Uncommon Council

Uncommon Council

Discussion and analysis of the Madison, WI Common Council meetings. Your hosts will talk through the major events, share research that goes beyond the contents of the meeting, and make things entertaining.

  1. 08/08/2022

    7/19/22 - One Stepback Forward

    Ben and Sam celebrate the efficiency of the in-person Common Council meetings by pulling in other local news happenings. Topics include CARES team expansion, birds, imaginary coal, disability pride month, bus rapid transit, affordable housing, batting practice, and shallow stepbacks. Meeting Agenda Consent Agenda - Items excluded from discussion CARES team expansion announcement - Community Alternative Response Emergency Services team CARES team article City goals for carbon emissions, local-owned businesses, and women/BIPOC-owned businesses W Washington zoning documents

    48 min

  2. 21/07/2022

    7/12/22 - Letting it Bake

    Ben and Sam talk about the first in-person Common Council meeting since the start of the covid-19 pandemic. Main topics include a Common Council harassment policy, subcommittee self-evaluations, and new citywide lighting policy changes. Your intrepid correspondents also touch on pickle ball, curtain hangings, county reproductive health services, simmering public policy, LEDership, Robert's Rules, the merits of a 5-point scale, and Common Council recreational traditions.  Meeting Agenda Public Health Expanding Reproductive Services in Dane County List of County Reproductive Health Services Sample Subcommittee Self-Evaluation Form International Dark Sky Association

    47 min

  3. 11/07/2022

    6/7/22 and 6/21/22 - You Had Me at More Density

    Ben and Sam catch-up on the June Common Council meetings covering protest petition changes, metro redesign, and several rezoning proposals. They also touch on significant local government happenings, bookcases, Park street coffee destinations, state supreme court decisions, cat lactose tolerance, new alder appointments, naked bike rides, and malls in Singapore. City Resources 6/7 Meeting Details  - Agenda and minutes. 6/21 Meeting Details - Agenda and minutes. Protest Petition Proposal - Alder Bennett's proposal to change protest petition process for rezoning amendments.  Metro Redesign Proposal Map - New routes as well as impacts to geographic areas in terms of wait times and walking distance to access. City of Madison Zoning Ordinance - Differences between TR - U1 and TR - U2 zoning rules. TL;DR TR - U2 is denser. Articles WPR: The Highland Park shooting suspect considered a second attack in Wisconsin, police say WPR: Open letter to UW-Madison leaders calls for action following attack on international student near campus WPR: The Wisconsin Supreme Court says ballot drop boxes aren't allowed in the state 6 Ways to Advance Equity in Public Transportation

    52 min

  4. 10/06/2022

    5/24/22 - Where the Sidewalk Debate Ends

    Ben and Sam cover the introduction of new alders, comment process changes, suggested lighting practices, Lake Mendota sidewalks, more special recovery charges, and historic preservation changes. Meeting Agenda for 5/24 Comments from Smartgrowth on historic preservation changes Blog post from Alder Figueroa Cole about Common Council process changes Outdoor Lighting best practices

    57 min

  5. 30/05/2022

    5/22/22 - Mistakeholders with Reez Bailey [Interview]

    Ben and Sam welcome Reez Bailey to the Uncommon Council for an interview about his experience running to be alder in district 4. Reez shares tips on how to get involved in local politics and what it takes to get your message heard. We also talk PFAS, Pokemon cards, Dostoyevsky, stand-up cliches, and local cuisine.  See more of Reez talking about police reform and surprisingly still relevant sports references here.  Stuff from the episode: Capital City Theatre website. The average price for a studio apartment in Madison is now above $1100.  Well 15 PFAS clean-up background.

    56 min

  6. 16/05/2022

    5/10/22 - Great Resignation Hits the Common Council

    Spring brings a wave of new Common Council appointees and the approval of a host of new projects. The alders say yes to the address on Linden Ave for a new housing development and give a free hand to expand the previous landfill. Ben and Sam look at what all of the new faces and approved places mean for the city.  Agenda - for Consent Agenda items and more links/resources Alders Martin (11), Albouras (20), Abbas (11), and Lemmer (3) resigning. See this page for submitting and application to be appointed if you live in district 20 or district 11. The district 3 deadline has passed and district 11 has not been announced yet.  Women's Medical Fund - accepting donations to help connect women with abortion resources Police Quarterly Report  - overall downward trends in crime from last year Artist renderings of the Linden Ave development proposal - including "Passive House" efficiency measures Far East Sustainability Project - future option to expand old landfill and add more sustainable waste disposal options to keep tipping fees low Well 15 PFAS Treatment - proposal for a contract to remove undesirable PFAS from well water

    57 min

  7. 03/05/2022

    4/19/22 - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Arguments

    This latest Madison Common Council meeting must have been dry clean only because Ben and Sam shrank the content down from 9.5 hours to a cozy 1. We welcome a President and Vice President for the council and still have time for lively road resurfacing and body worn camera pilot debates.  Meeting Agenda Isaza, Gabrielle T., et al. "Evaluation of police use of force de‐escalation training: assessing the impact of the integrating Communications assessment, and tactics (ICAT) training program for the university of Cincinnati, oh police division." (2020). Cap Times article about Lake Mendota road resurfacing  Resource Recovery special charge (recycling) Turner, Broderick L., et al. "Body camera footage leads to lower judgments of intent than dash camera footage." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116.4 (2019): 1201-1206.

    59 min

  8. 04/04/2022

    3/29/22 - Big Yellow Tax Season

    Ben and Sam don't always know what they've got til it's gone. But they do know how to volunteer for Earth Day, whether you can fire a fire chief, the size of the Vilas Zoo committee, how to wish they were Oscar Mayer wieners, and how to bring noise pollution down to zero.  Get city-provided gloves, bags, and rakes by signing up for the Earth Day challenge on 4/23.  Find current committee vacancies and apply.  What's a PFAS? Oscar Mayer Special Area Plan Roadway Cafe Proposal Summary Vision Zero Plan Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell)

    55 min
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About

Discussion and analysis of the Madison, WI Common Council meetings. Your hosts will talk through the major events, share research that goes beyond the contents of the meeting, and make things entertaining.

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  • Creator
    Uncommon Council
  • Years Active
    2k
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
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    © Uncommon Council
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    Uncommon Council