Well hello everybody! I don’t know about you but I have been thoroughly enjoying turning my lights on and off today and admiring all the trees in my yard that are still standing! I hope everyone has faired well through this wild weather!
The Arboretum Neighborhood Association held their Spring/Summer 2024 biannual meeting last week Thursday, May 16, 2024. We were happy to connect with those of you that were able to attend. Here is a brief summary of what was talked about by our two speakers and general membership:
Mike Hansen, UW Arboretum Land Care Manager
1. Prescribed burn season report: Mike felt that the team had a successful burning season despite the early spring and numerous windy days. Roughly 75 acres were cleared via 24 prescribed burn events. The function of prescribed burns is to clear an area of invasive flora along with last year’s leaf litter and plant debris to make way for native vegetation to re establish. This promotes the overall restoration of the natural ecosystem promoting more native wildlife habitats, returning nutrients to the soil and balancing the plant life water consumption, amongst other things.
2. A request to neighbors who have property lines adjacent to the Arboretum: Please do not dispose of brush and yard waste onto the Arboretum lands or “into the woods.” This creates a fire hazard in relation to prescribed burns and natural events along with potentially smothering out the re establishment of native plant life. Thank you.
3. Seasonal invasive species: Should you be out and about on the Arboretum trails there are several invasive plants this time of year that the Arboretum staff are focusing on removing. Feel free to pull these plants, roots and all, wrap them in a plastic bag, and dispose of them in your trash. Please click on the names to follow a link to more information about the invasive plant:
4. Neighborhood work party: A tentative date of June 29, 2024 has been set aside by the Arboretum staff to host a neighborhood volunteer work party focusing on Arboretum lands closest to our neighborhood edge. The work party will most likely focus on removal of invasive plant species work. More details to come!
5. Dead tree removal: Mike reports that dead tree removal along Arboretum Dr. has been completed. Remaining stumps are scheduled to be removed at a later date as the ground did not freeze as thoroughly as hoped this past winter thus limiting what large stump removal equipment could be successfully brought in. Dead tree removal along Martin St. is the next target area of focus. The timeline for this work is to be determined.
Tag Evers, District 13 Alderperson1. The Southside/Near Westside Budget Engagement Event 5/29/24: (flier link)
Connect with southside/near westside alders for an in-person opportunity to discuss the budget, learn more about the services the City provides, and share your thoughts with elected officials. The meeting is currently scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm at the Goodman South Library, but these details may change. Follow Tag’s blog for any updates regarding this important meeting: District 13 Blog
2. The North-South BRT line is coming: The new bus rapid transit route is in the final development stages. Part of the route will run along Fish Hatchery Rd. and Park St. near our neighborhood. Recently, public concern about elimination of parking along Park St. was reviewed by the Common Council and compromises were made to allow for continued parking along certain sections of Park St. Follow this link to learn more about this project: North-South BRT Line
3. Other recent initiatives that Tag has been a part of: Please follow these links for updates on recent ordinance changes Tag has been involved with.
Proposed Amendment to City Ordinance Looks to Close Dog Attack Loophole – WORT-FM 89.9
Madison loosens zoning on accessory dwelling units, or ‘granny flats’
General ANA membership discussion
1. We have a newly elected Board of Directors: Please follow this link to the neighborhood website for an updated directory. The Board will elect officers at our next meeting early this summer.
2. Neighbor hosting food drive: Our neighbor Laura Tills is hosting a food drive next week May 27th-31st, for Way Forward of Dane County Please find attached to this email a word document sharing all the details about how you can get involved!
3. Martin St. berm: There have been several inquiries about the City’s activity along the Martin St. berm. The City has confirmed that they are completing overdue routine maintenance of clearing all rooted brush growing on the sides of the berm. Root systems growing into the sides of the berm weaken the berm’s structural integrity and increase the risk of wash out and must be removed.
4. Updated neighborhood resource lists: There have been several requests lately for service recommendations from neighbors. If you have any recommendations for the following services please let me know and I will update the current databases and ideally link to them from the neighborhood website as long as we can develop a robust list. Snow Plowing/Removal, Lawn Care, Private Well Maintenance, Others???
5. First Fridays: The weather is warm! Let’s meet up to enjoy our parks and scenery! The First Friday of June is coming right up (June 7th). If people would like to get together in the early evening on that date for a casual social hour as per our new tradition started last summer give me a quick shout out to proceed with planning. We have a new Board member that LOVES to plan social gatherings! Let’s put her gifts to use!
6. Fraust and Schmidt Parks: Our beloved Parks department liaison Sarah Grimalkin has left her position with the City to move on to new opportunities. This leaves us without a current point of contact temporarily as to developments and planning for the rehabilitation of our two neighborhood parks. This will evolve as someone fills the position and I will soon be able to keep you all in the loop again. For now Parks will continue the routine grounds maintenance at the same levels seen last season. New developments are foreshadowed for Fall 2024.
That’s all for now. Be well!
Arboretum Neighborhood Association 
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