The Madison City Council met Tuesday and passed two motions, one which would allot funds from the Madison Capital Revolving Fund to renovate the skywalk at 122 State St., and an ordinance which would increase the hours in which sidewalk cafes on State Street are allowed to serve alcohol.
Both bills were contested votes, and alders from several districts expressed a concern that the programs were more of a civic problem than a benefit.
The alders opposed to the renovations argued the Overture Center-a direct neighbor to the skywalk-should devote funds to the project rather than giving the entire burden to the city. The program's sponsor, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said this program was one which was directly beneficial to the image of one of the city's few skywalks and was the sort of project toward which the MCRF was geared.
\It's the right thing to do, even if the Overture isn't on the other side,"" Verveer said.
While Ald. Austin King, District 8, said increasing hours for alcohol serving was simply an effort to allow for later congregation, Ald. Steve Holtzman, District 19, said the hours were already late enough to cause trouble. He added the city has already spent $1.37 million to curb the issues which stem from late-night drinking and that the city does not appear to have motivation to halt the escalation of troubles.
""If we allow alcohol, when are we going to deal with the problems?"" Holtzman said. ""There's already a lot of overserved people walking around.\
