Madison Commission approves rezoning for City Hall site, appoints Dan Burish and awards Southeast Substation procurement

The Madison City Commission on a single evening approved a rezoning ordinance for the City Hall site, appointed Dan Burish to a commission vacancy effective July 1, 2025, awarded three procurement contracts for the Southeast Substation expansion and approved a memorandum of understanding with Dakota State University for a cybersecurity review program.

The rezoning measure, ordinance 16 79, received final approval at second reading. Jamieson Ryan, a city staff member presenting the item, said the ordinance would change the property where the new City Hall sits from single-family residential (the default zone for newly annexed property) to heavy manufacturing to match surrounding parcels. Ryan told commissioners the Planning Commission had given the measure unanimous approval. The motion to adopt the second reading passed by voice vote.

Commissioners also appointed Dan Burish to fill an upcoming commission vacancy, with the appointment effective July 1, 2025. Commissioner Kelly moved to approve the appointment, citing Burish’s project engineering background and experience with budgets as reasons he was a fit for the role; another commissioner seconded the motion. Commissioner Shaw announced an abstention from the vote, saying she did not wish to pick her replacement; the roll call recorded four yes votes and one abstention and the appointment was approved.

On procurement, the commission approved three separate awards to supply major materials for expansion of the Southeast Substation. Staff described the bid process as competitive and said the low bidders were recommended. The three awards approved were: an award to Erby Utilities for a 115 kV GoAB switch (low bid reported in the meeting as $14,850); an award to Border States Electric for 115 kV capacitor voltage transformers (motion stated $27,007.16); and an award to Galvanizers for 115 kV structural steel (motion stated approximately $55,000). Motions to approve each award passed by voice vote. Staff noted the bids came in under estimate and that the selected equipment lines were compatible with existing infrastructure.

The commission also approved a memorandum of understanding with Dakota State University to participate in the SecureSD program. Jamieson Ryan said the program, funded by grant dollars to Dakota State University, will allow the university to conduct cybersecurity checks of city firewalls and other systems at no cost to the city. Jim Edmonds, who has worked on prior vulnerability checks with Dakota State, said the work will help the city identify and fix digital vulnerabilities. The motion to approve the MOU passed by voice vote.

Votes at a glance - Ordinance 16 79 — Rezoning (second reading/final approval): adopted (voice vote). Planning Commission recommendation: unanimous approval. - Appointment — Dan Burish to City Commission (effective 07/01/2025): approved (roll-call: 4 yes, 0 no, 1 abstain). Mover: Commissioner Kelly. Second: not specified in the transcript. - Bid award — 115 kV GoAB switch to Erby Utilities: approved (voice vote). Amount as stated in motion: $14,850. - Bid award — 115 kV capacitor voltage transformers to Border States Electric: approved (voice vote). Amount as stated in motion: $27,007.16. - Bid award — 115 kV structural steel to Galvanizers: approved (voice vote). Amount as stated in motion: approximately $55,000 (see clarifying details for recorded variations). - Memorandum of understanding — Dakota State University, SecureSD program: approved (voice vote). No cost to the city was represented in the meeting.

Discussion and context - Rezoning: Ryan told commissioners this rezoning aligns the newly annexed City Hall parcel with surrounding heavy-manufacturing zoning instead of the default single-family residential classification for annexed land. The Planning Commission had recommended approval.

- Appointment: Commissioner Kelly and other commissioners praised the candidate pool and recommended Dan Burish based on his engineering background and budget experience and on community involvement including work with the fire department. Commissioner Shaw abstained, saying she did not wish to select her own replacement.

- Substation procurement: Staff described the Southeast Substation project as requiring major material procurement in three components. Staff reported multiple bidders on each component and recommended the low bidders; one staff speaker noted the Cleveland-manufactured equipment aligns with the city’s existing switchgear. Staff also said the bids were under estimate.

- Cybersecurity MOU: Dakota State University’s SecureSD work will begin with firewall audits and checks for digital vulnerabilities. Jim Edmonds noted prior partnership work with the university on physical, infrastructure vulnerabilities and said Dakota State had secured grant funding for statewide municipal cybersecurity work.

Other items noted in the meeting - City updates: staff reported progress on several infrastructure projects (Sportsplex roof replacement, Segment 4 and 5 water main work, Park Creek wall replacement, Egan Avenue reconstruction, airport construction scheduled to begin June 9) and welcomed two new employees: Jeff Wiman (building official / code enforcement) and Emily Garcia (community center service desk). Staff also reviewed sales tax volatility in recent months and announced board openings for the airport, park and recreation board, and Madison Housing Board.

What remains unofficial and what to watch - Several numeric amounts in the bid discussion appeared in different places of the transcript with small variations; the article records the amounts as stated in the commission motions and notes the meeting discussion that bids came in under estimate. Implementation steps for the substation project (delivery timelines, installation schedule) were not specified in the discussion recorded.

Ending - The commission concluded by announcing application openings for boards and the next regular meeting on Monday, June 16 at 5:30 p.m. The commission adjourned after approving the items above.