heritage heights heritor

Fall Issue—September, October, November 1

Heritage Heights Heritor VOLUME 46, ISSUE 1 WEBSITE: hhcamadison.com

Newsletter for the Heritage Heights Community

Secondly as Cottage Grove Road gradually puts on a fresh face, we need to keep up too. The HHCA will work to further improve the neighborhood entry signs. If need be, we will quote several professional sign companies and ask their opinion on improvements and quote them. Perhaps we will run a fundraiser for new signs and offer a sep-arate donation fund for this. I believe that this is necessary and will work get things started.

As always I encourage you to get involved. Please attend our monthly meetings or choose an event that you would like to support. Please feel free to contact me directly on any question. I'd be happy to help. Cheers!

THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT

What a great year working as a member of the Heritage Heights Community Association this year! I looked through pictures of all of the events (I attended almost all of them) and witnessed so many smiling, happy neighbors and friends in each. Our first event, starting last fall, was the Packer Game in the Park Mem-bership Picnic. It was well attended with 70 attendants despite the rain! Then, we moved onto the first Holiday Party with Santa for the neighborhood and openly invited Rolling Meadows NA to join. Over 35 children along with their parents and grandparents joined in on the fun. I have many warm memories of children on Santa’s lap sharing their Christmas wishes. We had a couple movies in the park, one with over 40 people on a chilly night! Then, we planned the first Spring Fling for the HHCA. Next came a busy spring with an Earth Day Park Clean-up, a Weed Warrior Weed Pull in the Sanctuary, a fun Easter Egg Hunt and an Annual Meeting that filled the upstairs meeting room of the Great Dane Restaurant! Not to mention an uptick in the annual garage sales with over 30 sales. I had a great time this year being part! I appreciate every moment of it.

Aside from holding social events, I’ve spent a lot of time at Rolling Meadows Shopping Center, now a regular stop in my newsletter delivery territory. I am very sad to see the Sentry store close its doors and if you are at all on Nextdoor Heritage Heights, you know my viewpoint on this. I have learned that many in Heritage Heights have gradual-ly chosen to shop out of the area for shopping and services. And why not? We have a great Eastside Mall, a beautiful new Monona Drive, a $3M upgrade to our local Wal-Mart off of Stoughton Rd, a newer Woodman’s, Costco and soon a movie theatre in Sun Prairie! While I support the freedom to choose, I can also see how these decisions are affecting us locally, especially on Cottage Grove Rd. Now that I drive by an empty and quickly overgrown grocery store each day, I am reminded of how progress can change things. I also believe that residents of Heritage Heights and the surrounding communities really care and want to know how they can update local neighbor-hoods. My plan this year with the help of our district alder, the shopping mall owners and tenants and other resources is to start a conversation on where we are going in this “transition”. So let’s keep talking….

By HHCA President

Heather Sokasits

Mark Your

Calendar

HHCA Membership

Drive 2014-2015 Membership

form and $12 due by Sep-tember 15

(See back page)

Children’s Holiday Party with Santa Friday, December 12

MONTHLY BOARD MEETINGS

-Second Tuesday of the month at 7:00pm in the

Community Room of Messiah Lutheran Church, 5202

Cottage Grove Rd.

Please note that

Officer Scott Frasier will join us at our

Board Meeting on Tuesday, October 14 at 6:30pm to an-swer any questions. We will meet in the lower level (back) of

Messiah Lutheran Church.

2 Heritage Heights Community Newsletter

HHCA DIRECTORS Board Email [email protected]

PRESIDENT/COMMUNICATIONS VP/ DATABASES

Heather Sokasits 224-0024 Randall Sarangoulis 223-1549

TREASURER SECRETARY

Harley Schmidt 222-9572 Nichole Frost

PARKS CHAIRMAN DRIVE CHAIRMAN

Laura Dille 224-1883 Bethany Ordaz 577-7370

PICNIC CHAIRMAN

Bradley Dillman 213-8880

STANDING COMMITTEES PARKS AND GARDEN Laura Dille

224-1883 [email protected]

SPRING GARAGE SALE Michele Arseneau-Solberg


WINTER ICE RINK Renee Abel-Collinge


SOCIAL AND CLUBS OPEN POSITION

COMMUNICATIONS NEWSLETTER EDITOR

Karin Johnson 222-7515 Submit to [email protected]

Newsletter is printed by Thysse Printing 608.249.6951

DISTRIBUTION Membership Email [email protected]

MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR

Harley Schmidt 222-9572

BLOCK CAPTAIN & WELCOME COMMITTEE COORDINATOR


MAIN DISTRIBUTOR (Distributes to area distributors)

Sue Lebefer 221-1250

AREA 1 DISTRIBUTOR: SW Quadrant


AREA 2 DISTRIBUTOR:SE Quadrant

Carol Trapp 221-0852

AREA 3 DISTRIBUTOR: Central Quadrant

Michelle Arseneau 244-7504

AREA 4 DISTRIBUTOR: North Quadrant

Bethany Ordaz 577-7370

SAFETY NEIGHBORHOOD LIAISON OFFICER

Scott Frasier 266-5945

HHCA BOARD HAPPENINGS Update from Membership Coordinator


Heritage Heights Community Association’s Annual

Membership Drive for 2014-2015 is in full swing! If you

have not joined yet, please do so for only $12 per

year. Block Captains are going door-to-door this

month or a convenient membership form can be

found on the back of this newsletter.

We have 119 member households to date (out of a

possible 826) for the membership year September

2014-2015. We had 340 members for the year 2013-

2014. This year we have a goal of 450 members! With

your help I think we can make it.

Block Captain changes

Shelly Kraemer is Block Captain for Block 24 (5402

Queensbridge Rd thru 717 Whitehall Dr)

Joe Arkin has been reassigned from Block 24 to Block

30 (118 thru 214 Merryturn Rd )

Block Captains are needed for:

Block 36 (120 St. Albans Ave, 121 Merryturn Rd,

5301 thru 5414 Sudbury Way)

Block 38 (210 thru 242 St. Albans Ave)

Block 48 (5001 thru 5117 Stage House Trail)

Block 54 (5001 thru 5301 Milwaukee St)

If you live in one of these areas and are

interested in being a Block Captain, or if you can

help in any way with the membership drive or

distribution of the Heritor, call Harley Schmidt at

222-9572.

We welcome Nichole Frost who joined the HHCA Board last

month as our new Secretary. Nichole and her husband Jacob

live on Whitehall Drive. Thanks for volunteering, Nichole!

Officer Scott Frasier’s email address is [email protected]


HHCA BOARD HAPPENINGS

ADVERTISER

APPRECIATION!

We are now expanding our

newsletter printing to cover

copies for all Heritage Heights

residents, Rolling Meadows

local business owners, local

churches and Kennedy Ele-

mentary School.

Our print budget for one year

is currently around $1400.

Thanks to all of our advertisers

this cost DOES NOT come out

of your membership donation!

Please support the advertisers

that support the Heritor.

THANK YOU!

They are:

21st Century Books

Hanssen Lawn Service

Barlow Builders

Capitol View Farmer’s Market

Madison East Side Club

G-Pa’s Honey

Heartland Chiropractic

Heritage Bakery and Café

Jesse's Lawn Care

Madison Gas and Electric

Master Cleaners

HHCA Community Softball Game Teams

Thanks for the fun!

HHCA Sponsored Event Cost

Membership Picnic—Full day of food,

friends and fun at Kennedy Park

$200

Movies in the Park—Family friendly

gathering at Kennedy Park

$200

Holiday Party with Santa held at

Messiah Church—Crafts, cookies and

photos with Santa

$200

Annual Meeting/Block Captain Appreci-

ation Night—evening of informative

speakers held at the Great Dane

$700

Easter Egg Hunt—Free community

event for children of all ages

$150

Earth Day Clean-up—morning spent

cleaning parks and greenways

$50

Heritage Heights Garage Sale Days $100

Heritage Heights Ice Rink Support $100

Annual Administrative Costs $400

Goal to cover expenses in 2015.

= 340 memberships!

$4,000

Where your dollars go

Your membership donation of $12 per year funds the

events below. In order to continue these events we need to

receive at least 300 memberships per year. We appreciate

your support and hope to continue keeping this forty-five

year old neighborhood association active for years to come.

If you would like to participate or have ideas to share,

please visit us at our monthly meetings and share your

thoughts. Thank you—HHCA President, Heather Sokasits


HHCA BOARD HAPPENINGS HERITAGE HEIGHTS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION 2014 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE PICNIC Submitted by Bradley Dillman

I would like to start out by saying thank you to all the people who were a part of the picnic , either through

planning or being part of the picnic itself. Thank you to all that volunteered to help set up and clean up, donated

your coolers and worked the picnic. The HHCA would not have been able to have such a successful event if it wasn’t

for you! Thank you to Steve Sokasits for organizing the softball game. I know it came down to the last day, but we

did finally get enough people to play and it was a big success!

Thank you to Jesse of Jesse’s Lawn Care at 514-4260 who supplied

the Bounce House for free. I think the bounce house was one of

the biggest attractions. If you were unable to make it , all you need

to know is, THE KIDS HAD A BLAST! It was packed from the time it

opened until we finally had to bribe all the kids off so Jesse could

pack up. The Bounce House will definitely be back next year.

The only thing that took the kids’ attention away from the bounce

house was when the Madison Police Department K-9 unit showed

up. It was awesome to see how well the dog and the officer work

together. Thank you to Kevin Kraemer and his whole family who

were there to promote the Boy Scouts. They demonstrated the many fun activities the Boy Scouts have to offer, one

of which was the two-liter bottle, bottle rockets. This thing was cool! If you missed a chance to sign your son up for

the Boy Scouts, contact Kevin at [email protected]. Thank you to Bart Schlueter for playing

his live guitar music. Bart is a regular at the St. Dennis Festival and we were honored to have him play at our event.

Thank you to Tim or professionally known as DJ Lovecraft. He kept the party going until the end with his mix of mu-

sic that everyone could enjoy. If you did not get one of his cards

and would like to hire him for your next event call him at 698-3172.

Thank you Randall Sarangoulis for organizing the card par-

ty. Not really sure who won, but it sure seemed as if the group of

card players were having a great time! Next year I will remember

to get a case of Capital Amber just for them! Thank you to Harley’s

Liquor and Bait for supplying the Capital Amber and all the other

canned beverages. They also were the ones who got us the nice

FREE picnic signs I put up at the entrances to the neighborhood!

So, the next time

you are at

Harley’s Liquor

and Bait , say thank you for their support of the HHCA! Oh, and

they are fellow Heritage Heights residents! Thank you to Karen

Gleason of Wildtree for providing the awesome gift basket full of

Wildtree goodies! Lauren Johnson and her mother will appreciate

the gift basket, which they won as the winners of the bake-off! Ka-

ren could not make it to the picnic, but if you are interested in con-

tacting her call her at 235-0395. Continued on next page


Thank you to the speakers that gave us updates on the li-

brary and other things going on in the area. I would like to say

thank you to Gaylord’s Catering for making the lives of the HHCA

board so much easier. This is the first year the Membership Picnic

was catered by an outside source. In the past it was put upon the

HHCA board and other members of the neighborhood to provide

the food for the event. I personally have to say it was so nice not

having to worry about the food! Dorothy, the server, did a tremen-

dous job at making sure everyone who came through the line got

taken care of! And she really had her job cut out for her. Let's just

say we went through 10 gallons of lemonade, just under nine cases

of pop, almost six cases of beer and we had food for 150 people and we only had ten brats, 1/8 of a pan of beef,

1/4 pan of potato salad and 1/3 pan of beans left over! The only thing we actually ran out of was the deviled eggs.

Although, I think Harley Schmidt ate $12 worth of deviled eggs himself, but hey its a party!! Harley, next year we

will need to order an extra pan just for you!!

Thank you Heather, Karin and all the other members of the HHCA board for your support of this event!

And finally thank you to all the people of the Heritage Heights neighborhood. If it wasn’t for you, we would not be

able to have events like this. Block Captains will be coming around in the next few weeks to deliver your member-

ship forms and/or collect your membership! THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE! It is your membership that helps

the HHCA put on a picnic that everyone can enjoy!!

This year’s membership picnic was very well attended and IT WAS FREE!! Please help keep these events FREE!

Membership is only $12! I know my self and a few other members definitely had more than $12 worth of FUN!!

If you have suggestions for next year’s picnic, I

would be glad to hear your suggestions!

BRADLEY DILLMAN 213-8880


PARKS AND GARDENS Little Free Library

Thanks to a group of volunteers Heritage Heights will soon have Little Free Libraries in Kennedy and Herit-

age Heights Parks. It has taken months and months of work and we are almost there. Thanks to Laura Jirsa

Dille for heading up the project and wrangling the volunteers. Thanks to John Miller and Joel McCaw for

making the libraries. Thanks to Cliff Cunningham and Joel McCaw for making the support poles, a HUGE

thanks to local artist Terri Graham for painting them and thanks

to the anonymous donations of cash and books that have been

contributed. Once the libraries are installed please feel free to

stop by and take a book or leave a book.

The Dane County Armada: Weed Harvesters Clean Up Dane Lakes

By County Executive Joe Parisi Our beautiful lakes are such a big part of what makes liv-ing in Dane County great. That’s why in addition to the millions county government budgets every year on projects to reduce pollution that gets into our waters, we also put people and equipment to work each summer to make sure our lakes are easier to fish, swim, and boat in. County government’s “armada” of lake weed cutters churns away day after day each summer, eliminating greens that grow several feet under the water. These harvesters look more like a floating version of a farm combine. Thanks to their operators, they are incred-ibly effective workhorses. Through mid-July of this sum-mer, our ten weed cutters had removed nearly 1,500 tons of weeds from our lakes and the Yahara River. This means waters that are easier to navigate, better out-door recreation for families, and healthier and happier lakes. Dane County’s Land and Water Resources Departments staffs and maintains these lake weed eating ma-chines. Elevators run the weeds harvested out of the water and onto county trucks waiting on dry land for dis-posal in gardens as compost or other uses in county parks. Lakes are key to our quality of life in Dane County. That’s why Dane County prioritizes cleaning them up both through such preventative measures as manure digesters and day-to-day through our weed harvesting pro-gram. It’s why county government spends nearly $600,000 a year on lake weed removal. Whether it’s spending an afternoon in a canoe, casting a line, or taking a stroll around the shore, we all benefit from cleaner lakes.

Jesse’s Lawn Care introduces

Monthly Maintenance Packages

for an effortless lawn.

This includes an annual aeration visit, natural

fertilizers, regular mowing, shrub pruning,

and much more.

Call us for a free consultation today!

608-514-4260

$65*

Aeration Special

For Heritage Heights Residents *up to 5,000 ft. Call Jesse’s Lawn Care Tel: 608-514-4260


Madison Parks Fall Festival Craft Fair The Madison Parks is pleased to host the annual Fall Festival

Craft Fair, on Saturday, October 4, from 10am-3pm. The

Craft Fair will showcase regional and local arts and craft ven-

dors and their spectacular works of art. Artists and crafters will

be selling original pieces such as ceramics, quilts, jewelry,

paintings, and other decorative pieces.

The Fall Festival Craft Fair will be an event the whole family can

enjoy with many types of art and handmade

items on display, activities and food. Admis-

sion is free to the public and will be held out-

doors at Olin Park, 1156 Olin-Turville Court,

Madison, WI

Schedule of Activities

10am-3pm Craft Vendor booths

After shopping at the Fall Festival Craft

Area Apple Orchards

Door Creek Orchard 3252 Vilas Road Cottage Grove, WI 53527 phone: 608-838-4762

Eplegaarden 2227 Fitchburg Rd, Fitchburg, WI 53575 Phone: (608) 845-5966

Green's Pleasant Springs Orchard 2722 Williams Dr. Stoughton, WI 53589 Phone: 608-873-4096

Area Pumpkin Patches

Anderson's Pleasant Patch Pumpkins

2313 Koshkonong Road

Cottage Grove, WI 53527

Phone: 608-219-0860

Hinchley’s Dairy Farm

2844 Hwy 73

Cambridge WI 53523

Phone: 608-764-5090

Schuster’s Farm

1326 US Highway 12 and 18

Deerfield, WI 53531

Phone: 608.764.8488


COMMUNITY NEWS Rolling Meadows Shopping Center and the Empty Sentry Building Written by Alder Lauren Cnare

Rolling Meadows Shopping Center

Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey! I tried to "analyze" the data to make it simple to read, but since I created so many open-ended questions, we got so many open-ended answers that categories are pretty hard to make and still preserve all the ideas. Things that stood out for me:

1. People asked for things that already exist there! Please take a couple minutes to walk

the mall, pop in a business and get a feel for who's there providing us with services and goods.

2. People want more places to eat, including dinner choices and sit down places. There is

a hunger for foods from around the world, including Thai, Greek, Mexican and others.

3. The facility itself, including signage and the parking lot, need improvement.

The Empty Building (aka Sentry) Update I had a very supportive meeting with both the Planning Division and Economic Division staff, as well as the

Mayor regarding the former Sentry property. They will be devoting Planning staff to project near the Fall/Winter time period to work on a plan with us. They are positive about the site and have some recommendations and efforts they will take. It's actually a pretty large site, which is good for possibilities. From a planning perspective it would be beneficial to have to whole parcel under one owner to get a more holistic solution. It's time to think like a 21st century shopper and neighbor where people want to walk or bike to places, and have enough attrac-tion to hang out there – not just drive in, shop and run home. That doesn't mean no parking places, but it does mean improving the offerings and places for everyone.

The Economic Development staff is exploring funding to both improve the building and connect small business owners with a dream but maybe not yet a full-fledged business plan, to resources to help them start-up. These resources can also support fledgling established businesses. They are also approaching the current ownership to open a conversation about the building and the site needed changes.

The rough plan is to have planning staff develop a bunch of concepts to give us something to react to and build on. Please be prepared for many regular meetings to not only have the neighborhoods prepare and approve a

plan or two, but then walk the plans through the process of city approval. Not to scare you, but these types of

public plans can take many months or longer. But it's worth it.

I hope that residents and the neighborhood associations from Rolling Meadows, Heritage Heights and LVM, as well as the business owners and building owners, participate with commitment and good faith for community good.

In the meantime, Planning staff urged us to get our creative juices flowing by thinking about and recording places we love and what we love about them. Since it is vacation season, it has been suggested that people

post photos of cool places that could be reflected in a new RMSC (Rolling Meadows Shopping Center). If you have images or names of places you love, would you please send them to me at [email protected] and I can post them here on this blog under a new tab.

Things to consider: The property for the old grocery store and the entire mall are still owned privately. We don't know if they are for sale; they could be entertaining renters or buyers. How can we "nudge" them to offer what we want for suc-cess, while adhering to the zoning?

Balance the pros and cons between a full review and plan for the site vs. step-wise "fixes."

What's the cost and who pays? How much public money can we gather to invest and what will the private sec-tor invest?

MEET MADISON'S POLICE CHIEF FOR A COMMUNITY FORUM In an attempt to stay engaged with constituent questions and concerns, a number of community forums have been scheduled for the month of September. These sessions are an opportunity to provide me with direct feed-back and there will also be a representative from the hosting District should you want to convey thoughts spe-

Alder Lauren Cnare


Free Local Music

Madison Public Library and Murfie Music are pleased to announce a new way to discover, collect and enjoy local music: the Yahara Music Library at yaharamusic.org.

Yahara Music Library is an online music collec-

tion that celebrates Madison’s dynamic music

scene by sharing local music with the greater

Madison community. The diverse collection in-

cludes established musicians and up and coming

artists who play everything from rock, hip hop,

classical, and more. Musicians with albums in

Yahara Music Library include Beth Kille, Natty

Nation, The Gomers, Bach Dancing and Dyna-

mite Society, Ida Jo, DJ Pain 1, F. Stokes, Ben

Sidran, Spooner, Spires that in the Sunset Rise,

and many more.

Yahara Music Library is a free collection acces-

sible to anyone who holds a library card issued

by any public library in theSouth Central Library

System. Library card holders can access music

in Yahara Music Library using any web browser

or by downloading albums in multiple formats

to a variety of devices.

Scott West

(608) 332-1047 (Cellular) Realtor and Commercial Property Appraiser

RE/MAX Preferred

425 W. Cottage Grove Rd.

Cottage Grove, WI 53527

[email protected]

My name is Scott West and I recently joined the RE/MAX Preferred

Team. I have lived in the Heritage Heights neighborhood since 1999.

Our neighborhood has a lot to offer which is why I have enjoyed living

here all these years. If you or anyone you know are interested in buy-

ing, selling or investing in real estate, I would be happy to assist.

To make a donation or volunteer, contact Terri Her at 332-4949

Acewood Alliance Pantry

The Acewood Alliance Pantry in the New Beginnings Alliance Church at 602 Ace-wood Blvd has been very successful in the last year and a half distributing TENS of thousands of pounds of food and essentials to neighbors in need. The items on the pantry's need list include toiletries razor blades shaving cream feminine hygiene products deodorant/anti-antiperspirant toilet paper paper towels


SOCIAL EVENTS AND CLUBS

Heritage Heights Book Club

*Heritage Heights Co-Ed Readers*

For our September meeting we’re reading

“The Language of Flowers” by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

For information about the next meeting contact

Amy Rottier at [email protected]

Movies in Kennedy Park HHCA resident Alan Harper will again set up a screen and projector on a Friday evening

this fall to show a kids’ movie. This is a very weather dependent event so it’s sched-

uled last-minute. If you’d like to be on the email list to receive notification about Mov-

ies in the Park, email [email protected]. It will also be announced on

Nextdoor.com and the Facebook page.

It’s Dogtoberfest! A new event for McClellan Park Neighborhood Association, DOGTOBERFEST is sched-uled for Sunday, October 26 from 1-4 p.m. in the Pocket Park on Sharpsburg Drive. This event is organized by a professional dog trainer from Grandview Com-mons. Fun for all ages, planned events include: • A costume contest • Dog agility course and • Games for dogs and people alike! Bring your pooch to participate or just spectate the events. All dogs must be at least 12 weeks old and on a 6' non-retractable/flexi leash.

Have an idea for a club or other neighborhood activity? Email [email protected] to put your idea in the Winter Heritor inviting your neighbors to join you!

Neighborhood Babysitting

and Other Jobs Wanted

updated May 2014

Mallory Dille, Age 13 babysitting

Phone 224-1883

Megan Johnson, Age 14* babysitting

Phone 222-7515

Erin O’Connell, Age 17 Meghan O’Connell, Age 15

Grace O’Connell, Age 13 All three are babysitters

and petsitters Phone 244-1429

Allie Pugh, Age 15* Bo Pugh, Age 15*

babysitting 957-6761

Mary Rottier, Age 15* babysitting

Phone 216-0369

*denotes Red Cross certification.

Join the Fun! Join Cub Scouts Pack 132!

All boys 1st thru 5th grade and their parents are invited to

sign up for Pack 132 at Messiah Lutheran Church located

on Cottage Grove Road on Mondays at 6:30pm. For more

information contact Kevin Kraemer, 608-222-2486 or

email at [email protected].

303 of your neighbors have joined Nextdoor.com

Nextdoor is the free and private social network for neighborhoods where neighbors can ask questions, get to know one another, and exchange local advice and recommendations. This is an especially useful resource for sharing information about crime in our neigh-borhood. We strongly encourage Heritage Heights residents to sign up today!

Fall Issue—September, October, November

Update from District 17 Dane County Supervisor Jeff Pertl

Fall hearings on the 2015 County Budget Scheduled The County Executive will announce his proposed 2015 county budget in early September. Subsequently, the County Board will hold two public hearings on the proposal:

All Non-Human Service Budget Areas: Wednesday September 10, 2014 at 6pm in the City-County Building Room 201

Human Services: Thursday September 11, 2014 at 6pm in the Alliant Energy Center

Marriage Equality in Dane County On June 6, 2014, Dane County became the first Wisconsin county to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples after Judge Barbara Crabb’s federal court ruling. Wisconsin is the 27th state where either the legislature or a court has legalized marriage equality (courts in several other states have subsequently legalized marriage equality). Hundreds of same sex couples in Dane County were married before a temporary injunction was issued. Further court action, including possible U.S. Supreme Court action, is expected.

Jail Study Released, Proposed Price Tag Higher Than Expected Community discussion heated up around the possible construc-tion of a new or renovated Dane County Jail, with a new report pegging the cost between $120-$135 million. The report highlight-ed problems with the current facility, including chronic safety issues, poor mental health services and an outdated physical layout that makes direction supervision difficult.

The report discusses two major options: reconstruction downtown in the existing space or a new facility in a rural green space (probably co-located with other county facilities). The report is the beginning of a long process, which will include further study, community conversations and in-depth fiscal analysis.

Employee Contracts Reflect Dane County Values While the State Supreme Court has found Act 10 constitutional, prohibiting fu-ture collective bargaining, Dane County believes the contracts negotiated during the legal stay granted by Judge Colás are valid and remain in effect.

Dane County’s 2016 employee contract will maintain existing levels of service and includes a very modest $0.22/ hour pay raise, offset in part by increased employee contributions to health care costs.

Intervening in MG&E Rate Changes; Championing Alternative Energy Cost-Savings MG&E is seeking approval from the State of Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission to increase their base rate (minimum amount charge to every customer) they charge cus-tomers for energy consumption. This part of the bill is fixed and essential pays for their administrative overhead, excluding fuel costs. As such, it does not fluctuate with time of day or energy prices.

However, increases in the base rate also undermine solar and alternative energy cost-saving (which lead to lower energy bills due to less energy usage, but those customers would still have to pay the higher base rate). The County Board approved intervening in the state rate change process, arguing against the proposed flat-fee increase is regressive, not tied to consumption and under-mines energy diversification.

Completing the Dane County Landfill Expansion The Dane County Landfill expansion is slated for completion this fall. The expan-sion will extend the viability of the current site by 30 years, at 1/9th the cost of building a new landfill. The expansion will also double the renewable energy generated, saving taxpayers more than $6 million annually.

New Domestic Abuse Shelter Opens Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS) recently opened a new domestic violence shel-ter on Fordem Ave. that can accommodate twice as many women and their families. Paid for by a mix of private charitable contri-bution and a $2 million grant from Dane County, this is the area’s first public domestic abuse shelter. Pervious services were offered in publicly undisclosed locations to protect privacy and anonymity. However, research has shown new buildings with modern security and broader public knowledge offer better services, while providing a safer environment for victims.

Connecting Food Assistance Programs to the Dane County Farmers Markets The county board approved funding to enable resi-dents with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards to purchasing farm-fresh food at any of Dane County Farmer's Markets. This initiative is based on a 2012 Community Action Coalition pilot a program that enabled low-income residents to buy over $50,000 in fresh food at Farmer’s Markets. Dane County, the Community Action Coalition, and the City of Madison are all jointly funding this new endeavor.

Cast Your Vote in Two Fall Advisory Referenda The County Board approved placing the following advisory questions on the No-vember 2014 ballot: Both referenda are part of a statewide effort and will appear on ballots across the state.

Minimum Wage: “Should the state of Wisconsin increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour?”

Health Care: “Shall the next Governor and State Legislature accept available federal funds for BadgerCare to ensure that

thousands of Wisconsin citizens have access to quality and affordable health coverage?”


Join HHCA Today!

Membership Year Sept. 2014-2015 www.hhcamadison.com

To be a paid member of The Heritage Heights

Community Association costs only $12 annually.

Monies collected are used for general operation

expenses and for special neighborhood events,

such as the spring park clean-up, annual picnic

and children’s events.

Paid members have additional benefits, including

participation in events at a free or discounted

price. As an all-volunteers organization, HHCA

relies on your support. Please mail this form with

$12.00 to the HHCA.

Mailing address is

Harley Schmidt

c/o HHCA Memberships

5205 Knightsbridge Rd

Madison, WI 53714

Thanks for being an active member of

the community.

Name _____________________________

Address: ___________________________

Phone: ____________________________

Email: _____________________________

Preferred method of contact ___________

Members must live in Heritage Heights or the immediate surrounding area. Sorry, donations are not tax deductible.

Have an event, advertisement or other

information that you’d like to share in the Heritor?

Submissions accepted via email to:

[email protected]

2014-2015 Issues:

Fall (Sept/Oct/Nov)

Winter (Dec/Jan/Feb)

Spring (Mar/Apr/May)

Summer (June/July/Aug)

Next deadline for the Winter Issue is

November 10th, 2014

Interested in getting more involved in your

neighborhood association? We are looking for people join the Membership and Welcom-

ing Committee, coordinate the Social Events and Clubs Com-

mittee, and coordinate the Safety and Traffic Committee. Con-

tact HHCA President Heather Sokasits if you’d like to volunteer!

heritage heights heritor

Documents