First Quarter 2025

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you have had a great start to your new year. It was wonderful to have a couple of snow days to enjoy. Many thanks to our wonderful Public Works team who worked overnight and through the day to keep our roads cleared. Thank you also to the folks that stayed home. I am pleased and grateful to report that we had no major accidents during Snowmageddon! Now let’s get to it!

Reelection Announcement

I have sent this Press Release on February 21st to area news outlets:

Today, Maura Wroblewski, Madison Council Member for District One announced her reelection campaign. Wroblewski has been on the Madison City Council since 2016.

Among her accomplishments, along with the support of Mayor Finley and the City Council, and future projects planned within her District are: the Wall Triana Multi-Use path that was completed in 2018. It is an integral part of the Mill Creek Greenway. The Greenway starts at the Mill Creek Dog park on Balch Road and when completed will wind between the Foxfield and Oakstone subdivisions and end at the Bridgefield entrance on Wall Triana. The traffic circle (or commonly referred to as a roundabout) at the intersection of Gillespie and Balch Road was spearheaded by Wroblewski and supported by Mayor Finley and the Madison City Council. There are plans for future roundabouts on Balch Road at Gooch Road as well as at Brown’s Ferry Road near the dog park.

The new Madison Community Center is in Wroblewski‘s district at 1329 Browns Ferry Road. Wroblewski said, “We were able to take a detriment with the previous Three Spring juvenile detention facility and turn it into a wonderful quality of life amenity for our entire community.“ While this is also the location of the Madison Senior Center, the new community center will have activities for everyone from children to our senior population.

Since 2016, Council Member Wroblewski has seen the addition of Town Madison. Town Madison has brought us the Rocket City, Trash Pandas, restaurants, and shopping. Said Wroblewski, “It all started with Duluth Trading Company and now we have more opportunities for Madison residents, and visitors to enjoy wonderful restaurants and shopping at BJ’s and other retail stores.

With several Council members not seeking reelection, and a new incoming Mayor, it will be critical to maintain leadership and historical knowledge. The Madison municipal election will be on Tuesday, August 26.

Poll Workers needed

The Madison Municipal Election will be on Tuesday, August 26th. Polls are open from 7 am to 7 pm. If you think you might be interested in srving, please fill out this form: WorkThePolls

Council Redistricting

Every ten years, the United States Constitution mandates that all municipalities redraw their legislative boundaries based on Census results. In 2020 we have had a major shift due to the growth on the west side of Madison. Specifically Districts 2 and 4 had an overabundance of residents and the rest of our districts had less. So now District 1 will go into Limestone County. Here is the map:
CouncilDistricts. If you live in the Madison County portion of District 1 you will continue to vote at Faith Lutheran Church at 660 Gillespie Road. If you live in the Limestone County portion of District 1, you will vote at James Clemens High School at 11306 County Line Road. The students at JC will have a virtual learning day so there will be plenty of parking!

Municipal Candidates

I am starting to be asked who else is running in the Municipal Election. Here are two Facebook pages that I have found so far. David Bier (District 2) DavidBier and Kenneth Jackson (District 7) KennethJackson.

Spring Civic Awareness Academy

We will be hosting our third Civic Awareness Academy this spring. Traci Gillespie, our Economics and External Affairs Officer will again be leading this fabulous program!

The program will be taking applications beginning on January 21st. Please click on this link on January 21st. Register then, this class is limited to 30 Madison residents and pots fill up fast!

The Madison Civic Awareness Academy, held every Spring and Fall, will be an engaging 6-week discovery program for Madison residents that provides participants with an in-depth look at the City of Madison. Participants will be given an insider’s view into the roles of municipal government, city operations, programs, departments and services, emerging issues, and volunteer opportunities. Participants will be encouraged to share their thoughts and discuss concerns during the round-robin part of each session.

The academy may include guest speakers, classroom instruction, civic simulations, class discussion/ engagement activities and facility tours within the City of Madison. Sessions will be conducted in-person.

Scheduled Spring 2025 Dates:

Orientation: March 21st 5:30pm-7pm

March 28th 5:30pm-8pm Our City at Work

April 4th 5:30pm-8pm Our City is Protected

April 11th 5:30pm-8pm Our City is Maintaining

April 18th 5:30pm-8pm Our City is Playing

April 25th 5:30pm-8pm Our City is Growing

May 2nd 5:30pm-8pm Our City is Leading

Graduation: May 13th 6pm

More information can be found here

Mayor Finley Reports

December 22- January 5th

Happy 2025!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and New Years. Our City of Madison team accomplished a lot during the holidays, here are just a few of highlights.

For 2024, the Planning Department processed over 160 applications through the various boards and commissions, over 300 zoning compliance requests, and reviewed numerous building and signs permits in addition to responding to other inquiries and working on other projects. Notable businesses opening in 2024 included: Blue Apple Books, Favorite Things and Humphrey Brother’s Bistro & Lounge in the downtown; nine other new eating and drinking establishments; three child day care centers; the first two businesses in the Village at Oakland Springs; and a variety of other businesses throughout the city. Planning appreciatively works with staff from Building, Engineering, Fire, and Madison Utilities to move projects through to the finish line.
Our Revenue team shared that sales tax collected in December 2024 increased by 0.16% compared to December 2023. The year-to-date collections have decreased by 1.06% compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.
Our Facilities and Grounds team has replaced multiple lights throughout the City Hall complex. Also, during the two weeks they completed 45 work orders.
Madison Police shared that they responded to 2217 calls for service, made 98 arrests, issued 163 citations, and gave 183 warnings during the two weeks.
Our Court team shared that they opened 8,745 cases and closed 7,518 in 2024, our highest numbers since before Covid.
Our Public Works team has been busy cleaning out multiple ditches and beaver dams, along with working on several sidewalk and curb improvements.
Madison Fire and Rescue shared that they responded to 262 incidents during the two weeks, 214 of which were EMS related.
We are excited that Kelli Bracci has joined us as our Director of Human Resources and she has hit the ground running, meeting with multiple Department Heads and Directors.
HR also shared that we are currently at 88% participation for Wellness Screenings (our goal is 92%) and that all Benefit Plan Maintenance has been completed. Thanks to our HR team for their long hours on these projects.
Our annual street sweeping project was approved by Council and will start in late January.
IT received 91 work orders during the two weeks, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
We have set the date for the Grand Opening of our Madison Community Center for Thursday January 9^th at 10:00.
Dates have been set for our Spring Civic Awareness Academy. Applications will start being accepted January 21 and the class will start March 20.

As I close, I again want to thank you for all that you do for our Madison community.

Stay warm and hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend.

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

January 24th to February 9th

Happy Super Bowl Sunday,

I hope each of you has had a great week and that you are ready for a fantastic game tonight. As with many of you I look forward to the commercials as much as the game!

We had a great deal going on during the last couple of weeks….here are just a few of the highlights.

The City held a groundbreaking for our new Public Safety Annex including Fire Station 4. In addition to Fire Station 4 our Madison Police have close to 20,000 sq ft to spread out, and our IT Department will have much needed expanded office and workspace. sales tax collected in January 2025 decreased by 0.55% compared to January 2024. The year-to-date collections have decreased by 0.91% compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.

Our Building and Grounds team is already working with the architects on retrofitting City Hall once these initial expansions take place.
Our final (and largest pavilion) has been constructed at Sunshine Oaks Park and weather permitting Public Works will pour the concrete next week. This is our final step in the Sunshine Oaks Phase 1 project, which will culminate in a ribbon cutting later in February.
IT received 176 work orders the two weeks, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
Our Revenue team shared that the sales tax collected in January 2025 decreased by 0.55% compared to January 2024. The year-to-date collections have decreased by 0.91% compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.
Madison Police shared that they responded to 2252 calls for service, made 99 arrests, issued 123 tickets, and gave 230 warnings during the two weeks.
MPD’s Communications Division has concluded a nearly two year long process of increasing training requirements to meet the new state minimum standards of training requirement. This process included increased CEU’s, attending state sponsored classes, as well as sending all new, uncertified Dispatchers to a state sponsored minimum standards course. As of the end of January all division personnel now meet this new standard…..congratulations!
Our Court team shared that they opened 278 cases, closed 354 cases, and issued 31 warrants during the two weeks.
The Browns Ferry culvert project has the first layer of asphalt (binder) in place. The final pieces to complete are some final dress up actions, add top asphalt layer, and complete the striping. Our goal is a late February opening.
Paving is done on Madison Blvd. There are some daily lane closures at Hughes to add turns lanes for the development on the south side of that intersection as well as in front of the Circle K. We will work with the contractor to get the lanes re-open by 3pm every afternoon.
The construction area bypass road for the Mill Road Stabilization project has started.
Resurfacing has begun for Research Blvd.
Last week we held the pre-bid meeting for the Mill Road Sidewalks project.
This past week we held the bid opening for Segers/Maecille improvements. We expect to award this at the 2/10 Council Meeting.
Next week we have the bid opening for the Mill Road Sidewalk project
Last Friday, we submitted our MS4 Annual Report to ADEM. This is an explanation of all the ways the City meets our MS4 (stormwater) permit. It will be posted to the Engineering website soon.
Balch Road has been re-striped. Reflectors will be replaced once the weather is warm enough for the epoxy to stick.
We are continuing to work with utility providers to get various telecommunication services relocated at the Huntsville-Brownsferry/Burgreen Roundabout.
Our Senior Center added 120 new members in January.
The Senior Center started new classes in Chair Yoga, Chair Zumba, and Learning Quest Presentation with 74 participants.
Madison Fire and Rescue shared that they responded to 276 incidents, 232 of which were EMS related.
Our Facilities and Grounds team responded to 90 work orders during the two weeks including working with our safety team to install Bleed Bags throughout the city hall complex.
Our Public Works team continues to build out the new parking lot at the Westco fields in Palmer Park and laying footers for the sidewalk extension on Segars Road.
Many of us celebrated the ribbon cutting for the new Bellhouse venue at the corner of Bradley and Sullivan. This is the first of what we hope is many openings for the Matthews family.

As I close, I also want to share the enjoyment many of us experienced last Friday helping Terri Purdue celebrate her birthday. As you know Terri is our Crossing Gurad that was injured last year while on duty. She is healing, and along with her son Jimmy they were so grateful for all that showed up and continue to send positive messages. Madison has so much happening right now and I am so thankful for each of you and the role you play in making our city the best it can be.

Let’s have a great week!

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

February 10th to 23rd

City of Madison Team,

Happy Monday morning to everyone. It was a cool but enjoyable weekend with lots of activities throughout Madison.

We had a very busy two weeks, here are just a few of the highlights.

The Planning Commission approved the City’s new comprehensive plan, Madison on Track 2045, this week, capping a multi-year planning effort. The plan will guide development and public infrastructure decisions for the next twenty years and is the result of analysis, extensive outreach, and public input. Thanks go to the project’s 19 member Advisory Committee, City staff that contributed to the document, members of the public that participated in the process, and the Planning Commission.
Madison Fire and Rescue responded to 260 incidents, 221 of which were EMS related during the two weeks.
Our Court team shared that they opened 249 cases, closed 264 cases, and issued 56 warrants during the two weeks.
Our Code Enforcement team created 27 new cases and removed 53 signs out of the right of way.
Our Building team shared that they created 275 permits and issued 277, while the inspection division performed 621 inspections during the two weeks.
Madison Police shared that they responded to 2074 calls for service, made 89 arrests, issued 112 citations, and gave 152 warnings during the two weeks.
Our Madison Senior Center has had 46 new members join in February to date.
New fitness classes are being offered at the Town Madison Wellness Center. Participants can sign up for Circuit Training, Intro to Lifting, Pilates, Barre, Mantra Yoga, or Caribbean Cardio and classes begin soon.
The Parks and Recreation app continues to add downloads, with over 2000 to date.
Our Youth Volleyball program signups just ended with over 170 participants.
Lisa Thomas and the City Clerk team are deep into preparation for the 2025 City of Madison Municipal Election. Currently we are seeking additional poll workers for all eight voting locations for the August election.
IT received 174 work orders as well as multiple calls and in-person requests during the two weeks.
The City of Madison received our largest SSUT (internet sales tax) installment in February of over $560,000, $80,000+ of which went to our Madison City Schools.
Our Communications team started a bi-weekly podcast designed to shared information and upcoming events with our community.
Toyota Field hosted the Rocket City Classic softball tournament, transitioning Toyota Field into a softball field. Eight teams, including four SEC team played during the week and high school games start today.

With no rain in the forecast and sunshine bright this morning we are hoping to dry out and have a fantastic week.

Thanks for all that you do to help make Madison a fantastic place to live. Let’s have a great week!

February 24th to March 2nd

Happy Monday to Everyone,

I hope all of you had a great weekend, the weather certainly was enjoyable with sunshine throughout. We had plenty going on last week, here are just a few of the highlights:

Madison was well represented in Montgomery last week as the Madison Chamber partnered with the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber to attend events that allowed us to communicate our city and community needs to our State Legislators. Along with Council members Connie Spears, Ranee Bartlett, and John Siefert and Governmental Affairs liaison Traci Gillespie, we communicated roads, stadium mandate, school, safety, and multiple other needs Madison and our surrounding community continue to see need for as we grow. We also thanked them for the $$$ that they have helped us secure in the past few years.
The Rocket City Showcase at Toyota Field was a huge success! Congratulations to the Trash Panda/CVB/Madison team. The field conversion from baseball to softball back to baseball went smoothly and all concerns were erased.
The second installment of Inside City Hall is now available. You can find it on YouTube or on Spotify.
The bridge on Browns Ferry just west of Mose Chapel is now open. Additional lighting and final touches are all that is left to finish.
IT received 88 work orders this week, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
Our Madison Public Safety Annex continues to come along with a goal of moving our Police and I.T. teams into the facility late June.
Our Madison Senior Center had 81 new members join in February. This brings the total to 389 new memberships since the facility opened in October.
A reminder that our Madison Parks and Recreation app is ready to download, allowing you to manage your Recreation needs 24/7. We had 91 downloads last week and are well over 2000 since adding the functionality. Download the app on the Apple App Store or on the Google Play Store.
Our Public Works CIP team backfilled and laid the final sod for the Segers Road Sidewalk project. In addition, they framed 390’ and poured 140’ of sidewalk at Palmer Park.
We had an incredible community call-to-action success with over 60 new poll worker applications for our upcoming August 2025 elections. Our City Clerk team will now use this list to fill any/all positions.
We held two pre-bid meetings, one for the ERP package at Toyota Field and one for our Landscaping contract.
We opened bids for our Celtic Drive training tower site work project. Our team is investigating next steps.
Multiple plumbing issues were dealt with at Dublin Park, Palmer Park, Celtic Drive, and the Wellness Center to name a few.
Facilities and Grounds shared that a new generator at Fire Station 1 was installed, allowing backup power for the entire facility. This was 1 of 42 work orders processed last week.
Madison Fire and Rescue responded to 153 incidents last week, 125 of which were EMS related.
Our Court team shared that they opened 238 cases, closed 206 cases, and issued 14 warrants last week.
Our Building team shared that they created 109 permits, issued 82 permits, and the inspection team performed 230 inspections.
Code Enforcement created 13 new cases and removed 15 signs out of the right of way.
Madison Police shared that they responded to 1227 calls for service, made 46 arrests, issued 169 citations, and gave 126 warnings during the week.
Our Contractor is in-process of replacing the roof on the old Wann House.
We met with ALDOT concerning the Town Madison Interchange and continue to work towards an end of the month opening.

It is hard to believe we are already in March and less than a week away from daylight savings time. Let’s have another great week and roll into Spring Break (and soon NCAA Basketball Postseason) with some strong positive momentum.

Thanks for all that you do for our employees and citizens!

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

March 2nd to 9th

Happy Sunday Afternoon,

Madison had a lot going on last week, here are a few of the highlights:

The Rotary Club hosted a Mardi Gras party at the Madison Community Center on Tuesday, March 4. Over 85 seniors attended.
The Senior Center had over 100 seniors attend the travel club meeting. The first trip is scheduled to the Ark in Kentucky. Also, 84 new members joined the Senior Center in February.
Progress continues on Madison Blvd. New signal poles & mast arms are now in place at the Sullivan intersection and the turn lane is constructed in front of Terrame Spa. Permanent striping is scheduled for the week of March 17. That leaves only the work to be on the turn lanes and the signal improvements at the Hughes intersection to support the Aldi Center.
Construction has begun on the Palmer Park pedestrian bridges reconnecting the Bradford Creek Greenway to the eastern soccer complex.
This week we held the pre-construction meeting for the Segers & Maecille improvements. Tree clearing for utility relocation should start in the next couple of weeks. There will be daily road/lane closures for this clearing work.
Our Building team shared that permitting created 89 permits, issued 73 permits, and the inspection team performed 211 inspections last week.
Our Court team shared that they opened 136 cases, closed 182 cases, and issued 29 warrants last week.
IT received 95 work orders this week, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
Our Facilities and Grounds team completed 43 work orders last week. One of their larger projects is the landscaping replacement at City Hall, giving us a much-needed fresh look.
Our Madison Fire and Rescue Community Risk Reduction team set up a table at Discovery Middle School STEM night and taught “stop the bleed” and hands only CPR, along with bringing the fire truck.
Madison Fire and Rescue responded to 131 incidents, 102 of which were EMS related during the week.
Revenue shared that the sales tax collected in February 2025 decreased by 2.48% compared to February 2024. The year-to-date collections have decreased by 1.19% compared to the same period last year.
MARS completed 151 trips this week. Dublin Park, the Madison Community Center, and Town Madison Wellness Center had a total of 1098 visits this week.
Our City Clerk team continues to prepare for our August 2025 Municipal elections. They are working hand and hand with our Communications team to make sure all key information and deadlines are communicated early and often.
Work continues on the parking lot and drainage improvements at Palmer Park. Public Works poured another 250’ of concrete for the sidewalk.
Our Madison Police responded to 986 calls for service, made 45 arrests, issued 43 tickets, and gave 42 warnings during the week.

Thank you for all that you do for our citizens and employees. For those on Spring Break enjoy…..we sure will enjoy the light traffic!

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

March 10th to 23rd

What a great weekend of NCAA basketball with seven SEC teams making it to the Sweet Sixteen!

We had a lot going on in the City of Madison during the last two weeks, here are just a few of the highlights:

The City of Madison, along with ALDOT, held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the full 565/Town Madison Interchange on Friday. Special thanks to Michael Johnson and Steve Smith for their weekly management and for our Madison Police for their many nights of traffic support.
The City of Madison held a ribbon cutting ceremony last week to officially open the Sunshine Oaks complex. Special thanks to our recreation, public works, engineering, Facilities and Grounds, and Mayor’s Office teams (among many others) for their time and efforts in bringing this to fruition.
Our City of Madison team prepared for and managed a full weekend of possible severe weather. We were blessed we had minimal damage but ready “just in case”!
IT received 170 work orders this week, as well as multiple calls and in-person requests.
Our third Civic Awareness Academy kicked off with orientation held at the Madison Community Center. The group will meet the next six Thursday nights before coming to a Council meeting for closing ceremonies.
Our IT Department has started installing computers in the Building Department’s inspector and code enforcement vehicles.
Madison Fire and Rescue responded to 278 calls for service, 223 of which were EMS related during the two weeks.
Our Madison Fire and Rescue Community Risk Reduction team started neighborhood canvasing, passing our fire safety information. They also supported the JCHS career track program.
All ALS apparatus and equipment passed state inspection with no issues per Acting Fire Chief Brandy Williams..
Our Court team opened 306 cases, closed 354 cases, and issued 116 warrants during the two weeks.
Code Enforcement created 39 new cases and removed 166 signs out of the right of way.
Our Building team shared that they opened 67 cases, closed 174 cases, and the inspection division performed 484 inspections during the two weeks.
Detective Taylor-Duncan, Officers Hyatt, Kern and Stease and ACO Posey conducted a RAD class for 34 ladies this week.
Our Madison Police shared that they responded to 2019 calls for service, made 78 arrests, issued 102 tickets, and gave 131 warnings during the two weeks.
Our recreation programs team has added badminton nets and lines for Sunday play at the Wellness Center.
The Air Supported Structure at Dublin Park has completed another season and has now been dismantled and stored.
We are “in-design” of adding a large parking lot on the Senior Center side of the Community Center. We hope to have this completed in Q2.
New playground equipment has been installed and is in use at Leathertree Park.
The Madison Senior Center had 2955 sign-ins during the two weeks.
Our Public Works CIP team finished concrete work at Sunshine Oake, and laid drainpipe and installed 6 drain boxes at the Celtic Drive Training Facility.
Our City Clerk and Communications team beefed up our Candidate page on the City Clerk website.

Hopefully the rain and cold are behind us and Spring can kick into gear. Madison is a great city to live, work, and play!

Respectfully,

Mayor Finley

Browns Ferry Bridge Replacement

If all goes to plan and Mother Nature cooperates the Browns Ferry Bridge could open this Friday, February 28th! There is some rain in the forecast on Thursday that could delay the final asphalt pouring and temporary striping but things are looking encouraging!

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!

First Quarter 2025