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Council president outlines outreach plans, Juneteenth events and alder pods for 2026
Summary
President Madison briefed the committee on a newly proposed annual leadership roundtable with county and school board leadership, a youth-centered Juneteenth resolution with nominations due May 22 and the formation of 'Alder pods' for peer learning; Attorney Hawkes clarified that members may vote on minutes even if they missed the prior meeting.
President Madison provided a series of leadership and engagement updates to the committee. She said she and Vice President Glenn met with the county board and Madison School Board leadership to begin a new annual leadership roundtable to promote communication and collaboration; the bodies agreed to meet quarterly.
On community engagement, the president announced a listening session at The House Inc., a West Side dance studio, on June 16 to gather youth input, and described plans for a youth-oriented Juneteenth resolution that will invite nominated young people to accept the resolution and speak at the council. The Juneteenth flag-raising will take place June 2 at noon at the City-County Building; the Madison Senior Center mural celebration is set for June 24 at 10:30 a.m.; and a tour of the Black Excellence and Culture Center is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m., the president said.
President Madison also introduced the Alder pods initiative, encouraging alder pairs to use short-term learning targets (IT, media relations, committee practices) to share skills without creating extra recurring meetings. She asked Alders to provide feedback on presentation formats and volunteer to lead pod targets.
Separately, Attorney Hawkes confirmed procedural guidance: a member who missed a previous meeting may still vote on approving that meeting's minutes, a clarification President Madison asked the attorney to provide.
The president closed with reminders about capital-budget feedback and other administrative items and asked the committee if there were additional future agenda items; none were added before the committee adjourned by unanimous vote.
Next steps: leadership roundtable plans will continue; staff and alders will circulate details for Juneteenth nominees and volunteer sign-ups for Alder pods and other engagement efforts.
