Fiscal Note
No Fiscal Impact.
Title
Commending and Recognizing the members of the Lake Monona Waterfront Ad Hoc Committee for their dedicated service to the City of Madison Parks Division. (District 4)
Body
WHEREAS, Law Park sits on the shores of Lake Monona and the Parks Division had scheduled a master plan update for the park; and,
WHEREAS, John Nolen Drive was scheduled for reconstruction, led by the Engineering Division, is adjacent to Law Park and extends the same shoreline along Lake Monona; and,
WHEREAS, the Mayor, Parks Division, and Engineering Department agreed that developing a master plan that would extend from Law Park to Olin Park, encompassing the John Nolen Drive causeway, would create the opportunity for a cohesive, linear park that would benefit Madison’s residents, businesses, and visitors; and,
WHEREAS, to attract national attention to the project and assure a high-quality design for the plan area the Parks Division established a Design Competition to select a design firm; and,
WHEREAS, on February 1, 2022, the Common Council authorized the formation of the Lake Monona Waterfront Ad Hoc Committee, a thirteen-member panel to select the Design Challenge winners and subsequently identify a preferred master plan option for recommendation to the Common Council; and,
WHEREAS, due to the significance of the project the Parks Division developed an outreach and application process to select a broad representation of community members to serve; and,
WHEREAS, on April 19, 2022, the Common Council confirmed the appointment of eleven of the thirteen residents to the Lake Monona Waterfront Ad Hoc Committee; and,
WHEREAS, on May 10, 2022, the Common Council confirmed the Mayoral appointment of two of thirteen residents to the Lake Monona Waterfront Ad Hoc Committee; and,
WHEREAS, the following residents served on the Lake Monona Waterfront Ad Hoc Committee, in the associated positions:
CHANDRA M. MILLER FIENEN (6th A.D.), as Board of Park Commissioners Member
RAHEL DESALEGNE (9th A.D.), as Professional Civil/Structural Engineer
CLAIRE C. SCHAEFER OLEKSIAK (13th A.D.) as Madison Parks Foundation Board Member
JUDY F. KAROFSKY (2nd A.D.), as Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center Board Member
ALLEN A. ARNTSEN (13th A.D.), as Friends of Nolen Waterfront Member
AARON J. WILLIAMS (13th A.D.), as Board of Public Works Member
RAJAN SHUKLA (11th A.D.), as Community Representative
NATALIE L. ERDMAN (19th A.D.), as Community Representative
JANICE M. RICE, Stoughton, as Community Representative.
ZANG VANG, Sun Prairie, as Community Representative.
ANDREW W. STEVENS (4th A.D.), as Community Representative
MARIA C. SOBRIDO (3rd A.D.), as Community Representative
WHEREAS, the Committee elected Allen Arntsen to serve as Committee Chair and Maria Sobrido to serve as Vice-Chair, both of whom served admirably; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee met a total of 38 times throughout its service; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee members reviewed thirteen submissions to the Request for Qualifications, evaluating the proposals based on the Design Challenge Guiding Principles, which are the Master Plan Vision, Racial Equity and Social Justice, Sense of Place, Community Connections, Lake Access, Sustainability, Public Space, Public Art, Education, Economic Opportunity, and Design for Philanthropy; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee members selected Agency Landscape + Planning, James Corner Field Operations, and Sasaki as the design firms to contract with and enter the Design Challenge, which gave the design firms four months to engage with Madison residents and refine their master plans; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee was committed to high levels of public engagement and hosted five community events with hundreds of residents in attendance; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee held stakeholder meetings with community groups to hear technical information and perspectives on their constituents’ needs and uses related to the plan area, which gave members additional information to support their evaluation of the master plans; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee evaluated the three master plan submissions and scored each team on five primary categories: alignment with the master plan guiding principles, overall project vision and cohesion; response to and engagement with the public input; project feasibility; and overall quality of master plan materials; and,
WHEREAS, Sasaki consistently scored higher in the Committee’s review and the public survey results, notably in community outreach and feasibility; and,
WHEREAS, on May 10, 2023, the Committee accepted the scoring results which resulted in Sasaki to be the winner of the Design Challenge; and,
WHEREAS, as winners of the Design Challenge, Sasaki was awarded a contract to continue to refine their Lake Monona Waterfront Master Plan in preparation of submitting a draft master plan to Common Council; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee Members continued to review and evaluate the refinements to the master plan that was designed by Sasaki; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee will complete its service upon the submission of the draft Lake Monona Waterfront Master Plan to Common Council; and,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor, the Common Council, the Board of Park Commissioners, and the Parks Superintendent commend the entire Lake Monona Waterfront Ad Hoc Committee for their dedicated service; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Mayor, the Common Council, the Board of Park Commissioners, and the Parks Superintendent express their deepest gratitude to the Lake Monona Waterfront Ad Hoc Committee Members for their service to the City of Madison and its residents.