Neighbors –

Happy Holidays! I hope you’re staying healthy and have time coming up to relax and reflect with the people you love. I will be spending the next few days in Door County with my family hoping to take a couple long walks in the woods with my dog, bake and play games with my mom, and talk politics over morning coffee with my dad.

Please consider getting a flu vaccine and COVID booster shot this season, and an RSV vaccine if you’re eligible. Dane County’s immunization rates are the highest in the state, but still not nearly high enough to protect us optimally. Data as of 12/21:

• Statewide COVID booster rate (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/immunization/covid19-vaccine-data.htm): 13.5%; Dane County 26.5%.
• Statewide flu immunization rate (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/immunization/influenza.htm): 31.2%; Dane County 43.2%. 

Public Health Madison Dane County has an excellent respiratory illness dashboard: https://publichealthmdc.com/coronavirus/dashboard.

Today I’m sharing information on the proposed Airport Joint Use Agreement, Jail Project, and County Budget.

Airport Joint Use Agreement: The big topic for the Board meeting last night was a proposed agreement between Dane County and the National Guard related to firefighting services at the Dane County Regional Airport. This brings in the issue of PFAS, which are present in firefighting foam, and which has caused contamination in our local watershed. I’m sharing 2 documents related to the proposed Airport Joint Use Agreement (JUA), one from Airport Director Jones and another from several of my colleagues from our Environment, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Committee who are advocating for further negotiation on the contract. I appreciate their ongoing work to make sure that public health and clean water are priorities for our community. I’ve heard a lot from constituents on this matter, and very much appreciate the input. Last night I voted to postpone action on the contract and direct staff to continue negotiations in a time-limited, specific way. We should seek to clarify the indemnification clause and document the transition plan from foam containing PFAS. Regardless of our action, the F-35s will continue their bed-down at the airport, but we must do everything possible to make sure that we have the best agreement possible to protect the health of residents or at a minimum document the details and implications of this 10-year relationship. We should take another month to push further on the key contract provisions, which the Board voted to do last night. We will revisit this issue in January. Additional information on this topic is available at https://www.msnairport.com/about/ecomentality/PFAS-Information.  

Jail Project: Another significant issue the county is grappling with once again is the Consolidated Jail Project. On Nov. 14, the County opened bids from contractors seeking to build the long-planned, often adjusted, jail project. Once complete, the project will close outdated, inhumane facilities, reduce use of solitary confinement, add medical and mental health services, and incorporate more programming space. Unfortunately, we only received one qualified bid and it was nearly $30 million over our authorized budget. I organized a special meeting to review the bid and explore options in late November, which was helpful. A recording is available here: https://dane.granicus.com/player/clip/3637?view_id=1&redirect=true&h=8dc8f3a33d6f8a7f68926d359f50f197.

I believe that we essentially have 3 practical options before us:

1. Fund the project by finding additional new capital borrowing and potentially reallocating other funds from projects that were underspent;
2. Re-bid the project with the hope that a second bidder will enter the fray; and
3. Rework the project by considering a new site, design, etc.

I’ve fielded questions suggesting that we should find cost-savings and keep the project in budget. That is a fair request, and indeed what the county has done already when a previous estimate came in over-budget. Re-bidding the project only seems like a good option to me if there is good confidence that a second bidder will participate and therefore force a more competitive bid. Reworking the project would be a herculean task, and while we figure it out, residents and staff will continue to experience the unsafe conditions at the downtown jail. At this point, I am exploring options with my colleagues, the Sheriff, and department staff to find a path forward. We do have a clock ticking, as the bid from Miron (the sole bidder) will expire in mid-January.

County Budget: In November, the Board approved and the Executive signed the 2024 Operating and Capital Budgets (details: https://www.countyofdane.com/PressDetail/11327 and https://admin.countyofdane.com/budget). I’m proud of each of the budget amendments that I worked on and am committed to seeing them through the implementation process. These include creating a local food system action plan, addressing outstanding debts owed through Birth Cost Recovery (learn more here), provisions for the Sheriff’s Office regarding the implementation of a proposed body-worn camera pilot in the West precinct (Town of Middleton), a facility dog (a special trained therapy animal) for the courthouse to provide services for families experiencing trauma, and new staffing at 911. There are several other initiatives that will need to move through the Public Protection & Judiciary Committee, which I Chair. That includes an expansion of the non-law enforcement behavioral health crisis response program, CARES, run by the City, which will expand to new municipalities. I really like this recent article in the Cap Times that interviews several community leaders about racial justice in Madison, including justice system reform efforts: https://captimes.com/news/community/justified-voices-what-weve-learned-about-racial-justice-in-madison/article_154c11d0-9398-11ee-9e27-cbe26bdcff02.html.

Other County Business

The County has a brand new resource available regarding providing public testimony at meetings which is available here: https://board.countyofdane.com/meetings/attend-meeting/Providing-Public-Testimony which includes FAQs. There are no changes to our rules, but note that testimony continues to be provided either virtually or in person, which has expanded options for the public to engage in the policymaking process. 

Please note that all 37 County Board Supervisor seats are on the ballot on April 2, 2024, in spring elections. Visit the Clerk’s office to learn more or view candidates here (updated daily): https://elections.countyofdane.com/documents/pdf/Candidates-Registered-Spring-2024.pdf. Any races with more than 2 qualified candidates will also have a spring primary in February. County communications, like this blog, are only for official county business and communications but I wanted the public to know about this upcoming election. Candidates have until January 2 to circulate nomination papers and submit other paperwork.

Finally, the holidays can be an especially challenging time for many. If you or a loved one are struggling, please reach out to the Behavioral Health Resource Center, Journey 24/7 Crisis line, or 988 (National Suicide line), each can assist with timely resources and referrals.

• BHRC: https://danebhrc.org/ or 608267-2244
• Journey: https://www.journeymhc.org/service/emergency or 608280-2600

It has been a pleasure serving as the Supervisor of district 11 in 2023, thank you for trusting me as your local representative. See you around the neighborhood, and have a healthy and safe holiday season,

Richelle Andrae

Dane County Board Supervisor District 11

Andrae.richelle@countyofdane.com