As Dane County plans for an influx of 150,000 new residents over the next 25 years, the Capital Area Regional Plan Commission is preparing.
Steve Steinhoff, deputy director of CARPC, spoke to the Waunakee Rotary Club Nov. 8 about the work involved, including the Greater Madison Vision survey, which will help guide the long-range planning effort.
A 46-member steering committee, with stakeholders from the business community, nonprofit organizations, cities, villages and transportation agencies, is guiding the effort.
As a planning agency, CARPC has also analyzed trends in population, employment, technology, the climate, and the doubling of the aging population.
Several meetings were held throughout the county last year utilizing interactive computerized regional planning games. Afterwards, the steering committee met for a half-day retreat and developed four possible alternative futures to survey residents about. They show how locations for new growth affect the infrastructure and cost per household.
Steve had hoped to have 10,000 people take the survey; so far, 8,730 have weighed in, he said.
“This is about creating a plan that’s compelling, so people take ownership,” Steinhoff added.
Once the Greater Madison Vision plan is created, CARPC staff will help local municipalities like Waunakee implement the plan’s goals into their own land use plans.

 

Other news:
–Jim Ableidinger and Joe Baer gave their 90 seconds of fame after greeting at the Rotary meeting. Jim is from Durand, Wisconsin, and volunteers at Schumacher Farm Park where a lot of the machinery is about the same as what he remembers as a kid. A graduate of UW-Eau Claire, Jim taught high school in Waunakee for 31 years and has been a real estate agent for 40 years. He announced that the electricity, lights and heat are now installed at the Schumacher Farm Park Center for Rural History.
Joe was born in Monona and earned his degree in finance and economics from UW-Madison. He moved to St. Louis afterwards to work for Edward Jones, then returned to Wisconsin as an Edward Jones financial advisor. He and Lindsey are newly married and have purchased their first home.

 

–Rotary Lights setup will be Sunday all day.

 

–President Mark McFarland gave the board of directors meeting report. The club donated $250 for the Shop with a Cop program and $135 to Schumacher Farm.

 

–Rotarians from Madison East Monona are taking orders for their cheese and sausage sale.

 

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During club assembly, committee chairs reported:

 

–The club will donate funds to the DeForest club for its student exchange program.

 

–The holiday party is being planned for either the second or third Thursday in January.

–The Madison West Middleton Club is requesting the club’s participation in a global grant for midwife training in Guatemala to reduce infant mortality there.

–The club may participate in an India/Australia Friendship Exchange in July, when members would be needed to show the visitors around.

–Four volunteers are needed Nov. 16 from 9-11 a.m. and another four from 11-1 p.m. to help with the Senior Center’s Thanksgiving lunch.

–Cookies are needed for the Santa at the Village Center event. Drop them off with Peggy at the Nov. 29 meeting.

–The club will carol at the Manor after the Dec. 13 meeting.

–Scholarship applications are at the high school for seniors to fill out.

 

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Guests: Steve Steinhoff, guest of the club; Lindsey Baer, guest of Joe; Ross Maurer, guest of Mark McFarland.

 

Birthdays: Nov. 10, Troy Salisbury; Nov. 30, Susan Vergeront.

 

Anniversaries: Nov. 22, Robert and Merrilee Sachtjen; Dec. 3, Jim and Kathy Kattner