City officials are attempting to put a new face on the Mifflin Street Block Party this year after holding the first of what they hope will be many neighborhood meetings Thursday night to increase the quality and safety of the event.

The party, held annually on the first Saturday in May, has most recently seen increases in arrests for underage drinking and open intoxicants on government property.

“I’m hoping that this will be only the first of a series of meetings where we can dialogue,” Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said. “Frankly, I think the event is broken. There are many folks in Madison that think it’s absurd this tradition has lasted for 40 years.”

Madison Police Department officials expressed their desire to stem the upsurge in arrests by creating more signage to raise awareness of the city ordinances resulting in so many arrests, and Verveer asked students if they would consider a sponsorship to create a more organized event.

Lt. Kristen Roman of MPD said the party has lost its focus over the years and has become primarily centered on drinking. She added bringing in a sponsor to provide music or other activities may create a more organized event.

“It used to always be tied to the Vietnam protest,” Roman said. “That kind of got lost. There’s no center of entertainment, no focus politically.”

However, some attendees at the meeting voiced their concerns that acquiring a sponsor could commercialize the block party too much or just be too difficult to accomplish.

“State Street is not as fun as it used to be,” said Scott Boyce, UW junior and Mifflin resident, referring to Freakfest, the annual Halloween celebration. “You see people trying to have alternative parties on Mifflin. I think whatever the sponsorship may be, we need to make sure the students are behind it.”

Andrew Carpenter, UW junior and Mifflin resident, said there’s a simple solution to the entire situation: put up snow fences, three stages and some trash cans.

“But, it sounds like to me that that’s such a hard thing to do,” Carpenter added. “There’s so much bureaucracy. There’s so much red tape.”

Verveer said while there may be some obstacles ahead, obtaining a sponsor or street permit for this year is completely feasible at this point in the game.

Majestic co-owner Scott Leslie, who mentioned to the media last year his company would consider sponsoring the event, said he would only pursue the sponsorship if students were in support. He added it would take considerable resources, noting funding could pose an issue.

“It’s not quite as simple as erecting a stage,” Leslie said. “Just to get it set up before you even start will take thousands of dollars in investment. It’s not something that we have lying around upstairs in The Majestic. Maybe if the city wants to throw some resources behind it? It’s a fairly steep mountain to climb.”

Verveer said he hopes the students and downtown residents will continue to be responsive and provide input to the city over the next few months — whether that means a sponsored event like Freakfest or negotiating other enforcement issues with the police is up for debate.

“Rest assured, you haven’t heard the last of us,” Verveer added.