Lists of Neighborhood Projects

Below are lists of our current and future activities, and view some of our past accomplishments.

Current Activities (Help Wanted!)

Here are some of our current (mostly ongoing) activities. If any of these spark your interest, there's usually room for involvement. Some items have bold notes where we have an urgent need for help.

• We hold a neighborhood party every year on the Fourth of July. This usually takes place in Goodman Park (formerly Franklin Field) near the playground. (We did this in 1992, 1993, 1998 - 2010.) Contact the Neighborhood Celebration Committee to help.
• We organize a coordinated neighborhood yard sales day every year, complete with a list of items for sale and addresses of participants. (We did this in 1998 - 2005, but now need someone to orgaize this.) Contact the Neighborhood Rummage Sale Committee to help.
• We hold a "back-to-school" ice cream social at Bernie's Beach in late August or early September. We supply the ice cream (including non-dairy) and you bring a topping. 30-70 people usually attend. We did this in 2003-2010.
• Every Spring, we do a cleanup around Monona Bay in conjunction with Friends of Monona Bay.
• Our Environmental and Recreational Development Committee does burn preparation work for the Olin-Turville woods in late winter and early spring. This involves raking leaves away from mature oak trees to reduce the chance that they will catch fire. We also pull garlic mustard in April/May (since 2004).
• Producing the Bay Creek Bulletin newsletter is perhaps the most important work we do. It keeps us informed about and connected with the neighborhood, and is hand delivered by volunteers.
  • We're always looking for articles.
  Contact the Newsletter Committee's Managing Editor to help.
• The Web Committee frequently updates and enhances this site. Contact the Web Committee to help.
• We're involved with the South Metropolitan Planning Council. Contact the SMPC facilitator.
• Bay Creek is fortunate to have two public flower gardens where the city pays for the flowers and neighbors tend the gardens (the Marguerite Pohle flower program). There are less than twenty M. Pohle gardens in the city. We always need help weeding these in the summer (even just one hour all summer makes a big difference); contact
  • Patty Plantz at 251-6912 to help with the garden off O'Sheridan by the Bay.
  • The Park/Beld triangle family statue garden needs a gardener and/or organizer.
• We formed the first neighborhood environmental action EnAct team (formerly EcoTeams) at the June, 2000 neighborhood meeting, which taught us how to live a more sustainable lifestyle in eight fun meetings. Several other neighborhood teams have since formed. New teams can form at any time; contact EnAct.
• In 2002, we started a campaign aimed at educating people about the direct relationship between the health of the lakes and the use of lawn care chemicals. We had a guest speaker at the September, 2002 neighborhood meeting to talk about this; here are the notes. There is now a city-wide effort called Greater Madison Healthy Lawn Team.

Future Activities (Help Wanted!)

• The Welcoming and Recruitment Committee welcomes new residents. They would like to create a packet of information for new neighbors, and is considering surveying neighborhood residents on their interests and talents.
• In early 2004, UW-Madison student Sasha Koehn designed landscape architecture enhancements that could be made to the neighborhood. He focused his efforts on Bernie's Beach, Romnes, and Wingra Creek. Would you be interested in writing a grant to turn these plans into reality?
• In late 2003, two UW-Madison horticulture students selected varieties of native plants that could be planted along Wingra Creek, and possibly along the ped/bike path. We'd like to organize an event to plant these... could you help with this?
• We've talked about having block captains on more than one occasion. We could then do a door-to-door membership drive every year which would enable us to do projects that depend on money (for example, the Parks Department has a matching grant program, effectively doubling our money).
• Our Business Development and Retention Committee hasn't existed for many years now. The best way to avoid "undesirable" businesses is to proactively attract desirable ones.
• Traffic concerns are always on everyone's mind; this issue crops up every few years, but has always fizzled out because of lack of time.
• It'd be great to have a neighborhood directory! At least one part of the neighborhood does this, and it's a great resource.
• We think we'd like to become a tax-exempt organization. Can you shed some light on the pros and cons of this, and help us with the necessary paperwork if it makes sense to do it?
• Wouldn't more social events be fun? Block parties, a drive by/walk by art or garden show, music events, or just more potlucks.

As you can probably tell, our eyes are bigger than our stomach, and we'll need more people involved to accomplish the current and future activities listed here. If any of these projects interest you, or if you have any other ideas for ways to improve the neighborhood, come to a neighborhood meeting or contact any member of the Bay Creek Neighborhood Council and let your thoughts be known.

Past Accomplishments (in reverse chronological order)

• We created website called NeighborNation.net to enable people in a neighborhood to easily connect with their neighbors through an on-line Kiosk. This ran from 2004-2010.
• A kiosk/bench was installed (watch the video) at Bernie's Beach in October, 2006. This was the result of work done by the Sign Committee and the Bay Creek Walk Audit project (started in 2003). The latter identified three walking routes in the neighborhood, which are posted on the Kiosk.
• In 2005, the City Public Health Department modeled a pool walk audit project after the neighborhood walk audit project to ensure that children and families in surrounding neigborhoods have a safe route to the pool.
• We requested safety improvements where the Wingra Creek path crosses Fish Hatchery (while this sounds easy, it took years and 100 signatures to get a walk light up).
• We worked with three other neighborhoods and the city to create a comprehensive plan for South Madison. The draft South Madison Neighborhood Plan is online.
• We organized an informal art festival outside at Romnes Apartments in 2004.
• We held a neighborhood spaghetti dinner in Oct, 2003. Well over 100 people attended.
• We co-sponsored and/or organized several candidates' forums: for county board (2002, 2000), alder (2005, 1999), state assembly (1998), and mayor (1998).
• We installed the second and third neighborhood signs on Park Street at Wingra Drive and on Lakeside Street at John Nolen Drive in March, 2000.
• We hosted and/or facilitated meetings like the Wingra Creek bike path informational meeting, and had numerous guest speakers after meetings (elected representatives, Madison Police Department, Madison Community Gardens Project, Chicken Underground, etc.).
• We offered 1000 free plants for neighborhood residents in 1999.
• We produced a neighborhood video, entitled South Side Frolics: Stories from Monona Bay to Wingra Creek (1998).
• We selected playground equipment for Olin-Turville in 1996(?).
• We installed the first neighborhood sign on Park Street at Fish Hatchery in 1995.
• We had about fifteen residents serve on the Neighborhood Steering Committee for the Bay Creek Neighborhood Plan (1989-1990), a resource that still holds value today.

These activities were made possible by the hard work of residents that value community, and we deeply appreciate their time and committment.

Contributions of money are equally valued. Your $10 voluntary dues go a long way towards helping the neighborhood become a better place to live. They are voluntary because not everyone can afford $10 every year. Dues can be sent to our treasurer. Neighborhoods like Dugeon-Monroe have 70% dues-paying households, and this really adds up quickly.