News

City council delays Halloween decision

The Common Council agreed Tuesday to delay a final vote on Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's Halloween proposal until Sept. 19 in order to allow for more student input.

Ald. Austin King, District 8, and Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, worked to delay the vote, and they noted their appreciation to the council for allowing increased student participation in the plan.

"We now have the opportunity for that student input we didn't have before, and I'm very grateful the council has given us this opportunity," King said.

Though the vote will not occur for two weeks, several alders and Madison residents still voiced their opinions on the mayor's plan.

University of Wisconsin students Tom Wangard and Brandon Sivret expressed their intentions to work productively in a new Halloween Action Committee to create an event that students are happy with. According to Sivret, what began as a reactionary student response is turning into a partnership.

Wangard said he successfully worked with the mayor's office to eliminate the 50,000-person capacity on State Street and will continue to work with the City Council and other students until the final vote occurs.

"We agree with Ald. King and Ald. Verveer and think it's going to be a much better situation having everyone's input before [the plan] gets voted on," said Sivret.

Wangard also said University of Wisconsin students have a chance to discuss and suggest improvements on the Halloween plan Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in room 165 of Bascom Hall.

"The reason for having the meeting is to make sure we are on target with what the students feel and make sure we're not doing something that misrepresents [students]," Sivret explained. "We're not here to take charge of Halloween, we're just here to facilitate the ideas."

While the voting delay did receive a fair amount of praise, some residents and alders still expressed their strong support for the plan and said waiting to make an inevitable decision is unnecessary.

Susan Schmitz, President of Downtown Madison Inc., said she supports the Mayor's plan and said it is the first step in changing the feel of Halloween. According to Schmitz, other communities with similar events used the same strategies to solve problems with unruly partygoers.

"The annual Halloween event, or non-event as we started calling it, has improved over the years," she said at Tuesday's meeting. "But we know that it needs to move in a new direction, and other communities have done this by fencing off a designated area and charging a fee."

The mayor's goals for the event and for the proposal, she added, include maintaining public safety, decreasing costs and lowering the consumption of alcohol.

"We think the current proposed plan will accomplish the three goals with a planned event that will be clear to the participants what is expected of them," she said. "We realize this is the first year and we can't expect a total turnaround, but it is the first step to re-branding this event."