Week 5

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This week we continued learning more about what Dane County oversees, I participated in the MESBA hosted EDGER meeting, a state-wide workshop, and celebrated mother's day with the community.

The week began with several supervisors joining Sheriff Mahoney on a walk-through of the jail, something I had done before the election, as well. I will continue to observe and listen for all county services in the next two years to be as well-informed as I can be. I encourage you to share with me aspects that you think are important for District 24 that you may be engaged in.

Supervisor Pertl and I attended the Lake Edge Neighborhood Association meeting on Wednesday at Pinney Library. Watch for upcoming events, including the Rutabaga Outing, and garage sale days. We met in the community room where we were able to take in the art of Jerry Jordan, currently on exhibit.

I participated in the Economic Development, Government, Education Roundtable, along with other elected officials, city staff, and business leaders. The event is sponsored by a local business, and coordinated by Monona East Side Business Alliance, Executive Director, Kristie Schilling.

Image source: http://mononaeastside.com/economic-development-government-education-roundtable-2/

Image source: http://mononaeastside.com/economic-development-government-education-roundtable-2/

85 Bucky Statues were revealed throughout Dane County, 2 of them residing in District 24. You can find #BuckyonParade at Schluter Park and Winnequah Park. Photo credit: Monona Alder Andrew Kitslaar

Over the weekend, I drove up to Stevens Point to attend the Wisconsin Progress Institute Workshop. This was an invaluable experience in my continual growth and development as an elected official. I met with supervisors from other counties, and alders/trustees from cities/towns/villages around the state.

Wisconsin Progress Leadership Conference 

Wisconsin Progress Leadership Conference 

We talked about ways to coordinate efforts state-wide, driven by local government to hold state legislators accountable on the Dark Store Loophole -- because we believe in big box stores paying their fair share, not shifting the burden to hardworking residents. Alder Kitslaar, of course, has been been a big advocate for this in Monona, and I look forward to continuing to support his work and a dedicated group of residents. If you'd like to get involved, please reach out. 

I hope you all had the opportunity to appreciate the mothers in your lives. I celebrated on Friday night at the Bridge LakePoint Waunona Neighborhood Center, where the Los Niños Primeros program participants performed a dance, and a delicious meal was served to a standing-only room. On Sunday, we made cupcakes at home and delivered them around town to moms in our community that we found to be home! 

County announcements...

In other news...

What's coming this week?
This week is shaping up to be very busy. Health and Human Needs will meet on Tuesday, May 15 at 5:30pm at the ADRC; the agenda can be found here. Following the meeting we will tour the ADRC to learn more about aging & disability resources in Dane County.

On Wednesday, I will attend 2018 County Officials Workshops (COWS) hosted by the Wisconsin Counties Association, University of Wisconsin-Extension Local Government Center. The workshop is intended to help all county policy makers "learn from experienced educators about best practices and avoiding the pitfalls of governance."

On Thursday, I will attend my first UW Extension Committee meeting; agenda found here. Following that meeting, I have asked Director Laura Hicklin and Assistant Director John Reimer of the Land & Water Resources Department to meet with me to explain more about the concerns coming our way with regard the high rains we've seen this year, and the impact on Lake Monona. I encourage you to send any questions or comments to me, either by email (buckingham.tanya@countyofdane.com) or fill out the contact page on this website. Finally, on Thursday evening, we will host our first county board meeting since the swearing in meeting. You can find the agenda here, and all board meetings are live-streamed, if you would like to watch from home. I will have updates on all of these events in next week's post.