By Kathryn Purcell
Managing Editor

There were seven calls generated from the Micha Way area for the month of October, and City of Madison police officers visited the area a total of 35 times, a number that includes foot patrols, serving civil papers and follow-ups, according to City of Madison Police Chief Travis Stapp.
   

And Stapp, along with owners and managers of Micha Way properties Orchard Grove, Madison Square and Madison Duplexes, agreed at their Wednesday meeting that a decrease to seven calls was definite progress.
   

"If I'd have known it was this quiet, I would've called and cancelled [the meeting]," Stapp said.
   

At the suggestion of local law enforcement, all three of the properties have met with tenants in an effort to begin Neighborhood Watch programs, and all of the properties have plans to continue the meetings.
   

Additionally, part of the Neighborhood Watch program, the management at each of the properties has distributed parking permits to tenants. Aside from being on file at each property's office for property managers to access, lists of tenants' names and parking permit numbers have been or are being provided to law enforcement. The permits should provide property managers and law enforcement with the ability to determine who does and who doesn't belong on the property.
   

"I think it's been very effective," Madison Square owner Bill Doyle said, of the Neighborhood Watch program. "I'm almost amazed at the success...When a tenant brings her mother in to get an apartment, that's a good sign."
   

Stapp encouraged Micha Way property owners and managers to encourage tenants to embrace the Neighborhood Watch program.
   

"It takes more than one set of eyes to see what's going on," Stapp said. "Once they learn to take pride in where they live, they'll report the problem, they'll report the problem people."