After the controversy settled on the date for the Mifflin Street Block Party, city and university officials are informing residents of final plans, safety issues and expectations necessary for the success of the annual revelry.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, will hold a neighborhood meeting with Mifflin Street residents and representatives from the police and fire department to discuss the details of the block party Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Madison Senior Center, 330 W. Mifflin St.
Verveer has held neighborhood meetings the week before the block party for the past seven years, but said this year the meeting is especially important “because of all the poor communication and evolving plans and some of the downright misinformation the cops have spread door-to-door on Mifflin Street.”
Madison Police Department officers and representatives from University of Wisconsin’s Offices of the Dean of Students traveled door-to-door delivering letters to Mifflin Street residents, addressing important safety and legal issues in the past few weeks, but there has been unintentional misinformation along the way, Verveer said.
“I really would encourage every house on Mifflin to send at least one representative to this meeting to understand what the accurate and final plans are for this Saturday,” Verveer said.
The neighborhood meetings traditionally set common ground rules regarding the enforcement of the party, how late live music can be played and when residents need to bring their parties inside, Verveer said, but this year, officials will “beg” residents not to throw another party May 7.
“The city has gone out on a limb by granting the students their wish to have the official party this Saturday,” Verveer said. “We were promised by both neighborhood residents and ASM representatives alike that … they would do everything they could to guarantee their would not be a second party on the seventh.”
He added he would stress porch and balcony safety at the meeting.
Sue Crowley, director of the Policy Alternative Community Education Project — an organization committed to reducing high-risk drinking on campus — said there are many safety measures students can take to prevent accidents on April 30.
“Make sure you are aware of the … environment in which you are drinking,” Crowley said. “Go to the party with someone you know and trust and make sure you leave together.”
Extra attention is being placed on balconies of Mifflin Street houses after former University of Wisconsin freshman Jason Gratzl fell from a second-story balcony in August. He is still recovering from the accident and currently is at a rehabilitation center learning how to walk and talk.
Goulette Property Management Owner Steve Goulette made sure to raise the height of the Mifflin Street balcony in which Gratzl fell before this year’s block party.
Both the police department and the university addressed this problem, urging Mifflin Street residents to be aware of the number of guests on their balconies. According to the police department, if a house’s porch or balcony looks unsafe, police officers will be contacting the hosts of the party.
Verveer said representatives from the police, fire and building inspection department have already inspected all porches and looked for loose debris and burnable items in Mifflin Street yards.
