A board of Madison business owners voiced concerns about recent crime outside of State Street establishments and reservations surrounding the implementation of the concealed carry law in November.
The Greater State Street Business Association met last night to discuss the mayor’s decision to replace the benches on the 500 Block, Halloween and theft prevention.
In Wednesday’s Greater State Street Business Association meeting, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the mayor received complaints over the weekend and made the executive decision to reinstall the benches previously removed to deter illegal behavior.
Soglin saw other issues during an organized survey of the downtown area on a weekend night with a variety of city staff in late August, including spacing issues and too few available benches, bike racks and garbage cans, Verveer said. He said a meeting with the mayor is planned for Friday to discuss these issues as well as the installation of the benches.
Last Friday morning, an oversight committee voted to remove benches and replace them with bike racks outside of Taco Bell and Jimmy Johns, said Verveer, who voted to remove the benches.
Mayor Paul Soglin emailed the park manager on Monday morning and the parks division had them reinstalled on Tuesday morning, he said.
“Illegal behavior was observed by business owners, mainly drug dealing,” said Mary Carbine, director of the Central Business Improvement District.
Carbine also detailed BID’s Family Halloween event for Madison families on Friday, Oct. 28. The event will be open to kids age 12 and under and is slated to take place on State Street and around Capitol Square, she said.
Participating stores will have signs up allowing children to come in to trick-or-treat, she said.
Herb Bergson from the Financial & Retail Protection Association provided the members with an opportunity to protect their businesses with a non-profit organization.
FRPA is a website that reports thefts to aware business owners of crimes in their area, Bergson said. The website issues alerts on anything from shoplifting to armed robbery, he said. There are currently 1,300 members including retailers, financial institutions and police stations, he added.
“The more we get signed up, the better,” Sandy Torkildson, president of the Greater State Street Business Association, said.
The group also weighted how to protect not only their business, but also the area as a whole.
The downtown area has seen an increase in retail theft, Verveer said. MPD passed along a message to inform the association that arrests were made regarding the theft at Capitol Kids on South Carroll Street, he said.
Carbine also said the concealed carry law will be effective Nov. 1. Businesses that post the template should be informed and aware that it causes responsibility, she said.
Verveer said many officials also remain concerned with the law’s implementation and the City of Madison is continuing to help businesses adjust to the law.
The level of police service funding for BID in the city budget will remain the same as last year, according to the Board of Estimates, Verveer said. The downtown safety initiative will remain fixed at $50,000 for the upcoming budgetary cycle.
