by George Zens
Concerns about July 12 anti-racism march
A number of downtown Middleton business and property owners have reservations about a protest event that is planned to take place between 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 12.
Participants will gather at the Aquatic Center, from where they will walk south on Bristol Street, east on University Avenue, south on Park Street, and west on Hubbard Avenue to the site of the downtown Plaza.
The event is called 'United We Stand Against Racism March', and, according to the organizers' Facebook page, the goal "is to bring the Middleton business community, the Middleton Cross Plains [Area] School District, Middleton PD and the local residents together in an effort to further our education to end systemic racism in our community. We feel it is important for our community to hear of the amazing efforts our school district is currently doing to close the equity gap, and learn of ways we can all help in furthering their mission and our education. It will be a peaceful march through downtown Middleton featuring thought leaders from Dane County and local students from Middleton high school."
They also sell posters and yard signs to promote their message, and to raise funds for the MCPASD Equity Team and the Middleton Education Foundation.
Middleton Center developer Terrence Wall has contacted the City to express his concerns about the march. He and others are worried that, even though it is planned as a peaceful event, it could easily deteriorate into violence, looting and vandalism similar to what happened in downtown Madison a few weeks ago. The mostly closed businesses on a Sunday evening would make easy targets for any mob. On top of that, it could also compromise the safety of the hundreds of people who live in the Middleton Center apartments.
Middleton Police Chief Troy Hellenbrand responded to the concerns in an email: "The organizers of this event are local residents and their intentions are for a peaceful event with a goal of bringing Middleton residents together to discuss the issues of systemic racism. Based on our numerous conversations with the organizers we have no information which would lead us to believe this event is going to be anything other than a peaceful gathering and march. However, we are aware of other protests which have turned violent and have plans to deal with any issues if they were to arise. Members of the Middleton Police Department will be present during this event and some of us will also be participating in the march."
Middleton City Administrator Mike Davis, in an email to City officials, also reacted to Terrence Wall's concerns: "I am a personal friend with one of the organizers, and they have designed this event to be a peaceful protest against racism as well as a fundraiser for the Middleton Education Foundation. She has assured me this will not be an anti-police rally. A couple of the primary speakers at Stone Horse Green [downtown plaza] will be Judge Everett Mitchell and Percy Brown who is the Diversity/Equity administrator for the School District. Chief Hellenbrand and the Middleton Police Department are taking all precautions and putting plans in place should anything go sideways. (...) Terrence Wall is alarmed (...) He’s planning to have armed security, and he himself is planning to be armed to 'protect our property and residents'. I’ve encouraged him to be calm and not fan the flames. I’ve also encouraged people to attend on my personal Facebook [page] and the Good Neighbor Hub on Facebook. I also paid out of my own funds to put a sign that says 'United We Stand' in front of City Hall. I will participate with mask in the march along with several officers from MPD, and I encourage you all to do so as well."
The Middleton Police Department has issued an 'expressive activities event permit' for the march. As a peaceful expression of opinion, the event is protected under the first amendment of the Bill of Rights.
By mid-morning on July 11, more than 140 people had declared on Facebook that they were going to participate in the march, and another 700 had indicated their interest.
SRO program not on School Board agenda (yet)
As Annette Ashley, president of Board of Education (BOE), had already predicted during the Middleton Common Council's debate last Tuesday about the 'school resource officers' program, the Board will not discuss the issue at its Monday, July 13, meeting, but focus on scenarios planning for the new school year in the fall. The draft agenda for the July 20 BOE meeting also does not include the SRO program, although that could still change.
Survey shows parents ready for school, but not for bus
More than 2,700 people responded to a School District survey at the end of June about if an how kids should return to school in the fall.
The results show that over 80% of respondents would be sending their children to school in September if it was deemed safe 'with cautionary measures in place' by the County or the State: 54% would send their kids to school, even though they have concerns right now; 30% would also send their kids to school, and have no concerns right now; 9% wouldn't, but they might change their mind based on new information; 6% would not send their kids to school under any circumstance.
Just over half of all parents would let their children ride school buses: 15% without reservations, 17% only if physical distancing were enforced, and 20% only if drivers and students wore face masks; 42% plan on driving their kids to school (which will add another level of danger, since car traffic generated in front of schools by parents dropping off their children is the single biggest threat to kids' safety on their way to school), and 6% plan on not sending their kids to school at all.
While two thirds (66%) of all respondents want their kids to return to physical school as soon as it is deemed safe, almost a quarter (24%) would be comfortable waiting another quarter, trimester or semester; 10% don't like any of those options.
The top three concerns of parents about their children returning to school is that the children might catch or spread covid-19 (22%), that they might not be able to keep their physical distances at school (17%), and that they might not be prepared due to loss of learning during the past several months (12%).
The top three measures that would make parents more comfortable (or less uncomfortable) about their children returning to school are being contacted if a student, teacher or other staff member gets sick (14%), improved cleaning (13%), and expanded testing and tracing (12%).
If virtual learning needs to continue in the fall, the top three improvements parents would like to see are more virtual face-to-face time between students and teachers (22%), more instruction and learning of new content (20%), and more support in place to improve student participation and learning (18%).
But online learning is apparently not all bad, and the top three benefits cited by parents include greater scheduling flexibility (31%), greater flexibility for the children to move through the curriculum at a pace that matches their needs (26%), and access to small-group support via video-conferencing tools (16%).
Common Council approves Trotta apartment building SIP
On July 7, the Middleton Common Council unanimously approved the specific implementation plan for the Trotta building, a four-story apartment complex to be located on Parmenter Street on the site of the former Colonial Motel, with 124 living units and 163 underground and surface parking stalls. The approval is contingent upon five conditions, including resolution of all concerns by the City's engineering staff, completion of a traffic impact analysis and implementation of its recommendations), the installation of bicycle parking, approval of the storm water management plan, and approval of either a TIF-assistance agreement or 'payment in lieu of taxes' agreement. The building is unusual because of its length along the street (the longest road frontage in the city).