People – Places – Possibilities
Working Together to Make a Better Community
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, One John Nolen Drive, Madison, WI
REGISTER for the 2016 Mayor’s Neighborhood Conference. Cost is $15 (includes light breakfast, lunch, tours and workshops). Fee waivers and childcare assistance is available. Language interpreters or other accommodations can be requested by calling 608-267-8727.
For those without email addresses, please use this Registration Form.
REGISTRESE para la Conferencia de Vecindarios con el Alcalde 2016. El costo es de $15 (incluye desayuno liviano, almuerzo, talleres y visitas por la ciudad). Exencion de tarifa y cuidado de niños disponible. Para traduccion simultanea u otro tipo de ayuda puede llamar al 608-267-8727
Para aquellos que no tenga direccion de correo electronico, por favor usen el siguiente formato de REGISTRO.
Para español registrese aqui
Conference Information
About
Get There (parking and Transit)
Keynote
Schedule of Events and Day of the Event
Early Bird Tours
Workshops
Networking Session
Placemaking Grants
Sponsor
Contact
About
This is the 20th anniversary of the first neighborhood conference! Community leaders have been coming together since then to learn, share, and celebrate successes of their worthy endeavors. We expect a variety of persons to attend – those new to working on the neighborhood level to those that are well versed, staff from the city, county, and nonprofits, and business owners that bring value to the neighborhoods they serve. We would like to encourage our new civic leaders – our youth and millenniums – to share thoughts on what will make our neighborhoods and city a better place.
Be part of this year’s event by registering today. Twelve Neighborhood Conversations, Twelve Workshops and 4 Walking Workshops will feature relevant information, discussions, and action ideas to take back to your neighborhood.
Get There
Parking is available at the Monona Terrace and Government East Ramp for an hourly fee
If you are travailing by bus use Madison Metro’s Plan Your Route webpage.
We are thrilled to have Mitchell J Silver, FAUCP, NYC Parks Commissioner, as the keynote speaker this year. Mr. Silver has a long list of achievements – past president of the American Planning Association, Chief Planning and Development Officer for Raleigh, NC, and numerous other roles as a planning and policy guru in New York City and Washington DC.
Known by his colleagues as a passionate communicator, creative thinker, problem-solver and visionary leader, Mitchell Silver has been at the center of many cutting edge trends, innovative solutions and visionary plans, including Harlem on the River and Vision for Jamaica Center in New York City and the revitalization of neighborhoods in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, and Raleigh. He is action maker with a focus on “investing in our people and communities”. You will hear him talk about “the environment, public health, economy, and equity” in planning for cities and neighborhoods.
8-9 a.m. | Registration, Networking, Organizational Displays, Walk/Bike Tours
9-9:30 a.m. | Mayor’s Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:45-10:45 a.m. | Workshops and Neighborhood Conversations
11:00-12:00 p.m. | Workshops and Neighborhood Conversations
12-1:30 p.m. | Keynote, Lunch, and Awards
1:30-2:30 p.m. | Workshops and Neighborhood Conversations
2:45-3:45 p.m. | Workshops and Neighborhood Conversations
3:45-5:00 p.m. | Networking Reception
The day of the event will include: early bird tours (for those that enjoy the mornings), light breakfast and coffee/tea at the welcoming address, lunch, and networking reception. Dress casually.
Early Bird Tours
For those early risers, join one of the four early bird tours. Meet in the front of the Monona Terrace, MLK JR Blvd entrance, at 7:45am. Coffee will be served. Your registration check-in will be fast tracked and a table will be reserved for you during opening remarks.
RIDE THE ART TOUR
Join Karin Wolf, City Arts Administrator for a bike ride to public art installations in and around downtown. This leisurely ride will take participants past some of Madison’s finest and most interesting outdoor sculptures and murals. During the ride participants are invited to share their thoughts about Madison’s public art: past, present, and future.
STATE STREET RETAIL TOUR
Join Bill Fruhling, Principal Planner, for a short walk along a portion of one of the last remaining pedestrian malls in the nation and hear about the upcoming plan for the area. Participants will have an opportunity to talk about some of the changes happening in the downtown and how that is driving some of the dynamics of State Street, including the evolving tenant mix. Similar changes are occurring in some of Madison’s neighborhoods and influencing many traditional commercial areas.
DOWNTOWN HISTORIC PRESERVATION TOUR
Join Amy Scanlon, Historic Preservation Planner, to hear about the City’s historic resources and the blending of historic preservation and infill development to create a unique city. You will be one of the first to hear about the Historic Preservation Plan – an effort that will begin in 2017 to provide a framework for a comprehensive approach to the City’s historic preservation program.
NEIGHBORHOOD INVOLVEMENT IN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW
What are the best practices for neighborhood involvement in the development process? How does a project’s components and approval process get communicated to adjacent property owners and the greater community? What are the resources available? Heather Stouder, Planning Director and Jessica Vaughn, Planner, will join Alderpersons Marsha Rummel and Ledell Zellers to lead a dynamic tour and discuss what neighborhood leaders can do and how they can best interact with city officials and staff on project proposals.
Workshops and Neighborhood Conversations
Engaging and interactive workshops with outstanding local leaders will allow you to gain valuable information, find out about successful and innovative neighborhood projects, and hear what lessons others have learned.
The full-day conference is divided into two distinct sessions. The morning session is focused on learning, sharing, and networking with peers, city staff, and governmental officials. Popular topics such as resident engagement, recruiting participants, and how to successfully execute a project are part of the discussion. The afternoon session takes on the important elements of shaping Madison for the future. Changing demographics, housing trends, economic challenges, and the transportation network all play a role in creating a great city. Five workshops will describe the challenges and opportunities for the future.
9:45-10:45 a.m. – Workshops
Shaping the City: Q&A with Mayor Soglin and Mitchell Silver
Hear how the Mayor is helping to strengthen our city of neighborhoods and learn about uniquely effective neighborhood building approaches in other cities from Keynote Speaker Mitchell Silver. Take this opportunity to ask a question of these city leaders. Mitchell Silver is the Park Commissioner for New York City. He has been at the center of many cutting edge trends, innovative solutions and visionary plans, including Harlem on the River and Vision for Jamaica Center in New York City and the revitalization of neighborhoods in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, and Raleigh.
Presenters/Facilitator: Mayor Paul Soglin and Mitchell Silver, New York City Park Commissioner. Facilitated by Natalie Erdman, Director of the Department of Planning & Community & Economic Development
Creative Approaches to Build Neighborhood Networks: Panel
Find out how fellow leaders are working towards a more vibrant community, one neighborhood at a time. Have you heard of the Council of Communities? It is a form of collective collaboration and direct democracy. Come learn more about it and find out how you and your organization might get involved; hear about Allied Drive Neighborhood’s coalition of mothers, their upcoming grocery co-op and other important grassroots initiatives; find out how Lake Edge Neighborhood Association is becoming a more welcoming and accessible organization for people of many backgrounds and a range of ages; and discover how Badger Rock Neighborhood Center is working to create a more resilient community by first engaging residents and helping them shape the future of the center.
Presenters/Facilitator: Eric Upchurch II, Opportunity Inc. and Young Gifted and Black; Angela Jenkins, President of Lake Edge Neighborhood; Sina Davis, leader, Allied Drive Neighborhood; Hedi Rudd, Manager of First Impressions, Badger Rock Neighborhood Center
What Makes a Great Neighborhood?
Presenters/Facilitator: Bill Fruhling, Planning Division Principal Planner
9:45-10:45 a.m. – Neighborhood Conversations (all in Grand Terrace)
Best Practices: Neighborhood Organizations – Communications, Engagement, Partnerships and Lessons Learned
A neighborhood association plays a critical role in bringing neighbors together. When we know our neighbors, we experience a greater sense of well-being. We feel happier, more secure, friendlier, and more willing to be involved in our neighborhood and association. Join this conversation to learn how to host conversations that matter, how to get more neighbors to the table, and how to build partnerships.
Conversation Leaders: Jeff Vercauteren, Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc. and Patti Prime, President, Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood Association
Best Practices: Art of Placemaking
Sometimes, overlooked public spaces can be transformed into nodes of neighborhood social activity. The SASY neighborhood is making an effort to transform one such space along Atwood Ave. at Jackson St., dubbed “Jackson St. Plaza,” with the help of local businesses. You may have noticed crowds of neighbors spreading blankets here to eat ice cream, get picnic dinners from local food carts, and watch bike riders pass on the Capital East Bike Trail. The successful and ongoing placemaking project started with the experimental closure of a short section of Jackson St. a few years ago, and has entered a new phase of redesign in the adjacent public space. Come learn how the SASY neighborhood association is engaging neighbors and users of Jackson St. Plaza to help decide how to improve the space to accommodate the ways people are using it, while balancing the safety issues associated with a ped/bike transportation corridor.
Conversation Leaders: Karin Wolf, City Arts Administrator and Jason Tish, Schenk-Atwood-Starkweather-Yahara Neighborhood Association.
Best Practices: Engaging Youth, Cultivating Tomorrow’s Leaders
The City’s youth may be one of its greatest assets! Learn about some uniquely effective approaches to engaging youth including the work of Will Green and Mentoring Positives in the Darbo-Worthington Neighborhood. Will has had great success bringing youth to the table with a basketball program, Off the Block Salsa business development, community outreach, Peace Walk and Music Festival annual event, and much more. He is a role model for youth and is well-recognized for his skillfull community organizing.
Conversation Leader: Will Green, Mentoring Positives and Mary O’Donnell, Community Resources Division
Best Practices: The Barbershop & Men’s Health Center Partnership, a New Model for Promoting Health.
Nationwide, the Black Barbershop functions as a place where men feel comfortable, enjoy camaraderie, and indulge in entertaining conversation with one another. The Barbershop has become the most effective and culturally appropriate venue for reaching Black men by providing Health Information and Preventive Health Screenings to overcome institutional and socio-cultural barriers. Come learn about the Rebalanced-Life Wellness Associated (RLWA) Men’s Health & Education Center set to open on October 4th inside of Madison’s largest Black Barbershop, JP Hair Design. With a vision to become a national model, this partnership is the beginning of a new way to access health information & increase equity for Men of Color.
Presenter: Aaron Perry, RLWA Men’s Health & Education Center Founder.
Best Practices: Centers of Worship and Your Neighborhood
Have you ever explored collaborating with the center of worship down the street? Since Pastor Josh Miller and the Bridge Madison came to Leopold Neighborhood, the neighborhood has been able to accomplish much more than it could on its own. Hear stories of partnership and networking that led to the first annual neighborhood festival at Aldo Leopold Park, numerous improvements to Leopold Community Garden, public art and placemaking projects, increased volunteer participation in school and park events, and more. Learn tools and lessons for effective fundraising, partnership building, and event organization.
Conversation Leaders: Pastor Josh Miller, the Bridge Madison and Hakeem Williams
Best Practices: Development Process
Ever wonder how the City’s development review process works? Come learn the steps, hear which City review bodies are typically involved, and learn how neighborhood groups can most effectively participate to preserve assets and realize positive change.
Conversation Leaders: Jessica Vaughn, Planning Division and Ken Opin, Plan Commission Chair
City Staff: Traffic Calming and Related Tools
How can neighborhoods work with the City to make streets safer and more enjoyable for people through traffic calming, accommodating bicycles and other transportation improvements?
Conversation Leaders: Yang Tao, Assistant Traffic Engineer, City of Madison and Christy Bachmann, Principal Engineer, City of Madison.
City Staff: Neighborhood Officer Approaches and Strategies
Neighborhood Police Officers are often out and about getting to know residents and business owners. This relationship building strengthens connections between the police and those living and working in the area. Those who might otherwise engage in negative activities are less likely to; they know this is a place where neighbors look out for each other and neighborhood police officers work with them to keep the area safe and quality of life high. Learn how to team up with your area’s neighborhood officer by hearing from two seasoned veterans who are well-regarded for their effective approaches and strategies in Darbo-Worthington and Triangle Neighborhoods.
Conversation Leaders: Officer Lester Moore, Darbo-Worthington Neighborhood and Officer Kim Alan, Triangle Neighborhood.
City Staff: Love your neighborhood park?
Madison Parks can play an important role in building community and strengthening neighborhoods. Successful park projects, volunteer and fundraising strategies, the 2017 Parks and Open Space Plan and new initiatives such as connecting children to nature will fill the lively conversation at this table!
Conversation Leader: Claire Oleksiak,Parks Division
City Staff: Support and Enhance Your Neighborhood Business District
Neighborhood business districts are the heart of a healthy neighborhood. Join the City’s Business Development Specialist to learn how you can help and enhance your neighborhood business district by learning fun ways to engage your neighbors to shop locally, work with landlords on attracting the types of businesses you think your neighborhood could support and what programs the City has to help.
Conversation Leader: Ruth Rohlich, City of Madison Office of Business Resources and Business Owners
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Workshops
Working Effectively with Elected Officials and City Staff
Some of your goals require working effectively with elected officials, city staff, and Neighborhood Resource Teams. This workshop will help you do just that. Learn about the roles of alders, city staff and NRTs, how to tap into resources, and strategies for getting your issues addressed. As a neighborhood leader, this workshop will provide you with tips on how to partner to get the job done.
Presenters/Facilitator: Alder Mike Verveer, District 4 and Alder Denise Demarb, District 16
Using Racial Equity Tools to Improve Decision Making and Accountability
The use of racial equity tools is emerging as a best practice to integrate equity and inclusion into neighborhood-level decision making. Cities and organizations throughout the country are using equity tools on issues like development projects, parks and recreation, neighborhood safety and community-school partnerships. Participants will learn how the City’s racial equity tools and will get hands-on experience in utilizing them on a neighborhood issue. Participants: before attending this session, please think of at least one issue or decision in your neighborhood where racial equity tools might be applicable.
Presenters: Members of the City of Madison Racial Equity, Social Justice Initiative: Linette Rhodes, Tariq Saqqaf, and Erin Stenson
21st Century Suburban Neighborhoods: Living Well near the Edge of Madison
Panel members will start off sharing their perspective about good suburban neighborhoods and how to make them better. Alder Baldeh will speak about neighborhoods in his District. Matt Wachter will speak about what qualities new home buyers are seeking. Anne Monks will speak about what might be learned from Isthmus neighborhood planning. During the last part of the workshop, all attending will work together to develop a template for the suburban neighborhood they want to live in.
Panel Members: District 17 Alder Samba Baldeh, Matt Wachter, City of Madison Housing Initiatives Specialist, Anne Monks, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Transportation
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Neighborhood Conversations (all in Grand Terrace)
Best Practices: Neighborhood Organizations – Communications, Engagement, Partnerships and Lessons Learned
A neighborhood association plays a critical role in bringing neighbors together. When we know our neighbors, we experience a greater sense of well-being. We feel happier, more secure, friendlier, and more willing to be involved in our neighborhood and association. Join this conversation to learn how to host conversations that matter, how to get more neighbors to the table, and how to build partnerships.
Conversation Leaders: Jeff Vercauteren, Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc. and Patti Prime, President, Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood Association
Best Practices: Art of Placemaking
Sometimes, overlooked public spaces can be transformed into nodes of neighborhood social activity. The SASY neighborhood is making an effort to transform one such space along Atwood Ave. at Jackson St., dubbed “Jackson St. Plaza,” with the help of local businesses. You may have noticed crowds of neighbors spreading blankets here to eat ice cream, get picnic dinners from local food carts, and watch bike riders pass on the Capital East Bike Trail. The successful and ongoing placemaking project started with the experimental closure of a short section of Jackson St. a few years ago, and has entered a new phase of redesign in the adjacent public space. Come learn how the SASY neighborhood association is engaging neighbors and users of Jackson St. Plaza to help decide how to improve the space to accommodate the ways people are using it, while balancing the safety issues associated with a ped/bike transportation corridor.
Conversation Leaders: Karin Wolf, City Arts Administrator and Jason Tish, Schenk-Atwood-Starkweather-Yahara Neighborhood Association.
Best Practices: The Barbershop & Men’s Health Center Partnership, a New Model for Promoting Health.
Nationwide, the Black Barbershop functions as a place where men feel comfortable, enjoy camaraderie, and indulge in entertaining conversation with one another. The Barbershop has become the most effective and culturally appropriate venue for reaching Black men by providing Health Information and Preventive Health Screenings to overcome institutional and socio-cultural barriers. Come learn about the Rebalanced-Life Wellness Associated (RLWA) Men’s Health & Education Center set to open on October 4th inside of Madison’s largest Black Barbershop, JP Hair Design. With a vision to become a national model, this partnership is the beginning of a new way to access health information & increase equity for Men of Color.
Presenter: Aaron Perry, RLWA Men’s Health & Education Center Founder.
Best Practices: Engaging Youth, Cultivating Tomorrow’s Leaders
The City’s youth may be one of its greatest assets! Learn about some uniquely effective approaches to engaging youth including the work of Will Green and Mentoring Positives in the Darbo-Worthington Neighborhood. Will has had great success bringing youth to the table with a basketball program, Off the Block Salsa business development, community outreach, Peace Walk and Music Festival annual event, and much more. He is a role model for youth and is well-recognized for his skillfull community organizing.
Conversation Leader: Will Green, Mentoring Positives and Mary O’Donnell, Community Resources Division
Best Practices: Empowering Latino Voice in the City of Madison
Join the conversation where you can learn how to strengthen Latino participation and leadership in Madison. As we work towards creating a more inclusive Madison, you will learn about various ways to serve our thriving community. One key way is to become part of public groups such as Neighborhood Associations, Business Associations, Boards, Commissions and/or Committees, among others. Madisonians, regardless of immigrant status, must continue building capacity to make this city a more livable and welcoming environment for people of all backgrounds. Come and have fun with us, do some networking, and together develop strategies to tap into the City’s little known resources.
Conversation Leaders: Fernando Cano, Former President of East Bluff Homeowners Association, Latino Health Council Member and member of Alcohol Licenses Review Committee; Jose-Maria Donoso, Latino Community Engagement Team leader and Code Enforcement Officer with the City of Madison.
Best Practices: Development Process
Ever wonder how the City’s development review process works? Come learn the steps, hear which City review bodies are typically involved, and learn how neighborhood groups can most effectively participate to preserve assets and realize positive change.
Conversation Leaders: Heather Stouder, Planning Division and Alder Ledell Zellers, District 2.
City Staff: Traffic Calming and Related Tools
How can neighborhoods work with the City to make streets safer and more enjoyable for people through traffic calming, accommodating bicycles and other transportation improvements?
Conversation Leaders: Yang Tao, Assistant Traffic Engineer, City of Madison and Christy Bachmann, Principal Engineer, City of Madison.
City Staff: Neighborhood Officer Approaches and Strategies
Neighborhood Police Officers are often out and about getting to know residents and business owners. This relationship building strengthens connections between the police and those living and working in the area. Those who might otherwise engage in negative activities are less likely to; they know this is a place where neighbors look out for each other and neighborhood police officers work with them to keep the area safe and quality of life high. Learn how to team up with your area’s neighborhood officer by hearing from two seasoned veterans who are well-regarded for their effective approaches and strategies in Darbo-Worthington and Triangle Neighborhoods.
Conversation Leaders: Officer Lester Moore, Darbo-Worthington Neighborhood and Officer Kim Alan, Triangle Neighborhood.
City Staff: Love your neighborhood park?
Madison Parks can play an important role in building community and strengthening neighborhoods. Successful park projects, volunteer and fundraising strategies, the 2017 Parks and Open Space Plan and new initiatives such as connecting children to nature will fill the lively conversation at this table!
Conversation Leader: Claire Oleksiak, Parks Division
City Staff: Health and Your Neighborhood
Description forthcoming
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. – Workshops
The City is finalizing a new Economic Development Strategy for Madison – the “Connect Madison Strategy.” Come here about the five strategies and five “Priority 1 Projects” the City intends to implement over the next five to ten years to grow a stronger and more inclusive local economy. Share your ideas and discuss how these strategies can be applied to your neighborhoods.
2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. – Workshops
A data focused overview of supply and demand trends in the Madison housing market highlighting the resulting challenges in affordability and housing options based on the work of the Housing Strategy Committee. Learn where our housing market is heading and how the City is addressing it’s most pressing challenges.
We will discuss new and innovative things Madison and other Cities are doing to support their retail districts. Pop-up shops, Business Improvement Districts and community investing are a few of the ways a neighborhood can help support and shape their business districts. We will discuss these and other programs with the City Office of Business Resources and Business Owners.
Presenter: Ruth Rohlich, Business Development Specialist, Office of Business Resources and Business Owners
While Madison is a national leader in bicycling and has developed an award-winning public transit system, the City’s future transportation system must accommodate a growing population and an expanding regional employment sector. Learn about the City’s Transportation Master Plan, and see how the Plan’s draft recommendations will help to support a shared community vision, enable mobility choice, enhance economic vitality and support the City’s equity and sustainability goals.
Presenter/ Panelists: Dan McAuliffe, Planner, City of Madison Planning Division; Ken Golden, Oversight Committee; Rob Kennedy, Chairman, Oversight Committee; Jay Ferm, Oversight Committee.
Come relax during this informal hour at the end of the day to discuss the day’s events with governmental officials, staff, and peers. This time is always a big attraction – you will leave with new contacts, ideas, and ways to strengthen input on the local level. A cash bar will be available.
Placemaking Grants
And now the BIG SURPRISE! In an effort to activate and foster greater interaction within our neighborhoods, we will offer THREE neighborhood areas a $2000 grant for placemaking. This year we will focus the placemaking grants on “activities and projects” within a Madison park that serves your neighborhood! Your attendance will trigger the eligibility of your neighborhood to be chosen for one of the grants
Fee waivers and childcare assistance
Request a Fee waiver and/or childcare assistance directly on the registration form. Nancy Saiz, City of Madison Community Development, will contact you to discuss childcare assistance. 608-266-6433,nsaiz@cityofmadison.com.
Sponsor
The City of Madison and Madison Gas & Electric. Madison Gas & Electric (MGE) has been a generous supporter of Madison’s neighborhood conferences for 20 years. A big thank you to this community minded business.
Registration
Ruth Ethington, rethington@cityofmadison.com, 608-267-8727
Tours, Workshops, and Networking Reception
Linda Horvath, lhorvath@cityofmadison.com, 608-267-1131
Jule Stroick, jstroick@cityofmadison.com, 608-267-8744
Angela Puerta, apuerta@cityofmadison.com, 608-267-8649
