[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald file photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]In its first meeting since Halloween, the Downtown Coordinating Committee analyzed both the successes and shortcomings of the event Thursday.

Madison Police Department Lt. Carl Gloede said the biggest key to Halloween's success, from the police department's standpoint, was the private security and fencing. He also said the impact of the fencing on the crowd was crucial because partygoers were unable to enter with alcohol or dangerous items that could have been used as weapons.

Arrest numbers were down not only because of a lower crowd size, he added, but because there was not a "free flow" onto the street.

"Officers couldn't make arrests on State Street because there weren't really any issues, and there weren't any issues because people couldn't get in the gate with alcohol," Gloede said. "The interaction [with officers] was able to happen at controlled points, not at unknown points."

Committee member Mary Carbine — executive director of Madison's Business Improvement District — reported ticket sales totaled about 32,000, and peak crowd size totaled about 35,000.

Though many city officials deemed Halloween 2006 a "success," Gloede said it is still considered an anomaly by the police department. This is the first time in four years the event ended peacefully, he added, but the planning of the event was such a difficult task that the approach for next year must change.

"From the law-enforcement standpoint, we could not have done the event like it was without the rest of the city's help," Gloede said. "Given that, it was a huge, huge burden to make this event happen with all the city staff … and I think we learned a valuable lesson this year."

Gloede said last minute changes to traffic routes and traffic congestion on top of several weekend sporting events caused some of the details behind the event to run less than smoothly.

"What we've learned from this is next year the planning process is going to start earlier," Committee Chair Ted Crabb said.

Committee Member Ald. Larry Palm, District 15, said another concern of the Madison City Council about the outcome of the event is the possibility of finding a sponsor for next year. According to Palm, the city could get away with selling tickets for entrance to State Street for one more year, but eventually the event needs to find a private sponsor.

Yet he said the idea of sponsorship will become an issue because the biggest possibilities would be beer companies, such as Miller. Such a sponsor would be counter-intuitive to the image Mayor Dave Cieslewicz tried to brand for Halloween, he added.

"[Halloween] was a good thing this year, and it went well … but who do you get to sponsor such an event?" Palm asked.

Gloede added that if the mayor opts for private sponsorship for Halloween next year, it would cause the city to move in the opposite direction from the positive progress this year.

"Our fear is that a sponsor happens, and it spirals back into being a huge event," Gloede said. "So there's good and bad that comes with success."