City of Lakewood

Lakewood Community Collaboration Hosts Informational Forum

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Category: Press Releases

Published on Thursday, 20 October 2011 16:42

The City of Lakewood’s Community Collaboration recently hosted an informational forum with special guest speakers representing the Department of Social and Health Services, Pierce County Community Connections and the Puyallup Homeless Coalition. The forum addressed the upcoming elimination of Disability Lifeline funding. Approximately 3,950 individuals in Pierce County have relied upon the $197.00 monthly cash allowance provided through Disability Lifeline funding. Once eliminated, clients will have access to hygiene and basic need items provided through local essential needs banks. In addition, some landlords may qualify to receive rental assistance in an effort to keep currently housed clients from becoming homeless. It is estimated fewer than 25% of those currently receiving benefits will qualify for housing supplements. Over 100 community members attended the forum including local Lakewood churches interested in identifying potential remedies to the increasing numbers of chronically homeless individuals in Lakewood. The Puyallup Homeless Coalition presented the Freezing Nights program; a program to house Puyallup’s chronically homeless during the months of October through March.

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 10/14/2011

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Category: Weekly Info Bulletins

Published on Friday, 14 October 2011 16:49

October 14, 2011
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

• Community Garden volunteers needed: The City, in partnership with the Clover Park School District and the First Baptist Church of Lakewood, is considering developing a community garden near the old police precinct off Arrowhead Road near 112th. An informational meeting will be held Tuesday, October 25th at 5:30 pm in Room 1E at Lakewood City Hall to learn more about how the garden could be operated and how it might affect neighborhoods. A leadership team is looking for more volunteers to make this happen. Citizens who are interested in gardening and are willing to help develop this program should contact the City at parks@cityoflakewood.us or (253) 983-7887.

• Tillicum Sewer Availability Notices: With the final completion and acceptance by the County of the sanitary sewer main into Tillicum, notices are being sent out to adjacent properties about the requirement to connect within 90 days. Property owners who choose not to connect will be required to pay the City an “availability charge” until such time as connection is completed. These funds will provide support to the sewer system in Lakewood.

• 2-day Safety Fair involves Community Safety & Resources Team (CSRT): CSRT staff participated in a two-day safety fair at Kmart in honor of the National Safety Weekend held on October 8th and 9th. CSRT provided brochures on various safety topics and spoke to parents regarding Child Passenger Safety.

• CSRT and Neighborhood Patrol provide robbery training at banks: CSRT and neighborhood patrol provided robbery training to two branches of America’s Credit Union (ACU). This training has been provided to ACU’s staff throughout the year. The final two branches were completed this week. This training provides employees the opportunity to practice what to do in the event of a robbery, through role playing and analysis of the event. ACU management also provided information on their policies regarding robbery.

• Fire and CSRT provides Disaster Training Class: CSRT Staff assisted West Pierce Fire and Rescue by teaching a CERT class on Disaster Organization and Disaster Psychology. This is the last class prior to a simulated earthquake, in which attendees learn to mobilize and practice their skills in a controlled environment. CERT training also includes Fire Safety, Light Search and Rescue, Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Medical classes.

• Parks and Recreation supports parents at Lakeview: the Clover Park School District hosted a Parent Institute on October 8th at Lakeview Hope Academy which was designed to help parents help their kids make their way from kindergarten to college. Topics included homework help and tips on creating healthy, active families. The City’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services department assisted with the planning and provided free childcare and activities onsite for parents participating in the sessions.

• Crime prevention information at condominium meeting: CSRT Staff attended a meeting of a local condominium on October 11th to provide information on vehicle prowl prevention, burglary prevention, identity theft, emergency/non-emergency numbers, and the new ordinance on aggressive begging ordinance. There were approximately 24 residents in attendance.

Lakewood One of the Nation's 100 Best Communities for Young People

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Category: Press Releases

Published on Wednesday, 19 October 2011 13:42

Lakewood Named One of the Nation’s 100 Best Communities for Young People by America’s Promise Alliance and ING

Competition Recognizes Community’s Efforts to Reduce High School Dropout Rates

October 19, 2011, Lakewood, WA — Lakewood achieved national recognition as one of America’s Promise Alliance’s 100 Best Communities for Young People presented by ING for its initiatives to help young people. The competition recognizes communities across the country that focus on reducing high school dropout rates and providing service and support to their youth.

Lakewood is a five-time 100 Best winner, an honor shared by only 22 other cities in the nation. Lakewood has shown a commitment to work across all community sectors to provide a great place for young people to live. The Lakewood Community Collaboration group, comprising more than 200 members from more than 120 organizations, has created mobile food services, a collaborative housing strategy and a community-wide plan for cross-agency work that focuses on the needs of its youth. Together, the Pierce County Mentoring Partnership and the Caring Adult Task Force host a county-wide event that recognizes mentors, mentees and the various mentor programs available through different community organizations.

Beyond community involvement, Lakewood also allows its young leaders to have a voice in community decisions. The Lakewood Youth Council for example, which began as a single student initiative and has grown to as many as 20 members, conducts research and compiles reports that address youth issues and programs. In addition, this organization often represents the city at various events and recruits new student members for community service.

“We are proud of Lakewood for being named one of the America’s Promise Alliance’s 100 Best,” said Mayor Doug Richardson. “This award recognizes the hard work of many community members that have dedicated their time to making a difference in the lives of our young people.”

“In a nation where 7,000 students drop out of high school every day, we hope Lakewood’s initiatives inspire other communities across the nation to take action to solve the challenges facing their young people,” said Marguerite W. Kondracke, America’s Promise Alliance president and CEO. “Lakewood is especially deserving of this recognition due to their efforts to ensure that their young people graduate high school and go on to lead healthy, productive lives. Lakewood refuses to let the challenges they face determine the future for their young people. Instead, they are helping their youth prosper and become contributing members of society.”

At noon EST on Oct. 12, 2011, Kondracke joined America’s Promise Alliance Chair Alma Powell and ING Foundation President Rhonda Mims at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., to officially announce the 100 winning communities in a live webcast (http://www.americaspromise.org/Our-Work/100-Best-Communities-for-Young-People/Event-Webcast.aspx ).

“The issues surrounding youth education and success are of vital importance to ING,” said Mims. “Our ongoing support for 100 Best underscores our commitment to the cause and the value we place on recognizing communities that produce measurable results for youth.”

Lakewood will receive a $2,500 grant, signage identifying the community as one of the nation’s 100 Best Communities for Young People, and access to America’s Promise Alliance’s community development resources.

First held in 2005, the 100 Best competition is one of the Alliance’s signature initiatives and is part of its Grad Nation campaign, which is a 10-year initiative to mobilize Americans to end the high school dropout crisis and prepare young people for college and the 21st century workforce. The 100 Best honors communities large and small, rural and urban, that are making progress to help young people achieve their potential, which includes earning a high school diploma, securing a good job, and playing an active, productive role in America’s economic vitality.

All communities entering the 100 Best competition completed a rigorous application where they provided details on how their existing programs and initiatives help deliver the Five Promises—resources identified by the Alliance as being critical to the development of healthy, successful children: caring adults; safe places; healthy start; effective education; and opportunities to help others. Applicants were also asked to describe how different sectors of their community work together to help children and families overcome challenges. Most importantly, communities were judged on the strength and innovation of their efforts and programs to help young people graduate from high school prepared for college and the 21st century workforce.

This year, more than 300 communities from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were nominated for the 100 Best distinction. Winners were chosen by a distinguished panel of 20 judges that included: Marc Morial, president and CEO, National Urban League, Roxanne Spillett, president and CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Michelle Shearer, Chemistry Teacher, Urbana High School, 2011 National Teacher of the Year.

The winners are a diverse group, ranging from small communities to large cities. A list of all 2011 winners can be found at www.americaspromise.org/100best .

Being a 100 Best community not only demonstrates commitment to local young people; the award fosters local pride, bolsters economic development and shines the spotlight on the people and programs that are building better communities. The competition also facilitates the sharing of best practices among communities nationwide regarding education, access to health care, reading score improvement, youth service and pre-school enrollment, among many other areas.

About America’s Promise Alliance

America’s Promise Alliance is the nation’s largest partnership organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth by raising awareness, supporting communities, and engaging in nonpartisan advocacy. Through our Grad Nation campaign, we harness the collective power of our partner network to mobilize Americans to end the high school dropout crisis and prepare young people for college and the 21st century workforce. Building on the legacy of our Founding Chairman General Colin Powell, the Alliance believes the success of our young people is grounded in the Five Promises—caring adults; safe places; a healthy start; an effective education; and opportunities to help others. For more information about America’s Promise Alliance, visit www.americaspromise.org .

About ING

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, investments, life insurance, and retirement services to over 85 million residential, corporate and institutional clients in more than 40 countries. With a diverse workforce of about 115,000 people, ING is dedicated to setting the standard in helping our clients manage their financial future.

In the U.S., the ING (NYSE: ING) family of companies offers a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which includes life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits, and financial planning. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves nearly 30 million customers across the nation.

ING’s diversity management philosophy and commitment to workplace diversity, diversity marketing, corporate citizenship and supplier diversity fosters an inclusive environment for employees that supports a distinctive product and service experience for the financial services consumer. For more information, visit www.ing.com/us .

About the ING Foundation

The ING Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life in communities where ING operates and its employees and customers live. Through charitable giving and employee volunteerism, the foundation focuses on programs in the areas of financial literacy, children’s education, diversity, and environmental sustainability. For more information, visit www.ing-usafoundation.com .

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 10/07/2011

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Category: Weekly Info Bulletins

Published on Friday, 07 October 2011 15:35

October 7, 2011
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

• 100th Street Improvement Project: The 100th Street Improvement (59th Street to Gravelly Lake Drive) project will be advertised for construction bid on October 11th. The project includes widening 100th Street to accommodate bicycle use, installing concrete curb and gutter on both sides, installing cement concrete sidewalks on both sides, upgrading the drainage system, installing a new street lighting system, installing a new traffic signal system at Gravelly Lake Drive, and asphalt overlaying the entire roadway.

• Tillicum Sewer Project approved by Pierce County: The final approval of the Tillicum sewer extension project by the Pierce County Sewer Utility Division was accomplished on October 6th, which will result in the City moving forward to system activation and the issuance of letters of sewer availability.

• City’s Garbage and Recycling Schedule Changes: The City’s refuse service provider will be implementing service changes beginning in November. The changes essentially relate to rescheduling the pick-up day so that yard waste pick-up or recycling pick-up coincides with the garbage service pick-up day. As an example, a customer who has their garbage picked up on Monday would then also have their yard waste or recycling picked up on alternating Mondays. The City’s refuse provider will be notifying each customer of their new pickup day; the first notice will be a mailing followed by at least two phone calls with a message advising of the route changes. The result will be many customers having changes to their service schedule but hopefully an improvement with having just one pick-up day.

• Lakewood is the City that Reads: The Lakewood Library and the Lakewood Arts Commission celebrated National Literacy Month by creating the 3 Favorite Books event from September 6th – 30th. Readers were encouraged to visit the Lakewood Library to fill-out a form and list their 3 favorite books. All forms were entered into a drawing with prizes donated by Designated Escrow, the Ram, Barnes & Noble, and Taco Del Mar. The drawing for prizes was held on October 2nd at the Lakewood Library; 10 year-old Brenden Futch was the top prize winner.