City of Lakewood

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 2/22/08

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Category: Weekly Info Bulletins

Published on Monday, 25 February 2008 16:02

February 22, 2008
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

• Appointment of Bret Farrar as Police Chief: The city manager announced today the appointment of Bret Farrar as Police Chief effective February 23rd. Bret has been a police officer for 20 years, and has been with the Lakewood Police Department since its inception, serving as Assistant Chief since September 2006. He has earned the respect of the department, many people in the community, and key players in the criminal justice system. He is well prepared to do a good job of leading the excellent performance of the department.
• Police Station Groundbreaking: The City broke ground at a well attended ceremony on Thursday for the new Lakewood Police Station at 9401 Lakewood Drive. The general contractor, Porter Brothers, will receive official notice to proceed with the work as early as next week. Construction is anticipated to be completed by early spring 2009.
• Code Enforcement and Neighborhood Patrol Teams: This week, Community Development (CD) staff met with the City's Police neighborhood patrol team. The purpose of the meeting was to train community service officers (CSO's) on code enforcement administrative procedures and ACCESS database management so they could assist with the current backlog of code enforcement property maintenance cases. It is common that CD operates with a large backlog - code enforcement remains a very popular program. Currently, the department has 174 outstanding property maintenance and LOCRS investigations, plus abatements, and dangerous buildings. By coordinating our efforts with community policing, we can improve our service levels.
• Lakefront Street Ends - Next Steps: Lakefront Street Ends will not be an agenda item at the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on February 26th as previously announced. Before any further public discussion, staff will conduct additional research regarding property/boundary line adjustments and easements, and related issues. Follow-on meetings on this subject will be announced in subsequent issues of the city's "Lakewood Connections"
• Open House - Storm Water Management Program: There will be an Open House in the Council Chambers on Wednesday, February 27th, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, at which time the public is invited to review and comment on the proposed changes to the City's Storm Water Management Program. The program revisions are a part of the City's compliance efforts with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, which is a requirement of the federal Clean Water Act. A draft of the program is also available on the City's website at: /images/stories/PublicWorks/resources/Lakewood_SWMP_2008_Draft.pdf.
• DUI Sentence: Lakewood's Associate City Attorney Matt Kaser successfully tried the case to a jury of a repeat drunk driver who was ultimately sentenced to a total of 940 days in jail followed by 300 days on Electric Home Monitoring, together with five years probation. The offender had prior convictions for DUI as well as being on a "deferred prosecution" at the time of the arrest which would have allowed her to avoid a DUI conviction by completing treatment for alcoholism. Between the time of conviction and the sentencing the offender accrued a new violation which the Court considered in rendering this sentence.
• Senior Center Valentine's Day Celebration: The Lakewood Senior Activity Center joined together for friendship and the spirit of love last Thursday at the "Heart to Heart" Valentines Day Celebration. Dorothy Wilhelm, guest speaker and "My Home Town" commentator, inspired friendship and told stories; over 65 older adults attended this event.
• AWC's "Engaging Citizens in Gov't Performance": Councilmembers Thomas, Finnigan, and Neary attended the new one-day conference of the Association of Washington Cities this week in Tacoma, along with assistant city manager David Bugher and communications director Jeff Brewster.
• Speed Enforcement Emphasis: Motorists are advised to watch their speed this weekend because law enforcement will be watching. 32 officers from 15 law enforcement agencies in Pierce County will begin ticketing law breakers this Saturday on Highways 161 (Meridian), 7 and 512 as part of a concentrated statewide mobilization targeting speeding drivers. Officers also will be looking for speeders on 176th East and Sunrise Blvd. The purpose of the special emphasis, dubbed "X-52" is to stop crashes before they happen by implementing a patrol involving multiple agencies somewhere in the state every week of the year. Similar mobilizations, conducted last year in Pierce County by 13 law enforcement agencies in conjunction with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, resulted in speeds on some roads in the area being reduced as much as 70% for drivers going at least 11 miles over the speed limit. The public does not make the connection between speeding and fatal crashes as readily as it does between impaired driving and fatalities. Yet, drivers in Washington driving over the speed limit have been responsible for almost 40% of all traffic deaths in recent years. The Tacoma Pierce County DUI Task Force received an $85,000 grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission to conduct both Speed and DUI patrols through the end of September. Motorists can expect to see the following agencies outside their usual jurisdictions beginning this weekend: Ruston, Gig Harbor, Tacoma, Fircrest, Sumner, Steilacoom, Puyallup, Lakewood, Fife, University Place, Bonney Lake, Dupont and Milton Police Departments, along with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. The Washington State Patrol is participating by providing dispatch and assigning extra troopers to the effort.
• City Bids Farewell to Chief Saunders: The Lakewood City Council recognized Police Chief Larry Saunders with a proclamation at its February 19th meeting. The Council recognized his ten years of outstanding service to the Lakewood community under Pierce County and the City. Among other things, the Council recognized Saunders' efforts to reduce crime, partner with other regional agencies, start up the City's police department in 2004, and advocate for a new police station on Lakewood Drive. Fire Chief Ken Sharp also recognized the Chief for his cooperation with the Lakewood Fire Department, presented him with a leather Fire Department jacket, and spoke of the excellent working relationship Chief Saunders had helped cultivate. Chief Saunders will officially retire on February 29th and shortly thereafter will report to Fort Jackson to "re-green" with the Army and prepare for his deployment to Iraq. Colonel Larry Saunders will train Iraqi police officers during his 12-15 month deployment.

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 2/8/08

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Category: Weekly Info Bulletins

Published on Thursday, 07 February 2008 16:00

February 8, 2008
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

• Police Station Ground Breaking: The Police Station Ground Breaking Ceremony will be held on February 21st at 10:00 a.m. at the site on the east side of Lakewood Drive, south of Steilacoom Blvd.
• Building on the Grassy Knoll: Construction is about to begin on the “grassy knoll” next to City Hall. The developer, MJR Development, will be building a 40,000 SF office building that may include some retail. They have scheduled a ground breaking ceremony for Thursday, February 21st at 2:30 p.m.
• Meeting on the Lakewood Evening Report Center: Superior Court Judge Frank Cuthbertson, Juvenile Court Administrator Shelly Maluo, Leslie Swalley representing County Councilmember Dick Muri, Mayor Doug Richardson, City Manager Andrew Neiditz, Police Chief Larry Saunders, Assistant Chief Bret Farrar, Lt. Heidi Hoffman - LPD Community Outreach Unit supervisor, Assistant School Superintendents Gary Wilson and Robin Sweeney, Carrie Holden from Pierce County Boys and Girls, and Beth Wilson representing Tacoma Pierce County Health Department met February 6th to discuss preliminary concepts for opening an evening report center for Lakewood youth under custody of the juvenile court. The Juvenile Court will require youth under probation or pending trial to report to the center in the evenings where they will receive tutoring, counseling and be able to participate in chaperoned, healthy activities. It is one of three such pilot programs in the County and will be fully funded by the County. City representatives also discussed plans to expand the evening report center into a broader youth assessment center concept with the ability to provide similar services to chronically truant or undisciplined youth not yet under the jurisdiction of the Court.
• Report on Neighborhood Police Staffing: Currently NPO for all 6 districts are in place and working. They are having a dramatic effect on property crime in particular. The 6 CSO have all been identified; 5 are assigned and 1 is pending assignment once we complete hiring for staffing shortfalls at the front desk and in the automated traffic enforcement section. One of the assigned Neighborhood CSOs is on extended medical leave. While these hiring actions are underway, neighborhood CSOs are back-filling traffic enforcement and front desk duties on a rotating basis.
• Lakeview Business Owners Meeting: On Tuesday February 5th, the Lakewood Police Department hosted a meeting for businesses in the Lakeview area who had experienced numerous burglaries and thefts to their business properties. The meeting was organized by the Community Policing team. A total of about 30 business owners and representatives attend the meeting.
  The following were strategies recommended and agreed upon by those attending:
• Form a local business block watch
• Develop an e-mail list of participating businesses so they can share information
• Conduct walk around inspections of businesses trained Police staff to recommend physical improvements that would help prevent crimes
• Continue to pursue having Sound Transit remove vegetation along the rear of these businesses that provides concealment to suspects
• Pursue purchasing (by the business owners) a specialized surveillance and alert system for use by the Police Department.
• Request our local state representative to come and discuss stricter metal theft/sale laws
• 142 Years and Counting: The Legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers: In commemoration of Black History Month the Lakewood Historical Society is presenting a program entitled “142 Years and Counting: The Continuing Legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers” on Tues, Feb 12th, 2008, 7 PM in the Council Chambers of Lakewood City Hall, 6000 Main Street SW. We are privileged to have COL (Ret) James Manning and other members of the Greater Puget Sound Chapter of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Association present the program.
• Meet the Police Chief Candidates: There will be a community reception on February 13th to “meet and greet” the finalist candidates for the position of Lakewood Police Chief, to replace Chief Larry Saunders who will be leaving the City later this month to take an Army assignment in Iraq. The reception will be from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at the Clover Park Technical College Student Service Building, and it is open to the public.
• Orchestra at Work: The Northwest Sinfonietta is bringing its innovative new program, “Orchestra at Work” in cooperation with the City of Lakewood at 10 a.m. on Wednesday February 13th at the newly completed Sharon M. McGavick Center at the Clover Park Technical College. Lakewood residents of all ages are welcome to listen this rehearsal and “observe both the artistic and practical considerations that guide the rehearsal process.” Please visit www.nwsinfonietta.com to learn more about the orchestra.
• Adult Coed Soccer: Lakewood Parks & Recreation Department’s Winter 2008 Adult Coed Soccer season kicks off Sunday, February 10th and continues through April 13. With six teams participating, over 100 adults will be getting active each Sunday afternoon at Fort Steilacoom Park. GO LAKEWOOD!
• Sewer Project Update: This week the City received from the Public Works Trust Fund board for execution the loan agreement in the amount of $1,840,000 for our American Lake Gardens/Tillicum sanitary sewer project. The terms of the loan are for 20 year at ½% interest rate. $1,140,000 of the loan is associated with providing financial assistance to requesting property owners with regards to their sewer connection costs with the balance associated with financing the city’s sewer project.
• Gambling Public Hearing: On Wednesday, February 6th, the Planning Advisory Board conducted a public hearing to take testimony on gambling in Lakewood. There were approximately 80 people in attendance. Eighteen persons spoke - 16 in support of continuing gambling in Lakewood, and two persons opposed. The PAB is expected to take up the issue again at its meeting on February 20th.
• Lakewood Chamber Annual Chili Cook-Off: The Lakewood Chamber of Commerce held their 9th annual Chili Cook-off on Thursday, February 7th, at Clover Park Technical College, Sharon McGavick Student and Conference Center. The Cook-Off is a fundraiser sponsored by the Education Committee of the Chamber for the Business Students of the Year Scholarship Program. All of the proceeds from the Auction benefit local scholarship recipients.

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 2/15/08

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Category: Weekly Info Bulletins

Published on Thursday, 14 February 2008 16:00

February 15, 2008
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

• Crime Early Warning System: On February 4th, the Tacoma Police Department hosted the grant kick-off for the “Crime Early Warning System – CEWS”. This grant is a multi-agency endeavor involving Tacoma and Lakewood Police Departments. The focus of this grant is to have informational alerts based on data received from 9-1-1 calls and reports sent to first-level supervisors and patrol officers when a crime “spikes” in an area. When the supervisors and officers receive the alerts, the goal is to have appropriate resources dedicated to the problem with a quick resolution. The expectation is to have the system operational mid-fall.
• "State of the City" at Lakewood United: The city manager presented a “state of the city” talk to Lakewood United at its Thursday morning meeting this week, and discussed the Year-End report for 2007. The report is available on the City’s website. He also presented to the Clover Park Rotary Club at their February 6th meeting.
• Police Department Awards Ceremony: At today’s awards program, the Medal of Distinguished Service was awarded to Officer Jeremy Prater, and the Life-saving Award to Officers Dan Tenney, James Lofland, Adam Leonard, Vince Sivankeo, and Charles Porche. Alex Kasuske was formally commissioned as Lieutenant. The Police Chief's Commendation was awarded to SWAT team members Sergeant Mark Eakes, Officers Vince Sivankeo, Charles Porche, Jeremy Vahle, Mark Renninger, Brian Markert, Matt Brown, Jon Waller, and Mike Wiley; and the Police Chief's Citation to Officer Austin Lee and Kris Nash
• Volunteer Recognition Ceremony: At the February 14th Police Volunteers Recognition reception, Kristy Kernen and Sharron Kanter were nominated for the National Points of Light Citizen Outstanding Volunteer Award, and the Police Chief's Commendation was give to Terry Roy, Maddi Wivel and the Police Explorers. The Police Chief's Citation was awarded to Mike Kanter, Sharron Kanter, Kristy Kernen, and Chaplain Alvie Robbins.
• Special Olympics kick off: Several members of the Lakewood Police Department attended the Special Olympics 2008 kick-off campaign in Seattle on February 8th. The Lakewood Police Department is involved in several fund raisers for Special Olympics. On April 12th will be the “Tip-A-Cop” fund raiser at all Red Robin restaurants. On May 2-3-4 will be the “Krispy Kreme Roof Sit”, where police will be sitting on the roofs of Krispy Kreme doughnut shops. June 6th will be the Law Enforcement Torch Run. Lakewood will be hosting a golf tournament and a fun run in August.
  

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 2/1/08

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Category: Weekly Info Bulletins

Published on Thursday, 31 January 2008 16:00

February 1, 2008
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

• Meet the Police Chief candidates: There will be a community reception on February 13th to “meet and greet” the finalist candidates for the position of Lakewood Police Chief, to replace Chief Larry Saunders who will be leaving the City later this month to take an Army assignment in Iraq. The reception will be from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at the Clover Park Technical College Student Service Building, and it is open to the public.
• Military Improvement Zone bill: Mayor Richardson joined City staff and lobbyists, as well as community representatives, to testify at the House Committee on Community & Economic Development & Trade this week on behalf of the Military Improvement Zone legislation. The bill would provide State support for improvements to infrastructure and affordable housing in areas adjacent to military bases such as Tillicum.
• City Legislative Action Conference: Councilmember Thomas, communications director Brewster, and the city manager attended the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) annual conference in connection with the legislative session this week in Olympia. About 360 attendees representing cities across the State were present for discussion with the leadership of the State Senate and House. Governor Gregoire also addressed the conference and expressed her appreciation for the work city officials do. There was emphasis on infrastructure needs across the State, and a new AWC report on the subject was presented. There was also discussion about the proposed legislation to require the taping of executive sessions.
• Abatement update: The City’s Code Enforcement Team issued two abatement notices this week for burned out structures where the owners have failed to secure or repair the properties. In both instances the properties also have numerous property maintenance violations including the presence of junk and inoperable vehicles in the yard spaces.
• Pac Highway Project Community Meeting: The Public Works Department held a public meeting on January 30th at the Pacific Highway Fire Station with the property and business owners who front along Pacific Highway from Gravelly Lake Drive to Bridgeport Way. The purpose of the meeting was to gather input regarding the 3 possible road way configurations (5 lanes centered on the right of way center line, 3 lanes centered on the right of way center line and 3 lanes centered shifted towards the freeway) associated with the Pacific Highway improvement project. Over 200 notices were sent out, and about 20-25 people were in attendance. Staff presented the options along with their respective positives and negatives. Design level for all options was at 15%. The next step will be to evaluate the input received plus solicit additional input through another mailing, and to address any individual concerns a property/business owner may have about the project. The Public Works Department will then prepare a recommendation to City Council for action.
• Domestic Victim Assistance at City Hall Kiosk: In the month of January, the City’s victim advocates, with help from the LPD Special Assault Unit, assisted victims in obtaining 27 Temporary Protection Orders through the kiosk located on the third floor of Lakewood City Hall.
• Chief’s presentation on Offender Reentry program: The King County Law and Justice Council invited Chief Saunders to their monthly meeting on January 31st to provide an overview on the recently passed offender reentry legislation and the organization and operation of the Pierce County Law and Justice Council.
• Guilty Verdict on Domestic Violence Case: The prosecution team received a GUILTY verdict in a domestic violence case last Friday. Prosecutor Sean Parrent faced some unique challenges as the victim and the two other witnesses in the case changed their stories on the day of trial. Victim Advocate Rebecca Hendricks was called to impeach the recanting witnesses, and the City relied on sworn witness statements that were written by the witnesses on the day of the assault to get the conviction.

POLICE INCIDENTS

• DV/Assault 3: Officers responded to a DV in progress. The male subject was intoxicated and struck his wife several times. The suspect’s sister tried to intervene and was also assaulted. Officers arrested him after a brief struggle. While being walked to the car the suspect head-butted an officer. The suspect was taken to the ground and restrained.
• DV/Injury: Patrol responded to a fight/DV. Upon arrival they found the female victim unconscious with the suspect having already fled on foot. Apparently husband and wife got into an argument over husband wanting to take the vehicle since he was intoxicated. The husband pushed his wife to the ground outside of the apartment and began kicking her while she was on the ground. She got up and they continued to argue and he charged her and forced her back to the ground where she hit her head and was knocked out. The husband again began kicking her while she was on the ground and was unconscious. Other family members separated the husband and pulled the wife into the trailer. The victim was unconscious for a minimum of 10 minutes and was immediately transported by fire to TG for her head trauma. Detectives from the LPD Special Assault Unit are continuing the investigation.
• Assault 2/Burglary 2 Arrest: Officers responded to a home invasion/robbery that was dispatched one day last week at 1:10am. . After a significant amount of investigation, the suspect was located and arrested. Officers obtained a full confession and recovered significant evidence. It turned out that the suspect entered the apartment to commit an assault, not rob anyone, and so was charged with assault and burglary.
• January 2008 Domestic Violence Case Results
• GO Lakewood! program: The citywide campaign for better health and fitness began with a celebration and registration event at Fort Steilacoom Park on Saturday, January 26th. We are combining resources with businesses and organizations throughout the city to help people reach their goal. The celebration and registration event was held under cloudy skies and cool temperatures that were offset by the performances of such groups as the Clover Park Islander Dancers, the Y dance teams, and the Clover Park Step Team. A walk/run event was held around Waughop Lake but the highlight of the day was the pile of snow that was brought in for the event. Equipment was available for anyone who wanted to try one of the fastest growing winter sports; snowshoeing. For more information visit our website at: www.golakewood.cityoflakewood.us . So far, we have had over 100 people register for Go Lakewood, 50 people completed the one mile fun run/walk and approximately 200 people attended the event.