Support UW Nurses, winter lake management, and District Updates
/Dear Neighbors,
With the budget behind us and in the midst of a new year, I am working on setting priorities for 2020. In this update, I will cover a resolution I wrote in support on UW Nurses unionizing at UW Hospitals and Clinics, provide details on how our lakes are managed in the winter, and give you lots of quick updates at the end.
Support UW Nurses Unionization Efforts
Photo courtesy: SEIU Healthcare wisconsin
I joined supervisors Eicher and Wegleitner with a Dane County resolution in support of the UW Nurses unionization efforts. My mom is a nurse who still works well over 40 hours a week in her retirement years and I see the close relationship she has with all of her patients who she treats like her own family. The UW Nurses, many of whom are our neighbors in District 6, work round the clock to provide unrivaled care and want to have a voice at the table to provide optimal patient care and a safe working environment.
In recent years, there has been a shift from these core values of fully supporting top quality nursing, and towards a value of prioritizing maximum corporate profits. These changes have caused many good nurses to leave the organization, exacerbating the current staffing crisis at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (UWHC). Operational efficiency at UWHC can be improved without jeopardizing patients or staff, but this requires a collaborative ecosystem where professional nurses, the administration and the board work together to achieve these shared goals.
We are working together towards having the union recognized, for a meet and confer process with the union regarding staffing and scheduling concerns, and a return to a just-cause standard and Weingarten rights for all. The full resolution can be found here:
https://dane.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=8030289&GUID=B3E0A3C6-D2C5-4FFD-AFAD-AEB3EF9C11EB
Winter Lake Level Management and Strategies
We are enjoying a mild stretch with lots of snow melting and it is a good time to visit winter lake management strategies. If you want to get into the details of how the chain of lakes is managed in the winter, I highly recommend listening to the Winter Flooding Quarterly Update:
The highlights of what was covered is:
In the winter time, we no longer operate within a summer mix and max range but rather strive to get lakes to approach their winter minimum levels
In 2019, the lakes were within their summer mix and max range 23 days or less which is well below the average days compared to other years. This was due to elevated levels entering the season and precipitation.
The lakes in general were in a no wake status from late September to mid November due to elevated lake levels.
When draining the lakes at the end of the season, we try to first drain Lake Mendota first. This is really the only lever that we have in the whole system. The general strategy is to try to move the greatest volume of water possible rather than focusing on the water level of any particular lake. The lakes have the most optimal flow when they have the highest water levels. To accomplish this, we try to keep Monona and Waubesa high by draining Mendota so they will move more water out of the system. When Mendota is approaching the summer minimum, the Tenney dam restricts water flow to the Yahara River allowing Monona and Waubesa to drain. Due to the gradual grade of the watershed, there is not as much of a concern of putting too much water into Lake Kegonsa. The thing to remember here is that discharging water from the chain is not linear but strategic to move as much water as possible.
In the winter when the lakes are frozen, water continues to flow through the Yahara river so we will see modest outflows even when the lakes are frozen.
Sediment removal (dredging) will begin both through a contractor in Spring 2020 and also in-house by Dane County staff later in Summer 2020. This is key to lowering lake levels by increasing flow.
Around the 20 minute mark of the recording, assistant director covers shoreline erosion and damage in the spring time with ice heaving on the shoreline. He does a great job explaining this so I recommend hearing the explanation first hand.
Neighborhood and Quick Updates
Congratulations to Analiese Eicher (District 3, Sun Prairie) who is our new County Board chair. I look forward to her leadership on County initiatives such as flooding resilience, criminal justice reform, mental health resources for the community and prioritizing clean lakes and clean water.
Even though it is winter, it is never too early to start planning for spring. Here is a great webinar from Wisconsin Land and Water on best practices for rain garden installation:
http://wislandwatermedia.org/2019/11/14/rain-garden-standards-webinar/
I worked with Supervisor Pat Downing on an appeal of the Public Service Commission’s approval of the Cardinal Hickory Power Line. The proposed route goes through sensitive lands in our one of a kind Driftless region. While I understand the need for moving renewable energy from Iowa into Wisconsin, I ultimately would like to prioritize generating renewable energy closer to the source where it is being consumed. We are working with Corporation Counsel on this.
The City County Homeless Issues Committee came out in opposition to the F-35s. Please read their thoughtful letter that I fully support here. There is a forum at East High School on February 9th from 2:00 to 4:00. Hope to see you there.
Launched in 2018, the Storm Drain Mural Program uses storm drains as a canvas to educate Dane County residents about stormwater pollution through art. You can see one of these murals right here in our district outside of Marqueette/O’Keefe school. Led by Dane County, the Madison Area Municipal Stormwater Partnership, and Dane Arts Mural Arts, the Storm Drain Mural Program has painted 29 murals across 15 Dane County communities. An interactive map of murals is available online. Applicants have the option to assist with the mural design and painting or choose from a catalogue of pre-made designs. Applications are due by February 15.
Voit Pond will no longer be used for an alum project to reduce phosphorous pollution into Lake Monona. The money allocated by the County to the City of Madison will be returned to Dane County and re-allocated to other storm water projects. I plan to work with the neighborhood, city and county on a suitable use for this property. I will try to navigate the jurisdictional and funding issues so we can make productive use of this land to further our conservation, stormwater and phosphorous pollution reduction goals.
If you have been following my budget initiatives, you know about my support for Agroforestry and Alley Cropping. I am happy to see Wisconsin Land and Water promoting these initiatives through the state and am happy that we are leaders on this innovative farming practice right here in Dane County:
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) updated the fish consumption advisory for Starkweather Creek and Lake Monona. In response to this updated advisory, we have two public meetings. At the meetings, we will discuss how eating fish and touching water from Starkweather Creek can affect your health and share results of the PFAS tests from Starkweather Creek fish.
The meetings are the same but will be held twice. Both meetings will be held at East Madison Community Center (8 Straubel Court). We will have Spanish and Hmong interpreters available, and one of the meetings will be recorded for anyone who misses it.
· Saturday, February 8 | 10:30—11:30 AM
· Wednesday, February 12 | 6:30—7:30 PM
I know our district has many youth leaders in government and political activism. I would like to extend a personal invitation to participate in the Youth Governance Program. YGP youth representatives have the opportunity to learn about how local government functions by serving as members of Dane County Board of Supervisor committees, and also have the opportunity to bring youth voice to local government decisions. More information and application information is due here:
Thanks for hanging in there for this update. As you know we are campaign season now. I am busy completing questionnaires for the Dane County Democratic Party, Progressive Dane, the Green Party, Democratic Socialists of America, the League of Women Voters, and Wisconsin Progress. I am also helping a number of candidates running for office and conducting elections data training for Adelante Madison and Citizens for Dane County’s Future. It is a busy time but I feel strongly to help the next generation of leaders progress so we can build a solid and deep bench of candidates to help us grow and retain a progressive majority in all corners of our state.