Fourth Quarter 2023

Happy Fall friends!

It’s hard to believe we are starting the fourth quarter of the year. 2023 has flown at warp speed! Speaking of speed….Did you know that you can receive timely communication from the city with regard to MVA’s, road construction and other concerns? Please click here Alerts-Notifications to sign up with either your cell phone or email address or both.

Examples of messages sent through CivicReady:

Emergency Alerts
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City News
Road & Traffic Information

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You can also stay up-to-date with newsletters, press releases, project updates, events and more through the City of Madison website by subscribing to Notify Me for email and text notifications.

City of Madison Alerts

Sign up to receive emergency alerts and severe weather warnings that could directly impact you and your family

City of Madison is able to send you emergency alerts via text message, email, pager, or voice mail (in extreme cases), based on your preferences. It is important that we collect this contact information because many households no longer utilize traditional land-based telephone lines.

The system is intended to be used for emergency alerts, as well as non-emergency incidents that may have significant impacts to residents. Emergency Alerts could be related to specific hazards that require some kind of action be taken such as evacuation, shelter in place, boil water orders, etc. Non-emergency alerts could include significant transportation problems with prolonged impacts or significant ongoing police or fire activity. This list is not meant to be all inclusive, and demonstrates that this system will not be used for routine information. In addition to receiving information on your wireless device, you may also receive notification on your land telephone line (if you have one) depending on the type of incident or event.

Please provide your address and preferred method(s) of contact. Adding your address will allow tailoring so you do not receive alerts that don’t pertain to your geographical area.

These alerts are provided free of charge, however standard text messaging rates and other charges may apply.

If you wish to subscribe to SMS text messages only, text your zip code to 38276. There is also a mobile app available

Mayor Finley’s Updates

September 24th to October 8th

It is the calm before the storm as our city prepares for our largest event of the year, our Madison Street Festival. We look forward to some great weather (once this rain passes) and lots of community enjoyment. A huge thanks on the front end to our Parks and Recreation, Madison Police, Madison Fire, Public Works, and many other Department employees for their countless hours of preparation. Knocking on wood for a safe, fun, and enjoyable Saturday in Historic Downtown Madison.

A lot has occurred during our last two weeks….here are just a few of the highlights.

Our City Council passed our FY24 budget at the 09-25 council meeting. We are excited that this budget includes a step increase, 3% COLA, no insurance premium increases for our employees, and over $3,000,000 in Capital purchases for needed equipment.
Our Revenue team shared that total sales tax collections for the month of September 2023 increased by 10.95 % over September 2022, bringing our final year-to-date collection increase for FY23 up 11.40%, or $1,868,141. For proper perspective, the step increase + the 3% COLA add up to $2,120,982. Thus, the next time you think to yourself “how much of that increase goes towards employees” first thank Mary Beth and her Economic Development team, and then know that this year its “all of it.”
We continue to move forward with our Council redistricting. City Council will hold a public hearing along with a first reading for the proposed districts at next Monday the 9^th’s council meeting.
The re-surfacing project for Sullivan Street between Front Street and Browns Ferry Road and between Madison Boulevard and Spenryn Drive is complete. There is currently temporary striping (paint) in place, but the permanent striping (reflective) should be applied soon.
Our Court team shared that they opened 226 cases, closed 297 cases, and issued 79 warrants during the two weeks.
Our Building team shared that the permitting division created 439 permits, issued 292 permits, and the inspection division performed 777 inspections during the week.
Code Enforcement performed 57 inspections/re-inspections, created 18 cases, and picked up 31 signs in the R.O.W.
The installation of the Air Structure over the Dublin Outdoor pool was completed this week.
The Pickleball Courts at Hexagon have been painted. We anticipate the courts being ready for use next week.
The Dublin 5 lights are in the process of being connected to power. We anticipate them being ready for use next week.
Recreation shared that MARS completed 338 trips and Dublin had 1144 visits during the two weeks.
The Senior Center had a total of 2947 participation hours this week. The Center also had 33 new members join in September.
Christmas Parade Registration opened last week. The deadline for entry registration is Wednesday, November 22, 2023.
Our Fire Marshall’s office shared that they completed 2890/3000 of our fire hydrant maintenance program in FY23.
Madison Fire and Rescue responded to 228 incidents during the two weeks, of which 179 were EMS related.
IT received 109 work orders the two weeks, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
Madison Police responded to 1687 calls for service during the two weeks.
Our Facilities and Grounds team continues to work on obtaining all quotes needed for Building 23A, which WILL now include our new Fire Station 4. We will be ready to share all facets of this at our next Council work session.
Our Department Heads attended EEO training with Harold Stephens, set up by our Human Resources team.

As I close, I again want to thank you for an incredible FY23. Madison, Alabama shined and your efforts, both for our citizens and employees, is greatly appreciated. Enjoy your weekend!

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

October 8th through 22nd

Happy Sunday Morning,

I hope everyone is enjoying a fantastic fall weekend in North Alabama. Our team has had another busy couple of weeks, here are just a few of the highlights.

Our Madison Street Festival was a huge success. The weather was great, crowds were huge, and other than a long train stop our community had a wonderful time. Thanks again to everyone involved on helping to make this event special.
The City was pleased to join Lemon & Lavender at the opening celebration for their new location at 108 Main Street. The new shop space is larger and inviting, allowing them to showcase The Refillery.
Our Court team shared that they opened 272 cases, closed 236 cases, and issued 41 warrants during the two weeks. Court also shared that they opened 7810 cases and closed 6745 cases in FY23….great job Court team!
At our City Council work session last week Council gave the nod for us to move ahead with the buildout of our new public safety annex on the Hexagon campus in Town Madison, which will include Fire Station 4.
Our Facilities and Grounds team was busy with multiple projects at Sunshine Oaks including property cleanup, pest control, changing out locks, and layout design of our upcoming amenities for the community.
The Facilities and Grounds team will also be expanding as offers were accepted for Assistant Director, Administrative Assistant, and Facilities Technician. All should start October 30^th.
IT received 152 work orders during the two weeks, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
Michelle Parker the city’s ERP Support Specialist has resolved an issue with the city’s ERP software that prevented contractors from paying for online permits. This bug was fixed, and contractors can now pay for online permits.
Our Madison Police team shared that they responded to 1991 calls for service during the two weeks.
Our Building team shared that they created 269 permits, issued 289 permits, and they inspection team performed 756 inspections last week.
Code Enforcement performed 90 inspections/re-inspections, created 25 cases, and picked up 41 signs in the R.O.W last week.
Key activities from Public Works included sidewalk extensions, multiple ditch clean outs, pond cleanouts, trench failure fixes, and multiple other projects.
The Dublin 5 field lights are connected to power and are now operational.
The Senior Center had an issue with the electrical outlets for powering their Kilns. We are coordinating with the Building and Grounds Director to do the repairs.
Bids for the ballfield fencing at Hexagon site were opened this past Wednesday. A contract with Howell Fencing is on the City Council agenda for the October 23, 2023, meeting.
MARS completed 161 trips and Dublin had 599 visits last week.
The installation of the weather notification system for Dublin and Palmer Park has begun. We hope to have it operational soon.
Madison Fire and Rescue responded to 220 incidents during the two weeks, 178 of which were EMS related.

As I close, I again want to thank all of you for everything that you do for our community. Madison is truly a great place to live and to “Plant Your Roots”, lets have another great week.

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

October 23-November 5

Happy Friday Afternoon,

We have experienced all four seasons in the last two weeks, and we will now roll into the rollback of daylight savings time this weekend. The good news is it looks like it is going to warm up and our weekend should be rain free.

A lot has gone on in the past two weeks, here are a few of the highlights.

We held a ribbon cutting Monday and then formally opened our 12 new Pickleball courts at the Hexagon complex in Town Madison this morning. Close to 100 avid players enjoyed our courts, and our complex received rave reviews!

We began Veterans Appreciation week Friday morning with a breakfast celebration at the Hogan YMCA. Our community will continue to celebrate all next week, culminating in one of the nation’s largest Veterans Day parades in downtown Huntsville on Saturday November 11^, starting at 11:11a.m.

Bob Jones High School held their homecoming parade last week. A huge thanks to our multiple departments (Police, Fire, Public Works, Recreation) for everything that they did to help keep the parade route safe.

Our Revenue team shared that the total sales tax collections for the month of October 2023 increased by 13.38% over the collections for the month of October 2022.

Our Building team shared that the permitting division created 246 permits, issued 301 permits, and the inspection team performed 907 inspections during this week.

Code Enforcement performed 75 inspections/re-inspections, created 19 cases, and picked up 24 signs in the R.O.W.

Our Madison Police Department shared that they responded to 1697 calls for service, made 61 arrests, issued 88 citations, and gave 124 warnings during the past two weeks.

MPD also welcomed two new officers this week: Officer David Kelly and Officer Tyler Carter.

Our Facilities and Grounds team shared that they added two new team members: James Dyer and Laura Folts.

The Facilities and Grounds team also shared that they managed multiple fixes at Sunshine Oaks; a water leak at our Madison Library; bay heater issues at Fire Station 1; continued managing contractor repairs from the fire at Main Street Café; and repairing plumbing issues at Fire Station 2 during the two weeks.

Our Public Works CIP team has been crazy busy working on the final fixes and improvements at Kid’s Kingdom. In addition, they started the Lime Quarry sidewalk project, laying 25’ of drainpipe and pouring the concrete bottom of the drain box.

The Witches Ride took place on Sunday, October 22, 2023, at the Madison City Stadium and Homeplace Park. MVP communicated that over $8,000 has been raised for the Splash Pad project.

Our Court team shared that they opened 220 cases, closed 246 cases, and they issued 95 warrants during the two weeks.

Our City Clerk team shared that they have been working on updating insurance and license tags for all existing and new city vehicles.

Our City Clerk team also welcomed Administrative Assistant Myranda Staples to their team.

Our Community Risk Reduction team held a “Stop the Bleed” class for 60 students at JCHS and brought the fire safe house to Midtown Elementary for 800+ students.

Madison Fire and Rescue shared that they responded to 269 incidents, 211 of which were EMS related during the two weeks.

Recreation shared that the Palmer crew, Dublin crew, and Neighborhood parks crew has come together one day a week to work as a team at Sunshine Oaks to tackle multiple issues including cleaning out the house; moving furniture; removing fence posts/wire; mowing/bush-hogging; clearing out the barn and removing or trimming shrubs/trees, as needed.

IT received 132 work orders during the two weeks, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.

IT worked with CSS to install network cabling and infrastructure at Sunshine Oaks. We expect to have internet and all IT requirements ready by Thursday, November 9^th, at Sunshine Oaks.

Our Human Resources team shared that our wellness screening percentage for the city ended up at 89%. Thanks to everyone who participated, this % makes a very positive impact in lowering our overall insurance costs.

Madison, Alabama continues to shine, thanks to each of you for your focus on our city and our employees. Enjoy your extra hour of sleep this weekend!

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

November 5th to 12th

I hope everyone has enjoyed a wonderful Veterans Day weekend. Thanks to all our Veterans for your service to our country!

Our team had a busy week, here are just a few of the highlights.

Our Madison Honor Guard and Ole’48 participated in the Veterans Day parade. Without question it was the largest crowd we have ever seen lining the streets to celebrate our Veterans.
I had the pleasure of attending the Heritage Elementary Veterans Day celebration and parade. Every class from K-5^th grade participated.
The City was thrilled to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony for BJ’s Wholesale Club, opening their (first in Alabama!) store on November 10^th. The creation of 150 jobs and generation of additional revenue to support infrastructure needs is a win for the community.
The North Alabama Industrial Development Association hosted their first annual conference since covid at Toyota Field. The City was pleased to be the chosen location, introducing the venue and area to over 100 companies and economic developers.
Multiple city employees and council attended Chairman McCutcheon’s State of the County address.
Our Court team shared that they opened 65 cases, closed 59 cases, and issued 19 warrants during the week.
Our facilities and Grounds team managed multiple projects including a waterline repair at our Madison Library, plumbing issues at Fire Station 4, flooring repairs at the Senior Center, and painting at Sunshine Oaks.
Our Madison Police team shared that they responded to 728 calls for service, made 26 arrests, issued 29 citations, and gave 47 warnings during the week.
Several MPD offices attended skid car training this week.
Madison Fire and Rescue responded to 107 incidents this week, 76 of which were EMS related.
MARS completed 164 trips this week, an average of 41/day.
Our Youth basketball program will have 82 teams with approximately 650 players this season.
IT shared that they received 50 work orders this week, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
The IT department resolved the issue with the city’s website not being accessible without the www prefix. As a result, residents can now access the website at www.madisonal.gov.

Thanks to each of you for your continued focus on our city and employees. Madison, Alabama truly is a great place to live and I am so proud to be the Mayor working with our fantastic team. Let’s have another great week!

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

November 12-19

Happy Sunday Evening,

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend; the weather could not have been any nicer.

Our team had another busy week, here are a few of the highlights.

The Kids Kingdom project is nearly complete. The ribbon cutting is scheduled for Monday, November 20^th at 10 a.m. Thanks to our Public Works and Recreation teams for the extra efforts in getting it ready for Monday.
The Christmas Parade is scheduled for December 9, 2023. To date, there have been 43 entries.
Another hotel and restaurant have been approved for Town Madison. Lola’s, a new restaurant concept from the owners of Rosie’s Mexican Cantina, will be located behind Prohibition. A 92 room Town Place Suites by Marriott will be located across from Twice Daily, near Wall Triana.
The City Council approved the purchase the Hexagon Wellness center. This enhances our recreational offering for multiple activities including basketball, volleyball, fitness classes, and supports the recently opened pickleball courts. Employees will still be able to utilize the workout facilities and our recreation team is working to define our community game plan going forward.
City Council also approved multiple employee benefit changes, allowing for more flexibility with sick leave, vacation, and many others. Thanks to Megan Zingarelli for keeping this moving forward and our Finance and HR teams for working together to get it started quickly.
Our Building team shared that the permitting division created 121 permits, issued 124 permits, and the inspection division performed 482 inspections during the week.
Code Enforcement performed 29 inspections/re-inspections, created 14 cases, and picked up 31 signs in the R.O.W.
IT received 64 work orders this week, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
Madison Fire and Rescue shared that they responded to 114 incidents, 83 of which were EMS related.
Our Fire Marshall’s office has already done 346 fire inspections in FY24 along with 100 new and build-out constriction permits.
Our Madison Police and Madison Fire and Rescue, in connection with Madison City Schools and the National Childrens Advocacy Center, started the “Handle with Care” program this week. While this program is already in place in multiple states, this is the first of its kind in Alabama.
MARS completed 162 trips and Dublin had 496 patron visits this week.
Our Madison Police responded to 1206 calls for service, made 45 arrests, issued 68 citations, and gave 88 warnings during the week.
Our Madison Police team held a RAD class with 17 participants last week.
Multiple City Hall team members attended a Madison Update at City Hall for our local state and federal representatives.
Our Revenue and City Clerk teams started the process of mailing out over 6000 business license renewals.
Our City Prosecution team had a busy week conducting 73 municipal and 54 Circuit court cases.
The Facilities and Grounds team grew last week with the addition of Trevor Smith & Chris Holmes.
Facilities and Grounds also met with Trident Security to discuss the start of the security support at City Hall. We are hoping to get this going the week of December 4^th.

As we roll into our short Thanksgiving week, I certainly am thankful for each of you. Madison, Alabama is an incredible city, and I am so appreciative of your focus and efforts.

Let’s have a great week!

Respectively,

Mayor Finley

November 20-December 3

Happy Sunday Morning,

As I write this the football world is anxiously awaiting the Final Four announcement. Regardless of their choices congratulations to all our Alabama fans for their impressive win last night!

We had a very busy couple of weeks in the City of Madison, here are a few of our highlights.

We kicked off our Polar Express Christmas Friday night with a fantastic tree lighting and Wassel fest downtown.
Our Madison Chamber led our ribbon cutting for the new and improved Kids Kingdom playground. Madison Visionary Partners, working side by side with MCDAB, helped fundraise over $600,000. The playground is seeing a great volume of use. Staff is cleaning Restrooms and emptying trash twice a day. Thanks to the recreation and public works teams for their enormous contributions!
Building shared that the permitting division created 147 permits, issued 148 permits, and the inspection division performed 318 inspections last week.
Several of us attended the Redstone Arsenal Update at the VBC. Speakers at the event included NASA, the FBI, SMDC, and Lt. General Mohan of AMC.
Our Madison Public Works team stayed busy cleaning out multiple drains and ditches, clearing out multiple beaver dams, fixing trench failures, and they added sidewalks at the Mill Road Millstone entrance. In addition, our CIP team framed and poured over 100’ of sidewalk on Lime Quarry Road.
Code Enforcement performed 18 inspections/re-inspections, created 21 cases, and picked up 19 signs in the R.O.W. last week.
Our Facilities and Grounds team stayed busy transitioning the Wellness Center over to city management. In addition, they managed repairs at City Hall, Fire Stations 2 & 3, Sunshine Oaks, and they helped Trident Security get ready for Monday.
Starting Monday, we will have added security at City Hall. Metal detectors will be manned downstairs from 7-4 and upstairs from 8-5.
Madison Police shared that they responded to 1463 calls for service, made 46 arrests, issued 134 citations, and they gave 289 warnings last week.
IT received 86 work orders this week, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
We closed on the purchase of the former Hexagon Wellness Center last week. Staff is in the process of converting the facility to City management and we trained staff and converted computer software to be able to open on Monday, December 4^th from 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. to city personnel. Recreation is in-process of developing a city-wide usage plan for all our facilities and we hope to have this ready by the first of the year.
Our Court team shared that they opened 133 cases, closed 83 cases, and they issued 28 warrants last week.
The Madison Fire Marshalls office completed 82 fire inspections last week.
Madison Fire and Rescue responded to 117 incidents last week, 92 of which were EMS related.
Congratulations to John Gallaway and Matt Rodgers on their promotion to Captain in Madison Fire and Rescue!
MARS completed 166 trips last week, Dublin had 340 users, and our fall pickleball league has 24 participants.
Recreation, along with a large volunteer group, will be spreading out new mulch at the Mill Creek Dog Park in the upcoming weeks.

As I close, I again want to thank all of you for everything you do for our Madison community. We are blessed to have such a strong, focused team! Let’s have another strong week.

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

December 3-10

Happy Sunday Afternoon,

I hope everyone made it through the weather unscathed last night and that our Christmas parade goes off safely! Thanks to everyone involved in helping to keep our community safe as we roll into the Christmas season.

We had a very busy week last week, here are just a few of the highlights.

IT received 71 work orders this week, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests. They also setup a secondary backup NAS (Network Attached Storage) at Public Works for disaster preparedness.
IT also started working on rebuilding the traffic light network that was damaged by lightning this summer. This network allows Public Works to have access to monitor all traffic lights throughout the city from the Public Works office.
Our Revenue team shared that total sales tax collections for the month of November 2023 increased by 9.35% over November 2022.

We have already experienced vandalism at the bathrooms at Kid’s Kingdom. Thanks to Facilities and Grounds for their quick response.
The Facilities and Grounds team also supported the startup of the metal detectors at City Hall, repaired plumbing at City Hall and the Wellness Center, and repaired lights at City Hall and Dublin Park.
Our Building team shared that the permitting division created 138 permits, issued 157 permits, and the inspection division performed 384 inspections last week.
Code Enforcement performed 31 inspections/re-inspections, created 15 cases, and picked up 27 signs in the R.O.W.
Our Madison Police Department shared that they responded to 1117 calls for service, made 40 arrests, issued 76 citations, and gave 166 warnings during the week.
Our Court team shared that they opened 117 cases, closed 153 cases, and issued 17 warrants during the week.
Our Fire Marshal’s office completed 71 annual fire inspections and 12 new construction inspections during the week.
Madison Fire and Rescue responded to 117 incidents, 96 of which were EMS related.
MARS completed 185 trips, and Dublin Park had 670 visits this week.

The Senior Cetner had 23 members join in November. In addition, they took a trip to Stonebridge Farms in Cullman, AL with over 50 seniors attending.
The Revenue team also started processing the Business License Renewals on December 1^st. This week we issued over 600 Licenses for a total of $159,000.00 in revenue.
Our Court team did a record 22 notaries this week.
Our Public Works CIP team framed and poured another 100’ of sidewalk on Lime Quarry Road.

We only have three weeks left in 2023, wow that is hard to believe. I continue to be thankful to live in Madison, and I am equally thankful for each of you who help to make it such a great community.

Let’s have another great week!

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

December 11th -24th

Merry Christmas,

As this will be my last weekly message for 2023, I want to start with a huge thank you and a hearty Merry Christmas to all of you. Madison has enjoyed a blessed 2023 and your hard work and dedication to our city are greatly appreciated.

Let’s look at our last two weeks. We certainly continued to stay busy.

A retirement reception for Leroy Jackson took place on Monday this week. Mr. Jackson is retiring after 31 years of service in Parks and Recreation.
Madison enjoyed a fantastic Christmas Parade and a downtown Christmas Capers event. Thanks to everyone who helped plan these events or helped to keep us safe throughout the Christmas season.
Our Human Resources team led a stressless and enjoyable Christmas lunch for employees at Toyota Field.
Over 75 home-based businesses have been established in Madison thus far this year. These businesses, along with the commercial-based businesses, are part of the interconnected business network that provides needed services to Madison residents and their investment is so appreciated. New commercial business of note this year have included Lanier House, Cava, Floor & Décor and BJ’s Wholesale, to name just a few.
The Sunshine Oaks project is taking shape, with the Disc Golf course close to completion and the driveway and parking lot expansion well underway. In addition, the barn has been cleaned out, and the playground, pavilions, and bathrooms are scheduled to be installed in February. Our goal is an early March “official” opening, just in time for Spring. Special thanks to Public Works, Recreation, Engineering, and our Facilities and Grounds crew for all their hard work!
Another special thanks to our Public Works crew. As of 12-22, they only have 15 open work requests in the hopper….the lowest number I have seen in my time as mayor.
Our Madison Fire and Rescue team honored Firefighters John Gallaway, Gage Tolton, Parker Hill, Curtis Roesner, and Dale Dowdy with the Star of Life Award……congratulations!
Also, our Madison Fire and Rescue Firefighter of the Year for 2024 is Luke Hall…..another big congratulations!
Madison Fire and Rescue shared that they responded to 245 incidents during the two weeks, 194 of which were EMS related.
Our Madison Police team shared that they responded to 2305 incidents, made 83 arrests, issued 217 citations, and gave 338 warnings during the two weeks.
MARS completed 309 trips and Dublin had 1163 visits to the facility during the two weeks.
Our Court team shared that they opened 166 cases, closed 413 cases, and issued 8174warrants during the two weeks.

Madison, Alabama is a fantastic community, and I am so proud of our over 400 team members who help to make it a special place to live. Thanks to each of you for your heard work and effort!

Merry Christmas to each of you!

Safe travels,

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

In Closing

As always, I will be updating this blog every couple of weeks. Please check back during the the fourth quarter of 2023 for new information. You can also provide your email address in the box below for a subscription and be notified when the blog is updated I can be reached at Email Maura or 256.337.2408. Thank you again for your continued support!

Fourth Quarter 2023