[media-credit name=’ERIN KEEFFE/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]In preparation for the second-largest bash of the year in the city, a group of Madison officials and Mifflin Street residents gathered Tuesday night to discuss logistics of Saturday’s Mifflin Street Block Party.

The meeting provided an opportunity for police and fire department staff to clarify guidelines relevant to both residents and partygoers. Attendants, they said, cannot have open containers on public property, including the streets, sidewalks or terraces. Similarly, the more than 100 police present will enforce the glass ban and underage-drinking law for the block party.

“The driving force for this party is alcohol — there is no doubt about that,” Madison Police Captain John Davenport said. He also said the party “is not an open venue for people underage to consume; underage drinking is not condoned.”

Anticipating potential block-party foul play, MPD and fire department officials clarified other legal boundaries of resident hosts and guests. According to Captain Mary Schauf, residents cannot legally distribute alcohol to the public without a permit, regardless of whether they charge for the alcohol or not.

Schauf also addressed past issues of public urination and indecent exposure. Citations will automatically be issued to those who feel the need to express themselves in such a manner, she said.

University of Wisconsin students and Mifflin Street residents who attended the meeting, such as senior Steve Hollich, focused on the gray areas of party-law limitations — how they may most fully express themselves without receiving citations.

“Our toes will be hanging over that line and we’ll stretch [our privileges] as far as possible,” Hollich said. “At the same time, I think it’s important for people attending the party to understand the incredible liability [this party] is for Mifflin Street residents.”

The general consensus was that the police will practice reasonable enforcement of the law, but Davenport said a shift in the area’s dynamic has forced officers to be more and more firm on city rules.

“Due to the fact that the demographics of the block have changed and certain residents are less tolerant, police have had to become more strict in regard to the noise policy,” Davenport said.

Nonetheless, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he is “convinced that the police will be as cool as they have been in the past,” and he hopes to continue seeing police-student photo sessions, which have been popular in past years.

Verveer also emphasized the strain placed on city organizers to meet the demands of students and residents who fought to change the block party’s original date from May 7 to April 30. In return, Verveer asked residents to refrain from partying on May 7.

“This is a cost to the taxpayers of our community and the [police] … but the will of the resident students prevailed,” Verveer said.

Verveer added that he “went out on a limb” to change the date, and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and the police department complied on the grounds that no parties will take place May 7.

According to Schauf, bands will be forced to stop playing by 8 p.m. and outdoor mingling will be brought inside at the discretion of Mifflin Street residents and police. All students who receive citations will be taken to the downtown City County Building.