Long before Picnic Day 2010, UC Davis officials had begun examining the size and cost of the event. Now, in light of the unruliness that took over city streets on April 17, the university’s review of the near-100-year-old Picnic Day tradition has taken on new importance.

Campus and city representatives first came together in January to discuss Picnic Day. Their next meeting is set for May 10; it is not an open meeting, said Gary Sandy, director of Local Government Relations for UC Davis Government and Community Relations.

He described the meeting as another work session for the partnership looking into Picnic Day, with participation by designated representatives from the campus and city, including the ASUCD and Picnic Day Committee, alumni, Government and Community Relations, and the Davis Chamber of Commerce and the Davis Downtown Business Association.

The campus and city police departments also will be represented. Their officers, of course, saw Picnic Day fun turn into Picnic Day trouble — so much that the city Police Department called in reinforcements from around the region.

The campus Police Department handled about 330 calls for service on Picnic Day, according to Capt. Joyce Souza. She said police and fire units handled 12 medical calls, and out of those, six people were taken in for hospital treatment.

Campus police reported making four arrests, three for alleged public drunkenness and one for a suspected narcotics violation. Police also reported issuing 13 citations and 59 warnings.

City police reported making 33 arrests, most of them for public drunkenness, drunken driving and fighting. In a news release, Lt. Thomas Waltz said the arrest count compared with an average of 15 on previous Picnic Days.

Waltz said city police handled 516 service calls this Picnic Day, compared with 100 during a typical weekend.