City of Lakewood

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 11/25/2011

Details

Category: Weekly Info Bulletins

Published on Wednesday, 23 November 2011 11:38

November 25, 2011
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

• Lakewood’s 16th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Festival: Santa Claus is coming to Lakewood! All Lakewood residents are invited to the 16th annual holiday festival Friday, December 2^nd, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., at Lakewood City Hall, 6000 Main Street in Lakewood. The Christmas Tree Lighting Festival includes a Kiddie Parade, the lighting of Lakewood’s Christmas tree, free children’s crafts, games, holiday music, refreshments and a visit with Santa. Children and those young at heart are invited to march in the Kiddie Parade and follow Santa to town. This is a great opportunity for day care centers, youth groups and scout troops to kick off the holiday season. Meet near the old GI Joe’s Building (5831 Main Street SW) at 4:15 p.m. Experience the lighting of Lakewood’s Christmas tree at 4:30 p.m. and welcome Santa to town at 4:45 p.m. Participants are encouraged to dress warm and bring non-perishable food items for the Emergency Food Network.

• Woodbrook TIB Grant of $750K awarded to City: The City of Lakewood was notified of award of a State Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) grant for $750,000 for construction of improvements on Murray Road and 150^th Street in Woodbrook. In addition to a roundabout at the intersection of Murray Road and 150^th (which will improve the intersection’s level of service from “F” to “B”), this project will construct the roadway on Murray Road between 150^th and 146^th. It will be widened and receive sidewalks on one side, and the roadway on 150^th between Murray Road and Spring Street will be widened and receive sidewalks on one side. Construction is scheduled to take place Spring / Summer of 2012.

• Lane Closure on Bridgeport Way at North City Limits: Starting Monday, November 28^th, the outside southbound lane of Bridgeport Way between Leach Creek and Flanegan Road will be closed between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. for wall removal and replacement. The work will take place for approximately 3 weeks and will be limited to weekdays. This work is in preparation for the sidewalk improvements to be constructed in spring 2012. Looking ahead: additional wall construction south of Flanegan Road will start in January 2012 -- also requiring a southbound lane closure.

• First official Tillicum sewer connection: On November 10^th, Pierce County approved the completed installation of the first sewer connection in Tillicum on Portland Avenue. City and Pierce County staffs are in the process of permit review and support for several more connections in the Tillicum area.

• pre-Thanksgiving Rain Storm response: Public Works is busy responding to several localized flooding / standing water issues throughout the City as a result of the heavy rains. Primary cause is related to leaves clogging storm drains. Public Works appreciates help from citizens to clear debris off the storm drains.

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 11/11/11

Details

Category: Weekly Info Bulletins

Published on Thursday, 10 November 2011 14:27

November 11, 2011
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

• Clean Audit of the City by the State Auditor’s Office:  City staff met with the State Auditor’s staff in an “exit conference” on November 10th, to review the results of the audit of the City for 2010.  The “clean” audit has no findings or management letters, and the State Auditor’s officers commented on the much improved status of Lakewood’s financial reporting and procedures. One discussion exit item reflected on the importance of the City’s upcoming cost allocation system to substantiate interfund charges and transfers.

• LPD Chaplain awarded 2011 Chaplain of the Year Award:  Chaplain Alvie Robbins was awarded the 2011 Chaplain of the Year Award at the Tacoma-Pierce County Chaplains Award Ceremony on October 29th, “in recognition and appreciation of your dedicated and committed service on behalf of the members of the Lakewood Police Department and greater Pierce County Community.” 

• South Sound 911 funding measure approved:  The city manager and the deputy county executive met on November 9th to acknowledge the successful ballot measure results for funding the new South Sound 911 emergency communications system, and to enable the City of Fife to join the agency. The steering committee will meet next week to develop implementation plans.

• ICMA Board meets in Oklahoma City:  The executive board of the Int’l City Management Association (ICMA) met on November 3-4, hosted by the city manager of Oklahoma City.  The City provided a tour of their newly-developed urban renewal areas, as well as the memorial to the 1995 bombing of the federal building there.  The focus of the board meeting was on future trends in the profession as well as ethics issues and training. The Lakewood city manager is the ICMA regional vice president representing the West Coast, and also serves on the Committee on Professional Conduct.

• Youth Council Member selected to be Daffodil Princess:  Youth Council member Cinthia Illan-Vazquez has been selected as this year’s Clover Park Daffodil Princess. She is the current chair of the Youth Council and has been the Junior Class Vice-President, the National Honor Society President and the Senior Enlisted Advisor for her JROTC class. She is an outstanding student maintaining a B+ average at both CPHS and through Running Start at Pierce College.
 

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 11/18/2011

Details

Category: Weekly Info Bulletins

Published on Friday, 18 November 2011 16:52

November 18, 2011
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

• Lakewood Senior Activity Center Honors Volunteers: The Lakewood Senior Activity Center celebrated over 50 “Souper” volunteers at the annual Volunteer Appreciation Reception on November 15^th. The Center honored those special people who donated their time and talent over the last year. Throughout the year, volunteers serve on planning committees and the advisory board, teach classes, drive on trips, fold newsletter, organize the library and serve as Senior Ambassadors answering the phones and registering participants for programs. Special recognition was given to Joan Smith for starting the very popular and well-utilized library. The library was recently expanded under her leadership.
  Volunteers are the foundation of the Lakewood Senior Activity Center.
• LPD officer to be awarded at annual Candlelight Vigil for impaired driving emphasis: Lakewood Officer Mark Holthaus will be receiving a special award on November 18^th for his dedication and efforts in making our roads safer, as he is a leader in apprehension of DUI offenders. The Tacoma-Pierce County DUI Victim’s Impact Panel will hold their annual candlelight vigil in Fife to kick-off the impaired driving emphasis for the holiday season in our region.
• SSMCP Elected Officials Council meets to review JBLM study work plan: The newly-established Elected Official Council, a result of the South Sound Military & Community Partnership, met on November 18^th at CPTC in Lakewood, to review progress made and next steps of the JBLM Growth Coordination Plan. Representatives of Pierce and Thurston counties, as well as the cities of Lakewood, Tacoma, Lacey, DuPont, Steilacoom, and Yelm were in attendance, along with CPSD and the Bethel school district. Several state legislators also attended, as well as representatives of our Congressional offices. Over $12 million in new grant money to deal with Interstate 5, school construction, and labor programs can be attributed to the regional coordination efforts.
• State Legislators convene listening forum to hear about impact of recession on children and families. Lakewood’s legislators, Sen. Steve Conway and Rep Troy Kelley, joined Sen. Regala and Rep Darneille at a forum in Tacoma on November 15^th to hear personal stories about the economic impact on families in our area as a result of the recession. The city manager joined the audience of about 100 as concerns were expressed by a number of speakers.
• Employees of the Quarter recognized: At the employee recognition event on November 17^th, the guiding principle of “Respect” was the subject, and a number of employees representing all City departments spoke to the assembly about their personal view of the importance of respect. The city manager dedicated the awards ceremony to the memory of Emmett Moore, the City’s housing repair coordinator in the CDBG program, who died earlier this week. The awards for employee of the quarter were given to John Unfred, who coordinates internal affairs in the Police department, and Doug Price, who is a code enforcement officer on the CSRT team.
• Lakewood Senior Center Celebrates a Healthy Harvest “Move & Groove”: The Lakewood Senior Activity Center celebrated the season with a healthy brunch on November 10^th. Sherrie Evenson, clinical exercise physiologist, gave a very informative presentation including a fresh perspective on the power of moving. She empowered and motivated the older adults to stay active and keep moving. Bridgeport Place provided a healthy meal for everyone after the presentation. Following the brunch, the older adults had the opportunity to “move & groove” and explore “Basic Moves” that left the older adults feeling refreshed and inspired.

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 11/4/2011

Details

Category: Weekly Info Bulletins

Published on Friday, 04 November 2011 16:35

November 4, 2011
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

• City of Lakewood Receives $5.7 Million Grant from Department of Defense: Lakewood received a $5.7 million grant from the Department of Defense to improve traffic circulation at Madigan Army Medical Center. Lakewood was one of eight successful applicants in the country that received a portion of the $300 million allocated by Congress for competition for transportation projects to improve access to military medical facilities affected by the most recent Base Realignment and Closure Commission round. Safety is of paramount concern to WSDOT, JBLM, and the surrounding communities. The project proposal provides additional capacity for those accessing Madigan and significantly improves public safety by reducing congestion on the ramps to I-5. The existing Berkeley Street interchange at Freedom Bridge is a two-lane structure with a one lane on-and-off ramp that do not provide sufficient capacity to meet demands especially during peak hours (morning, mid-day, and evening). The agencies and service providers throughout the region were strongly behind this project. The South Sound Military & Communities Partnership Steering Committee at their meeting on September 30, 2011 unanimously approved the grant proposal.
• Black Bear Safely Captured in Lakewood: A black bear was safely captured around 9:30 a.m. today after Fish and Wildlife agents shot it with a tranquilizer dart. The bear was seen running around Tyee Park Elementary School and jumping over fences before being captured in the Clover Creek area between the train trestle and Bridgeport Way. Fish and Wildlife reported that the bear was about 3-4 years old, 230-27 pounds and healthy. The bear will be examined by a veterinarian before being released in the wild.
• City’s grant funded Bridgeport Way Street Improvement Project Underway: As part of the City’s grant funded Bridgeport Way (75^th St to Leach Creek crossing) street improvement project, the City is currently constructing new retaining walls along Bridgeport Way in the area of Flanegan Road. The retaining wall work is necessary in order to widen Bridgeport Way to accommodate four thru lanes, a bike lane on each side, a continuous left turn lane and sidewalks. In order to fit this road section between the residences on both sides of the this section of Bridgeport Way and make it safe, the northerly 60 to 70 feet of the existing west side concrete retaining wall must be removed and replaced with a different configuration. This approach was the least costly and assures the safety of both the Bridgeport Way and Flanegan Street users. Work on removing this portion of the existing concrete retaining wall should commence in approximately one week.
• Truck and Tractor Day: Truck and Tractor Day – an annual fun and free family event -- took place under beautiful blue autumn skies on Saturday, October 29^th. Vehicles on display included tow trucks, fire engines, military humvees, infantry carriers, garbage trucks and our own everyday work trucks from Public Works and Parks Maintenance. The estimated crowd of nearly 1,000 attendees made this one of our most successful Track & Tractor days. Youth Council members assisted in all facets of the event, and were particularly helpful staffing the Pumpkin Patch – where many happy children were seen leaving the Truck &Tractor Day with decorated pumpkins and big smiles. Special thanks to the Recreation & Parks Maintenance divisions for organizing this successful event.
• Lakewood Senior Activity Center Celebrates Halloween “Mad Hatter” Style: About 70 older adults celebrated a “Mad Hatter” Halloween at the Lakewood Senior Activity Center in “Alice in Wonderland” style. The event featured good friends, great food and “White Rabbits” for hosts. The group enjoyed listening to stories that were spooky and humorous at the same time. Pierce County Department of Emergency Management participated in the celebration by presenting their “Take Winter by Storm” program, which covered the basics for winter weather preparation. The information was underscored in handouts, and included a bonus flashing beacon for the older adults. Not only did everybody have a great time in “Wonderland”, they learned safety tips as well.
• Human Services Relocates Displaced Female: Human Services worked with the West Pierce Fire Department to assist with the relocation of a single woman displaced after a fire on Saturday afternoon. The City’s Emergency Assistance for Displaced Residents (EADR) grant funds, managed by Human Services, allowed the female to be temporarily housed in a motel until permanent relocation is secured. Working with a local non-profit, Living Access Support Alliance (LASA), the individual was guided to Northwest Furniture where essential housing items including a new bed and mattress were provided.
• CSRT Participates in West Pierce Fire & Rescues Pumpkin Patch: CSRT staff, along with the Pierce County Child Passenger Safety Team, participated in West Pierce Fire & Rescue’s annual Pumpkin Patch on October 22, 2011 at Station 2. Approximately 1,000 people attended the event. There were 30 car seats checked for safety, and 6 seats were provided to ensure that the children went home safer than they arrived. CSRT staff had a booth inside and provided information about child passenger safety, along with brochures providing crime prevention information to the attendees.
• CSRT Participates in Pierce County Housing Authority (PCHA) Meeting: CRST staff participated in a monthly meeting of apartment managers and the Pierce County Housing Authority on October, 25, 2011. The group discussed PCHA’s successful partnership with the Lakewood Police Department and strategies for developing the same partnerships with other jurisdictions. PCHA adheres to rigorous screening criterion to promote safe, affordable housing for low-income residents. The meeting also addressed safety issues and the importance of engaging residents to create healthy communities.
• LPD Provides Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) Training to Clover Park Technical College: LPD staff recently conducted a series totaling 12-hours of RAD training. This class was sponsored by Clover Park Technical College and held on campus. It was attended by CPTC staff, students and other women from the community. Instructors from Tacoma Community College also assisted with the training.
• City Staff attends Puget Sound Region Mass Transit Workshop: Lt. Steve Mauer represented the City of Lakewood at the Puget Sound Region Mass Transit Workshop held on October 27^th. This workshop was sponsored by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and held at the Criminal Justice Training Commission facility in Burien. The workshop focused on three different scenarios that involved different levels of threat to the transit system, in this case, involving trains. The goal was to look for gaps in the ability for agencies to respond to these types of incidents.