Green-up, Clean-up Day 🌼
Madison’s Annual Green Up, Clean Up Day is tomorrow, Saturday, April 29^th from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. rain or shine. This community event has been helping to resolve the problem of roadside litter for many years now. Check-in for registered groups starts at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 29^th at Memorial Town Hall, 8 Meetinghouse Lane or Roberts Food Center in the North Madison Shopping Center. Pick up your supplies: bags, gloves, and safety vests for the children and then GO TO WORK!

Town Strategic Plan 
May begins a town-wide initiative to develop a 10-year strategic plan. A strategic plan will establish Madison’s overall, long-term vision for the future, serve as a roadmap to meet community goals and objectives, and guide future budgets and capital plans. We will be offering a number of ways residents can participate in the strategic planning process, including community workshops, surveys and focus groups, among others. Please check the town website in the coming month to find out ways to participate in this important initiative. 

As part of this process, the Madison Board of Selectmen is seeking volunteers with unique skills, experience or talents to assist in the plan development process to serve on the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee. The role of this committee is to assist in the development of the strategic plan and offer feedback and guidance to the Board of Selectmen and the Strategic Planning Working Group. For more information on the charge of the committee or to apply, please visit our website. Applications are due by May 4^th.

Budget Referendum on May 16 
A reminder that the Annual Budget Referendum will be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Details on the proposed Budget is available at www.madisonct.org/budget. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. District 1 voting will be at Polson Middle School, 302 Green Hill Road and District 2 voting will be at Brown Intermediate School, 980 Durham Rd. Absentee ballots are now available in the Town Clerk’s office. Information on getting an absentee ballot or other information on voting can be found by contacting the Town Clerk at 203-245-5672; or by visiting the Town Clerk’s webpage www.madisonct.org/vote .

Geographic Information System
The Assessor's website has been updated with a link to AxisGIS. The Geographic Information System (GIS) provides access to geographic and tax record information maintained by the Town of Madison, Connecticut and CAI Technologies. For your convenience a quick link is also posted to the bottom of the town website homepage. 

Summer 2023 Beach Stickers
Beach parking stickers for residents are now available for purchase online, through the mail, or in person at the Beach & Rec office at the Surf Club. A reminder that parking stickers or daily parking passes will be required at all three Town beaches starting Memorial Day on weekends only, and seven days a week starting on Monday, June 19^th through Labor Day. Please visit the Town website for more information on pricing and ways to purchase a sticker.

Beach & Recreation Projects
Please note that the Town will be undertaking a number of public improvement projects at different recreation facilities. This may mean some facilities will be unavailable for public use for a short period of time during construction. This includes:

• Surf Club Playground: Work began on the Surf Club Playground this week.  This project will take a week or two to complete.   Please do not enter the playground during construction. While under construction, please make use of other playgrounds in Town.
  1. Rockland Playground:  Located on Route 79 across from Samantha Drive.  Open 7 days a week
  2. Town Campus Playground:  8 Campus Drive.  Open after 3 p.m. M-F and all day on weekends
  3. Brown School Playground:  980 Durham Road.  Open after 3:30 p.m. M-F and all day on weekends
  4. Ryerson School Playground:  982 Durham Road.  Open after 6 p.m. M-F and all day on weekends
• Academy Playground: The Town will be replacing the wood chips with playground rubber mulch and will be closed Wednesday April 26^th through Friday April 28^th.
• Salt Meadow Dog Park: The Dog Park is on schedule to be completed by the beginning of May. Look for more information about a Grand Opening soon.
• Town Tennis Courts: Repairs and maintenance are in process.

Food Waste Co-collection Pilot Program Launch
Next week starts the launch of Madison’s food waste co-collection pilot program. All residents selected to participate in the program should have received a communication from the program and received a delivery of colored trash bags at your home. Trash and food waste pick-up service is expected to begin next week by your current trash hauler. I want to apologize for some of the confusion that occurred earlier this week on bag deliveries, information links, etc. as the program was being rolled out. If you continue to encounter any issues or have questions or concerns, please contact the Madison Public Works Department at (203) 245-5611. You can also find information on the program at https://reducethetrashct.com/madison/

Have a great weekend Madison!

Peggy Lyons
First Selectwoman