The Halloween Planning Committee, which met throughout the past year, will meet once again today, this time to craft plans for next year's Halloween.
Though the meeting was previously planned and is not a response to the chaos of this year's celebration, October's events will remain a focus.
Representatives from UW-Madison, Associated Students of Madison and city officials will attend the meeting. Each group will bring its own ideas of how to fix the situation for next year. These suggestions range from minor procedural changes to a radical departure from previous Halloweens.
According to Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's spokesperson Melanie Conklin, Cieslewicz commissioned Madison Police Chief Noble Wray and City of Madison Attorney Michael May to create a report about what other cities have done to curb riotous behavior. Other cities have found success with having a fall break surrounding Halloween and limiting parking to prevent out-of-state revelers. While the report is yet to be filed, it is likely preliminary results from their research will be brought up.
However, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he feels Cieslewicz's proposed changes will not work.
\I believe it's totally unrealistic to believe that we can just pull the plug on Halloween next year and expect nobody to show up,"" Verveer said.
Verveer's proposal will focus on curbing the packed nature inherent to Halloween on State Street, specifically the 500 block. While he felt the spotlights and the closing of the University Inn, 441 N. Frances St., at this year's Halloween were successful, it was not enough. He will propose limiting the amount of people that can get into the 500 block of State Street at the same time. While this sounds rather hard to execute, Verveer points out that in New York City for New Year's Eve, a system similar to his proposal has been used and met much success.
Kristina Mueller, ASM's Halloween chair, wants to bring as many student suggestions to the table as possible. As a result, she will propose extending bar time to a later hour or bringing a nationally touring concert act to Madison for the weekend, which would distract people from State Street.
Today's meeting is the first of many for the Halloween Planning Committee. It will meet throughout the year to enact a change on Madison's Halloween.
