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City gives lukewarm approval to building project
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by Cara Harshman
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
By summer 2009 residents and newcomers to Madison will have a new place to live, as the City Council gave an unenthusiastic final approval to the Lake Park Apartment building in the Bassett Neighborhood Tuesday.
The conversation among alders and residents was similar to past discussions about the 40-unit building to be located where apartment buildings at 451 W. Wilson and 315 S. Bassett streets currently exist.
“It’s just simply the mass,” Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2, said referring to the building’s size, a popular complaint at the meeting. Konkel was the only alder to vote against final approval because of the conflicting opinions. “Sure the building looks nice, but too big is too big,” she said.
Those strongly in favor of the new four-level apartment building with a parking spot allocated for every unit thought the building would bring an older, professional and much-welcomed demographic to the area.
“This is a very suitable site for quality rental,” said Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, who was uncharacteristically halfhearted about supporting the new apartments, set to break ground this summer. “I personally don’t think I would be excited living across the street from this.”
Verveer touched on a major concern from Bassett neighborhood resident, Jan Sweet, who also represents Cities Without Cars. Sweet repeatedly appeared before city committees, calling for adding a community room to the building and eliminating the parking garage completely, among other additions he said every committee has failed to address.
“It is unfortunate several neighbors cannot support the project,” Verveer said. “I just don’t think there will be tons of motor vehicle traffic through the area on a regular basis.”
Recuperating from a brutal winter snow season, Madison Streets Coordinator Al Schumacher briefed alders on the state of the department’s budget after dealing with more than 100 inches of snowfall this season.
Schumacher requested a $300,000 increase for overtime wages to cover paychecks for city employees who worked 21-hour workdays plowing snow and sweeping the 15,000 tons of sand dumped off the streets.
He said the streets division is also in debt from hiring out snow plows to keep the streets clear when the division was overworked and understaffed.
“In a normal winter we plow five times. This winter we plowed 14 times,” Schumacher said.
The streets division will also receive $500,000 in aid from Federal Emergency Management Agency for storms that hit Madison in early February, Schumacher said.
Anonymous (May 7, 2008 @ 6:45am):
So someone like Jan Sweet opposes all cars...and also opposes a dense urban infill project. Sometimes liberals get confused, I guess.
Cities Without Cars (May 7, 2008 @ 9:34am):
Dear Anonymous:
Alder Verveer, Mayor Cieclewicz and our City Council had to dispense buckets of whitewash last evening in order to obfuscate neighborhood concerns over Mr. McGrath's proposals. 75 residents signed a petition asking that new car owners be kept OUT. There is no shortage of whitewash at city hall but we are facing a shortage of petroleum and the sooner we adopt a policy of frugality the better off we will be.
Gluttony is unbecoming and a blight on our community. What happened last evening was symptomatic of the brain fog that envelopes a society when affluence replaces clear thinking. You would be wise to listen to scientists and experts who are predicting an imminent energy crunch and forget about hanging on to a way of life that is no longer viable or sensible. Get on the Bus Gus.
J. Sweet, Cities Without Cars
Anonymous (May 7, 2008 @ 11:33am):
In response to J. Sweet's post.... WTF?
Anonymous (May 7, 2008 @ 5:15pm):
J. Sweet,
I ride the bus to campus every single day. But to take away someone's personal freedom for your ideals? That sounds very liberal to me.
Gus
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