Allied neighborhood residents describe challenges facing community

Members of the Allied community voiced concerns about what citizens see as a lack of equal opportunity in their neighborhood at a meeting held at the Allied Family Center on July 31.

The Dane County Equal Opportunity Commission organized the meeting to seek feedback and input from citizens as the county enters its budget-making process.

Multiple Allied community members at the meeting spoke about issues related to fair housing. Some mentioned alleged instances of discrimination on part of their landlords.

"This is an issue that's complex, that's deep-seeded, and that most people think this is solved," said Carol Lobes, who's been involved in housing policy for 30 years. "It's an issue that's become more sophisticated, more subtle and harder to detect."

County Supervisor Heidi Wegleitner, District 2, informed citizens that a recent county board amendment requires landlords to give residents a written explanation of why their lease was denied or not renewed, along with the source of the information and a copy of the landlord's tenant selection policies.

Sina Davis, who serves on the Allied Task Force, brought up the point that the Allied neighborhood lacks a grocery store.

"There's not equal opportunity here on Allied Drive," Davis said. "You have all these liquor stores on the corner, and you don't even have a corner store where we can go and get bread. Walgreens is OK, but Walgreens is not what we need. We cannot afford Walgreens."

Davis added that the Freshmobile, a truck loaded with grocery-store items, stopped coming to the community.

Along with noting the community's lack of a grocery store, Davis also said the neighborhood lacks a community-center building. There had been a one in the past, but it was closed and replaced with a Boys and Girls Club building.

"Boys and Girls Club is wonderful—don't get me wrong; they interact with the community; they're a great support—but again, it's nothing like having a field house or community center where children can go outside," Davis said.

Katy Farrens, who serves on the Allied Dunns Marsh Neighborhood Association and runs Brotherhood, a group for teens in the neighborhood, talked about a need for more outreach to teens in the community.
Specifically, she talked about the Boys and Girls Club's presence in the neighborhood.

"I just feel like they need to be a little bit more organized, especially with the teens," Farrens said. "I think their elementary program is pretty good. They seem to get homework done. But with the teens, it's like a free for all. They're not teaching them anything."

Allied resident Cynthia Johnson said she is concerned about public safety and how the police respond to disputes in the neighborhood. She said the police come to the neighborhood in the daytime but do not patrol late at night.

She also took issue with how police respond to disputes. She said when a person calls the police to respond to a dispute—even if the dispute is not at the caller's residence—the police still come to the caller's door. The neighborhood then sees who called the police to neighborhood, which Johnson said causes a conflict for the person who called the police.

"I don't even call the police because you always got a conflict," Johnson said. "So, I don't even call."

Dane County Office of Equal Opportunity Director Isadore Knox said that the Allied Neighborhood is located at an intersection of Madison and Fitchburg, two different jurisdictions, which he said poses challenges in responding to citizen questions and complaints. County government, therefore, should play an active role in responding to neighborhood issues.

Gloria Manadier-Farr, who works for the Allied Wellness Center, said some of the county's jargon can be difficult to understand, making it hard for citizens to participate in government.

"Your group came in, and I just look at the terminology and the language that is used to share with them, and I think you stifle," Manadier-Farr said. "The conversation is up here when it really needs to be community set so they understand that you're coming in with the concerns they have."

Wegleitner encouraged citizens to participate in larger public hearing sessions on the budget. The county board will meet Sept. 3 board to hear the Department of Human Services budget request. The board will hear other departments' requests Sept. 11. The county executive will introduce his proposed budget Oct. 1, and then the county board will have public hearing on the budget in late October.