Ald. Tag Evers said that he had heard of no opposition to the project expressed at any of the public meetings on the project. He suggested the emails he and other alders received over the last couple of days urging a referendum on the project might be reflective of the current political environment — the “concern that our democracy is being taken away from us.”
Evers also noted that much of the master plan for the project — which includes a park over John Nolen Drive from East Wilson Street and a dock and overlook near Olin Park affording a view of Madison’s skyline — cannot be built without a significant private donor stepping up. Ald. Julia Matthews noted that issue in urging her colleagues to vote for Verveer’s amendment. “This exemption would put a lot of confidence into the project,” she said.
Ald. Davy Mayer tried to refer the amended ordinance to a future meeting, but that motion failed 16-4.
Alds. Bill Tishler, Davy Mayer and Barbara Harrington-McKinney voted against the exemption.