Members of the Mifflin Neighborhood Association evaluated ways to make the 2012 Mifflin Street Block Party safer for the neighborhood and party-goers on Thursday night.
At a Mifflin Neighborhood Association meeting, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the Madison Police Department has recently put together a report outlining the problems with the past few Mifflin Block Parties called the After Action Report.
“From the city perspective, very little has been done to move forward with next year’s event or non-event,” said Verveer, who is the alder of the Mifflin neighborhood. “The mindset of many in city hall is that we have to get through Freakfest first then devote attention to Mifflin.”
Verveer said Mayor Paul Soglin has made several public comments regarding his feelings about the future of Mifflin, and although the MPD report says the party should end, no concrete recommendations have been made by either entity about how to do so.
The association is working forward to form a committee or task force to discuss the future of Mifflin with the neighborhood’s residents.
Verveer said he believes it beneficial for MPD officers to attend these future discussions but mostly to serve as reference points. The focus of the meetings is meant to be on solutions from within the neighborhood.
Mifflin Neighborhood Association member Scott Kocar said they are looking to neighborhood residents to provide some leadership in mobilizing residents of the street. He also said he thinks deterring people from out of town from attending the event would be advantageous.
“A lot of arrests from last year were people coming in from out of town just looking for a big party,” Kocar said. “If we could discourage that, it would be a better event.”
Verveer said he hopes these discussions will begin within the next 30 days, and the association is now in the process of organizing them.
“The earlier we have the meeting, the more time there is for additional meetings,” Verveer said. “It needs to be kept in front of people on a routine basis.”
The association also discussed the current proposal regarding the corner on Bassett, Dayton and Johnson Street.
Kocar said this proposal is on the block of the Double Tree. In the proposed downtown plan, the properties not belonging to the Double Tree are being designated to city parks and high rises designed for students.
The intent is to force the city to make a land-use decision for those properties.
Additionally, Mifflin Street landlord Brandon Cook is beginning a project where he has already purchased a house at W. Johnson St. and intends to demolish a house at W. Mifflin St. He then plans to move the Johnson house to that location.
The Mifflin Neighborhood Steering Committee has been working with Cook on this project after the demolition of the Casa Bianca restaurant on West Johnson, along with a number of houses, including the one Cook plans to move.
Kocar said there have been a number of similar development projects last year.
The association is also in the midst of creating a “sign competition” for student residents. A $500 reward may be available.
One of the points of discussion surrounding the neighborhood signage is whether the signs should read “Mifflin Neighborhood” or “West Mifflin Neighborhood.”
Kocar said the association plans to take a vote to change the name of the neighborhood solely to “Mifflin” the next time the bylaws are changed.
“Everyone knows it as Mifflin,” Kocar said. “We can make a sign that reads as such and then piggyback on that when the bylaws are being changed.”
