Second Quarter 2024

Hello friends and welcome to spring. The season of sneezes and pollen. We’ve been busy, let’s get to it!

Mayor Finley’s Updates

March 25th to April 7

Since my last update we have celebrated Easter, weathered potential bad storms, watched a lot of basketball, and accomplished a lot for our city. To all our Alabama fans…..good luck Saturday!

Here are just a few of the highlights from the past two weeks.

The annual Easter Egg Hunt took place at Dublin Park last Saturday, with approximately 3000 children attending an over 30,000 eggs collected.
The City’s new Mural Advisory Board and the Historic Preservation Commission have approved two murals for the downtown area. Installation is expected to begin in April and be complete by May. Coordination of these projects was led by Madison Visionary Partners who obtained funding to make the murals possible.
Madison’s Civic Awareness Academy has kicked-off with two of the six sessions complete. The 30 participants attended session on “Our City at Work” and “Our City is Protected”.
Our Facilities and Grounds crew has been busy, completing over 60 work orders in the last two weeks. Some of their activities include fixing plumbing issues at Palmer Park and the Wellness Center, landscape replacements at Fire Station 2 and the Library, and HVAC issues at City Hall. They also helped with setup and takedown for the special election voting and our Civic Awareness Academy.
Our Fire Marshal’s Office shared that they have now permitted 337 new construction inspections in FY24 while also completing 657 out of 3000 fire hydrant inspections.
Our Madison City Council held School Board interviews, giving them insight into whom to choose as the best fit for their yearly appointment.
Madison Fire and Rescue shared that they responded to 225 incidents throughout the two weeks, 181 of which were EMS related.
Our Building team shared that they created 109 permits, issued 96 permits, and the inspections division performed 468 inspections last week.
Code Enforcement performed 22 inspections/re-inspections, created 16 new cases, and removed 23 signs out of the right of way last week.
The stairs to access Rainbow Mountain at the end of Kensington Drive have been completed and are ready for use.
The repairs to the backstops at the Westco Softball complex are complete, and Westco is back in full swing (pun intended).
MARS completed 161 trips during the week.
Dublin had 801 paid/member visits during the week.
IT received 147 work orders during the last two weeks, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
IT has improved the connection between MPD and the 911 center by implementing a direct fiber circuit between these two locations, eliminating an extra step.
IT has also implemented a new link in New World Systems enabling the Building Department to verify if a contractor has a license with the state of Alabama.
Our Court team shared that they opened 446 cases, closed 362 cases, and issued 59 warrants throughout the two weeks.
Our Revenue team shared that the total amount of sales tax collected in March 2024 increased by 6.48% over the amount collected in March 2023. Moreover, the year-to-date collections have increased by 7.84% as compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.
Our Madison Police Department shared that they responded to 2813 calls for service, made 102 arrests, issued 204 citations, and gave 297 warnings in the past two weeks.
Our Madison Police Citizens Advisory Committee led by Chairman Marc Highsmith met and discussed mental health/illness with special guest speaker Adina Peyton with GRAMI.
Our Public Works CIP team continued driveway and parking lot builds at Sunshine Oaks. In addition, they started installing silt fencing while also bringing in dirt for the pavilion, bathroom, and playground.
Our City Prosecutor Tim McFalls managed 207 cases since the last newsletter.
It looks like we will have a new Madison City Hall NCAA “pick-em” champion. Top four spots going into this weekend are held by Sean Gallagher, Chris Lund, Jason Tidwell, and Kelly Rolin.

Thanks for all that you do for our city and our employees. Let’s have another fantastic week!

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

April 7 to 14th

Happy Friday! After a few days of rain, we will be rewarded with a beautiful weekend. I hope everyone enjoys it!

Congratulations to our 2024 Madison City Hall Cup winner Sean Gallagher of Public Works. The trophy handoff will occur next Tuesday…..congratulations, Sean!

We had another busy week throughout the city, here are just a few of the highlights:

Our Building Department shared that they created 113 permits, issued 110 permits, and the Inspections department performed 387 inspections.
Code Enforcement performed 31 inspections/re-inspections, created 12 new cases and removed 18 signs out of the right of way.
We had the bid opening for the Public Safety Annex demo this week and hope to bring it to the next City Council meeting.
Our Facilities and Grounds team completed 31 work order requests this week, including plumbing issues at the Wellness Center, Fire Station 1, and the Library and HVAC issues at Public Works and MPD,
Our Civic Awareness Academy met for their 3^rd session focused on “Our City is Maintaining”.
MARS completed 171 trips and Dublin had 474 member visits and 284 walk ins throughout the week.
Our Madison Police Department shared that they responded to 1236 calls for service, made 39 arrests, issued 109 citations, and gave 80 warnings last week.
The adult Pickleball league started this week using both the Dublin and Town Madison courts, and shade structures were added next to the Town Madison courts.
Our Court team shared that they opened 134 cases, closed 170 cases, and issued 34 warrants during the week.
Palmer Park was busy last weekend hosting 32 teams and this weekend they will host the USSSA baseball and softball tournaments.
Our Parks and Recreation Summer Day Camp registration signed up 125 slots in less than 10 minutes. Our new registration software worked as promised.
The softball/baseball fields and fencing are complete at Town Madison and grass is growing. We should be able to use these fields in 2-3 weeks.
Our Community Risk Reduction Team supported a mock trauma drill at James Clemens that involved four classes and over 60 participants.
Madison Fire and Rescue shared that they responded to 117 incidents last week, 97 of which were EMS related.

Thanks again for everything that you do for our city and employees. I am truly proud to be the Mayor of Madison, Alabama!

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

April 14th to May 5th

Good Monday Afternoon,

There has been a great deal of activity during the past three weeks….here are just a few of the highlights.

Congratulations to Ralph Dawe on his promotion to Lieutenant and to Shannon DeFazio, Russell Owens, and Jesse Scroggin on their promotion to Sergeant.
Finally, a Chick-fil-a on the south side of town! The City looks forward to the company beginning site work on its new Madison location at Wall Triana and I-565 (next to Cracker Barrel) late this summer.
The Mayor’s office and staff participated in roundtable panel discussions with the Huntsville/Madison County Homebuilders Association and the current class of Leadership of Greater Huntsville.
Madison’s inaugural Civic Awareness Academy concluded on Thursday, marking the culmination of six weekly classes that began in March. The Academy, which was well-received by participants, is designed to foster civic engagement within, and increased knowledge of, the City of Madison. A call for applications for the Fall 2024 class will begin in early August.
The City of Madison is pleased to have been awarded a Singing River Trail/Innovate Alabama Phase Zero Grant. Funds will be used to purchase two bike fixing stations that will be in Town Madison, which is part of the Singing River Trail network.
Our Revenue team shared that sales tax collected in April 2024 has decreased by 0.93% as compared to the amount collected in April 2023. However, the year-to-date collections have increased by 6.37% as compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.
Our Facilities and Grounds team shared that they completed 108 work orders during the three weeks including multiple facility roof leaks and replacement of door hardware at Fire Station 1 and 3.
Madison Police shared that they responded to 3604 calls for service, made 101 arrests, issued 190 citations, and gave 344 warnings during the three weeks.
MPD also celebrated with Detective Stacy Thomas who is retiring with 17 years of service. Thank you for your service, Stacy.
Madison Fire and Rescue shared that they responded to 390 incidents, 322 of which were EMS related during the three weeks.
Our Madison Fire Marshall’s office has completed 419 permitted new construction inspections in FY24.
Our Recreation staff met to start development of a system wide Parks and Recreation Fee Schedule, which they hope to bring to City Council for approval mid-summer.
Our Town Madison Pickleball Courts hosted an 85 participant tournament this weekend.
Recreation Staff and Steve Smith met with consultants regarding the design of the Town Madison Park sand volleyball courts.
Shade structures have been installed at the Pickleball Courts at Town Madison Park. We are now in-process of putting benches and artificial grass under the structures.
Our Summer Day Care program is now maxed out at 150 slots.
MARS averaged 176 trips per week during the three weeks.
Congratulations to our HR team and the over 50 participants of the City Hall training sessions last week.
IT received 217 work orders during the three weeks, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.

The Trash Pandas are back in town this week, we hope the weather is favorable. Let’s have a great week….thanks for all that you do to help make Madsion a great city to live in and work.

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

May 5th to 19th

Happy Sunday Afternoon,

I hope everyone has enjoyed this beautiful day. I see a whole lot of yard work going on as I commute through the city.

We have enjoyed a couple of busy and productive weeks, here are a few of the highlights.

Our inaugural Civic Awareness Academy is now complete, with graduates receiving their certificates at last Monday’s Council meeting. The program received high marks and we look forward to starting the wheels in motion for the Fall class.
Our Facilities and Grounds team completed 47 work order requests this week, including installing the water and sewer lines for the bathroom at Sunshine Oaks.
Our Building team shared that permitting created 192 permits, issued 202 permits, and the inspection division performed 1029 inspections over the two weeks.
Code Enforcement performed 86 inspections/re-inspections, created 29 new cases and removed 115 signs out of the right of way.
Our Madison Police Department responded to 2270 calls for service, made 79 arrests, gave 159 tickets, and issued 178 warnings throughout the two weeks.
The Madison Police Honor Guard participated in the Fraternal Order of Police Annual Law Enforcement Memorial Event in Huntsville with Chief Gandy, Captain Allen, Captain Anderson, and Captain McRae also in attendance.
IT received 173 work orders during the two weeks, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
Our Fire Marshalls Office permitted 29 new construction inspections, bringing their total to 448 in FY24. They also completed 109 annual fire inspections, bringing their FY24 total to 1544.
Madison Fire and Rescue responded to 238 incidents, 188 of which were EMS related.
MARS completed 177 trips and Dublin had 1205 paid/member visits during the two weeks.
Our Court team shared that they opened 290 cases, closed 288 cases, and issued 63 warrants during the two weeks.
Our Human Resources team, working with Recreation and the Mayor’s office, developed the facility, programming, and field maintenance staffing plan for Recreation, gaining Council approval last week.
Our Madison Chamber put on a Spotlight on Healthcare Program, with Madison Hospital President Mary Lyne Wright as keynote.
Neighborhood paving has ramped back up starting in Homestead Subdivision (Tumbleweed Drive, Medicine Bend Drive/Court, and Sleepy Hollow Lane/Court). Paving will continue with Meadow View Subdivision (Bluebelle Drive, Sarah Hughes Drive, Daffodil Circle, Geranium Drive, and Wren Court) as well as Thomas Drive, Griggs Road, and Concord Drive over the next few weeks.
Madison Visionary Partners led our new mural unveilings in Historic Downtown Madison. Approved by our newly formed Mural Advisory Committee they are a fantastic addition.
Several of us attended Governor Ivey’s Alabama State Update. One great piece of news she discussed is that the state is in-process of letting the bid to finalize the 6-laning of I-565 between Wall Triana and County Line.

Looks like a week of nice weather, gradations, and the end of school. Let’s have a great week.

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

May 20th to June 2nd

Happy Sunday Afternoon,

As we roll into June, I hope everyone has had an enjoyable weekend. We had a lot going on during the two weeks, here are just a few of the highlights.

The City Honored our Employee of the Year winners at our City Council Meeting. Congratulations Joshua Overman from Police, Luke Hall from Fire, and Candace Watson from 9-1-1.
Some new restaurants to try this summer: Banana Leaves Asian Restaurant & Sushi Bar is in the Best Western Hotel on Madison Boulevard; Lost Pizza Company just opened across the street in Hughes Plaza; and coming soon is Peach Cobbler Factory, which will be in the Publix center on Hughes Road.
Our Facilities and Grounds team shared that they completed 46 work orders during the two weeks including Fire Station 2 improvements (locks, garage door, and exhaust fan), adding electrical service to our new restrooms at Sunshine Oaks, and fixing a roof leak at the Wellness Center.
Building shared that they created 226 permits, issued 192 permits, and the inspection division performed 712 inspections this week.
Code Enforcement performed 117 inspections/re-inspections, created 61 new cases, and removed 47 signs out of the right of way.
Our Court team shared that they opened 282 cases, closed 299 cases, and issued 59 warrants during the two weeks.
IT received 85 work orders this week, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests. A total of 362 work orders were submitted to IT for the month May.
IT repaired the wireless network at Dublin Outdoor pool allowing the outdoor pool to take credit card payments now.
Our Madison Police Department responding to 2431 calls for service, made 101 arrests, issued 183 citations, and gave 218 warning during the two weeks.
Congratulations to Lt. Christie Gover on her retirement after 25 years with MPD!
Madison Fire and Rescue shared that they responded to 240 incidents during the two weeks, 190 of which were EMS related.
Our Public Works team was busy completing sidewalk repairs on Antique Rose, Tohee Lane, Hatley Lane, Manor Drive, Park Square during the week.
Dublin Park is in full swing with the outdoor pool, summer day camp programs, and various sports camps/classes started. The opening weekend of the pool had 588 patrons.
Scoreboards have been installed at the Town Madison Softball fields and the path has been paved to the 23A building parking lot.
Picnic tables finally arrived and were installed at the Kid’s Kingdom playground.

Our Trash Pandas are back in town this week and the weather should be nicer….let’s have a fantastic week!

Thanks for all that you do for Madison and our employees.

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

June 2nd to 16th

Happy Sunday and Happy Father’s Day to all our fathers!

We have enjoyed a productive two weeks, here are just a few of the highlights.

Our community celebrated our Armed Forces throughout the week. We started with a joint proclamation, then enjoyed Gen. Mohan’s remarks at the Armed Forces luncheon and played a community softball game, and ended with a celebration breakfast and dinner. Thanks to all our employees who have served in our Armed Forces or have had a family member serve.
Our Facilities and Grounds team completed 43 work orders during the week, including changing out the letters on the Welcome to Madison sign on Hughes and Madison Blvd, as well as completed multiple HVAC issues at several facilities.
Revenue shared that our sales tax collected in April 2024 decreased by 5.38% as compared to the amount collected in April 2023. However, the year-to-date collections have increased by 4.76% as compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.
The first two businesses have opened in the Village at Oakland Springs: Nava Aesthetics and Resplendent Boutique! Additional businesses are in the planning stages.
Our Building team shared that they created 212 permits, issued 232 permits, and the inspection division performed 814 inspections during the two weeks.
Code Enforcement performed 91 inspections/re-inspections, created 43 new cases, and removed 37 signs out of the right of way during the two weeks.
Our Court team shared that they opened 337 cases, closed 265 cases, and issued 189 warrants during the two weeks.
Our Madison Police had two busy weeks as they responded to 2348 calls for service, made 97 arrests, issued 174 citations, and gave 205 warnings.
We had 87 campers at our School Resource Officers Kid’s Camp last week.
Our Public Works CIP team worked on the south parking lot at the Community Center and the Browns Ferry/Burgreen roundabout, moving both projects forward.
Public Works also cleaned out double digit ditches and repaired multiple sidewalks during the two weeks.
Congratulations to Recreation employees Randy D’Herde (Operations Superintendent), Stephanie Elmore (Program Superintendent), and Christine Cox (Administrative Assistant) on their promotions to these key positions.
Our Recreation summer day camp at Dublin averaged 85 attendees each day last week.
Dublin Park had 1257 member visits and 2229 visitor visits during the two weeks.
IT received 181 work orders during the two weeks, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
Our Fire Marshall’s office shared that they 1059 annual fire inspections in FY24.
Madison Fire and Rescue responded to 270 calls for service, 203 of which were EMS related.

It is hard to believe we are already ½ way through June….wow! I appreciate each of you and hope that we have a great week.

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

June 16th to 30th

Happy Friday Afternoon!

Summer is fully upon us, and this looks to be another hot June weekend. It is unbelievable that the year is ½ over. I hope everyone stays cool and enjoys a full weekend of enjoyment.

Our team has been busy during the past two weeks, here are just a few of the highlights:

City Council held a community listening session concerning the upcoming FY25 budget. In addition, council held a work session to discuss capital project progress along with Engineering’s upcoming priorities for FY25 and FY26.
We recognized the Bob Jones High School 7-A State Baseball Champions at our 6/24 council meeting. Great group of young men who ended the year 41-9 and ranked as high as 4^th in the nation.
Our Madison Police shared that they responded to 2652 calls for service, made 86 arrests, issued 223 citations, and gave 295 warnings during the two weeks.
Detectives Taylor-Duncan and Officers Hyatt, Kern, and Stease taught a class of 15 ladies in Rape, Aggression, and Defense this week.
Our School Resource Officers conducted the 2^nd and 3^rd weeks of Kid’s Camp, with 137 campers during the two weeks.
Our HR department conducted training sessions for city supervisors with a focus on workman’s comp situations.
In recent weeks, council has approved several large projects including the Browns Ferry/Burgreen roundabout, the Browns Ferry Bridge replacement just west of Mose Chapel, and the Mill Road ditch stabilization project.
The Senior Center team shared that they had 49 new members in June and a total of 1789 event sign-ins during the two weeks.
MARS completed 167.
Dublin enjoyed 656 member visits and 1314 walk-ins.
The pavilions, bathroom, and playground are in at Sunshine Oaks and the 2^nd half of the parking lot has started.
Our Public Works CIP team made substantial progress on the grading and driveway for the south parking lot at our Community Center.
Public Works completed 12 sidewalk repairs and improved multiple visibility issues throughout the city. They also cleaned up multiple illegal dump sites throughout the city.
Our Fire Marshals office shared that they have permitted 396 new construction permits in FY24.
Our Community Risk Reduction team hosted a group of 20 home schoolers, giving them a tour of the station, run through the smoke house, and ending with a fire safety talk.
Madison Fire and Rescue shared that they responded to 270 incidents, 240 of which were EMS related.
IT received 170 work orders this week, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
Our Court team shared that they opened 330 cases, closed 316 cases, and issued 115 warrants during the two weeks.
Our Building team shared that they created 239 permits, issued 195 permits, and the inspection team performed 777 inspections during the two weeks.
Code Enforcement performed 60 inspections/re-inspections, created 32 new cases, and removed 50 signs out of the right of way.

As I close, I again want to thank each of you for all that you do to help make Madison a great place to live, work, and play. Please be safe and enjoy your weekend.

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

In Closing

As always, I will be updating this blog every couple of weeks. Please check back during the the second quarter of 2024 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!

Second Quarter 2024

Second Quarter 2024

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