One of the first things I did on arriving in Madison was to join Downtown Madison, Inc. Grace Church is the only church on Capitol Square, and as such has higher visibility than any other church in Madison. Because we are home to the Drop-In Shelter, we are also in the center of conversations surrounding homelessness and quality of life issues downtown. So I joined, in part to make our presence more than a matter of stone, mortar, and stained glass, but also because I believe that we have an important voice to bring to the conversation about the future of downtown Madison.

We also live downtown, in the Mansion Hill neighborhood, and are members of Capitol Neighborhoods.

I attended my first DMI Quality of Life committee meeting today and realized how important my place is at the table. Of course there was discussion about the Edgewater development. If you’re not from Madison, don’t bother trying to understand it. It’s a project that wants plan to redevelop a hotel on Lake Mendota that was originally built decades ago and expanded in the 1960s. Other than an office building monstrosity next door, it is surrounded by single family houses and student apartments. It is an enormous controversy.

Later in the discussion this morning, the topic turned to soliciting membership from among the downtown condo associations and residents. That’s where the disconnect hit me. Here’s an organization, DMI, that basically exists to promote the downtown. Someone in the meeting said that we (DMI) is are perceived to be the “developers” organization, and it seemed to be an open question whether soliciting membership from downtown residents was useful. I’ve only lived in Madison for five months, but my experience is that the loudest boosters for downtown are people who live here, and that more than anyone else involved in the conversation, they are concerned about quality of life issues.

Sometimes, I just don’t get it.