Madison Central Business Improvement District (BID) Board, April 1 2010

The Madison BID Board met on April 1, 2010 and discussed the following items:

• The Madison Downtown Plan - Board members received an updated on the Downtown Plan from City of Madison Planning Director Bill Fruhling. The plan will hopefully be adopted in Fall of this year. More information on the Downtown Plan, including public meetings regarding the Plan, can be found here: http://www.cityofmadison.com/neighborhoods/downtownPlan/whatsnew.cfm
• The Madison Central Library - As many of you probably know, negotiations between the City of Madison and Fiore, the original developer of the new library on W. Washington have stalled and the Mayor is currently pursuing a renovation plan for the current library. The BID Board approved the following statement regarding their position on the project:
  Madison’s Central Business Improvement District (BID) represents business and
  property owners in the greater State Street and Capitol Square area. The mission of
  Madison’s Central BID is to increase the vitality and health of the District and promote
  business within it. BID programs support the economic vitality of central downtown as a
  regional destination for shopping, dining, entertainment, arts and culture. Both the
  current Central Library site and the proposed West Washington library site are within
  the BID.
  The proposed Central Library project on West Washington Ave. that included
  redevelopment of the current Library site had multiple benefits for not only the block but
  also the central downtown: a much-needed new Library; leveraging private investment
  with city dollars; adding to the downtown tax base and business activity; and more
  lighting, parking, and activity in a key area near Overture Center, State Street and the
  Capitol Square.
  The BID strongly encourages the City to further explore the West Washington Ave.
  Central Library project, and vision for the block, before abandoning it in favor of
  renovation of the current Library.
• Peace Park - Construction has begun and should be finished in Aug/Sept.
• Alcohol License Density Ordinance (ALDO) - The ALRC Subcommittee meeting regarding ALDO is this Thursday, April 8. The Board is interested in making several amendments to the ordinance, as well as analyzing the statistics currently used to support the ordinance.

If you have any questions, let me know. - Nicole

Alcohol Density Plan Meeting - Tomorrow, Jan. 28th, 4:00pm

Sorry for the short notice, but I wanted to let anyone who's interested know that the ALRC's (Alcohol License Review Committee) subcommittee on Downtown Alcohol Issues and Ordinances is meeting tomorrow at 4:00 in the City-County Building, Room 108 to discuss possible changes to the Alcohol Density Plan Ordinance (ALDO).

Given there were only a couple official ALRC members at this subcommittee's last meeting, I'm not sure how influential this meeting will be, but it should be interesting to hear discussion on possible ALDO changes proposed by the Central Business Improvement District (BID) Board like more flexibility in the alcohol-other revenue ratio, capacity increases, and longer license transfer periods.

Central BID Board

The Central BID (Business Improvement District) Board has its monthly meeting from 12-1:30 on Thursday October 1st at the Madison Chamber of Commerce Building, 615 East Washington Ave. Meetings are typically the first Thursday of the month at this location.

The upcoming annual review of the Alcohol License Density Plan received a fair amount of attention, particularly following a borderline contentious exchange with City of Madison Alcohol Coordinator Katherine Plominski. The exchange was largely centered on the depth of detail and analysis the review requires. Specifically, multiple Board members expressed concern that use of statistical evidence should attempt to take other factors into account. For instance, does a decrease in house party reflect changing police enforcement priorities? Also, do total arrests and calls for service account for events such as the Mifflin Street Block party where total citations were down 200-300 or more this year?

The Board also received updates on planning for the Downtown Madison Family Trick or Treat that will take place on State Street and the Capitol Square from 11am-6pm on Friday, October 30th; possible streetscape improvements to the Capitol Square next summer (most notably replacing the old style benches new ones on Main Street); the status of the Peace Park project, which continues to move through the approval and public outreach processes.