City of Lakewood

September 11, 2009
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

• Federal Funding Secured for Traffic Synchronization: The $541,000 in federal stimulus money from the US Department of Energy has now been officially secured. These grant monies, with no match required, will be used to replace our antiquated traffic signal controllers which presently operate the bulk of our 70 signalized intersections. Prior to the availability of this funding, our replacement of these controllers had been primarily restricted to individual road improvement projects, and we’ve only been able to replace about 16 controllers to date. This program will enable us to replace the balance of the controllers along with the respective signal communication equipment. This will then provide us with the ability to have a coordinated and synchronized traffic signal operation on our various corridors and improve traffic flow throughout the city. It also greatly improves the reliability of our traffic signal system and simplifies our maintenance responsibilities.
• OEA Awards over $1 million planning grant: This week the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) at the Department of Defense awarded a grant to the City of Lakewood for $1,145,260 in Community Planning Assistance in response to mission growth at Ft. Lewis. The City of Lakewood’s Economic Development Department, on behalf of the communities surrounding Ft. Lewis and McChord Air Force Base, will undertake a 17-month Growth Coordination Plan to help local communities and service providers coordinate the foundational steps necessary to absorb the significant population growth and economic impacts of Ft. Lewis and McChord AFB. This effort will provide local governments and service providers with accurate information to promote the decisions and improvements that best serve the military mission and ensures that future funds will be efficiently distributed according to region-wide needs.
• City participates in Towne Center Military Appreciation Event: CSO Gail Conelly attended the Lakewood Towne Center Military Appreciation Event on Saturday, September 5th, providing information to 1,000+ attendees. There were approximately 40 vendors providing information, and prizes. There were also giant inflatable obstacle courses and jump houses available for the kids, as well as a live band and a climbing wall provided by the Army.
• LPD hosts training class for “Blood Stain Pattern Analysis”: The class presented by National Forensic Academy of the University of Tennessee was hosted by Detective Bryan Johnson at our new police station. Local crime scene technicians and detectives learned directionality and scene analysis relative to blood stain patterns and re-constructed crimes scenes as well as conducted practical exercises in spatter and directionality.
• Firearms Training at LPD: LPD officers along with outside police agencies completed their first firearms training in our new indoor range this week. As of Sept 9th, we had 50 students complete the 2-hour basic firearms course.
• CSOs Participate in Lakeview Hope Academy’s “Tunnel of Hope”: CSOs Conelly, Pressel and Stauffer participated in Lakeview Hope Academy’s “Tunnel of Hope” on September 9th, welcoming kids back to school and encouraging them to have a positive experience. CSO Conelly also participated in Oakwood Elementary School’s “Tunnel of Hope”, which included parents, teachers, and administrators there.
• Update on Gravelly Lake Dr (Nyanza To 100th St) Overlay Project and Bridgeport Way (59th To Steilacoom Blvd) Street Improvement Project: In spite of efforts to avoid it, there will be some simultaneous work on the two asphalt paving projects during a one week period. With respect to the Gravelly Lake Dr project, the contractor will be starting the road prep work (digging out and patching of bad areas along with the grinding of the curb lanes) on Monday and Tuesday (9/21 and 9/22) with the actual paving work done on Wednesday (9/23). This work will be all night-time work occurring between the hours of 7:00 PM to 5:00 AM. With respect to the Bridgeport Way project, the contract will be starting the road prep work on Thursday and Friday (9/17 and 9/18) with the paving working occurring on Tuesday (9/22). In this case, the prep work will be done during the day with only the asphalt paving work on 9/22 occurring at night between the hours of 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM. In addition, for this project, there will be some minor paving work occurring during the day on Thursday (9/24). This paving work is always subject to change due to the weather. The signal bridge for the Gravelly Lake Dr/Bridgeport Way intersection, which is similar to what was installed at the Pac Hwy and Bridgeport Way intersection, is scheduled to be installed this coming Monday (9/14) night. Accordingly, the intersection will be entirely closed off to any traffic between the hours of 9:00 PM to 12:00 PM.