David Michael Miller
O’Connor: “This city really draws people back.”
There’s friendly disagreement in Monona over the large public art piece on the city’s southern border. The sculpture was designed to look like three white sails blown taut by the wind. The sails stand tall over the entryway to the city between East Broadway and the Beltline. Mary O’Connor, Monona’s newly elected mayor, says some refer to the artwork as “The Bras.”
“But don’t put in the paper that you heard that from me. I, for one, think they look like sails,” says O’Connor. “Our whole thing is being on the water. We like to promote that much of the city is surrounded by Lake Monona.”
Our cover story this week explores what makes Monona, Monona. Middleton brags it’s the “Good Neighbor City.” Verona calls itself “Hometown USA.” Lakeside mansions define the Village of Maple Bluff. What makes Monona special? Plenty, says its mayor.
O’Connor, who’s lived in Monona for 40 years, says her adopted hometown embraces its close proximity to Madison while still carving out its own “feel.”
“Monona is a little city surrounded by a big city,” says O’Connor. “It has all the charms and possibilities of small town life. But right next door is Madison, so you can take advantage of that, too.”
For a city of just over 8,000 people, O’Connor says Monona punches above its weight in amenities. She boasts about the city’s parks system, schools, community pool and award-winning library. But O’Connor says Monona’s greatest asset is its tight-knit community.
“I have a lot of friends and neighbors who grew up in Monona and left to go to college or move somewhere else for a while,” O’Connor says. “But when they were ready to start a family, they wanted to buy a house in Monona. I run into that all the time. This city really draws people back.”
Over the last 10 years Monona has invested heavily in upgrading its parks and other facilities, says O’Connor. A complete overhaul of the city’s main drag — Monona Drive — took years, but was finally completed late last year. O’Connor says the road upgrade is one reason Monona is attracting new businesses.
“[The project] really made a big difference in how the drive looks. Now we’ve been working on helping people upgrade the look of their storefronts so it matches the look of the street,” says O’Connor. “It’s also brought in some new restaurants, which is really nice because Monona was kind of a restaurant-desert for awhile. We had fast food but not really anything else. We’ve had several new restaurants open the last few years and that’s been extremely popular.”
Since the city’s borders are defined by Lake Monona and Madison, O’Connor says Monona has no choice but to focus on redevelopment. There are no open farm fields for new subdivisions or office park projects that would help the city expand its tax base. One major project in the works is a riverfront development, located in an area near the Beltline, Broadway and South Towne Mall. See story, opposite page.
“This has been a major focus for years now and we are very close to getting started on it. It’ll be worth around $40 million by the time it’s done,” O’Connor says of the three-building project. “When it’s completed, there will be a total of around 250 new apartments. There will also be some commercial properties moving in and an office building. A small city park will be in the middle of it, by the water.”
In moving forward, Monona has taken full advantage of the brainpower at UW-Madison. Last year, the city embarked on a yearlong partnership with the university, working with faculty, staff and students on 30 projects focused on the city’s parks, housing and economic development.
“All the credit for the UW partnership goes to former Mayor Bob Miller. He somehow heard about the university interest in this and said, ’Hey, why not Monona?” says Connor. “It’s an extension of the Wisconsin Idea. Our city staff, which is small, was able to provide guidance to classes at UW. In return, the city received detailed plans and research that we would have never been able to produce on our own.”
As part of the partnership, UW students produced public service announcements on bike safety and programming at the Monona Library for the city’s low-powered FM radio station WVMO — the Voice of Monona (see story, page 32.)
O’Connor chaired the committee that got WVMO on the air in 2015. She was skeptical about Monona going into the broadcasting business. But she kept an open mind after seeing the enthusiasm for starting a Monona-focused, community radio station.
“It’s been much more successful than anyone could ever believe. We hear from people all over Madison and Monona that just rave about it. It’s been very cool,” says O’Connor. “The excitement for it continues to grow. It brings neighbors together. And it’s definitely something unique about Monona.”
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the Monona’s library was completed in 2010. The last major remodel to the library was in 2001 but there have been several upgrades to the facility in recent years.
