Snow, Leaves, & Meetings

Good Day.

I hope you are preparing for the snow storm approaching us over the next two days!! Remember to drive safely and if you dont need to go out, stay out of the way of the storm and the trucks clearing our roads.

With the recent snow and especially with the upcoming storms anticipated to bring maybe as much as a foot of snow, the Public Works Department has shut down their leaf collecting equipment until spring. Hopefully you were already done with your leaves!!

We have a bunch of Village meetings scheduled for tomorrow evening. I will list the meetings here and give a brief detail of the agenda:

5:15p Building Board; 1 project on the agenda for a sun room at a home on Farwell

6:00p MBCC Committee; The Village Committee assigned to serve as a liaison to the MBCC will be meeting to discuss recent Club/Village issues

6:45p Finance Committee; The agenda will include topics surrounding the infrastructure bonding for next year, sewer and water rate charges

7:30p Village Board; topics will include sewer and water rates, swingset purchase and installation, employee manual updates, AODA policy, Infrastructure plans and MBCC Stormwater Project, along with monthly financial reports.

Open House Tonight!!

This evening, Village Staff and our Village Engineer will host an Open House for residents interested in construction projects scheduled for next year. The Open House will start at 4:30pm and go until 7pm in the Village Center Gym. You can come when convenient and stay as long as you like!! There is no formal presentation for the general public.

In 2010, numerous streets in the Village will have infrastructure work completed. The primary work will consist of Water Main replacement but also, there will be stormwater and sanitary main maintenance conducted as well. All of the streets will be fully reconstructed.

In addition to street projects next year, the Village is working cooperatively with the MBCC and the City of Madison to address storm water issues around the area of the MBCC. An element of this project will be the construction of a stormwater retention pond between the Village and the MBCC Tennis Courts.

This evening, you will have opportunity to review the plans, talk with the Engineer about specific project elements and Village Staff about the overall administration of the projects. Hope to see you tonight!!

Request for Assistance

Hi, I have received a request for neighbors to assist with some gardening around a Village Triangle. Please see the information below and if you can help, I am sure they would love to have you!!

Hello Maple Bluff Neighbors,

I know how much we all enjoy and appreciate the beautiful plantings throughout the Village. With this being said, we're looking for some volunteers to help us save the Magdeline & McBride Triangle which was planted in 1993. This triangle has several thousands of dollars of plant material as well as hours and hours of love and hard work. While we're very thankful for the new roads and improved infrastructure that will be taking place in 2010, it will negatively impact the triangle during this upgrade. With some help from our friends and neighbors, we can save the planting and replant the triangle next spring!

A group of Village residents will be working to dig up and containerize the plant material, so that it can be saved over the winter and replanted after the improvements are completed. Your help will be greatly appreciated!

Please join us on *Monday, October 26, 2009, from 9A until 1P.

Please bring any containers that you can spare.

Please e-mail or call to confirm that you can help!
Cynthia Johnson, cynthiabjohnson@gmail.com, 230-5080
or
Elizabeth Erickson, RErick825@aol.com, 241-8618

*weather permiting...The alternative date is Monday, November 2, 2009, from 9A until 1P

Thank you and we appreciate your help!
Cynthia & Elizabeth

Meetings Tonight

Good Morning.

There are a couple village meetings tonight.

Public Works Committee will meet starting at 5pm. The agenda will mostly involve discussion and updates on the 2010 infrastructure projects and storm water projects near the MBCC.

At 6:30 tonight, there will be a special meeting of the Village Board. The Village Board will be in closed session working on a negotiation regarding the storm water projects.

News & Info (Same as Email!!)

Good Evening!!!

It has been many weeks since I have sent email correspondence. There have been a few postings on the Blog about meetings the past couple weeks, but no emails. But, dont take the lack of emails to indicate that nothing has been happening around the Village!! There has been alot taking place, so let me provide a few snippets about these items. Please also note below 2 additional articles; one from the Boy Scouts regarding their Wreath Sale and the other from UW Habitat for Humanity doing a fundraising Rake A Thon.

CONTENTS

*Tim's Update:
Fire Department Open House
Meetings next week
H & H;
2010 Infrastructure;
Power line UnderGrounding Project;
MBCC StormWater Project;
New Home Construction;
Budget
*Boy Scout Wreath Sale
*UW Habitat for Humanity Rake a Thon

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Tim's Updates:

Dont forget the Fire Department Open House on Sunday, Oct 11th!!

Meetings Next week:

Tuesday Oct 13th
Building Board 5:15p
Village Board 7:30p

H & H: Unfortunately, the Hoses & Handcuffs Golf outing for this year had to be cancelled due to low registrations. Many people expressed an interest in playing, but that never showed up in registrations. The good fortune in this cancellation is that the date of the event, was horrifically cold, wet, and windy. Though there has been some discussion of a reschedule for spring, there is equal discussion on letting the event rest for a year or two. Regardless, we would like to express our gratitude to Kristen Carreira and Michael Browne for their coordination of the event this year. We also want to thank those residents who made donations and were kind enough to let us keep those donations even though the event was cancelled. Thanks for your thoughtfullness!!

2010 Infrastructure:
PLANS: The Village Engineer has completed construction plans and has developed new cost estimates based on those plans. We will be setting another Village meeting to be held in an Open House format to allow residents to come in and review the plans, ask questions and make any final suggestions. During our neighborhood meetings, we took the feedback we were given and incorporated what we could. It is still not too late to give additional comments or make suggestions. Large scale ideas may not be feasible but some suggestions are still possible to implement. We are looking to hold this meeting in early November. The date time will be determined soon and we will begin to advertise immediately.

FINANCING: The Finance Committee has reviewed several financing options and we continue to seek additional proposals and structures for the debt service for these projects. As an aside, I have heard several comments regarding the timing of these projects in the challenging financial/economic times. Valid comments. There are however, comparable rationales to suggest that the current economic conditions provide for an opportune bidding environment. In addition, the long term stability of our infrastructure pushes us to continue with these projects.
Power Line Undergrounding Project: Many of you who live on Farwell are well aware of the undegrounding project. That is still being planned for these projects as well. There will be an assessment hearing that will be set up soon. As this hearing may establish a policy about how the Village will approach these undergrounding projects in the future, the entire Village will be notified about this hearing and be given opportunity to be heard.


MBCC StormWater Project: Work on this part of the project for next year continues. The Village Board considered an agreement with the City of Madison at their meeting last month, however they wanted a minor language change so that agreement will be brought back again at their meeting next week (Oct 13th). The Village is still awaiting a counter proposal from the MBCC regarding their involvement; we anticipate receiving that proposal yet this week.
You may already see some work beginning. This includes the placement of stakes to outline the location of the sediment retention pond between the tennis courts of the Village and MBCC. Dont lose perspective that this will be a fairly large retention area (1.25 acres) so when you see the stakes, you get a sense of how large that area will encumber. Please provide feedback about the placement of those stakes.
Other work will include the removal of trees and shrubbery around the MBCC Tennis Court area as well as the larger trees in the area of the pond. We are still intending to bid this project in conjunction with our street projects, though they will be separate bid projects.

New Home Proposal- Many neighbors who live in the Kensington Drive/Roxbury area are aware of a new home proposal for the open lot at that intersection. That project will be before the Village Building Board next Tuesday Oct 13. That meeting begins at 5:15pm

Budget: The Village Budget is still being developed. The Finance Committee and Village Board directed staff to work towards developing a neutral operational budget change for this next year. To that end, staff have also been placed on limits to discretionary spending. Staff wages will be frozen for this next year except for those pre-determined by bargaining agreements/union contract. The Capital Equipment Budget will be fixed again this year but not fully expended. Overall budget increase will ideally be limited to 2%. The Finance Committee will be meeting again on Monday October 26th to review the next draft of the budget.


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Boy Scout Wreath Sale

Troop 5 Maple Bluff is again holding its annual rope and wreath sale. You should have received the Troop's mailing recently for this important sale/fundraiser.
The Troop is selling 25 foot balsam ropes, as well as balsam, pine cone decorated wreaths in a variety of sizes.
The quality of the products is excellent and the prices are competitive. Best of all, the boy scouts will deliver the ropes and wreaths to your door on Saturday, November 21, just in time for the holidays.
Proceeds will support the Maple Bluff boy scout troop's activities.
If you did not receive the Troop's mailing, or have any questions about the sale, please call Kim or Blaine Renfert at 241-3159.
Thank you for your support!

Troop #5 Maple Bluff



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UW Madison Habitat for Humanity RAKE-A-THON (See attached Flyer)

Thanks for your help in getting the word out about our fall fundraiser! We've had many families from Maple Bluff participate in the past and we've had lots of success. This year's Rake-a-thon will be held over three days from Nov. 6-8, and all donations will help us build our first green, LEED-certified house in Madison ever to be built by Habitat for Humanity. We're looking forward to a great year!
I've attached our flyer with all the details and contact information for people to sign up. If you have any questions or further suggestions on how to spread the word, please let me know!
Thanks again!Bridget RobyUW-Madison Habitat for Humanity
Rake-a-thon Coordinator
(651) 249-4636

Meetings & Other Info

Good Morning.

MEETINGS: We have a couple of meetings for tomorrow. The first will be for the Police and Fire Committee who will be meeting at 4:45p. The agenda will consist of updates from each department. At 6pm, the Board of Appeals will be meeting for a contested hearing on an appeal from a decision of the Building Board.

OTHER INFO: Last week, the Village Engineer and staff staked an area behind the Village Tennis Courts at Beach Park and the MBCC Tennis Courts for the outline of a potential stormwater retention pond. Staff is looking for feedback on this area as we go to the Public Works Committee and eventually the Village Board for final approvals.

Thanks to Michael Browne and Kristen Carriera for their efforts at planning the Hoses and Handcuffs Golf outing. Due to low registrations the event was cancelled. Seeing the weather today, reinforces that it was a lucky thing that we are not out playing in this weather.

Finance Committee Meets Tonight

At 5pm tonight, the Finance Committee will be meeting to discuss several items including the 2010 Village Budget and Financing proposals for the 2010 infrastructure project. If interested, please attend this meeting at the Village Center.

Meetings Next Week

Good Morning.

Next Tuesday the Village will have several meetings of interest.
The Building Board will meet at 5:15p. On the agenda are several fence proposals as well as a new home construction on the corner of Kensington and Roxbury.
The Village Board will meet at 7:30p. Items of significance at the Village Board will be consideration of an agreement between the City of Madison and the Village on the Stormwater solution around the MBCC. We will also review a draft of the maintenance agreement for those same structures and an update on a significant loss of water from the water utility. After many months of research and exploration, the determination of the cause of the loss has been identified. Further, we will discuss updates on the infrastructure projects for next year, including the financing status and also discuss the Emergency Radio System and the maintenance being proposed by Dane County.

If you can attend the meetings, your presence is very welcomed. Have a great Holiday weekend!!

Street Maintenance On SATURDAY 8/22

Good Afternoon.

The Village was notified today that FAHRNER Asphalt Sealers will be performing street maintenance
TOMORROW-Saturday, August 22d.
Here are the specific areas that will be affected:

• 100 Block of Lakewood Blvd (North and South Lanes)
• 200 Block of Lakewood Blvd (Northbound Lane)
• Intersections at following locations:

1. Roxbury/Lakewood
2. Cambridge/Lakewood
3. Kensington/Bayside/Lakewood

The maintenance will be a process similar to what is called Chip Seal. It will involve an aggregate and the use of black slag and then streetsweeping to clean everything up.

The benefit to this process is that the street is completely usable immediately after the application is applied. Some of you may remember a process in the past that required vehicular traffic from staying off of the surface for a day or two after; this is a different process. It should cause minimal disruption.

There will be no parking in the areas mentioned above. The contractor has already posted those areas where parking will not be allowed.

We anticipate that the contractor will begin their work around 8am tomorrow and should be completed within a few hours.

Have a great weekend--enjoy the fabulous weather!!

Farwell Drive Water Main Flushing

The Outer Farwell Drive area had a Hydrant Flush conducted so if you experience some water discoloration, please go to the lowest level of your home and turn on your cold water until the water clears up!!

Gypsy Moths

We have had reports of gypsy moths in concentrated areas of the Village. If you have noticed, observed, or experienced gypsy moths in or around your property, please let me know.

If you email me, I can also forward information from the DNR regarding the Gypsy Moth program.

Construction Details

Many thanks to those residents who have chosen to attend our neighborhood meetings regarding the street construction next year. At these meetings, we tried to provide information about the construction process and how it will impact your street, your access, and overall, the general infrastructure and street impacts.

One example of this discussion is related to the width of Kensington Drive. This particular street is quite wide in some areas and realisitically, staff felt that it could be narrowed. At the neighborhood meeting, residents shared their thoughts, some in support of narrowing the streets and some in favor of keeping the width as it is now, which in most areas of Kensington Drive is over 36' wide.

A variety of concerns were discussed for both sides, including parking, saving or trying to limit the damage to the street tree's, costs, traffic calming, traffic routing and similar concerns.

Staff took those concerns and reached a compromise, which ideally accomplishes everyones objectives, on the width for this street. Our initial recommendation brought that street into comparable width as other Village streets (28.5') but after listening to points of neighbors, we proposed to the Public Works Committee a street width of 32.5'. That committee accepted that proposal and will make that recommendation to the Village Board tonight.

Please stay informed on construction for next year and if you have questions or concerns, please be sure to bring them up to someone (staff or elected officials or committee members). We are working diligently to keep information free flowing!!

Dailey Service Award

Start thinking about the next Dailey Service Award Winner. Remember that this award is for a Village Resident who has gone above and beyond on behalf of the Village.

Nomination forms will be disseminated soon....but start thinking now!!

Hoses & Handcuffs!!! SEPT 28th

Good Afternoon,

Many people, including myself and founder of the event Dave Bruns, thought that the Hoses & Handcuffs Golf Outing had seen it's last year. However, two Village Residents have decided to grab the baton and take off running with the event!! Quite frankly, I think I may have trouble keeping up!!

Kristen Carreira and Michael Browne had such a great time at the event last year, that they wanted to help plan and organize the event this year. Unfortunately, most associated with the event did not think any new leadership would step up to take over. But alas, it has happened; Michael and Kristen are just those leaders!!

Look for more information soon, including the registration form. But for now, set aside the date of Monday, September 28th for this great event!! As the golfing season comes to an end, what better way than to have one last, nice friendly casual scramble with some friends!!

In the meantime, if you want to help with this event, please let me know and I will get you intouch with Kristen!!!

General Info

Good Early Monday Morning.

Please note the following articles of information:
Contents:
*LakeView Elementary Informational Meeting
*BLOG address
*Plant/Install A Vegetable Garden!!!
*Youth Sailing

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LakeView Elementary

Are you interested in learning more about Maple Bluff’s community elementary school? If so, please join your neighbors, and Lake View Elementary School leaders for an informational meeting on Wednesday, August 5th at the Maple Bluff Village Hall. The meeting will run from 6:30 to 7:45 pm.
The objective is to discuss in an informal environment:
Lake View experiences from the perspective of neighboring families

What is going well?
Ideas from families to continually improve the learning environment
Ideas for new, after school enrichment programs (e.g. foreign language, advanced mathematics, etc.)
Lake View student performance based on standardized test results
Questions from meeting participantsKristi Kloos, Lake View’s Principal, and Maple Bluff residents who serve on Lake View’s Parent Teacher Association (e.g. Karen Carroll, Sarah Redemann) will be present to facilitate the meeting and answer questions and gather ideas.For your ease, meeting organizers have arranged for child care at Fireman’s park, so please feel free to bring your children with you!Please RSVP for this session with Karen Carroll at carrollcrew@sbcglobal.net.

Thank you for your time and interest in our community elementary school!

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BLOG Address http://maplebluffvillagecenter.blogspot.com/

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Community GroundWorks @ Troy Gardens

Plant a Vegetable Garden this FallCommunity GroundWorks at Troy Gardens has launched a new vegetable garden installation business to bring the values and vegetables of Troy Farm to homes and businesses in Madison. Madison FarmWorks will design, install and maintain an organic vegetable garden of any size in your yard. We provide crop harvest and delivery to your doorstep as well as a monthly newsletter filled with stories from the gardens, harvest tips and information about the local and national organic movement.

If you would like to create and maintain your own garden, we offer professional instruction and consultation specific to your goals. We can help you with site analysis, design ideas, monthly consultations, written instructions, planting schedules, and personalized instruction on a variety of topics.

It’s not too late to plant a fall garden! There is still time for fall successions of some of the cooler weather vegetables such as beets, garlic, cilantro, salad greens, spinach and kohlrabi. We can also install your garden beds this fall to help you get a head start on next spring.

Join the urban organic agriculture movement by growing vegetables, herbs and flowers in your backyard! Contact megan@troygardens.org or troygardens.org for more information and a free site visit.

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Youth Sailing

The Madison Youth Sailing Foundation still has openings in their sailing and windsurfing August classes.Check it out at http://madisonyouthsailing.org.This is an incredible program and it’s located at the Village Marina. Take advantage of it!

Marina--Parking and Plans!!

Good Day Maple Bluff.

The Village Marina continues to be a great asset for Residents. Both for those who have in water storage but for those who need a place to park their boat during the boating season as well as during the off season. There has long been a desire to upgrade the Marina to make it more user friendly. But also, a more attractive destination for those who love to watch the water from dry land.
An ad-hoc committee recently completed some plans to give the Marina a face lift for next year. This plan will likely coincide with changes to rules on storage.
Village staff is continually chasing trailers, boat lifts, campers and other "stuff" that is dropped at the Marina. If you do not have the proper registration stickers afixed to both your boat and trailer, you need to contact the Village Center and speak with Rene about storage. Yes, there is a fee involved but comparatively speaking, this is a reasonable amount. Failure to have the proper registration stickers could result in the removal of your property and a daily storage fee charged.

Traffic Traffic Traffic Plus Fun Stuff!!!

Good Morning Maple Bluff!!

Some of you who drive through the beach may have recently noticed additional cones to get your attention to slow down. Beach staff and Recreation Director Curt Erickson have noticed many vehicles driving through at considerable speeds. Squads have sat down there and some enforcement has been taken but mostly, people slow down when a squad is there. So far, it appears as if the cones are getting peoples attention; it just needs to change behavior. Staff have identified certain commercial vehicles that also offend and phone calls have been made requesting their compliance.
Where is this leading......well, if there is not voluntary compliance with the lower speed at the beach, the Village Board, at their meeting this week, has authorized the deployment of temporary speed bumps. Take care of your self first and slow down, but also talk to your neighbors to make sure that they slow down as well; this pertains at the Beach but also, at the other lower speed zone near Johnson Park on Bayside Drive and Old Shore Road.

The Village Board also discussed PODS at their meeting this week. The issue has been referred back to the Bylaws & Ordinance Committee for additional study/work/refinement.

Here are a few fun events for this upcoming weekend!!!

Fun Event For Friday:
Event: Kids vs. Parents Kickball Game "Let the kids show off their skills in kickball as they beat you parents"
What: Sporting Event
Host: 2009 Maple Bluff Lifeguards
Start Time: Tomorrow, July 16 at 5:25pm End Time:
Tomorrow, July 16 at 7:00pm
Where: Maple Bluff Beach Park

Fun Event for Sunday:
Event: Sunday Concert in the Park
What: Concert
Host: Park & Recreation Committee
Start Time: Sunday, July 19 at 4:00pm
End Time: Sunday, July 19 at 6:00pm
Where: Maple Bluff Beach Park

US Bank Championship in Milwaukee starts today. Jerry Kelly will be playing and teeing off at 7:55 this morning and hopefully will have a great week and play into the weekend!!!

Congratulations!!

Congratulations to Village President Eric McLeod to be the Very First person to join this Blog!!! I dont know if I have even joined yet...or if I have to....so much to learn.....

The Maiden Voyage!!!

Good Morning Maple Bluff.

I hope this writing finds you in good health.

This will be the maiden voyage of the Maple Bluff News & Information Blog. First, my thanks to Robert Godfrey for pointing me in this direction. I have been toying with this option for quite a while and looking for the best way to incorporate this blog into the Village Website. Finally, after a conversation today, I just had to get it done. Robert was correct, this took no time to get going. Thanks Robert.....now I just need to establish this as a regular task I complete!!!

As many of you know, I have been sending emails out to residents who have requested to be on the recipients list. I have experienced many problems with that email communication system over the years but we toiled through.
Let me describe a few of those problems. First, I had 4 different hotmail email accounts each filled with 4 Groups of up to 25 emails each.....I had somewhere around 350 email addresses.!! When I first set up that system, I could only send to 25 email addresses; and, hotmail also had a limit on the number of emails you could send in a day which was why I had to set up 4 different accounts with the use of those groups. I once lost an entire group as well....I recreated some of those emails but I lost quite a few as well. Another problem I have been having recently with the emails is that CHARTER WILL NOT DELIVER MY EMAILS!!! For those of you with a Charter email, my apologies if you have not been getting emails---they were bouncing back as undeliverable. I worked with a couple residents to try to get them to work, it seemed however that more did not work than those that did.
Finally, the last issue I continued to have with the emails was that people would respond to those emails and not to my regular email address....so I would get requests for things that I did not get for many days and sometimes weeks....and that bothered me as I felt very unresponsive. I will continue to send emails for the time being until we reach the point of termination.

So, what information will I be posting on this site?? Well, I anticipate a free flowing discussion of information and news related to the Village. Crime stats and discussions. Public Works News, Rec News, Meetings. For example, I have had requests in the past for meeting information both the date and time for meetings, but also agenda items. Let me give you some examples of meetings for tonight, July 14th.

BUILDING BOARD 5:15pm
3 projects on the agenda including:

• Picket Fence at 438 N Sherman
• Front Entrance Remodel at 159 Lakewood
• Sunroom window convert to french door at 840 Butternut

VILLAGE BOARD 7PM
Please note that this is a special early time for the Village Board to meet tonight as they will convene as the Assessment Board of Review at 7pm and need to stay in session for 2 hours. They will conduct hearings with property owners who are contesting their property valuation.
After the hearings are completed, their regular agenda will include:

• Traffic Safety Concerns on Bayside Drive
• Amendment to Municipal Ordinance 166-11 related to the placement of PODS on properties. This ordinance will limit the number of days that a POD can be on a property.
• Park/Rec is requesting release of Bocce funds ($4000)for the Kayak/Canoe Sharing program and $500 to match a donation for new basketball Backboards McBride Park.
• The Marina Park concept will be discussed and acted upon
• There will also be an action item onthe placement of temporary speed bumps at the Beach.
• In addition, there will be updates and reports from other village committees and staff members.

Also this evening, between Building Board and Village Board, there will be a meeting between representatives of the Village and the Maple Bluff Country Club as we work out details on a Storm Water project. This is not an open/public meeting.

Later this week on Thursday, the Rec Department is taking a field trip to Lambeau Field for 16-20 kids. What an exciting trip as they will tour the Hall of Fame, the stadium to include thelocker room, make a walk down the tunnel and out onto the field and then, there is some "Special Surprise" that the team has not even disclosed to Curt, the Rec Director yet. To me, that means that they dont know what it is yet either!! But, I am sure it will be cool for the kids!!

I need to move on other tasks; please enjoy this "blog" and come back regularly for more Village News and Information.