The Background section is an extensive community profile on Verona, including a general description, socioeconomic data, and information on natural resources, land use, transportation, utilities, and community services. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Town of Verona is located in southwestern Dane County, Wisconsin, along U.S. Highways 18 and 151. The Town is immediately west of Madison, 85 miles west of Milwaukee, 150 miles north of Chicago, 220 miles east of Dubuque, and 250 miles south of the Twin Cities of Minnesota. The City of Verona is near the center of the Town, with the City of Madison to the north and the City of Fitchburg to the east.

Verona is located in the Sugar River drainage basin in the "Driftless Area."

In 1995 the Town had an estimated population of 2,228 and the Verona area provided more than 2,100 jobs. Employment primarily in the City of Verona is balanced between manufacturing jobs in industrial areas and retail-service jobs along Verona Road. The Town's growth does not reflect regional growth trends because of population losses due to annexation. During the last 15 years the population has decreased, while Dane County's population has increased by almost 22%.

POPULATION

Historic Trends:  During the 1980s, the Town of Verona lost population compared to moderate to fast growth elsewhere in Dane County. Table 1 shows population growth since 1960.

Projected Growth:  Table 2 indicates the projected rate of growth for the Town. By the year 2020 Verona's population is projected to increase by 267 residents. This rate is less than the projected rate for Dane County and the state.

Age Composition:  The 1990 population statistics reveal that Verona has a large proportion (14.2%) of the population age 65 or older. This percentage was greatly influenced by the Badger Prairie Health Care Center. Of the 303 persons age 65 or older, 267 persons were living in group quarters. By comparison, Wisconsin's population age 65 and over is 13.3% of the state total, while Dane County's age-65-and-over-population is 9.3%.

The 1990 potential work force of the Town is those persons between the ages of 20 and 64. That translates to nearly 1,278 persons, or 60% of the total population. The Town's 1990 median age was 37.7 years, compared with 30.7 years for Dane County.

Sex Composition:  In 1990 females accounted for 49% of the Town population compared to Dane County's population of 50.9% females. The difference in the two figures may reflect the Town's group quarters (Badger Prairie Health Care Center) population. Wisconsin's population is 51.1% female.

Race:  The racial composition of the Town in 1990 was 97.9% white, non-Hispanic; 1.4% non- white, non-Hispanic; and 0.7% persons of Hispanic origin. Dane County's racial composition is 92.9% white, non-Hispanic; 5.5% non-white, non-Hispanic; and 1.6% persons of Hispanic origin. Wisconsin is 91.3% white, non-Hispanic; 6.8% non-white, non-Hispanic; and 1.9% persons of Hispanic origin.

Population Distribution:  The Town has a population of about 2,137 roughly divided into four areas: 

•  Northside area, north of the City of Verona; population 592, or 28% of the Town.
•  Southeast area; population 565, or 26% of the Town.
•  Southwest area; population 401, or 19% of the Town.
•  Badger Prairie Health Care area; population 579, or 27% of the Town. This includes 272 persons in group quarters.

HOUSING

Households:  The increase in the number of dwelling units in any community is directly related to local population growth, number of persons per household and local housing stock (the number and type of housing units). Nationwide and regionally the number of persons per household has declined due to less children per household, children leaving home at a younger age and the increase in divorces and family separations.

This trend can be seen in Verona, which has experienced a steady decline in the number of persons per household along with a steady decrease in population. Between 1970 and 1990 the number of households formed jumped from 441 to 654, representing a 2.4% increase per annum, while the population during that time actually decreased.

Based on the trend shown in Table 4, the persons per household ratio is projected to continue to decline. By the year 2020 the persons-per-household ratio in the Town of Verona is projected to be about 2.7, which, in conjunction with a steady increase in population growth, will result in an escalating number of households formed.

Housing Type and Tenure:  From 1980 to 1990 the proportion of single-family units in the Town housing stock: increased slightly. Since single-family housing units increased by 36, or 6.5%, single-family units accounted for 88% of the housing stock, 1.6% higher than in 1980. One significant trend occurred in Verona and countywide: the vacancy rate decreased to well under four percent, reflecting a tight housing market.

Housing Construction:  The Town has experienced a large increase in single-family construction (123 units) in the last ten years. Housing construction between 1985 and 1994 has averaged 12 single-family homes per year. As shown in Tables 6 through 8, residential platting outfaced residential construction during the last ten years. As of 1990, there was a two-year supply of lots for single-family housing. Long-range housing projections show a need for three building sites per year over the next 26 years.

Housing Value and Rent:  During the 1980s the cost of owner-occupied housing increased in Verona faster than countywide. The median housing value increased from $74,600 in 1980 to $101,000 in 1990, a 35% increase. Countywide, median housing value increased by 32% to $78,400.

 Median contract rents increased moderately from $214 in 1980 to $371 in 1990, a 73% increase. Countywide, median contract rents increased by 89% to $423 per month. Housing costs, therefore, are higher for homeowners and lower for renters in Verona than countywide; but incomes in Verona are substantially higher than the county average.

HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS

Information on household characteristics from the 1980 and 1990 Censuses shows that changes have occurred in Town households. Married-couple families decreased slightly as a proportion of all households from 73.6% in 1980 to 73.2% in 1990. During the same period, the proportion of single-parent households (8.1 %) increased by two percent. Female-headed households accounted for five percent of the households in 1990, compared to eight percent countywide.

Householders living alone made up nearly one out of eight (12.4%) households in Verona, less than the countywide average (26.4%). However, non-family households (with more than one unrelated person) represented about six percent of the Town's households. At the county level, non-family households (other than singles) accounted for one out of eight households.

INCOME

 Information from the 1990 Census showed that the Town of Verona's median household income was $41,964 compared with 525,372 in 1979 (from the 1980 Census). Dane County's median household income was $32,703 in 1989 and $18,309 in 1979. Wisconsin's household income was $29,442 in 1989. Verona's household income is 28% more than the county average, much greater than the difference in housing costs

The 1990 Census showed that only 3.4% of Verona's population (64) was living below the poverty level, compared with 10.5% for Dane County and 10.7% for Wisconsin.

EMPLOYMENT

Labor Force:  As of 1990, the Town and City of Verona had 4,211 persons in its labor force. Of those persons, 47.5% were female and 52.5% were male. In 1990 the unemployment rate was 1.3%, and the county rate was 3.2%.

The labor force is largely employed in what are typically referred to as "white collar" occupations. In 1990, Census data showed that 77% of its employees (4,158) worked in professional, technical or service-related positions. This compares with 80% of the labor force in Dane County and 66% of the statewide labor force in the same positions. The higher percentage for Dane County can be partially attributed to the presence of Wisconsin's capital and major university.

Jobs by Place of Work:  The City of Verona's commercial districts have a major impact on local business: retail trade and private service establishments located there account for nearly one-half of the area's businesses, as shown in Table 10. However, manufacturing and public services employment provide about one-half of the area's employment. There are nearly enough local jobs for half of the local labor force, but according to 1990 Journey to Work statistics, 21 % of Verona workers worked in the City, 58% worked in Madison, and 18% worked elsewhere in Dane County.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Physiography and Topography:  The physiography and topography in the Town of Verona reflects both the gently rolling terrain of the eastern, glaciated portion of Dane County and the steep, wooded uplands characteristic of the Driftless (unglaciated) western part of the county. Topographic relief ranges from about 1,210 feet above sea level at its highest elevation on a ridge (end moraine) in Section 25, down to approximately 900 feet above sea level along the Sugar River in Section 34. The topography of the area is shown on the Water Resources Map. The Town of Verona is located in the Sugar River drainage basin. The northeast part of the Town lies within the watershed of Badger Mill Creek, which drains into the Sugar River near Riverside Road.

Geology:   The Town is bisected diagonally (NW-SE) by the Johnstown terminal moraine, which marks the western edge of the last glacier in Dane County. The surficial geology consists of ground moraine and sand and gravel outwash deposits behind (east of) the terminal moraine, while alluvium material and outwash deposits exist in front of the moraine. The subsurface geology of the Town consists of Ordovician and Cambrian formations, which are mainly dolomites and sandstones deposited 400 to 600 million years ago.

Soils:  The Town of Verona contains primarily silt loam soils, including the Batavia, Dodge, Kegonsa, McHenry, Plano and Ringwood soil series. Most of these soils are suitable for development and have 2% to 12% slopes. Soils within wetland and floodplain areas consist of Wacousta silty clay loam, and Elburn, Orion, Otter and Troxel silt loams. These soil types have severe to very severe limitations to development due to high compressibility, very low bearing capacity, seasonal high water table and occasional flooding. Development should be prohibited in these areas. Surface Water. The primary surface water bodies in the Town are Badger Mill Creek, Sugar River, Goose Lake and Morse Pond. The Sugar River supports both a cold (trout) and warm water sport fishery. It is classified as an "Exceptional Resource Water" by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Badger Mill Creek is classified as a warm-water forage fishery with trout potential. Goose Lake is located south of USH 18/151 near Fitchrona Road. It is about 17 acres in size and supports a bullhead fishery. Morse Pond, located near the intersection of CTH M and PD, is about 12 acres in size. The pond does not support a recreational fishery due to severe winterkill conditions and variable water levels.

Based on limited monitoring information, water quality conditions in the Sugar River Basin are generally good, but are sensitive to agricultural stormwater runoff and to discharges from the Verona Wastewater Treatment Plant. Because of groundwater pumping from municipal wells and subsequent wastewater diversion from the Upper Sugar River Basin to the Yahara River Basin (via the Nine Springs Treatment Plant), there are concerns that the baseflow of Badger Mill Creek is being diminished. Much of the land along Badger Mill Creek and the Sugar River is within the stream's 100-year floodplain. The 100-year floodplain boundaries are shown on the Water Resources Map.

Wetlands:  Most of the significant wetlands in the Town of Verona are adjacent to the Sugar River and Badger Mill Creek. Based on 1985 DNR Wetland Inventory Maps, there are approximately 850 acres of wetland in the Town. Similar to floodplains, wetlands are also shown on the Water Resources Map.

LAND USE

Overall, the Town of Verona developed about 786 acres from 1980 to 1990, a 36% increase in its developed area. However, 400 acres were lost to annexation over the same period. Land use trends from 1970 to 1990 are shown in Table 11.

Residential:   Residential development accounts for the majority of the developed acreage in the Town. Single-family housing, including farm dwellings, accounts for 29% of the developed area and 96% of all residential development. Most of the new single-family areas developed between 1970 and 1980.

The overall density (housing units per acre) of residential development in the Town of Verona increased from 0.67 housing units per acre in 1980 to 0.73 units in 1990.

Business Development:  Nesbitt Road represents the primary business area in the Town of Verona. In total, commercial and industrial land use (except for extractive areas) accounts for one percent of the Town's developed area.

Extractive areas (134 acres) make up nearly five percent of the developed land use.

Street Rights-of-Way:  Nearly 96 miles of public streets account for about one-fourth of the Town's developed area.

Recreation Development:  Badger Prairie County Park (475 acres) makes up the largest park area in the Town. The University Golf Course makes up 470 acres. Developed park land (1,014 acres) represents one-third of the Town's developed area.

Institutional Development:  This category includes schools, churches and other public buildings, and accounts for about three percent of the Town's developed area.

TRANSPORTATION

All the local, county, state and federal transportation routes within Dane County are classified under the "Roadway Functional Classifications." These routes were delineated in the Regional Transportation Plan for Dane County (October 1988). The roadway functional classification system indicates the intended purpose each roadway serves within the entire roadway system. The Functional Classification of Area Roadways Map illustrates the forecast functional classification of area roadways as adopted in the Regional Transportation Plan.

Arterials are intended to serve mostly traffic mobility, providing for long-distance traffic movement. Collector roadways serve the dual function of providing for both traffic mobility and land access (to home or business). Local roadways serve mostly for land access. Functional classification describes the purpose of roadways which channel traffic onto the appropriate route and minimize traffic intrusion into neighborhoods and other areas sensitive to traffic. Verona is served by two major arterials: USH  l8/l51 routes east-west cross-state traffic and CTH PB routes cross-county traffic.

Roads that provide direct access to residential neighborhoods and commercial-industrial centers, serve low to moderate traffic volumes and provide inter-neighborhood trip desires are called collectors. These routes collect and distribute traffic between local streets and arterial routes. The north-south collectors serving Verona are CTH M and STH 69.

Major local collectors in the Town of Verona include: Cross Country Road and Raymond Road.

The highway improvements planned for the Verona area as recommended in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for the Dane County Area (September 1994) are listed under recommendations in the Transportation Plan section.

Traffic Volume. Traffic counts for the Verona area for 1993 (Table 12) point out highways with large traffic volumes. It is important to note that due to Verona's location near the Madison urbanized area, most of the traffic passing through the highway corridors originates and terminates outside the Verona area. Table 12 shows the traffic volume on area roadways from 1987 to 1993.

Transportation Profile. Vehicle ownership in Verona was greater than for Dane County in 1990. There were 2.2 vehicles per household, compared with an average 1.6 vehicles per household for Dane County in 1990. During 1990, less than one percent of Verona households had no vehicle available, compared with nine percent for Dane County. In 1990, 8.5% of Verona worker commuted to work in carpools. 

The Dane County Regional Airport, located 12 miles northeast of Verona, offers passenger service and freight service via eight airlines. These eight scheduled airlines carry over one million passengers per year to and from Dane County.

AREA COMMUNITY SERVICES AND FACILITIES

Sanitary Sewer. Wastewater generated in 1993 by the Town of Verona Sanitary District averaged 25,810 gallons per day (gpd). In 1993, the Town sewer collection system served an estimated 142 households. The Town is served by the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District collection system and treatment facility. The Nine Springs Valley Interceptor conveys wastewater from the Town and Pumping Station No. 12 to the Nine Springs Wastewater Treatment Facility. The treatment facility has a design capacity of 50 million gallons per day (mgd) and is estimated to receive 46.98 mgd by year 2020, below its design capacity.

Parks and Recreation. The Town of Verona does not operate any parks; however, it shares responsibility for some recreational facilities with the City of Verona. The DNR owns the former railroad right-of-way, which is used for the Military Ridge State Trail. Badger Prairie County Park is centrally located in the Town.

General Town Services. The Town of Verona is governed by the Town Board, consisting of four supervisors and the Town Chair, who are elected at large. Other administrative positions include a clerk/treasurer and an assessor. The Town employs approximately 30 people in part-time and full-time positions for administrative and public works services, and in conducting elections.

Town Hall. The town buildings are located at 335 N. Nine Mound Road on a 0.7-acre site. The 4,400-square-foot administrative building and garage houses the Clerk/Treasurer's office, the Town Board Room and town public works equipment. 

Fire Protection. The Verona Fire Department provides fire protection to the Towns of Verona and Springdale and the City of Verona. The Towns and the City jointly pay for this service based or property valuation. The Towns pays the total cost of tank trucks.

Fire protection services are provided by 40 volunteer fire fighters. Emergency equipment includes two engines, one ladder, too tankers, one squad, a brush truck and a utility truck.

Emergency Medical Services. The Verona Emergency Medical Services District is staffed by volunteer emergency medical technicians (EMTs) serving the district, which includes the City of Verona and the Towns of Verona and Springdale. The district owns and operates one fully equipped ambulance and one first-response vehicle, and has between two and four EMTs available to respond to each request for service.

Electric Power, Gas, Telephone, and Cable Television. Madison Gas & Electric Company provides electricity and natural gas to the residents of the Town of Verona. Telephone service is provided by GTE.

Health Care. Verona is served by the five hospitals and many clinics in Madison and Verona.

Churches. The Verona area is served by churches of various denominations, including Baptist, Catholic,. Lutheran, Church of Christ, Methodist and others.

Education. Four educational institutions, many with top national ranking, are located within nine miles of Verona. Post-secondary education is available from The University of Wisconsin, Madison Madison Area Technical College (MATC), Edgewood College and Madison Junior College of Business. Student population at the UW-Madison campus in 1994 totaled 40,924. MATC offers instruction to more than 50,000 students. The school covers a four-county area and offers trade, apprentice extension and college transfer courses. Edgewood College is a Catholic institution that offers bachelors decrees in the liberal arts and preprofessional programs.

The Town of Verona is located in the Verona Area School District and is served by three of the District's five schools including the Verona Elementary School (K-5).