Housing is probably the biggest single issue Fitchburg is contending with right now. There is a huge demand for housing, which is driving the cost of existing housing up, and making the dream of home ownership difficult for many, But not only houses…apartment rent is through the roof, and for many who may be working two jobs, making ends meet has become very difficult. Fitchburg is working to use the tools available to us to reduce housing costs for both buyers and renters.

Our public safety departments are some of the most basic of public services. Jay has always been supportive of high quality emergency services, and has worked non-stop to improve and support them.

In 2009, as mayor, Jay first proposed building two new fire stations. As growth was occurring primarily on the east side of Fitchburg, response times were simply too long. In addition, the fire station former located on King James Way was just too far west to meet the needs as the city grew. The council wasn’t ready to build the new stations in 2009, but they were built in 2014 and 2015, and now provide rapid response times to nearly everyone in the city. In addition, Jay has been a constant supporter of fire staffing, and we have transformed from a largely part time paid on call staff to more career professional staff. This has improved response times and the quality of service provided.

In the late 90s, Jay’s leadership led to upgrading Fitchrona EMS from an EMT-I service to a paramedic service. This had the immediate effect of improving critical care for patients in dire need. We have saved many lives with this change, and it remains a very important part of our community.

Jay has also been very supportive of the police department, working to make certain that they have the resources needed to keep our community safe.

Transportation is vital to Fitchburg, and especially in District 3, where many people rely on public transit to get to school, work, and shopping. We have been working with Madison Metro to improve service in the city. When Metro attempted to cut what is now Route G in Southdale, Jay worked with residents, council members, and Metro to keep the service that residents rely on. Many simply do not have cars, and they made their choice to live there based on the bus route. Jay fought for those residents, and the cut was reversed.

Jay continues to address reliability issues with Route 65. Metro has canceled runs unexpectedly many times over the last several months, however, we are now assured that this should not happen anymore.

In addition, Fitchburg has received numerous awards and recognition for its bicycle infrastructure. We continue to improve and add to this infrastructure every year.

Fitchburg is one of the most diverse communities in Dane County. We have demographic diversity with people from many walks of life, different income levels, and different cultural backgrounds. It is vital that we build a community where all people, regardless of background, feel valued as members of our community. This will be part of our strategic plan, as we continue to examine how to improve in this area.

Fitchburg is also very diverse in terms of land use. Only about 30% of the city is developed at this juncture, with the remaining land being parks, woodlands, and farms. We need to protect environmentally sensitive areas while we build new housing and business areas. Fitchburg, with Jay’s leadership, has enacted some very stringent environmental protections. These protect Lake Waubesa, Swan Creek, Murphy’s Creek, and other streams and wetlands from excess stormwater runoff.Many years of work went into crafting these policies, and they have become model standards for other governmental bodies, including Dane County and the City of Madison.

Fitchburg has also been a recyling leader in the state, having instituted the first city wide curbside recycling program, which has kept millions of tons of recyclables from going to the landfill. Jay has been instrumental in expanding this program and it too has become a model state wide, as most communities in the state now do something similar, based on the Fitchburg model.