Burlington Spotlight
October 2005

MEETINGS

10/04 5:30 p.m. Community Development Authority 10/20 6:30 p.m. Park Board
10/04 6:30 p.m. City Council 10/24 4:00 p.m. Library Board
10/05 6:30 p.m. Police & Fire Commission 10/27 6:00 p.m. Airport Committee
10/11 6:30 p.m. Plan Commission 10/27 6:30 p.m. Historic Preservation Commission
10/18 6:30 p.m. City Council      

See our website for updated agendas & minutes

 

Trick or Treat - Sunday, October 30th from 3-5 P.M.

Remember to be safe and always check all candy before eating

 

OCTOBER LIBRARY ADULT BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

 

Join the Burlington Public Library Adult Book Discussion Group on Monday, Oct. 24 at 7:00pm for a discussion of THE CLARINET POLKA by Keith Maillard. The year is 1969 and young Jimmy Koprowski returns from his stint in the Air Force to Raysburg, his blue-collar Polish-American hometown, where nothing much happens beyond working at the steel mill, going to Mass, and getting drunk at the local PAC. But things change when his sister decides to start an all-girl polka band and Jimmy falls for the band's star clarinetist. The threads of Jimmy's family life, the legacy of World War II Poland, and the healing power of music, language, and tradition all begin to converge. This novel is a stunning portrait of Polish America and of one man's struggle to find meaning in his life and roots.

 

FALL REMINDERS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

 

LEAF COLLECTION
Leaf pick up begins the end of September and continues through mid-November (weather permitting). Leaves should be raked into the gutter. It is advisable to rake them 6-8" out from the edge of curb to allow storm water to flow unobstructed.

 

BRUSH PICK UP
Local, at the curb, brush pick-up is a service offered to our residents, on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, to help with the removal of brush and larger branches. In order for this service to be cost effective, we only pick up brush that has been called in. Please call 763-2060 to have your address placed on the Brush pick up list each time that you need this service. Unfortunately if you do not call in your address, your brush will not be picked up. Please call in your address for a pick-up by no later then the prior Tuesday, and place your brush and larger branches next to, but not on, the street next to your home on Tuesday evening before the Wednesday pick-up.

 

COMPOST AREA
The Compost Area located on Maryland Avenue is a valuable asset to the City of Burlington, and is open daily. There are designated areas for you to drop off your yard waste, leaves, brush, branches, oil and antifreeze. Also available free of charge at this site are wood chips and compost.

Concrete, building materials, appliances, carpet and any garbage may not be dumped off at the Compost site. When these materials are dropped off at the compost area then the taxpayer ends up paying to have the items removed. So please remember that Onyx, the City's residential garbage collector, will pick up these materials at your home and the service is free of charge. You must contact Onyx at 1-800-232-0860 to arrange for a pick up.

PARKS CLOSE OCTOBER 1ST
The Park Board will officially close all of the City's parks on October 1st. While you may continue to enjoy their beauty and other amenities, we must shut off water supplies to restrooms to prevent pipes from freezing. The Riverwalk restrooms will remain open throughout the winter.

Park reservations for 2006 can be made after January 1st. Arrangements can be made by stopping at the Department of Public Works located at 824 Milwaukee Avenue. Questions regarding park reservations can be answered by calling the Department of Public Works at 763-2060. Reservations are on a first come first served basis.

 

HOUSEHOLD WATER USAGE

 

Total water usage in the home will vary depending on lawn watering practices and also on whether a home has a washing machine and a dishwasher. The U.S. average is about 50 gallons per person per day. In Burlington, the average for residential customers is about 60 gallons per person per day. Of this amount, less than one (1) percent is used for cooking and drinking purposes. Toilet flushing is by far the largest single use of water in the home. Many older toilets use from 5 to 6 gallons of water for each flush. The new water saver type toilets will use about 3-1/2 gallons per flush.

Excluding summer sprinkling, a typical family of four (4) people will use an average of 20,000 gallons of water per quarter. If you find that your household usage far exceeds this amount on your quarterly billing, you may wish to examine your family's usage practices, or the home's plumbing fixtures, which may be leaking, or otherwise wasting water. The Water Utility encourages your water conservation efforts and will be happy to answer your water-related questions. Feel free to contact the Water Utility at 342-1173 with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your water usage.

 

BURLINGTON BYPASS UPDATE

WisDOT's start of the five-year construction project for the Burlington Bypass is scheduled for the spring of 2006, with the first phase due for completion in the fall of 2008. The projects first phase will begin on the east side of the City, linking Milwaukee Avenue (STH 36 & 83), a little south of the Fox River and north of the monastery property, with S. Pine Street (STH 83) just south of Yahnke Road. The second, and final, phase of the project will continue where the first phase ends and proceed in a northwesterly direction linking up with STH 11 in Walworth County near the intersection with CTH "DD". The second phase is scheduled for completion in the Fall 2010. An overview map of the entire project is available on line, either through the City's webpage (www.burlington-wi.gov)
or directly at www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/se.htm.

This long awaited project will benefit the entire area as traffic continues to build on local roads due to new housing projects both in the City and in all of the surrounding Towns. Local residents and travelers of STH 142 and CTH A will be the first to be impacted by the new construction. Because both STH 142 and CTH A will go over the bypass segments of these two roads, they will need to be reconstructed as part of the construction of the separated grade intersections. Detour routes will include use of surrounding roadways and will be marked during the project. For more information on the detour, there are maps available at the above referenced websites.

 

INTERSECTION OF MILWAUKEE AVENUE AND BRIDGE STREET

The capital improvement street project that included acquisition and demolition of the former Clark Gas Station property, moving of the traffic signals, and realignment of two connecting highways (State highways 36 and 83) took the entire summer to complete, and has received great praise from the pubic since it's completion. While there is still some getting used to the new intersection alignment by the motoring public, most drivers are finding the intersection easy to use and with fewer delays then in the past. Semi-trucks are able to use the turn more easily and without coming bumper to bumper with other roadway users, helping everyone to breath a little easier. And, with the accompanying changes in lane designations along the Bridge Street corridor, particularly at the intersection with Jefferson Street, motorists should be able to get through the most congested area of the City more easily then they were before this new improvement.

 

 

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