughly 60 different families for 9 weeks. We also provided brown bag breakfast and lunches at 8 different locations in Dane County. We were a voting location on Apr 7 and also hosted a Blood Drive with the American Red Cross.
Thank you all for allowing me to speak a little about the Y and please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments or concerns.
Jason McColl
jmccoll@ymcadane.org
608 906 8651
East Center Executive
YMCA OF DANE COUNTY, INC.
Lussier Family East YMCA
711 Cottage Grove Road
Madison, WI 53716
(East Branch) 608 221 1571
(Direct) 608 906 8651
www.ymcadane.org
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Property Assessments do not reflect
COVID-19 Impact
Notices from the City Assessor’s office are landing in the mailboxes of every Madison property owner this week. Commercial property values rose an average of 8.6 percent and residential values rose an average of 5.5 percent. The values do not reflect the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. By State law, assessments must be based on the market value of a property as of January 1, 2020. Any economic fallout from the pandemic won’t be reflected in property assessments until next year.
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New Guidance Released:
School will be Different this Fall
Fall school schedules will be different for families with school-aged children in our community. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction released new guidance for schools to operate safely while communities respond to COVID-19. WDPI released Education Forward earlier this week for Wisconsin districts and school leaders to use as they plan for a safe, efficient, and equitable return to school for the 2020-21 school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the full announcement with supporting documents on the WDPI website. |
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Property Demolition Notice for 3900 Monona Drive (corner of Cottage Grove and Monona)
Please be advised that Stacey Oehrke will be filing a demolition permit application on July 8, 2020 for Plan Commission review that calls for a Commercial located at 3900 Monona Dr Madison, WI 53716 to be demolished. For more information regarding this forthcoming application, you may contact the applicant, Stacey Oehrke, Knothe & Bruce Architects, 7601 University Ave, Suite 201 Verona, WI 53562 at soehrke@knothebruce.com or (608)836-3690.
There was also a community meeting on June 8 to discuss the development proposal for the Cottage Grove Road properties. More than 60 neighbors and friends were in attendance and there was lively and dynamic discussion around what to do with the land. During our regular LENA monthly meeting on June 15, LENA drafted a set of recommendations for the developers, including more public and retail space, more sidewalk and green space, and other specific revisions that would impact Lake Edge and the surrounding communities. The letter will be voted on at the LENA July meeting, and will subsequently be sent to the City of Madison Planning commission. For more information on the most up to date information regarding the development, please contact LENA at lakeedgeNA@gmail.com. There will be more meetings with the city planning groups throughout the summer. |
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City of Madison Recycling Updates
As you may be aware, food scraps recycling is now available at all three of the Streets Division drop-off sites. We didn’t quite have the rollout we had hoped due to the pandemic, but is still available.
You can read up about the program here: www.cityofmadison.com/foodscraps.
Request for Buckets
I’m sure you all know, plastic buckets , including the kind of bucket for a popular brand of kitty litter, cannot be placed into the recycling cart. However, we at the Streets Division could certainly use them if you have them – especially those kitty litter buckets. Empty buckets are used throughout the year for our battery recycling program. If you happen to have some clean and empty 5-gallon buckets, or if the kitty litter you purchase comes in a similar bucket to the one linked to above, we would greatly appreciate it if you brought them to a drop-off site for our reuse. Without the bucket donations, we have to buy them, which we would like to avoid if possible since we know there are so many potential clean and empty buckets out there. If you are able to help, or know someone who can, that would be great. Broken buckets, or ones that dried paint or driveway sealer in them are still best for the trash.
About the Drop-off Sites
If you have tried to use the drop-off sites since they re-opened in April, I’m sure you’ve noticed the very long lines at the sites. We certainly have, too.
Here’s a couple tips that might help.
The long lines tend to form on Saturdays, Mondays, and Tuesdays. We also see a spike of activity in the afternoon as we approach closing time. Try to avoid coming at those times if you can – or otherwise be prepared to wait. As I write this on Friday morning at 8:30am, no one is line at any of our sites. At this time on Mondays, the line tends to be at least 20 cars deep at Sycamore and Badger.
Choose South Point Rd drop-off site if you only have yard waste for disposal. South Point takes food scraps and yard waste only – so there tends to be much less traffic there than other sites since it accepts less material.
Consider alternatives for disposal. For example, try mulching lawn mowers instead of raking the grass clippings. Or try backyard composting.
Buying Recycling Fee Stickers
Residents cannot buy recycling stickers from Streets Division offices at this time. Public libraries and the treasurer office sales are also not selling stickers, either.
So, what how do you buy a fee sticker right now if you need to recycle something that requires one?
Food Scraps at the Drop-off Sites
Order online at www.madisonpay.com
Sticker is mailed after a successful purchase. Allow 1 week for delivery.
Order by mail:
Mail request to Street Division, 1501 W. Badger Rd., Madison, WI 53713.
Allow 1 week for request to arrive and another week for sticker to arrive.
Order by phone:
Provide credit card information over the phone during regular business hours, Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4pm.
East side residents should call 608-246-4532
West side residents should call 608-266-4681
Sticker is mailed after purchase. Allow 1 week for delivery.
Additional Information
Keep an eye on the Streets Division website. As the pandemic situation lingers, any update to services will be posted there. Our website is www.cityofmadison.com/streets.
In the meantime if you have any questions, let us know.
Bryan Johnson
Recycling Coordinator
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Welcome Sankofa Talented & Gifted School to
Lake Edge Neighborhood!
Lake Edge United Church of Christ (4200 Buckeye Rd) has a new school tenant. Jalateefa Joe-Meyers and the Sankofa Talented and Gifted School will join the two other school tenants (Monona Grove Nursery School and German School of Madison) housed in the church, beginning this September. In May, the City of Madison awarded Sun Prairie based Sankofa, with a one year certification as a private voucher school. The school’s vision “is to provide a safe, rigorous, creative, dynamic environment to develop critical learners who think, communicate, socialize and produce according to their fullest potential.”
Sankofa’s “educators are well versed in culturally responsive instructional practices…Families can choose optimal schedules that allow them to maximize their learning in ways that are supportive to their family structure and community involvement classroom instruction with online learning extensions and hands on community based learning opportunities.” This model “seeks to address the significant disparity in learning opportunities among underserved students… (Through) a sustained effort from 3rd grade through high school graduation. The school will target students that are impoverished, academically behind grade level standards, and many with untreated or undertreated mental health issues.”
More information on the school and registration can be found on the school web-site https://sankofatalentedandgifted.simdif.com/. Welcome Sankofa to the Lake Edge Neighborhood.
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From Our Elected Officials
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Kristen Audet
District 17 Supervisor, 2nd Vice Chair, Dane County Board, Vice Chair, Dane County EMS Commission
Black Lives Matter. 150 words is not a lot of space for an update on recent events in Dane County and so I want to start with those words and take space to repeat them again: Black Lives Matter. We continue to see devastating acts of racism in our community despite people working hard to effect change through protesting, demonstrating, creating policy, and holding our government accountable. Racism is a public health crisis and we must continue to evaluate our current systems and focus on solutions centered on racial equity. This work will be hard and it will take time.
Also: COVID-19 is still an active threat to our community. Please remember to wear a mask when you are outside your home, wash your hands, and practice social distancing. Follow Public Health Madison & Dane County for the most recent updates. Free testing will continue at Alliant Energy Center through August.
Contact me: Audet.Kristen@countyofdane.com
KristenAudet.com
she /her /hers
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May, 2020
Dear Parents of students in Madison Schools,
This letter is to White parents sincerely interested in giving your children the best quality of life you can. I am white and grew up in a small town in Ohio that was a stop on The Underground Railroad during slavery. It was founded by Quaker people and welcomed escaped slaves. The town’s “old money: was as often that of African Americans as Whites. Growing up there, I took integration and racial coexistence for granted.
I moved to Madison in 1975, expecting a cosmopolitan experience. I was shocked and horrified at the common use of the n-word in the workplace. I soon realized that I saw and interacted with very few African Americans because of segregation. The shock manifested in grief and silence for decades of my life in Madison.
Through becoming active in The Transformation Action Network, (TAN), I am finding my voice and learning to be part of standing up against racism such as that entrenched in the Madison Schools and Police Dept. It is painfully obvious given the stark disparities in well-being exposed by “The Race to Equity”, that our legacy of slavery and Jim Crow continues to have a dire effect on our citizens of color. And more to the point of this letter, I know the manifestation of racism also limits a white person’s quality of life as well.
If you believe that all of our children deserve better, there is a solution. We can stop the normalization of violence and criminalization of children of color. It won’t be easy but it can be done by:
- Acknowledge the increased likelihood that youth who are suspended or otherwise punished will not graduate and will be vulnerable to the school to prison pipeline. When Black and Brown youth make mistakes or cause harm, do not punish them. Use a Restorative Justice approach which is empowered with 360 degree accountability for structural, cultural and physical harms as manifested in mass incarceration. Accountability for teachers should include education about Black adultification and other anti-Black filters. Racial Justice training taught by Black leaders approved by The Network. Training around the impact of anti-Blackness and criminalization. In 2014 there were 239 Black and Brown youth in Lincoln Hills. an astounding 78%!. Where did they go to school and what was their experience there? Require teachers to receive Restorative Justice training within the first 6 month of the new school year or before. Release all incarcerated youth and provide them with quality housing and equip them with medical care, mental wellness services, food and other essential resources.
- Support and fund a committee designed to address needs of repairing damage around racist violence in the form of structural cultural and physical impacts.
- Using the recommendations of this committee, launch a public awareness campaign to decriminalize Black/Brown youth specifically and all youth.
- Support reparations to Black/Brown-lead efforts to create alternative culturally enriched schools for marginalized youth that prioritize relevant curriculum and black and brown instructors.
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Meet your LENA Board Members: Marty Conrad, Member-at-large; Justin Williams, Secretary; Steve McCarthy, Treasurer; Stephanie Fitch, Past President; Mel Freitag, President; Hawk Sullivan, Member-at-large, Rachel Kiley, Member-at-large. Bios can be found on the LENA website.
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Website and Facebook
Check out our new website and join our Facebook group!
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An Important Message to Our Valued Customers
From: Madison Gas and Electric
As your community energy company, we appreciate the trust and confidence you have in us to provide safe, reliable energy.
Sadly, scammers seek to exploit this relationship by portraying themselves as representatives of Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) to take advantage of our customers.
We have heard recently that some businesses throughout our community have been called by someone pretending to be MGE and demanding immediate payment of their bill.
The impostors continue to get more sophisticated – it may appear as though the call is coming from MGE. Or, in some cases, scammers may claim to know recent bill amounts.
Do not call a number left by a scammer. Always call MGE at 608-252-7222.
The scammers typically claim accounts are past due and give instructions to pay with a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. Scammers often threaten disconnection of services within an hour.
- MGE would not contact a customer to request payment either by prepaid debit card, wire transfer, or green dot cards.
- MGE will never threaten that we are coming within the hour to disconnect service. When a customer faces disconnection for nonpayment, there are several past due notifications that come in writing through the mail.
Never allow anyone into your business or home for an unannounced visit to check your meter, electrical wiring, natural gas pipes, or appliances unless you have a scheduled appointment or are aware of a confirmed problem. Always ask for identification.
Please visit our website—mge.com/scam—to know when to spot a scam.
Never give out personal information. Always call MGE at 608-252-7222 if you have questions about your account.
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